2021.10.19
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- We replaced the default file manager and terminal. We first shipped with Nautilus and Fedora Terminal, so that they both get proper integration. We chose Nautilus because the default XFCE file browser (Thunar) could not handle the file search properly. It has to use a third party app (Catfish) for the job. But Nautilus + Fedora Terminal are not a proper way to go about. For example XFCE allows you to save Sessions, which means all of your opened windows should reopen when you reboot or shut down your machine. This is extremely handy. But Nautilus windows could not be saved. The default file manager in XFCE can, and properly well. On top of that the truth is Thunar was already installed on TROMjaro XFCE since we cannot simply remove it (it is part of the desktop), but we hid it. So we had 2 file managers…that’s not good… Overall Thunar seems more powerful + it supports custom scripts.
Anyways, after many tests we decided that the best is to use as many of the default XFCE apps as possible since they are properly integrated with the desktop. As for the search issue, Thunar is getting a big improvement and the new search is already implemented but in the testing phase. Plus, we’ve added a “right click” search option to open Catfish to make it easier for you to search stuff. So Thunar is getting better.
If you already use TROMjaro XFCE here’s how you can switch to Thunar.
1. Unhide Thunar by right clicking the apps menu (bottom left) then Edit Applications. Search for Thunar and Thunar Settings, click them, one by one, then toggle the “Hide from Menu”. Save.
2. Add to .config folder (in the Home directory) this Thunar folder that contains the custom scripts we made. So it will be .config/Thunar (and some files in that folder). Restart the computer for them to take effect.
3. Remove Nautilus and the unnecessary packages. Search them in Add/Remove Software one by one, and remove: gtkhash-nautilus, nautilus, nautilus-admin, nautilus-empty-file, sushi, gnome-terminal-fedora. You will see some warning messages that this or that package may optionally need any of those. Ignore it.
4. Install the needed packages: xfce4-terminal, catfish, thunar-volman, thunar-archive-plugin. No need to choose any of the options when asked.
5. Make Thunar and XFCE Terminal as defaults by opening the Default Applications.
Also, right click and remove the Nautilus icon from the left sidebar. You can do the same from the apps menu left corner, right click “Files” and hide it. Via “Edit Applications” (as explained above) you can also rename Thunar to “Files”.
Sorry that you have to do all of this. But since this is still Beta we may push such big changes. Tho is hard to see what big changes we will push from now on.
- We have improved the Calamares package by updating many of its files. Maybe this could solve the issue with the packages database sync after the installation.
- We moved our project files from Gitlab (trade-based) to our our Gitea instance Nibi.
- We replaced the default file manager and terminal. We first shipped with Nautilus and Fedora Terminal, so that they both get proper integration. We chose Nautilus because the default XFCE file browser (Thunar) could not handle the file search properly. It has to use a third party app (Catfish) for the job. But Nautilus + Fedora Terminal are not a proper way to go about. For example XFCE allows you to save Sessions, which means all of your opened windows should reopen when you reboot or shut down your machine. This is extremely handy. But Nautilus windows could not be saved. The default file manager in XFCE can, and properly well. On top of that the truth is Thunar was already installed on TROMjaro XFCE since we cannot simply remove it (it is part of the desktop), but we hid it. So we had 2 file managers…that’s not good… Overall Thunar seems more powerful + it supports custom scripts.
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@trom I think this was a good decision.