Basic doubts regarding openSUSE Xfce Installation

Hello,

I find KDE good but eventually I installed Xfce from YaST. Since the past few days, I have observed a few good things about Xfce, like fast opening of apps and I heard that Xfce uses very low resources. So I am planing to install openSUSE with Xfce Desktop only. I just want to know apart from DVD is there any other way to install Xfce openSUSE 13.1 because I won’t use so many apps but I prefer to install whatever app(s) is/are required…

Thanks.

IMHO whatever installation method (from DDVD, or through the Live DVD, or net only), you always will get a deault set of packages offered for installation, depending on the DE you choose. Like all the things offered by the installer to you before the real installation starts, you can change things there. E.g removing/adding packages to your liking. No installer can ever predict what you prefer.

As far as I know, there isn’t any live XFCE installer available. So the choices are install using the DVD, or install using the NET CD. With the latter, you will download to software from the network as you install. It’s your judgment. You will probably download a less than would be required to download the DVD. On the other hand, if the network fails in the middle of install, you will have more of a problem.

If you intend to use only GTK apps, then the DVD route is the best one but, if there are some Qt apps you intend to use under xfce, you could use the KDE Live DVD for the initial installation and then add xfce with YaST. You will end up with more apps than you might need but, unless you are short of disk space, this is unlikely to create any problems. I have a lot of KDE programs as a result of using the KDE Live DVD that I never use but it doesn’t bother me.

Yes, i will go with hcvv

panchparmeshthi wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> I find KDE good but eventually I installed Xfce from YaST. Since the
> past few days, I have observed a few good things about Xfce, like fast
> opening of apps and I heard that Xfce uses very low resources. So I am
> planing to install openSUSE with Xfce Desktop only. I just want to
> know apart from DVD is there any other way to install Xfce openSUSE 13.1
> because I won’t use so many apps but I prefer to install whatever app(s)
> is/are required…
>
> Thanks.
>
>
Vote for xfce live cd https://features.opensuse.org/314529


Version 3.10.2
openSUSE 13.1 (Bottle) (x86_64) 64-bit
Kernel Linux 3.11.6-4-desktop
Where are my penguins :- https://features.opensuse.org/316767

On 2013-12-20 23:26, john hudson wrote:
>
> If you intend to use only GTK apps, then the DVD route is the best one
> but, if there are some Qt apps you intend to use under xfce, you could
> use the KDE Live DVD for the initial installation and then add xfce with
> YaST. You will end up with more apps than you might need but, unless you
> are short of disk space, this is unlikely to create any problems. I have
> a lot of KDE programs as a result of using the KDE Live DVD that I never
> use but it doesn’t bother me.

Just use the full DVD install, choose XFCE desktop, add the KDE pattern. The DVD contains both. And
more.


Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” (Elessar))

On 2013-12-21 04:25, vazhavandan wrote:
> Vote for xfce live cd https://features.opensuse.org/314529

There is an XFCE live CD, but not installable. It is a rescue image.


Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” (Elessar))

The op wants selective app, if he chose the kde pattern it will be plenty, I rather go selective like what hcvv is pointing at.
Choose xfce and add applications that he want to use that are not included in the xfce standard install. He can also take out some packages in the xfce
installation that he doesn’t want.

On 2013-12-21 05:06, conram wrote:

> The op wants selective app, if he chose the kde pattern it will be
> plenty, I rather go selective like what hcvv is pointing at.
> Choose xfce and add applications that he want to use that are not
> included in the xfce standard install. He can also take out some
> packages in the xfce
> installation that he doesn’t want.

Whatever. With the full DVD you have every install choice. :slight_smile:


Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” (Elessar))

Yes, in the DVD iso you can do what I was saying.
Customize the installation.:slight_smile:

I installed KDE from CD and had enough packages which I personally required (except for one-two packages which could be installed via YaST). A similar thought aroused when I planned for Xfce but DVD has lot more packages; no its not an issue but only a bit more hulking, though won’t bother me!
Another thing is that I cannot perfectly do custom add/remove for all the packages except the standard packages (the names of which are popular) because doing so might remove some dependency for other package(s).

Well, since the past few days I have seen Xfce to be more snappier than KDE. This route seems fine to install Xfce from KDE and log-in eventually. But this always doesn’t work smoothly or may be I am misunderstanding something. A simple practical visualization depicting this is elucidated as follows:

I have a user account user-A which I regularly use. Logged-in with user-A, I started torrent download of some music files in KDE (using Deluge). After the download, I opened “File Manager - Super User Mode” and copied these downloaded files into the desktop of user-B and edited the names of the files there itself. Now, I logged out and logged in again with the same user-A but in Xfce session and I open “File Manager - Super User Mode” again but now I am not able to edit any file name and it doesn’t prompt me any password to open the file manager in super user mode (the same file manager Dolphin and not Thunar).

This is one thing I recently noted with Xfce. There can be more such minor things and thus I am thinking to not instal Xfce from KDE rather a separate installation can eradicate the similar issues, which is my belief.

