Default file manager in Xfce
 

I'm giving Xfce a spin on my Debian Squeeze box and have already run into a potential showstopper... Thunar sucks. How can I make Konqueror the default file manager?

aptitude update && aptitude install konqueror
But I see no interest in staying under XFCE while using Konqueror...

In what ways does Thunar disappoint? Is it possible that you have not yet learned how to use all its features?

@ Stephane: Konqueror is already installed; I want to make it the default.

@Catkin: What features? No split windows = fail. Not network aware = fail. No ftp = fail. No location bar = fail. The directory tree view setup is awkward at best. As for the appearance... well, the '90s just called, and they want their file manager back.

I sense great disappointment! :eek:

Xfce and Thunar set out to be lightweight and hence quick; that dictates some design choices.

IDK Konqueror so do not know what you mean by "location bar"; Thunar has "Location Selector" which can be configured to "Pathbar" or "Toolbar" style.

My god, I don't think there's a way to do this. Being able to change default applications is basic functionality.

That's why Thunar is my favorite file manager.

That's probably a job for a download manager/web browser.
It does have a location bar.
Do one thing and do it well = Simple = good.

+1
Initially, I wasn't sure about Thunar, but I've learnt to appreciate its advantages (ie. speed and reliability).

FTP is totally file manager functionality... using ftp within the file manager (not to mention split windows; another basic file manager feature that Thunar does not have) I can manage my web content much more easily than I could using any other method. Integrated functionality saves time. I need a file manager. Thunar and Nautilus are browsers, not managers.

Even if you don't agree with a word I've just said, are you seriously going to tell me that there's nothing wrong with a desktop that doesn't give you the option to change the default? I don't really care what the default is (the KDE4 default sucks too) as long as it's easily changeable.

2handband

Do you basically want that any folder you click should open with konqueror ?

If this is the case, then try:
1. Right click on a folder icon
2. select open with...
3. Choose Konqueror
4. Check Set as default option at the bottom of the dialog box.

There is no Open With option for folders in Thunar.

2handband

Have a look at these threads:
http://forum.xfce.org/index.php?topic=4023.0
http://forum.xfce.org/index.php?topic=4545.0

Some one has solved these problems here !

May be i am wrong, coz i used xfce 5 months back, Appologies

Confirmed no such option (Thunar 1.0.1).

Well, thanks for the replies. I'm just about ready to write my review... I'm afraid i won't have much to say that's good. Xfce claims to be lightweight and full-featured... but it is only lightweight. The feature pack is severely lacking.

I won't say that nautilus, dolphin or thunar are unusable, but as file managers go, konqueror is my favorite, although it seems a bit buggy at times. Features like fish and the adress bar make life a lot easier. I've found myself in a basic gnome/Ubuntu having to install konqueror off the bat. I'm sure there are ways to change the defaults in XFCE.

2handband

Did you try those threads specified in post 12 ?????????

I did, and I can't find the place where you do the "allow xfce to control desktop" or whatever it is.

See the following thread .
EDIT:
May be that is a previous version of Xfce !
But it is surprising if they have removed this feature from the latest version !!!

Yeah, but that solution creates it's own sets of problems. Seems Xfce (like the nasty bearded Gnome) depends on the file manager to handle desktop icons and such... something Konqueror isn't designed to do. Why would you design an OS like that?

To me KDE's idea of using this bloated "Plasma" thing to draw icons is much less appealing.

Because, after all, the desktop IS a file manager permanently set to ~/Desktop, so I think it makes great sense to just use a real file manager.

That limits your choice of file managers... no good. I like plasma... it gives my desktop a versatility it never had before.

At least on my system, that is not an available option, at least not in that screen, or any other that I've found.

In which screen you are talking about ? The screen shown in that thread ? If you are talking about that, the option is present there.

If it only weren't such a glitchy, bloated resoruce hog.

Regarding the "glitchyness": I don't know about earlier versions; I didn't upgrade from 3.5 until just a few months ago, so I started with 4.3.4. I haven't seen a single glitch in KDE 4.x on my Debian Squeeze installation. Most of the complaints I've seen come from Ubuntu users, and it's not KDE's fault that Ubuntu is garbage.

Regarding resources: I guess it depends on how modern your computer is. I frankly can discern no performance difference between Gnome and KDE on any of my desktop boxes at home. On my wife's laptop (2.2 Ghz AMD, 4 GB RAM) Xfce does provide a very slight performance improvement over KDE or Gnome, but on my personal desktop machine (2.9 Ghz AMD, 6GB RAM) any difference is so slight as to be unnoticeable. There's a certain brand of Linux user that defines "resource hog" as "runs slow on eight-year-old computer". Sorry, but that definition is absurd.

The Plasma I tried was something between 4.2.* and 4.3.*.

My machine has a Core i7 processor, 6GB of RAM, and working 3D acceleration.

from the dead
 

Because this thread is still relevant & timely....

Thunar still blows. I haven't tried xfce in a while, because it blew so hard last time I had to relocate my family to another part of the state. Just tried moving some files around on my server (NFS) with Thunar and it tried to copy them through my desktop instead. This is fail deserving of capital punishment. Might be fine for mammy & pappy who don't know what a network is & use a 'puter for email & such, but for someone who actually uses computerS for most of the things they were designed to do this is utterly pathetic.

Goodbye xfce

Of course it does that. It is only logical that it does this. Thunar is not aware that you have mounted a NFS file system, it doesn't support NFS currently (at least in XFCE 4.6.2, don't know about later versions). So it copies the file through the RAM on the local machine (you know about caching?). Someone who knows what he is doing should be aware of that and use an appropriate tool for work like that, instead of using a tool that doesn't come with the needed function and complain about that.

You call this 'logical'?
Using xfce 4.8 here.
Is your name 'Thunar'?
I tried something new, found a limitation, then complained about it. I'm moving on. Maybe you should, too.

Of course, if you know how file transfers on Linux work it is logical to expect that behavior from a tool that knows nothing about NFS.

Why, because i can explain a behavior from that tool with simply thinking about how it works?

The correct way would be: "You tried something new, found a limitation and filed a bug report or feature request". Would be much more useful than to complain in a thread that is more than 2 years old, has a different topic and will most likely never be seen by one of the developers.

I just learned that Thunar does not support NFS, upon using it and subsequently searching for answers. No thanks to you, but then again, I wasn't looking for your approval.
No, because you took my declaration of the suckage that lies within Thunar a bit personally.
Those things have already been done with respect to Thunar & this thread is not the place to file bug reports. The topic of this thread concerned Thunar & included heavily in this thread is the suck. I claimed that Thunar blows. Is this the difference in topic of which you speak? Makes no sense to me. Moving on. You should too, unless you want to contribute to describing the shortcomings of Thunar, which you haven't done. Your response here has been to imply ignorance on my part, which may or may not be true but is, nonetheless, off-topic.

Pointing out that someone's opinion is based on ignorance is not off-topic. The person learns and is no longer ignorant.
If you knew a little more about GNU-Linux, you would know that you can install a different file manager, if you do not like the default. In other words, it is not necessary to ditch XFCE if you do not like Thunar.

I use my computer to accomplish many tasks it was designed for. I do not use XFCE, but I am currently using Thunar with Openbox. It works quite well for me, although I am not operating a server.

I always insult people with an arrogant attitude when they give me useful information. I learn a lot and make many friends that way.:rolleyes:

First post on the forum is to complain. Second and third posts are abusive and arrogant. I believe the word commonly used on internet fora for such a person is "troll".