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Xfconf Tutorial
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| # Using Xfconf with Elektra | ||
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| Elektra provides the ability to work hand in hand with Xfconf. | ||
| Depending on what you want, you can use Elektra in different ways. | ||
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| ## Altering Existing Xfconf Settings | ||
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| Elektra provides an Xfconf storage plugin that allows you to change all the configuration settings made by Xfconf. | ||
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| To access the properties which are owned by Xfconf, the appropriate channel must be mounted. | ||
| Some known channel names are | ||
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| - **Thunar**: thunar | ||
| - **Xfwm**: xfwm4 | ||
| - **Xfce Panel**: xfce4-panel | ||
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| Assuming that the properties of Thunar anf Xfwm are to be changed, the following command can be used to mount the channels. | ||
| If you are operating in a headless console session (e.g. docker), make sure that dbus is running. | ||
| If it is not, `export $(dbus-launch)` can be used for that. | ||
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| ```shell | ||
| touch none | ||
| kdb mount -R noresolver none /sw/xfce4/thunar xfconf channel=thunar | ||
| kdb mount -R noresolver none /sw/xfce4/xfwm4 xfconf channel=xfwm4 | ||
| ``` | ||
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| **Warning**: The following operations will cause permanent changes to your system, please handle with care. | ||
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| Thunar should now be ready to be configured by Elektra. | ||
| The following commands can be used to configure some selected options of Xfce. | ||
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| ```shell | ||
| # Use the details view instead of the grid view in Thunar | ||
| kdb set system:/sw/xfce4/thunar/last-view ThunarDetailsView | ||
| #> Create a new key system:/sw/xfce4/thunar/last-view with string "ThunarDetailsView" | ||
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| # Do not perform a recursive search on network directories | ||
| kdb set system:/sw/xfce4/thunar/misc-recursive-search THUNAR_RECURSIVE_SEARCH_LOCAL | ||
| #> Create a new key system:/sw/xfce4/thunar/misc-recursive-search with string "THUNAR_RECURSIVE_SEARCH_LOCAL" | ||
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| # Move the window buttons to the left | ||
| kdb set system:/sw/xfce4/xfwm4/general/button_layout "CM|O" | ||
| #> Create a new key system:/sw/xfce4/xfwm4/general/button_layout with string "CM|O" | ||
| ``` | ||
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| The result can then be verified using both Elektra and `xfconf-query`. | ||
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| ```shell | ||
| kdb get /sw/xfce4/thunar/last-view | ||
| #> ThunarDetailsView | ||
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| xfconf-query -c thunar -p /last-view | ||
| #> ThunarDetailsView | ||
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| kdb get /sw/xfce4/thunar/misc-recursive-search | ||
| #> THUNAR_RECURSIVE_SEARCH_LOCAL | ||
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| xfconf-query -c thunar -p /misc-recursive-search | ||
| #> THUNAR_RECURSIVE_SEARCH_LOCAL | ||
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| kdb get /sw/xfce4/xfwm4/general/button_layout | ||
| #> CM|O | ||
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| xfconf-query -c thunar -p /xfwm4/general/button_layout | ||
| #> CM|O | ||
| ``` | ||
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| Using a text editor, you can also view the changes in the | ||
| file `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/thunar.xml`. | ||
| However, this file may not be up-to-date since the Xfconf daemon has a caching mechanism. | ||
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| When you are finished configuring the Xfce component, you should unmount the corresponding channel with the following command. | ||
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| ```shell | ||
| kdb umount /sw/xfce4/thunar/ | ||
| kdb umount /sw/xfce4/xfwm4/ | ||
| ``` | ||
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| ## Replacing Xfconf with Elektra | ||
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| It is also possible to replace Xfconf entirely with Elektra. | ||
| The Xfconf binding in Elektra implements the Xfconf API in such a way that it can be used as a drop-in replacement. | ||
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| ### Setup | ||
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| To start, the Xfconf library must be replaced with the Xfconf binding. | ||