The rescue image of Xfce CD won’t serve the installation purpose, I believe. While using the full DVD and choosing Xfce is fine but simultaneously choosing KDE pattern would be much better? If KDE pattern is not selected, preferably what things (or effects) I might miss? Well, my purpose of selective installation was only because of the fact of lightweight soft-system but even when many apps reside, I won’t be bothered because like you mentioned those apps never interfere the usual tasks.

But anyways, I would install from DVD (live) because net install can suffer in the middle if the network fails even for some seconds. Though I won’t run out of space since 250 GB is enough for me. Since I have to install openSUSE in whole of the space, so DVD customization serves the purpose only in the sense that I have to select the intended desktop, for example, Xfce.

Thanks.

Hi.

If you go with a fresh install, your root partition will be reformatted means it will be emptied.
It will be easier for you to add some applications you are using from kde, yast can resolve the
dependency a lot easier.

If you are not familiar with the installer, before the real installation begins you will be presented
with a screen where you can modify the configuration of partition, boot, packages to be installed, etc.
This is where you can selectively add or remove a package of your choice.

On the a side note, all of my machines at home is running openSUSE with xfce, with the openSUSE 13.1 DVD.iso
I experience in two occasions that it hangs after the first boot and by adding the ‘kernel firmware’ before proceeding
with the real installation solves the problem.

As others have mentioned, there are a variety of way of accomplishing this. You could use SUSE studio, and make your own openSUSE build where XFCE is the desktop and not KDE or GNOME, but due to dependencies, it will pull in packages from the other desktops that are required. If you are wanting a more granular control then perhaps another distro would be more appropriate. Distros like Arch Linux or Gentoo Linux or Linux from Scratch. These would offer the granular control that you see, but even with them, you will still pull in the dependencies required. Some things you just have to accept.

On 2013-12-21 14:26, panchparmeshthi wrote:

> Well, since the past few days I have seen Xfce to be more snappier than
> KDE. This route seems fine to install Xfce from KDE and log-in
> eventually. But this always doesn’t work smoothly or may be I am
> misunderstanding something. A simple practical visualization depicting
> this is elucidated as follows:

My main system has at least Gnome, KD4, KDE3, XFCE fully installed. No problems.

> I have a user account user-A which I regularly use. Logged-in with
> user-A, I started torrent download of some music files in KDE (using
> Deluge). After the download, I opened “File Manager - Super User
> Mode” and copied these downloaded files into the desktop of user-B and
> edited the names of the files there itself. Now, I logged out and logged
> in again with the same user-A but in Xfce session and I open “File
> Manager - Super User Mode” again but now I am not able to edit any
> file name and it doesn’t prompt me any password to open the file manager
> in super user mode (the same file manager Dolphin and not Thunar).

Well, this may be a bug of XFCE, not a problem related to having KDE and XFCE installed and using both.

You can try opening a terminal, doing “su”, and then start thunar from there.

> This is one thing I recently noted with Xfce. There can be more such
> minor things and thus I am thinking to not instal Xfce from KDE rather a
> separate installation can eradicate the similar issues, which is my
> belief.

No, wrong belief.

I’m using an XFCE test system now, and I do not have a menu entry to start Thunar as root. Not that
I can see.

> The rescue image of Xfce CD won’t serve the installation purpose, I
> believe.

Correct.

> While using the full DVD and choosing Xfce is fine but
> simultaneously choosing KDE pattern would be much better? If KDE pattern
> is not selected, preferably what things (or effects) I might miss? Well,
> my purpose of selective installation was only because of the fact
> oflightweight but even when many apps reside, I won’t be bothered
> because like you mentioned those apps don’t interfere in the normal
> working.

You can do whatever you like. You can install a pure XFCE system, and choose to also install k3b
from KDE, only that program. Of course, the entire lot of lirbraries that k3b needs will also be
installed.

Or you can install the entire XFCE and KDE, and more. Who cares? Disk space is cheap nowdays.


Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” (Elessar))

Yes,I am going to do a fresh install…I am not much familiar with the installer but at least I can let the default installation go, so no issues here…I am now confirmed that I can go ahead with DVD.

This is fine but right now, I cannot go for such advanced tasks. Like all have mentioned, I came to know several ways to accomplish the same with openSUSE.

There is no menu entry to Thunar as root. But the only entry seen is Menu →System → File Manager – Super User Mode and when clicked it opens Dolphin only (which I came to know when I looked into the Dolphin’s Menu and Help → About). I know that disk space is cheap but I am just using the one I am having!!

I care for what I have and you care for what you have…;)-

Thanks.

But there is terminal super user mode. you can click that then root password and type thunar.:slight_smile:
Disk space gone cheaper if you are not aiming for a SSD.:wink:

Yes, I got now. Is it also possible that after typing thunar (in the way above), the terminal prompt comes back to the default position so that I can enter any other command in that particular instance of terminal only (which is opened) while not closing the thunar opened via that terminal? This just came in mind, though I can open a new terminal but for information point of view.

Thanks.