Some noob questions . Xfce

[kevinthefixer]

I think you'll find the file exists. Open your home directory in the file manager, check "show hidden files" in the "view" menu, go to ~/.config/menus/xfce-applications.menu. It will open in your default html editor (Firefox?). I found editing it manually to be a PITA, which is why I recommended MenuLibre.

@Sunrat, I admire your determination in taking on such a Herculean task, however Quixotic. I will endeavor to not add to it, although my fat fingers seem determined otherwise.

[Udaba]

I think you'll find the file exists. Open your home directory in the file manager, check "show hidden files" in the "view" menu, go to ~/.config/menus/xfce-applications.menu. It will open in your default html editor (Firefox?). I found editing it manually to be a PITA, which is why I recommended MenuLibre.

@Sunrat, I admire your determination in taking on such a Herculean task, however Quixotic. I will endeavor to not add to it, although my fat fingers seem determined otherwise.

well i couldnt find the file :/
i searched in other folders too but it was not there . there are no xfce-applications.menu file in menus folder. only applications-merged. i think im running xfce 4.12 and i dont wanna break thinks if i create an empty menu file

[GarryRicketson]

There are many ways to find or locate files, and directories, :
https://www.howtogeek.com/112674/how-to ... mand-line/

do i have to create the menu file , restart and edit it then? cause its gonna be blank

Probably not, but you might need to,
Did you try reading this ? : https://wiki.xfce.org/howto/customize-menu

Copy the menu file

This is only necessary if you want to change the hardcoded entries (usually above the Settings sub-menu and below the last sub-menu) or to change the sub-menu definitions.

Create ~/.config/menus directory (if it doesn't exist already):

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mkdir ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-~/.config}/menus/

Copy the installed menu file to where xfdesktop will look for it before looking for the installed menu file ($prefix = /usr on most systems):

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cp $prefix/etc/xdg/menus/xfce-applications.menu ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-~/.config}/menus

or

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cp $prefix/etc/xfce/xdg/menus/xfce-applications.menu ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-~/.config}/menus

But read all of it, not just this part, and be sure to try locating the directory and file first, as all ready mentioned , it probably does all ready exist, but is a hidden file.

i dont wanna break thinks if i create an empty menu file

It would be to your advantage to concentrate on learning some of the most basic commands and things about your system and Linux first, and later when you understand more about linux, Debian, etc, you can start worrying about customizing your DE menu , at this point you are very likely to end up borking your system, because you do not know even the basics.
Here is a few simple rules to help you get started:
1. Before you do anything else, and if your system is basically working OK, make a good backup, if need be learn about that before you go on to anything else.
Why ? The back up is your only safe way to be sure you have a good copy of the system, and you might need it if and when something goes wrong with your "customizations" .
2. Make a copy of any default file you plan to modify, Why ? If the change you make does not work as expected, you can use that copy, to at least restore the default file, and have it working again.
3. If you do not know how to do these things, learn how to do them first.
4. From: in another thread,

Postby Udaba » 2019-03-18 16:45
I want to edit my startup - login page .. Like i wanna set auto-remember for my username , i want to change the wallapaper too .

You need to try various text editors, then decide for your self which one you prefer, or as mentioned here:

I found editing it manually to be a PITA, which is why I recommended MenuLibre.

If you want to learn how to use the "MenuLibre", do that first,...I personally prefer "leafpad", each to his own on that,...
Finally :
5. Maybe the most important, Please learn how to use the search engines, it will save everyone , including you , lot's of time and trouble, to use a search engine you must be clear and precise with your words and question, that is something you also need to do when you ask any question here, try pasting a well worded question into a search engine, if you really do not get any results that are useful to you, then you need to try asking someone, either here or any other forum as well, the key being that the question is clear, and includes any details needed, obviously if you don't know what details are needed , then you will need to ask.
For example , I had to guess on this, you do not specify Xfce in your question, but that is what I used: I want to edit my startup - login page on Xfce
Try looking at some of the results,
Example 2;
change the wallpaper on xfce
2nd hit:
https://itsfoss.com/customize-xfce/

3. Change wallpapers in Xfce

Again, the default Xfce wallpaper is not bad at all. But you can change the wallpaper to something that matches with your icons and themes.

To change wallpapers in Xfce, right click on the desktop and click on Desktop Settings. You can change the desktop background from your custom collection or the defaults one given.

Right click on the desktop and click on Desktop Settings. Choose Background from the folder option, and choose any one of the default backgrounds or a custom one.

There also is a easy way to change wall papers, or background using a script like this:
--

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PS3='Pick one of the above: '
TMOUT=10
select i in list choose quit
do      case $i in 
        list)   ls ~/Images/backgrounds;;
        choose) read fname; display -window root ~/Images/backgrounds/${fname};;    
        quit)   break;;
        "")     print -u2 You must select one of the above;;
        esac
done  

But you do need to have ImageMagick installed, to have the 'display' command as needed.