| Replacing the system libraries may require root privileges. | ||
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| ```shell | ||
| # Use Elektra instead of Xfconf system-wide | ||
| kdb xfconf-system-lib-replace | ||
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| # Use Elektra instead of Xfconf only for the current user | ||
| kdb xfconf-user-lib-replace && source ~/.xprofile | ||
| ``` | ||
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| Note that a system upgrade may reset the system library replacement. | ||
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| All applications that normally use Xfconf will now use Elektra instead. | ||
| This can be verified using both `xfconf-query` and `kdb`. | ||
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| ```shell | ||
| # Set an Xfconf property with Elektra | ||
| kdb set system:/sw/org/xfce/xfconf/test/hello world | ||
| #> Create a new key system:/sw/org/xfce/xfconf/test/hello with string "world" | ||
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| # Verify it with Xfconf | ||
| xfconf-query -c test -p /hello | ||
| #> world | ||
| ``` | ||
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| ### Run Xfce Using Elektra | ||
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| The Xfce desktop provides some default settings which are loaded on first login. | ||
| However, if you are using Elektra instead of Xfconf, you will need to load these defaults manually. | ||
| This can be done entirely using `kdb`. | ||
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| ```shell | ||
| kdb xfconf-populate | ||
| ``` | ||
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| Once this is done, an Xfce session can be started either from the login manager or manually. | ||
| From this point on, the Xfce desktop will read and write to the Elektra database. | ||
| However, Xfce also uses some properties that are not stored in Xfconf. | ||
| These properties will not work properly. | ||
| An example of such a property is the Gtk theme. | ||
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| ### Reverting the Libraries | ||
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| If you want to stop using Elektra instead of Xfconf, you have to choose the right option depending on how you did the setup. | ||
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| If you did the setup using the system libraries, it is sufficient to run it: | ||
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| ```shell | ||
| kdb xfconf-system-lib-restore | ||
| ``` | ||
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| If you have chosen the user only way, you will need to edit your `~/.xprofile` file and remove the statements where the `LD_*` variables | ||
| contain anything related to Xfconf. | ||
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| ## Data-Types Used in Xfconf | ||
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| Xfconf uses the glib2 type system. | ||
| This system is not fully compatible with Elektra. | ||
| However, all values are stored in Elektra in their string representation when used as a drop-in replacement. | ||
| In addition, the name of the glib2 type is stored in Elektra as a metakey. | ||
| This makes Xfconf's type system completely independent of Elektra, at the cost of memory and computational resources. | ||
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| The following table shows a comparison between the different type systems. | ||
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| | Xfconf | Elektra | Xfce Property Example (Channel, Property) | Note | | ||
| | :------- | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | ||
| | `string` | `char*` | `xfce4-panel`, `/panels/panel-1/position` | | | ||
| | `uchar` | `kdb_octet_t` | | Not implemented in the Xfconf binding. | | ||
| | `char` | `kdb_char_t` | | Not implemented in the Xfconf binding. | | ||
| | `uint16` | `kdb_unsigned_short_t` | | Not implemented in the Xfconf binding. | | ||
| | `int16` | `kdb_short_t` | | Not implemented in the Xfconf binding. | | ||
| | `uint` | `kdb_unsigned_long_t` | `xfce4-panel`, `/panels/panel-1/length` | | | ||
| | `int` | `kdb_long_t` | `xfce4-session`, `/sessions/Count` | | | ||
| | `uint64` | `kdb_unsigned_long_long_t` | | | | ||
| | `int64` | `kdb_long_long_t` | | | | ||
| | `float` | `kdb_float_t` | | | | ||
| | `double` | `kdb_double_t` | | | | ||
| | `bool` | `kdb_boolean_t` | `xfce4-panel`, `/panels/panel-1/position-locked` | | | ||
| | `array` | | `xfce4-panel`, `/panels` | No direct type in Elektra. The key name structure determines whether it is an array or not. | | ||
| | `empty` | | `xfce4-panel`, `/panels/panel-1` | Does not exist in Elektra. Paths in Elektra which are no leaf nodes will be equally handled. | |