LMDE XFCE Menu content

[kjuergen]

The last update broke the menu content of my LMDE XFCE install. Now I have several entries twice (Log-off, run program, help, about XFCE and more).
Searching for a place where the menu can be changed (it's the regular list style one) and google didn't lead to anything and a search for .desktop files returns that many that it's impossible to find the one to change....

Does someone know where the changes can be made? I came from KDE 3.5 where they had something in the control center to do it...

Thanks,

Juergen

[oneeyed]

Go into synaptic, enter xfce4-session in the filter and check if you have it installed. If not, install it. This should fix your problems.

If not, the menus for xfce can be found in /etc/xdg/menus
Or via right-click menu > properties > use custom menu

3 links I found interesting about customizing menus in xfce :
http://xubuntu.wordpress.com/2006/07/12/manually-edit-the-xfce-menu/
http://wiki.xfce.org/tips
http://wiki.xfce.org/howto/customize-menu

[wangsuda]

The last update broke the menu content of my LMDE XFCE install. Now I have several entries twice (Log-off, run program, help, about XFCE and more).
Searching for a place where the menu can be changed (it's the regular list style one) and google didn't lead to anything and a search for .desktop files returns that many that it's impossible to find the one to change....

Does someone know where the changes can be made? I came from KDE 3.5 where they had something in the control center to do it...

Thanks,

Juergen

I, too, am experiencing the exact same problems. Here is what my menu looks like:

and here is the output from the menu file:

Code: Select all

<!DOCTYPE Menu PUBLIC "-//freedesktop//DTD Menu 1.0//EN"
  "http://www.freedesktop.org/standards/menu-spec/1.0/menu.dtd">

<Menu>
    <Name>Xfce</Name>
   
    <DefaultAppDirs/>
    <DefaultDirectoryDirs/>
   
    <Include>
        <Category>X-Xfce-Toplevel</Category>
   <Filename>firefox.desktop</Filename>
        <Filename>mintInstall.desktop</Filename>
    </Include>

    <Layout>
        <Filename>xfce4-run-program.desktop</Filename>
        <Separator/>
        <Filename>xfce4-term.desktop</Filename>
        <Filename>xfce4-file-manager.desktop</Filename>
        <Filename>firefox.desktop</Filename>
        <Filename>mintInstall.desktop</Filename>
        <Separator/>
        <Menuname>Settings</Menuname>
        <Separator/>
        <Merge type="all"/>
        <Separator/>
        <Filename>xfce4-help.desktop</Filename>
        <Filename>xfce4-about-xfce.desktop</Filename>
        <Filename>xfce4-logout.desktop</Filename>
    </Layout>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Settings</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-settings.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Category>Settings</Category>
        </Include>
       
        <Layout>
            <Filename>xfce-settings-manager.desktop</Filename>
            <Separator/>
            <Merge type="all"/>
        </Layout>
       
        <Menu>
            <Name>Screensavers</Name>
            <Directory>xfce-screensavers.directory</Directory>
            <Include>
                <Category>Screensaver</Category>
            </Include>
        </Menu>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Accessories</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-accessories.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Or>
                <Category>Accessibility</Category>
                <Category>Core</Category>
                <Category>Legacy</Category>
                <Category>Utility</Category>
            </Or>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Development</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-development.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Category>Development</Category>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Education</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-education.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Category>Education</Category>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Games</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-games.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Category>Game</Category>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Graphics</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-graphics.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Category>Graphics</Category>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Multimedia</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-multimedia.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Category>Audio</Category>
            <Category>Video</Category>
            <Category>AudioVideo</Category>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Network</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-network.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Category>Network</Category>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Office</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-office.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Category>Office</Category>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>System</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-system.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Category>System</Category>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Other</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-other.directory</Directory>
        <OnlyUnallocated/>
        <Include>
            <All/>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
</Menu>

Nowhere can I find how those extra items are put in. Help?

BTW, I have xfce4-session installed.

[asymmetros]

oneeyed said: Or via right-click menu > properties > use custom menu

That works!

In fact, i did this:

right-click menu > properties > use default desktop menu file.

