Xfce 4 users can also customize their desktop menus to add their own contents. This can be done manually by editing a few files, or using the LXMenuEditor tool.
Graphical Configuration
Although the LXMED tool can be used to customize the menu it is not actually a part of the Xfce 4 desktop, it comes from the LXDE project, but the menus follow the same standards so it should still work.
How Do The Menus Work
The Xfce 4 desktop menus will first check one directory for your customized menu files. If this directory does not exist it will then check your default directory. This is done so that you can make changes with no effect to the original files. See the directories list near the bottom for further details.
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The Xfdesktop tool uses a default menu file and several .desktop files to display the menu and its contents. Documentation for editing the Xfce 4 menu manually is not exactly clear but I will do my best to explain. To edit your menu manually you will be need to complete a few steps.
Creating The Directory
If the directory does not exist you will need to create it manually and then copy the existing menu data into the above directory. Just use the following commands in your terminal to create the directory.
$ sudo mkdir ~/.config/menus/
Copying Config File
Next you can copy the main menu file into the new directory with the commands below.
$ sudo cp /etc/xdg/menus/xfce-applications.menu ~/.config/menus/
Copying Menu Items
Individual Xfce 4 menu entries are specified by .desktop files, so copy the ones you want into the required directory with the next commands.
$ sudo cp /usr/share/applications/FILE.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/
If you would like specific menu items to not be displayed you can do that too. First you will need to again copy the required .desktop files as seen above.
Editing Menu Entries
Next edit the copied .desktop files using a text editor, add the following line.
NoDisplay=true
Hiding Root Menu Items
To hide items from the Xfce 4 desktop root menu you will again need to copy their .desktop files. Then edit a line in each file again. First copy the files you would like to hide again.
Editing Root Entries
When you have copied the files you want to the new directory just open a text editor and change the following line.
Categories=X-XFCE;X-Xfce-Toplevel;
Change the categories line to match the code seen below.
Categories=X-XFCE;
Here are some of the files used to edit the Xfce 4 desktop menus. Storage locations may however differ on your system.
New Menu Config File Directory
This is where the main config file should be moved.
~/.config/menus/
Config File
This is the main config file.
/etc/xdg/menus/xfce-applications.menu
Existing Applications Directory
Here you can find all the .desktop files that can be used to populate your Xfce 4 menu.
/usr/share/applications/
New Menu Entry Directory
You can move all of the menu entries that you want which are specified by .desktop files into the following directory.
~/.local/share/applications/
What Links Here
Downloads
Tags: customization, desktop, menu, settings, xfce 4 | Posted in Desktop
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