21. Panel Customization

To make minor changes to Xubuntu’s panel(s), you can do the following:

Drag an application launcher from the Applications Menu, Desktop or Application Finder onto the panel to add it to the panel.

Right-click an application launcher in the Applications Menu and select the Add to Panel entry in the context menu to add it to the panel.

Right-click on any of the panel items and select the Properties, Move, or Remove entries in the context menu to customize, move to the desired position, or remove from the panel.

Right-click on any of the panel items and selecting Panel -> Add New Items... to add a new item to the panel.

For other changes to panel(s), you will need to open the Panel settings dialog, which is also accessible by right-clicking on any of the panel items and selecting Panel -> Panel Preferences.... The top section of the dialog gives access to open the Panel Profiles settings dialog and the ability to select, add and remove panels. The remainder of settings are broken up across three tabs.

Display - On this tab, you can set the panel’s width and height, vertical or horizontal orientation, position on the screen, and hiding behaviour. To move the panel, you will need to uncheck the Lock panel checkbox and drag it by one of the two handles that appear on either side.

Appearance - On this tab, you can set the panel’s transparency, icon size and whether its background is a color or image.

Items - This tab allows you to add, arrange, and remove plugins, as well as access plugin properties through the button bar. It is also possible to rearrange items by dragging with the mouse, and access properties by double-clicking.

It is possible to install additional panel plugins, also known as panel applets. Panel plugins not listed in the Add New Items dialog will need to be installed before they can be used. Some of the plugins are listed here and the more popular/useful ones are for clipboard management (xfce4-clipman-plugin), global menu (xfce4-appmenu-plugin), etc.

Users who want a dock similar to the one found on Mac OS and elementary OS can choose from these docks - Plank (plank), DockbarX (PPA), Docky, or Cairo Dock. Users who want a Windows 7-like taskbar with window list buttons can install the DockbarX (PPA) or Docklike (PPA) panel plugins. Below are sample layouts customized by Xubuntu users.

Windows 7

Mac OS


	If you have multiple screens, additional panel configurations will appear on the Display tab, including the options to configure which display the panel should appear on or whether the panel should span all monitors.