• From: U.S.A.
  • Registered: 2009-01-28
  • Posts: 531

Topic: [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)

#! 10 “Statler” r20110207 32-bit & Openbox
  • 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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  • From: U.S.A.
  • Registered: 2009-01-28
  • Posts: 531

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

radioz wrote:

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.

#! 10 “Statler” r20110207 32-bit & Openbox
  • xapU7
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  • From: prague
  • Registered: 2009-03-03
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Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

radioz wrote:

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..

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/117/200903091339041920x1440.th.png

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  • kBang
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  • From: Calera, AL, USA
  • Registered: 2009-01-06
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Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

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

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.
  • 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
  • Registered: 2009-02-09
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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.

  • From: California, USA
  • Registered: 2008-11-29
  • Posts: 8,647

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.

Note: ** Please read before posting **

BTW if you wish to contact me, send me an e-mail instead of a PM.
  • From: U.S.A.
  • Registered: 2009-01-28
  • Posts: 531

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

anonymous wrote:

@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?

#! 10 “Statler” r20110207 32-bit & Openbox
  • 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
  • From: U.S.A.
  • Registered: 2009-01-28
  • Posts: 531

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

radioz wrote:

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?

#! 10 “Statler” r20110207 32-bit & Openbox
  • From: chapel hill, nc
  • Registered: 2009-03-15
  • Posts: 31

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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  • From: U.S.A.
  • Registered: 2009-01-28
  • Posts: 531

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

e.m.fields wrote:

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.

#! 10 “Statler” r20110207 32-bit & Openbox
  • kBang
  • #! Die-hard
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  • From: Calera, AL, USA
  • Registered: 2009-01-06
  • Posts: 774

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

nabilalk wrote:

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.

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.
  • From: Deep in The Swedish Woods
  • Registered: 2008-11-28
  • Posts: 578

Re: [SOLVED] Create Shortcuts on Desktop

Works for me.
http://omploader.org/tMjh4NA
Not that I want any icons on my desktop... wink

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

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  • From: California, USA
  • Registered: 2008-11-29
  • Posts: 8,647

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

Note: ** Please read before posting **

BTW if you wish to contact me, send me an e-mail instead of a PM.
  • Registered: 2009-02-28
  • Posts: 2

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. big_smile

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

  • 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 wink

  • 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)