Here is and the default text file, named xfce-applications.menu (before upgrades):

Code: Select all

<!DOCTYPE Menu PUBLIC "-//freedesktop//DTD Menu 1.0//EN"
  "http://www.freedesktop.org/standards/menu-spec/1.0/menu.dtd">

<Menu>
    <Name>Xfce</Name>
   
    <DefaultAppDirs/>
    <DefaultDirectoryDirs/>
   
    <Include>
        <Category>X-Xfce-Toplevel</Category>
   <Filename>firefox.desktop</Filename>
        <Filename>mintInstall.desktop</Filename>
    </Include>

    <Layout>
        <Filename>xfce4-run-program.desktop</Filename>
        <Separator/>
        <Filename>xfce4-term.desktop</Filename>
        <Filename>xfce4-file-manager.desktop</Filename>
        <Filename>firefox.desktop</Filename>
        <Filename>mintInstall.desktop</Filename>
        <Separator/>
        <Menuname>Settings</Menuname>
        <Separator/>
        <Merge type="all"/>
        <Separator/>
        <Filename>xfce4-help.desktop</Filename>
        <Filename>xfce4-about-xfce.desktop</Filename>
        <Filename>xfce4-logout.desktop</Filename>
    </Layout>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Settings</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-settings.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Category>Settings</Category>
        </Include>
       
        <Layout>
            <Filename>xfce-settings-manager.desktop</Filename>
            <Separator/>
            <Merge type="all"/>
        </Layout>
       
        <Menu>
            <Name>Screensavers</Name>
            <Directory>xfce-screensavers.directory</Directory>
            <Include>
                <Category>Screensaver</Category>
            </Include>
        </Menu>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Accessories</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-accessories.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Or>
                <Category>Accessibility</Category>
                <Category>Core</Category>
                <Category>Legacy</Category>
                <Category>Utility</Category>
            </Or>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Development</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-development.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Category>Development</Category>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Education</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-education.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Category>Education</Category>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Games</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-games.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Category>Game</Category>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Graphics</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-graphics.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Category>Graphics</Category>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Multimedia</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-multimedia.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Category>Audio</Category>
            <Category>Video</Category>
            <Category>AudioVideo</Category>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Network</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-network.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Category>Network</Category>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Office</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-office.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Category>Office</Category>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>System</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-system.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Category>System</Category>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
    <Menu>
        <Name>Other</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-other.directory</Directory>
        <OnlyUnallocated/>
        <Include>
            <All/>
        </Include>
    </Menu>
   
</Menu>

[wangsuda]

Glad it worked for you! I've tried everything. I even set up a test file using your menu. I still have the repeats shown in my pic.

[kjuergen]

same here, custom and standard menu produce the same.

Now I will have to do some manual editing.......

Juergen

[wangsuda]

^If you find the solution, please share. I spent an hour on it with no good results (although a lot of bad and funny ones).

[kjuergen]

Just wasted more then an hour too (on top of the 2h already spent) and all I did was screw up things. It's really convenient to manually edit a bunch of XML files to just change the menu! Must have been invented by someone who loves the CLI and editor........
What I found is that the line <Merge type="all"/> in /etc/xdg/menus/xfce-applications.menu calls a bunch of other stuff I can't find which includes the wrong entries. No idea where to search what gets loaded.

I know why I love KDE 3.5 and if they wouldn't have implemented the 4 version which only gets into my way (I don't need wobbling things and a desktop with a life of its own) I wouldn't search around for a new distro.....

Guess it's time to move on and try yet another window manager/desktop...... I want to do work on my machine and not software development. The selection gets limited; Gnome 3, KDE 4, XFCE are gone, now I have to find a distro which provides LXDE in 64-bit and hope it's better.

Juergen

[asymmetros]

Try this code

Code: Select all

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE Menu
  PUBLIC '-//freedesktop//DTD Menu 1.0//EN'
  'http://standards.freedesktop.org/menu-spec/menu-1.0.dtd'>


<Menu>
   <Name>Applications</Name>
    <DefaultDirectoryDirs/>
    <DefaultAppDirs/>

    <Layout>
          <Menuname>Audio-Video</Menuname>
          <Menuname>Internet</Menuname>
          <Menuname>Office</Menuname>
          <Menuname>Graphics</Menuname>
          <Menuname>Games</Menuname>
          <Menuname>Development</Menuname>
          <Separator/>
          <Menuname>Settings</Menuname>
          <Menuname>Administration</Menuname>
    </Layout>

