CrunchBang Linux

nabilalk

#! Die Hard

From: U.S.A.

Registered: 2009-01-28

Posts: 531

[SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

Is it possible to put shortcuts to folders and application on the CB desktop without using Gnome, xfce, or some other desktop environment? Does Openbox support this? Thanks.

Last edited by nabilalk (2010-01-24 10:41:53)

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#! 10 “Statler” r20110207 32-bit & Openbox

radioz

#! Member

Registered: 2009-01-24

Posts: 72

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

One way to allow shortcuts and icons on the desktop is to let pcmanfm manage the desktop.
To do this, start pcmanfm and go to edit->preferences->'Manage the desktop and show file icons' and enable it.

Note that if you use pcmanfm to manage the desktop, you loose the ability have conky displayed!  It would be nice to figure out how let conky display over the desktop somehow.
Anyone tried this?

radioz

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#! on EEE 701

nabilalk

#! Die Hard

From: U.S.A.

Registered: 2009-01-28

Posts: 531

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

One way to allow shortcuts and icons on the desktop is to let pcmanfm manage the desktop.
To do this, start pcmanfm and go to edit->preferences->'Manage the desktop and show file icons' and enable it.

Note that if you use pcmanfm to manage the desktop, you loose the ability have conky displayed!  It would be nice to figure out how let conky display over the desktop somehow.
Anyone tried this?

radioz

Thanks for the tip. I'm wary of using pcmanfm (I switched to Thunar), since there is not trash bin. Since I am installing CB on my Aunt's computer, she won't understand if she accidentally deletes a file and it disappears. Any way to do this with thunar? If not I guess I will have to weigh my options between the drawbacks of using pcmanfm vs thunar.

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#! 10 “Statler” r20110207 32-bit & Openbox

xapU7

#! CrunchBanger

From: prague

Registered: 2009-03-03

Posts: 111

Website

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

Note that if you use pcmanfm to manage the desktop, you loose the ability have conky displayed!  It would be nice to figure out how let conky display over the desktop somehow.
Anyone tried this?
radioz

i did what you decribed to show my icons, and conky works still fine without any changes..

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kBang

#! Die Hard

From: Calera, AL, USA

Registered: 2009-01-06

Posts: 774

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

When I set pcmanfm to manage the desktop I lost conky as well...

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I view KDE like I view snow. It looks fun and marvelous, it's fun to play in, but after a while I just want someone to take it all away.

radioz

#! Member

Registered: 2009-01-24

Posts: 72

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

Hey, that is nice.

How did you configure that? Is there some way to enable transparency?

Thanks,

radioz

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#! on EEE 701

charlie01

#! Die Hard

Registered: 2009-02-09

Posts: 556

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

I also lost Conky,,It was there at first with my wallpaper,,But once i clicked into a file,,Conky disappeared.

anonymous

The Mystery Member

From: Arch Linux Forums

Registered: 2008-11-29

Posts: 8,930

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

@nabilalk - I think you can let PCManFM manage the desktop and still use Thunar. You could also try idesk if you want icons on the desktop.

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Note: ** Please read before posting **

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nabilalk

#! Die Hard

From: U.S.A.

Registered: 2009-01-28

Posts: 531

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

@nabilalk - I think you can let PCManFM manage the desktop and still use Thunar. You could also try idesk if you want icons on the desktop.

Thanks will check out idesk, although I switched my Aunt's computer over to PCManFM. I doubt she will see much of a difference, and since she won't really understand conky anyway, she doesn't really need it. I am curious though, why does conky get disabled when PCManFM manages the desktop?

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#! 10 “Statler” r20110207 32-bit & Openbox

radioz

#! Member

Registered: 2009-01-24

Posts: 72

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

Because Pcmanfm draws its own window over the top of your desktop (hiding conky). Its like having another desktop on top of your existing one.

radioz

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#! on EEE 701

nabilalk

#! Die Hard

From: U.S.A.

Registered: 2009-01-28

Posts: 531

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

Because Pcmanfm draws its own window over the top of your desktop (hiding conky). Its like having another desktop on top of your existing one.

radioz

ic. And I'm assuming there is no way around that?

