Nearly two years after the release of Xfce 4.16, here comes another major update to one of the oldest and lightest desktop environments for GNU/Linux distributions, Xfce 4.18.
Xfce 4.18 is packed with lots of new features and improvements to the file manager, panel, plugins, and other core components. For example, the Thunar file manager now features not one but two image preview side panes, a new Split View, recursive search, and finally lets you undo or redo basic file operations.
It also contains fixes for HiDPI, which was a major sticking point for my when I tried 4.16. Can’t wait to see how much it has improved.
Does this new version allow you to customize a folder icon using a custom image? Mate allows you to do that by right-clicking on the folder icon and selecting an image file to be used as the icon for the folder. For some visually-orientated users this feature is not simply a nicety, but a must. This feature made me stay with Mate so far, although I like XFCE more.
Have you tried just setting Caja to the default file manager? It’s easy to change.
Yes, that works. But I need them also on the desktop, not only inside the file manager.
Just replace the desktop as well. That’s what modularity (along configurability and availability of source code) is for – to put you are in charge.
… and they disabled CSD’s for their applications by default.
\(^_^)/
Yes! Kudos to Xfce devs for listening to their users (and also for keeping CSD for those who like it).
A nice, solid release, overall. It feels so refreshing to look forward to an update without an anxiety about regressions, lock in or agenda. This is what free software should be about.
I’ve always liked XFCE and their no nonsense approach. They don’t go on power trips against their own users. Why isn’t this more common??
XFCE and KDE are my favorites. Gnome 2 was my favorite in the past but it just hasn’t been my cup of tea after gnome shell. For me personally productivity matters a whole lot more than eye candy and pointless changes. I could take some time to become more acclimated but the truth is I feel more productive on good ol’ XFCE.
Yep, I was hardcore GNOME 2 until they shifted focus, to the point I started using Dropline GNOME on Slackware after Pat dropped it. I tried MATE when it first came out but at the time it was too rough around the edges, so since Xfce was already installed on Slackware I switched to it and I haven’t looked back.
I will say that KDE has made huge strides with Plasma and it’s so much better than it was in the 4.x days, but I always find something annoying with it and end up back on Xfce. These days my workstations and laptops run either OpenBSD or Void Linux, and on both OSes Xfce is hands down the best DE.
I found Gnome 2 grating. I’m not sure why, but it got on my nerves. Xfce was a much better experience and my DE of choice, at the time.
The DEs which lean heavily on the graphics drivers have made great improvements over the years.
I try KDE out every so often. I spend a day configuring it to get rid of everything that annoys my about it, give up because I still have lots more to do, and go back to Gnome 3. LOL
They don’t have the resources. They’re doing everything they can to keep from falling too far behind. They had a lot more homegrown tech at one point, but abandoned it in favor of various Gnome based stuff to decrease the development workload.
It doesn’t have the market share other DE/WMs do, and as such, it doesn’t have to serve as wide of audience as Gnome or KDE have to. Xfce is something people have to install on most distros; using Xfce is a choice people make rather then it being the default out-of-the-box.
As a fan of Xfce’s CDE mode and light memory usage, I would disagree about them going with the wishes of their userbase. CDE mode is pretty legacy, and I’m not sure anyone works on it. LXDE/LXQt occupies the lightweight, start menu based env niche Xfce used to own. However, I don’t like start menu based DEs, so I’m working on figuring out Sway.
Flatland_Spider,
I accept they don’t have as many resources, but I still appreciate the way they use their limited resources. Some project leaders end up changing things for change’s sake without consideration or care for what the community needs, and I find this type of leadership style regressive. Everyone has different DE preferences, which is fine, but I just think there’s got to be a better way to proceed without being so hostile and divisive with the userbase. But I guess it’s naive to expect people to get along better and I suppose it makes sense to view these projects through a darwinian lens. “Survival of the fittest” promotes alpha males to top positions despite elevated risks of harming community interests.