[kevinthefixer]

Looking at @GarryRicketson's post, it would seem that the thing to do would be to find the original file in one of the two locations he posted, then copy it to your menus directory in your home subdirectory and edit that one. This will of course only affect your user, not root or any others you may have. But of course Garry is correct, do your homework first. This is pretty much a requirement for Debian users, those who don't wind up using Mint or its parent Ubuntu, or (Horrors!) back to Windows. Another thought, you might create another user just for experimental purposes, when you're happy with the menu you created for that user, copy it back to your normal user's home location.

[GarryRicketson]

Another method to view hidden files,

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ls -f

see

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man ls

That is L but lower case l , not I upper case i.
Example:

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garry% cd /home/garry
garry% ls -f
.                                                      
..                                                    
.ssh                                                 
.Xdefaults                                            
.cshrc                                                 
.cvsrc                                                 
.login                                                
.mailrc                                                
.profile                                               
.cache                                                 
.dbus                                                  
.local                                                
.config  

To see what directory you actually are in: 'pwd'

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garry% cd .config
garry% pwd
/home/garry/.config
garry% ls
Mousepad       bspwm          iridium        neofetch       otter          xarchiver
QtProject.conf dconf          leafpad        netsurf        scummvm        xfce4
Thunar         gtk-2.0        mimeapps.list  nomacs         tint2
Trolltech.conf gtk-3.0        nautilus       openbox        vlc
 

To use 'locate', to find the applications-menu file:

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garry% locate xfce-applications.menu
/etc/xdg/menus/xfce-applications.menu
/usr/local/share/examples/garcon/xfce-applications.menu
garry% 
 

You can use the 'less' command to view it, or open it with your favourite editor to edit / modify

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garry% locate xfce-applications.menu
/etc/xdg/menus/xfce-applications.menu
/usr/local/share/examples/garcon/xfce-applications.menu
garry% cd /etc/xdg/menus/
garry% ls
xfce-applications.menu
garry% less xfce-applications.menu
 

The /usr/local/share/examples/ is also a good place to look, there might even be a example that is close to what you want.
But again, I stress this, learn how to make a back up copy of your system, before you start modifying files ,etc, especially if you really need a Desktop and GUI's, if you change a file effecting the DE, you may find your self with no DE, and CLI only, your back up copy, is all you have , or re-install,...

[GarryRicketson]

I did not know about "MenuLibre", so here is another example on doing a search;
What is Menulibre
Hmm, interesting, :

An advanced menu editor that provides modern features in a clean, easy-to-use interface. MenuLibre is developed for users who want to manage their menus ...

And it is available for Debian:
https://packages.debian.org/stretch/menulibre

Package: menulibre (2.0.7-1.1)
advanced FreeDesktop.org compliant menu editor
An advanced menu editor that provides modern features in a clean, easy-to-use interface. All without GNOME dependencies, so even lightweight systems can benefit from the sanity that MenuLibre offers. MenuLibre is your one-stop shop for menus in Linux, whether you use GNOME, LXDE, Xfce, or Unity.

Sounds like that might be your easiest option, you will need to install it.

[NFT5]

Thank you all for your answers . Well the xfce manual , didnt help . i cant find the menu file , so i cant edit it :/

You don't have to edit it. Understand that there are certain things about the XFCE menu that can't be changed. Yes, I've tried. One of the XFCE idiosyncrasies is a habit of not accepting copied and pasted configuration files or ignoring changes that you might make directly in them.

However, reading back through this thread it seems that you just want to change the "Log Out" entry at the bottom of the menu to "Shut Down". This will apply to both the Applications Menu (the standard one) and also to the Whisker menu since they both have the same items - just present them in a slightly different way.

I have downloaded whisker menu but i cant find anywhere . And lastly i find already "action buttons" , but thats not what i need :/ i need to edit the "menu" value , from log out to shut down .
what i have to do to create the menu file to edit it?

You need to install the Whisker menu to your panel. Right click on the panel and then Panel > Add New Items. That will open up a window listing all the things you can add to the panel. Select Whisker Menu and then click the Add button at the bottom of the window.

Once you have the menu of your choice on the panel you can make changes.

For the Applications Menu, right click and select Properties. That will open the Applications Menu Properties window. Now click on the button marked Edit Menu. A window headed Main menu will open.

Now scroll to the bottom of the list in the right hand column. You'll see the Log Out entry with a check box to its left. Select then click on Properties in the far right section of the window. Another window, titled Launcher Properties will open.

Now you can make the changes you want. Change the name to 'Shut Down'; Command to 'xfce4-session-logout --halt', and Comment to 'Shut Down System'. Change the icon by clicking on it and navigating to /usr/share/icons, from which you can select from a large choice there. Or search for system-shutdown.png. Click 'OK' and proceed to close the other open windows. The new entry will now appear in your menu and shut down the system when clicked.

To some extent I'd echo Garry's comments about hand holding but XFCE is very much a work in progress and some parts of it are incomplete. That said, all of what I've listed above can be readily found with a few searches and, of course, in the Wiki. It just happens that I've very recently been through the process myself, having made a change from MATE to XFCE. The procedure is similar in Menu Libre, but the presentation of information is a bit different.