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#! 10 “Statler” r20110207 32-bit & Openbox

e.m.fields

Howto Master

From: chapel hill, nc

Registered: 2009-03-15

Posts: 31

Website

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

Sounds like this needs a resolution. 

I'm a fan of having a desktop as well.  I know that it's not the point of using Openbox to have a desktop, but for a lot of things having folder icons right on my desk that I can drag'n'drop icons and this can be pretty unsettling for someone new to Openbox / Crunchbang.  ( As it was for myself.)

Granted, after you get used to the interface, Openbox + keyboard shorcuts = MUCH more efficient, but I think this is a big enough issue to perhaps set up an easy "add desktop" option in future crunchbang releases, to ease new users into the openbox system. 

In the meantime:  Please help pool our knowledge on best methods to add a desktop

Creating new wiki page:
http://crunchbanglinux.org/wiki/howto/add_desktop_icons

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e.m.fields
chapel hill, nc

nabilalk

#! Die Hard

From: U.S.A.

Registered: 2009-01-28

Posts: 531

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

Sounds like this needs a resolution. 

I'm a fan of having a desktop as well.  I know that it's not the point of using Openbox to have a desktop, but for a lot of things having folder icons right on my desk that I can drag'n'drop icons and this can be pretty unsettling for someone new to Openbox / Crunchbang.  ( As it was for myself.)

Granted, after you get used to the interface, Openbox + keyboard shorcuts = MUCH more efficient, but I think this is a big enough issue to perhaps set up an easy "add desktop" option in future crunchbang releases, to ease new users into the openbox system. 

In the meantime:  Please help pool our knowledge on best methods to add a desktop

Creating new wiki page:
http://crunchbanglinux.org/wiki/howto/add_desktop_icons

It looks like the easiest way is to enable PCmanFM to manage the desktop. Open up a folder with PCmanFM, Preferences, allow PCmanFM to manage the desktop. Pretty simple. I prefer Thunar though.

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#! 10 “Statler” r20110207 32-bit & Openbox

kBang

#! Die Hard

From: Calera, AL, USA

Registered: 2009-01-06

Posts: 774

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

It looks like the easiest way is to enable PCmanFM to manage the desktop. Open up a folder with PCmanFM, Preferences, allow PCmanFM to manage the desktop. Pretty simple. I prefer Thunar though.

pcmanfm managing the desktop does not allow conky.  There may be a workaround for this but I do not know of one.  I am also not sure if other desktop apps like AWN, Screenlets, gDesklets, Gnome-Do+Docky, wbar, etc., will work with pcmanfm managing the desktop.

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I view KDE like I view snow. It looks fun and marvelous, it's fun to play in, but after a while I just want someone to take it all away.

Zwopper

The GIMP Pimp

From: Deep in The Swedish Woods

Registered: 2008-11-28

Posts: 580

Website

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

Works for me.

Not that I want any icons on my desktop...

Last edited by Zwopper (2009-08-30 14:41:38)

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anonymous

The Mystery Member

From: Arch Linux Forums

Registered: 2008-11-29

Posts: 8,930

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

If you want conky AND still have PCManFM manage the desktop, try this:

http://crunchbanglinux.org/forums/post/9642/#p9642

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Note: ** Please read before posting **

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McLovin

#! Member

From: my computer chair

Registered: 2009-02-28

Posts: 90

Website

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

all you have to do to get conky to draw over the pcmanfm as a desktop is change the window type from override, to normal in the .conkyrc file, and it works perfectly.

Last edited by McLovin (2009-09-09 20:09:03)

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stelil

New Member

Registered: 2009-09-09

Posts: 4

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

Just in case anyone else is confused by this (I was for a moment or two) I had to change

"own_window_type desktop" to "own_window_type normal" in .conkyrc

on #! 9.04

Now I just need to work out how to make it the "Desktop" folder only that is displayed

fbsduser

New Member

Registered: 2010-04-08

Posts: 1

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

To make PCManFM display the Desktop folder instead of the Home folder you need to create a folder inside your Home folder called Desktop, and in the file ~/.config/user-dirs.dirs, change

XDG_DESKTOP_DIR="$HOME"

to
XDG_DESKTOP_DIR="$HOME/Desktop"
After that kill and restart PCManFM.

Last edited by fbsduser (2010-04-30 20:12:33)