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This guide will show you how to install the Xfce desktop environment on Debian (Etch) without getting GNOME in the process. It will also show you how to tweak the Xfce install to become a "perfect" desktop environment.
The guide will also suggest a list of applications to install in addition to Xfce, to make it a fully functional desktop install.
Disclaimer: It's been a while since I've used Debian as a desktop system and this guide is written from memory as I just performed and tweaked a fresh install. I might have forgotten a thing or two and there might be better/other ways to do this. Help making this guide better with comments and suggestions.
As requested I've made two screen shots, so you can get an idea how it will look like with the Tango icons and tweaked menu. (See step 10 and 11) Screen shot one. Screen shot two.
1. Download and burn the 'netinst' ISO.
2. Proceed with the install as instructed, but when you're asked if you want to Use a network mirror, select <No>. We'll add the mirrors later.
3. When asked what software to install, just select: [*] Standard system[/b]. And nothing else.
4. Finish up the install, reboot; and log in as root.
5. Now we'll add the mirrors to the sources.list. I prefer nano as my CLI editor, but use what editor you wish.
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nano /etc/apt/sources.list
6. Update APT:#
# deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 r3 _Etch_ - Official i386 NETINST Binary-1 20$
#deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 r3 _Etch_ - Official i386 NETINST Binary-1 200$
deb http://ftp.no.debian.org/debian etch main contrib non-free
deb-src http://ftp.no.debian.org/debian etch main contrib non-free
deb http://security.debian.org/ etch/updates main contrib
deb-src http://security.debian.org/ etch/updates main contrib
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apt-get update
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apt-get install xserver-xorg-core xorg alsa-base alsa-utils hal udev gdm xfce4 xfce4-goodies xfce4-mixer xfce4-mixer-alsa thunar-archive-plugin
8. Once all the packages are downloaded and installed; I suggest you configure the X-server and ALSA. If you have an NVIDIA graphics card and you want to install the 3D drivers, follow the instructions here first.
To configure the X-server do:
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dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg
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alsaconf
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gdm
Install the Tango, Hicolor and GNOME icon themes:
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apt-get install tango-icon-theme hicolor-icon-theme gnome-icon-theme
As stated above, the Rodent icons will still be used in applications even after we switch to Tango. To prevent this we will "remove" the Rodent icons from the system. I say "remove" because you can't uninstall the package (xfce4-icon-theme) without also removing Xfce, due to dependencies. (It might be possible to do this, but I haven't figured out how.) So we'll simply rename the directory containing the Rodent icons so the system can't find them. This will result in the Tango and GNOME icons being used instead, which will look nicer and more unified.
Open the terminal and 'su' to root, then rename the Rodent icon directory:
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cd /usr/share/icons/
mv Rodent Rodent.rem
If you want to do the same then start the 'Menu Editor', move the --include-- system above the line that says Xfce. Then hide the Xfce line and hide the --separator-- entry just below it. You might also want to hide the --include-- menudefs.hook if you plan on installing the 'Debian Menu' for other window managers. When you're done editing the menu, click the 'Save modifications' icon.
12. Suggestions to additional fonts are: ttf-bitstream-vera, ttf-dejavu and msttcorefonts.
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apt-get install ttf-bitstream-vera ttf-dejavu msttcorefonts
it seems that Conky is a rather popular system monitor to use with Xfce. If you want Conky then simply install it with:
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apt-get install conky
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zcat /usr/share/doc/conky/examples/conkyrc.sample.gz > .conkyrc
a) You need to give Conky it's own window in Xfce, so in the .conkyrc make sure you have:
b) The above setting will draw Conky with a window border, most people don't want this, so you can hide it with:# Create own window instead of using desktop (required in nautilus)
own_window yes
Be ware that since Conky will have it's own window it will stay on top of any icons you might have on your desktop.# Use pseudo transparency with own_window?
own_window_transparent yes
To have Conky start automacally when Xfce starts you can add it to the 'Autostarted Applications' feature in Xfce. Settings -> Autostarted Applications'
vlad59 has written a more detailed guide about Conky.
14. Since Xfce use the GTK+2 toolkit I choose to only install GTK+2 based applications to keep things looking unified. Which applications you install is of course up to you, but here are my suggestions. Your additions to this list are welcome.
Accessories:
Gedit -- Text Editor
Xarchiver -- Archive Manager
Xpad -- Sticky Note Application
Development:
Bluefish Editor -- Advanced Web Editor
Geany -- Integrated Development Environment
Graphics:
Comix -- Comic Book Viewer
Evince -- Document Reader (PDF, etc)
Inkscape -- SVG Vector Illustrator
GIMP -- Image Editor
GQview -- Image Browser
Multimedia:
Audacious -- Audio Player
EasyTAG -- Audio Tag Editor
GnomeBaker -- DVD/CD Writer
Grip -- CD Ripper and Encoder
gxine -- Multimedia Player (Video, audio, DVD)
streamtuner -- Stream Directory Browser (Internet radio)
Network:
Freeloader -- Bittorrent Client
Gaim -- Multi-protocol Instant Messenger
gFTP -- FTP Client
Icedove -- E-mail Client
Iceweasel -- Web Browser
Liferea -- Internet Feed Reader
Xchat -- IRC Client
Office:
AbiWord -- Word Processor
gLabels -- Label Designer (CDs, buisiness cards, etc)
Gnumeric -- A Spreadsheet
Orage -- Calendar for Xfce
System:
Synaptic -- Package Manager (Front end to APT)
xscreensaver -- Screensaver
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I'll start keeping track of the edits in this post now.
Updated 17.08.2008: Added screen shots and a step for setting up Conky