Marrying Kde to Xfce in MX-16

[richb]

If you save session on logout, config available in XFCE Session and startup, the last session will come up at next logon. I have had no issues with Window decorations or screen blackouts. When I installed Kwin KDE window treatments came with it. And if you install systemsettings you can configure them as well as all desktop effects. And I have launchers that change between xfce and kwin when on the desktop. I do have an ATI graphics card with the proprietary driver installed. An nVidia driver may help in your case.

I like the Kwin desktop on top of XFCE because it is not full KDE and I can retain all features of MX with added desktop effects. One can think of it as a more capable compositor than XFCE offers, and a very capable alternative to Compiz.

[TenderFoot]

anticapitalista

Why not use a KDE distro and save yourself the hassle?

Because, as already stated, I'm not particularly into yet another Kde. Just the effects kwin provides as an alternative to Compiz.

Stevo

...Metacity and GTK also seem to work if they are also installed

But how do you select them? Previously in MX, Compiz was only willing to use one very crude decoration from the xfce ones.

richb

I like the Kwin desktop on top of XFCE because it is not full KDE and I can retain all features of MX with added desktop effects. One can think of it as a more capable compositor than XFCE offers, and a very capable alternative to Compiz.

Exactly! Which is what I got with an earlier MX after installing kde-mini. Unfortunately that install seems to have gone from my machines and not sure that it exists among my snapshots. If are you using MX-16 which of the tasks/meta packages did you install?

[richb]

I installed kde-window-manager and system settings directly from synaptic.

[TenderFoot]

So just those two packages and not the meta or task packages?

[richb]

Checked my logs since last post also installed kdebase-bin and kdebase-apps. That was it.

EDIT: You might want to check out the video I did on Window manager launchers once you grt it installed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqj3oT7CitM

[Stevo]

Emerald packages are now also available in the test repo--just search for them in Synaptic. They were not available for earlier releases.

[v3g4n]

Here are a couple options for getting kwin to autostart when you login to xfce.
http://www.thelinuxrain.com/articles/tu ... -with-xfce

[richb]

Good article v3g4n.

[TenderFoot]

Thanks for the links guys.

Have added (to a clean-ish install after snapshot) the kde packages suggested by richb and seems to be working stably enough to satisfy my candy addiction! A couple of minor glitches -

(a) Running Screenlets insist on cluttering the taskbar which they don't under Xfce.

(b) Kde System Settings won't launch from Xfce Setting Manager but does from menu. Also note that a double click is required in KdeSS.

(c) Taskbar Thumbnails doesn't work.

Anyway, at the moment it looks like Compiz won't be needed.

[richb]

a) ? I do not use them, if you mean screenlets the application. If you mean widgets, they would not as this is not a full KDE install just the window manager.
b) my experience as well.
c) taskbar thumbnails? not sure what you are referring to.