Part 3

A WRITER'S DESKTOP – PART 3

In Part1, I gave an overview of why XFCE is a good fit for my writing desktop. In Part 2, I showed you how to add and manage panels. In part 3, I will show you the utility of Workspaces and the process of setting them up.

Playing With Workspaces

So far, we have added icons to the left panel according to our need. Now it is time to learn how to manage workspaces. XFCE comes with four workspaces by default. You can increase or decrease them according to your needs. I have found that six workspaces work the best for me, as I often multitask during writing. For example, I may be writing an article for one client. At the same time, I might need to access my emails, or refer some article on the net. I might also have to look at my finances, or refer to a spreadsheet to confirm payments received. I might also decide to make a presentation for another client. Often, it gets monotonous while writing, so I entertain myself with playing some games.

With several workspaces handling many applications, it is easier to work without distractions. Of course, it is also possible to do this on a single screen with many windows open. However, to work on any one application you must focus on it. You must first search for and select its window. Using many workspaces, I can leave all my applications always maximized. I also do not have to hunt for the one I want and switching takes only a single click. With many workspaces, I can move away from the current work for any duration. I can always come back to it again later without missing a step.

 

This is what the left panel looks like before we start modifying the workspaces. If you notice, there are four of them and we are on the first, shown as the darkest of the lot. Right-clicking anywhere within the Workspace Switcher icon brings up a menu. Here, you must click on Workspace Settings…, to bring up the Workspaces menu.

The Workspaces menu has two parts – Workspaces on the left and Margins on the right. Right now, we will work only with the part on Workspaces. Begin by increasing the number of workspaces to 6. For this, click on the up arrow besides the Number of workspaces and change the number from 4 to 6. When you do that, you will notice the Workspace Name will also change from four rows to six. Moreover, their numbering will increment as well.

At this point, you can assign individual names to each workspace. Try WS1 for the first, WS2 for the second and so on. For this, left click twice on 1, the first row under Workspace Name. Type in WS1 or anything else you want to call the first workspace. Do the same for the other workspaces. I prefer to leave the workspaces without any names. Click on Close to exit the menu.

Again, bring up the selection menu by right-clicking anywhere within the Workspace Switcher icon. Only, this time click on Properties, to bring up the Workspace Switcher menu.

Here, change the number of rows to 6 from the 1 shown. For this, click on the up arrow besides the Number of rows until the number displayed shows 6. As you increment the number, the left panel begins to change as well. When you reach six, the icon would have changed to look like six squares one below the other. This represents six workspaces.

Now look within the Workspace Switcher menu. Just below the Number of rows, there is a check-box named Show miniature view - check this box. Whenever you open applications, their miniature icons will appear within the Workspace Switcher icon. Click on Close to exit the menu. The panel will look like the image on the left.

We are now nearing the end of our journey in setting up the left panel on our XFCE desktop. There are still a few things we can do to make the panel look more attractive.

Finishing Touches for the Panel

1. Lock the Panel

Once you have placed the panel to a position of your liking, it is advisable to lock it in position. Start by right-clicking anywhere within the Workspaces Switcher icon in the left panel. This will bring up the Workspace Switcher menu - click on Panel. Panel Properties will open and allow you to select Panel preferences. Click on the Display tab. Look under the General category and you will find a check-box named Lock panel. Check the box to remove the top and bottom handles from the Left panel. That locks the panel in its current position. You can similarly lock the position of the top panel as well.

2. Show and Hide the Panel Automatically

This check-box lies immediately below Lock panel. Check the box to hide the left panel completely. However, the panel comes into view again as the mouse cursor hovers near the left edge of the desktop. To activate this effect, you must click on Close and exit the menu.

3. Make the Icons Float

For this effect, you need to turn on the XFCE windows compositor. Do this by clicking on the All Settings icon at the bottom of the Whisker menu. The All Settings menu will open - click on Window Manager Tweaks. This opens up a menu for fine tuning window behavior and effects. Select the Compositor tag and tick on Enable display compositing. You can also tick all the other boxes on this menu, according to your fancy. Click on Close to exit the menu.

Start by right-clicking anywhere within the Workspaces Switcher icon in the left panel. The Workspace Switcher menu comes up - click on Panel. This opens up Panel Properties and allows you to select Panel preferences. Click on the Appearances tab - set Style to None and Alpha to 0. As you move the Alpha slider to zero, watch the background under the icons of the left panel. The background grows fainter and finally disappears. In its place, the desktop background is visible under the icons. This makes the icons on the panel look as if they are hovering above the desktop. Click on Close to exit the menu. You can do the same for the top panel as well. I find setting Alpha to a figure between 50 and 60 gives the best effect for the top panel.

Finally, the left hand panel should look like the image shown on the right.

In the Part 4 of this series, I will show you how XFCE allows personalizing and beautifying windows, giving them a characteristic look, use good-looking fonts and set up the desktop to suit LCD monitors.