     <Separator/>
        <Menuname>Settings</Menuname>
        <Separator/>
    <Menu>
        <Name>Audio-Video</Name>
        <Include> <Category>AudioVideo</Category> </Include>
    </Menu>
    <Menu>
        <Name>Internet</Name>
        <Include> <Category>Network</Category> </Include>
    </Menu>
    <Menu>
        <Name>Development</Name>
        <Include> <Category>Development</Category> </Include>
    </Menu>
    <Menu>
        <Name>Office</Name>
        <Include> <Category>Office</Category> </Include>
    </Menu>
    <Menu>
        <Name>Graphics</Name>
        <Include> <Category>Graphics</Category> </Include>
    </Menu>
    <Menu>
        <Name>Administration</Name>
        <Include> <And><Category>System</Category><Category>Settings</Category></And> </Include>
    </Menu>
    <Menu>
         <Name>Settings</Name>
        <Directory>xfce-settings.directory</Directory>
        <Include>
            <Category>Settings</Category>
        </Include>
       
        <Layout>
            <Filename>xfce-settings-manager.desktop</Filename>
            <Separator/>
            <Merge type="all"/>
        </Layout>
    </Menu>
    <Menu>
        <Name>Games</Name>
        <Include><Category>Game</Category></Include>
    </Menu>
</Menu>


I saved it as a file named asym3.menu -or whatever <file name>.menu and saved it inside /etc/xdg/menus folder. If it works for you, then i ll try to rearrange/add a few more things

EDIT: It is important to save this file (or the default, old one) as and xml file, not as a single test file! Thus, means, <file name>.menu.xml or <file name>.menu (but xml type)

[kjuergen]

Thanks! It works but it means that I have to edit it whenever I want to add or delete an entry on adding something to the system. I have done something similar by editing the original menu file and replacing the merge all with links to desktop files.

I have a problem if I have to dig into system files to do things which could be dead simple with a GUI. Not that I am against using the CLI or editor but that's something which reminds me of computing in 1985......

Juergen

[oneeyed]

Not sure about removing applications from your menu, but if you want to add one there's an easier way than manual edit. Try this :

Right click Menu > Properties

Then select the menu you're using. Open /usr/share/applications in your filemanager. Drag&Drop any application you want added to the menu.

In xfce 4.8, from what I understand there's a menu editor, and some other niceties not available in the version shipped with mint xfce (like a panel in thunar for easily mounting partitions).

You could always try and install LMDE, which ships with gnome and is easier to configure.

[jeffreyC]

I have the same problem with duplicates and also Log Out is just that, Shutdown and Restart are grayed out (standby and hibernate disappeared but they did not work anyway)

[aljoriz]

Could the update to Xfce 4.8 have cause this? I just check the about xfce and was pleasantly surprised to see it as v4.8.0

[exploder]

Could the update to Xfce 4.8 have cause this? I just check the about xfce and was pleasantly surprised to see it as v4.8.0

I think this is the case and there are still more new Xfce packages to come.

[kjuergen]

That's good and bad news at the same time (XFCE 4.8 = good, broken menu = bad). Fortunately this is my "next generation workhorse" and I can continue to use my trusted old machine (CentOS 5.6 w/ KDE 3.5) until the XFCE bugs are sorted out. Unfortunately I am an hardware guy and get lost too easy with new to me software....

Thanks all for trying to help!

Juergen

[aljoriz]

Still waiting for a proper solution to this one.

[merlwiz79]

I'll give clem a fixed menu and see if he can add it to the repos.
It may be awhile since the main repos are down.

Edit: Looks like they screwed up the name of the desktop files.
This will have to be fixed upstream.

[exploder]

I was able to select the standard menu and not have the duplicate entries, oly because of the way I answered one of the updates questions. I gave the mintMenu option a try and it seems to work alright now and the favorites section gave me the functionality I lost with the 4.8 updates.

[jeffreyC]

Did the update cause the problem ? Yes, I had 4.6 and it worked, I upgraded to 4.8 and as soon as I rebooted it has not worked right since.
Shutdown is not really optional on a laptop which is moved.

[wangsuda]

I was able to select the standard menu and not have the duplicate entries, oly because of the way I answered one of the updates questions. I gave the mintMenu option a try and it seems to work alright now and the favorites section gave me the functionality I lost with the 4.8 updates.

I've got mintmenu 5.1.8 installed. Makes no difference if I go to the old xfce menu, the new xfce menu, or the default. All look like the pic I posted. Guess I be screwed until the next menu update. Until then, I am using the gnome option.