[SEMI-SOLVED] Wallpapertray not working on Xfce
 

Hello :)

Getting started with Xfce and liking it well so far but wallpapertray is not working. It's running OK and changing wallpapers (as show in the system notification area) but the desktop wallpaper does not change.

Is it a Gnome-only application?

Edit:

It started working after running nautilus (unintentionally by running a desktop launcher).

This is a semi-solution solution because the desktop right click then produces the Gnome/nautilus context menu, not Xfce's.

Tentative conclusion: wallpapertray is a nautilus-only application.

Best

Charles

2 ways...

1) xfce menu -> settings -> Desktop

XFCE menu is the mouse on the taskbar

2) right click desktop -> applications -> settings -> desktop

If it doesn't change something is mis-configured. If you just updated try deleting the .config directory in your home folder and logout/login again.

Thanks mushroomboy :)

After following either of those ways to get "Desktop Preferences", what should I set? Presumably select (tick) "show Image" on the Appearance tab and then set what in File? Right now it's the default /usr/share/xfce4/backdrops/xfce-smoke.png.

You can use a picture from any folder, just press the + button for add image and browse to where the image is you want.

Understood but how to make it pick up the changing picture set by wallpapertray? I've looked for where wallpapertray might be copying the wallpapers to and can't find it. Not surprising because it wouldn't be a very elegant solution. Maybe wallpapertray pumps the picture to Nautilus over d-bus ... ?

Idk =( I don't use wallpapertray, I just use the xfce settings. Nautilus and xfce? xfce's default file browser is thunar...

Thanks for trying :) Yes, Thunar is the default Xfce file manager but you can (amazingly, as I found out by accident) have nautilus run the desktop (just the wallpaper bit, leaving Xfce running the panels etc. and using Thunar as the file manager) and this has the effect of a (imperfect) workaround for wallpapertray not working with Xfce.

I don't want to go there and only mentioned it because wallpapertray started working for me and I posted about it before figuring out how it worked.

So it looks like wallpapertray is a nautilus-only application and it's time to try something else for that eye-candy. Drapes, maybe.

The fact that you can simultaneously run Thunar and nautilus under Xfce indicates how successful freedesktop.org have been at promoting componentisation and standardised interfaces.

Oh I know you can run both, as you can get kde libs and run whatever kde runs... I just was suprised you'd run nautilus under xfce =S I wouldn't, it installes extra libs =S but I guess that's the beauty of WMs =P

Xfce does not need any extra packages to dynamically change wallpapers (called backdrops in Xfce). Solution posted here.