Writ sh*t that I felt interesting enough to warrant keyboard smashing.
"If you don't expect too much from me, you might not be let down."
"If you don't expect too much from me, you might not be let down."
How to make a dock with LXPanel.
Posted 07-05-2020 at 06:46 PM by KGIII
Tags customization, dock, linux, lubuntu, lxpanel
How To Make A Dock With LXPanel!
It's actually pretty easy to make your own dock with LXPanel, it has the ability to do so built right in. It's not too difficult, takes only a little time. When you're done, it can look something like this:
https://i.postimg.cc/yYHZb0C6/desktop-1-005.png
1. Right click on an unoccupied space in your existing panel, and click on "Create New Panel."
https://i.postimg.cc/DZwGBT9r/Menu-006.png
2. In the Geometry tab, decide where you want your new dock. Your choices are either side or on the top, and the top makes the most sense to me.
https://i.postimg.cc/vT1VwvHD/Panel-Preferences-007.png
As you can see, that's also where you choose the width, height, and icon size. Note: You can adjust those "live", meaning as you change them in the preferences menu and immediately see the results. My choices resulted in the dock that you see there.
3. Now, you want to make it work like a dock. So, click on the Advanced tab and tick the appropriate boxes. This is also where you can select to keep it minimized when not in use. To make the dock visible, just move your mouse cursor to the top of the screen.
https://i.postimg.cc/bYMnH43n/Panel-Preferences-008.png
4. At this point, you're going to want to populate your dock. It's meant to be a useful tool, and you can make it one. Click on the Panel Applets tab and add Application Launch Bar.
https://i.postimg.cc/RhjnSnNd/Panel-Preferences-009.png
It should end up looking something like that, though you may opt for different applets or positioning them in different places. The choice is, of course, entirely up to you.
5. Click on Application Launch Bar, click on Preferences, and then start adding the shortcuts to applications that you'd like to have in your dock.
https://i.postimg.cc/JnwrhV8N/Applic...ch-Bar-010.png
6. At this point, you can also add other applets by going back to the Panel Applets section. Clicking preferences while they're highlighted will let you change their settings. Again, you get to configure these any way you want to. Yay! Linux customization!
7. Finally, you can click on the Appearance tab and set background color, font color, and font size.
https://i.postimg.cc/zB2gQQN9/Panel-Preferences-011.png
At this stage, I'd normally write something willowy, flowery, and praising the wonderful world of Linux, but that doesn't really seem like something I need to do here. After all, if you're here then you're almost certainly a Linux user already - and you could even know more about it than I do!
Still, this is something I've seen asked here and there and I was literally doing nothing better today. So, now you know how to make a fancy-looking dock with LXPanel, an often overlooked panel solution that is much more capable than many people think.
Total Comments 4
Comments
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Timely post for me in particular. I just installed LXDE this morning and wanted to do just what you described here. Thanks.
Later ... Yup!. Worked out just like you described. Thanks again.Posted 07-25-2020 at 07:04 PM by flshope 
Updated 07-25-2020 at 07:35 PM by flshope (Extend initial comment) -
Glad it worked! It makes for an awesome dock.Quote:Originally Posted by flshope
Timely post for me in particular. I just installed LXDE this morning and wanted to do just what you described here. Thanks.
Later ... Yup!. Worked out just like you described. Thanks again.
For some reason, the system didn't let me know that you'd commented. Either way, I'm glad it worked.
LXDE is overlooked and underrated, in my opinion. I love the simplicity and beauty.
If you want to have some more fun, you can start digging into window decorations - turning them on or off by default and by application, things like that.Posted 08-05-2020 at 10:28 PM by KGIII
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One thing that has since caused me a bit of trouble under LXDE was getting script files to execute by just clicking an icon in the file manager. Didn't seem to work. Then I realized that LXDE was using a file manager new to me, PCmanFM. I tried resetting the default file manager to Files, which I had been using under Xfce. I also clicked on a sub-option to control the desktop with Files -- BIG MISTAKE! That really messed up the desktop to the point of unusability. After I figured out what I did, and undid it, all was OK again. I do wonder why that is an offered option if it is so devastating -- perhaps it works on some machines. I am using the nouveau video driver. I have since found that click-to-execute works if I use "'open with' Files" to open folders. So I guess I am OK.
Posted 08-07-2020 at 07:58 PM by flshope
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Wow, this system does a horrid job of telling me when someone replies to a blog post. Horrible...
Anyhow, I've never tried to do that. As I recall, you have to change the desktop file to include "exec", but I've never tried. I've never felt compelled to do that.
If I have a script I want to run manually, I name it something I can remember and put it in /usr/bin/ and run it from the terminal. I understand people have different work patterns but I have a terminal emulator window open at all times.
Try this:
I stole that from here:Code:[Desktop Entry] Type=Application Icon=script_icon_name Name=script_name GenericName=script_name Exec=lxterminal --working-directory=/path/to/your/script/directory -e ./your_script.sh StartupNotify=true Terminal=true
https://forum.lxde.org/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=31373Posted 08-10-2020 at 03:01 PM by KGIII
