More than four years have passed since the release of Xfce 4.12 the first preliminary release of the desktop environment , marking the project's transition to a soft freeze phase. As of June 30th, the second test release and the complete code freeze will be implemented. Depending on testing results, a third test release may be formed on July 28th. The release is expected on August 11th. For testing Xfce 4.14pre1, prepared in Docker format and for Ubuntu.
The most significant innovation in Xfce 4.14 is the transition from GTK 2 to the GTK 3 library. Currently, the code for all core modules and most applications and plugins has been ported to GTK 3 and reaches the planned functionality. Only a few issues are noted in the image viewer ristretto, the CD burning application xfburn, the sound mixer xfce4-mixer, and the music player xfmpc, as well as in the panel plugins xfce4-notes-plugin, xfce4-time-out-plugin,
xfce4-mailwatch-plugin, xfce4-cpugraph-plugin, and
xfce4-stopwatch-plugin.
Some changes introduced in Xfce 4.14pre1 include:
- In the composite manager xfwm4, vsync has been added via OpenGL, supporting libepoxy and DRI3/Present, with GLX used instead of Xrender. Improved handling of synchronization with vertical blanking () to prevent tearing during output. New scaling features from GTK3 have been utilized, enhancing performance on high pixel density (HiDPI) displays. A new theme has been introduced;
- A new backend has been added to the xfce4-settings configurator for proper color management using color profiles.
Tools for screen configuration have been improved. Indents for better readability of information have been added to all dialogs.
The ability to define monitor profiles has been introduced, allowing the saving of multiple preset sets and automatic profile switching when connecting or disconnecting additional displays. Flickering when changing screen settings has been eliminated.
The ability to define the primary monitor on which panels, the desktop, and notifications will be displayed has been added. This feature can be useful in multi-monitor configurations for linking panels to a specific monitor or hiding unnecessary information when organizing presentation displays.
- The notification indicator has been redesigned. A button has been added to clear the notification log, and the 'Do Not Disturb' mode switch has been moved up;
- The panel now supports the use of transparent and semi-transparent background images. GObject introspection support has been added, allowing for the creation of plugins for the panel in various programming languages (such as Python). The ability to embed a settings dialog in xfce4-settings-manager has been provided. Support for adjusting icon sizes, common to the panel and all installed plugins, has been added. The configurator also includes an option to automatically calculate icon sizes based on the panel width.
Window grouping tools have been improved — the buttons for grouped windows now handle states such as window activity, minimization, and the presence of important information. New CSS style classes have been introduced for use in theme creation, including a separate class for operations with window groups and specific settings for vertical and horizontal panel placement. Symbolic icons have been utilized in panel plugins and applications. Outdated widgets have been replaced;
- The xfce4-session manager now supports launching applications with priority groups, allowing for the definition of dependency chains during startup. Previously, applications were launched all at once, causing issues due to race conditions (such as the disappearance of themes in the xfce4-panel, launching multiple instances of nm-applet, etc.). Now, applications are launched in groups. The splash screen display during startup has been discontinued. Improvements have been made to the login and shutdown management interface. Support for connecting custom handlers on exit, sleep, or restart has been added;
- The power management interface (xfce4-power-manager) has been improved. Better support for desktop systems, where no warning about the absence of a battery is shown anymore. Filtering of power-related events passed to xfce4-notifyd for logging (e.g., brightness change events are not transmitted) has been added.
- The Gigolo application has been updated with a graphical interface for configuring network storage sharing using GIO/GVfs. The program allows for quick mounting of remote file systems and managing bookmarks for external storage in the file manager.
- The Parole multimedia player has been stabilized, using the GStreamer framework and the GTK+ library. It includes plugins for minimizing to the system tray, manipulating stream metadata, setting a custom window title, and preventing sleep mode during video playback. It significantly simplifies operation on systems that do not support hardware-accelerated video decoding. An auto-select mode for the most optimal video output mechanism has been added and is enabled by default. A compact interface option has been implemented. Improved support for streaming and playing files from external systems.
- The Thunar file manager has been updated, fully redesigning the path display panel. The panel now includes buttons for navigating to previously opened and next paths, as well as going to the home directory and parent directory. On the right side of the panel, an icon opens a dialog for editing the file path. The screenshot below shows a comparison of the old and new panel versions:
The Thunar Plugin API (thunarx) has been updated, introducing support for GObject introspection and bindings in various programming languages. It ensures the display of file sizes in bytes. The ability to assign handlers for certain user actions has been introduced. The usage of Thunar UCA (User Configurable Actions) for external network resources has been implemented. The styling and interface have been optimized.
- Instead of dbus-glib for messaging over the D-Bus bus, the library has been engaged. and the transport layer based on GIO. Utilizing GDbus has resolved issues related to use in multithreaded applications.
Source: opennet.ru
