[HOW TO] Install Whisker Menu in Xubuntu

Whisker Menu is an alternative to the Xfce application menu. It comes with a search function, it supports browsing applications by category, you can add applications to favorites and more.

Install

If you're running Xubuntu 13.10, 13.04, 12.10 or 12.04 with Xfce 4.8, open a terminal window and run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gottcode/gcppa -y && sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin -y

If you're running Xubuntu 12.04 with Xfce 4.10, open a terminal window and run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:landronimirc/xfce -y && sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin -y

Usage

Add a "Whisker Menu" item to the Xfce panel. See this to learn how to add an item to the panel.

Assign keyboard shortcut

If you would like to show the menu when pressing a key combination, add a new application shortcut with the command: xfce4-popup-whiskermenu (Settings Manager > Keyboard > Application Shortcuts).

References

WHISKER MENU UPDATE BRINGS SUPPORT FOR OPENING THE MENU USING A KEYBOARD SHORTCUT, OTHER ENHANCEMENTS [XFCE]

[SOLVED] gTthumb Could not save the file

Symptom

After editing a image, gThumb can't save the modifications and displays this error message (it could happen to jpeg as well):

Could not save the file

Could not find a suitable module to save the image as "image/png"

Solution

Open gThumb preferences (Edit > Preferences). On the Extensions tab enable the "Save images" extension.

[HOW TO] Install lastest Krita in Xubuntu from PPA

In its essence Krita is a software for drawing (you can see some examples at the top of this site's right sidebar). Krita development is on constant motion and the official Ubuntu packaging can keep up. If you would like to try the latest Krita enhancements without the hassle of compiling it yourself from source, see below how to.

Install from Krita Lime PPA

Open a terminal window and run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:dimula73/krita -y && sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install krita-testing krita-testing-dbg -y

After installing you should restart your computer.

Usage

Krita can be accessed via Applications Menu > Graphics >Krita or typing the following command: krita.

References

Krita got a PPA : Krita Lime

[SOLVED] Xubuntu 13.10 Sound Indicator Problem

Symptom: The Sound Indicator doesn't work in Xubuntu 13.10.

In this article we'll learn how to fix this.

Install

Open a terminal window and run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:a-j-buxton/indicator-sound-gtk2 -y && sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade -y

For changes to take effect either restart Xfce session or run the command: killall -HUP xfce4-panel.

References

The Sound Menu (Gtk2)

[NEWS] Xubuntu 13.10 released

Xubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander has been released!

The main changes are:

• A new version of xfce4-settings has been uploaded, bringing amongst other things a new dialog to set up your displays
• A tool for changing your theme colors easily, gtk-theme-config, has been added to the default installation
• New wallpaper
• New releases of our Gtk themes (with Gtk3.10 support) as well as the LightDM greeter, fixing many visual bugs
• Updated documentation

Xubuntu 13.10 can be downloaded here. If you rather upgrade Xubuntu 13.04 to 13.10 see this article (even though it's written for upgrading 12.10 to 13.04, the process is exactly the same).

References

Xubuntu.org

[NEWS] Xubuntu Saucy Salamander Beta 1 released

Xubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander is now in its beta stages.

The development team is seeking people to test and identify bugs. To report a bug use the automatic crash reporting or run the application ubuntu-bug it that fails.

Here's some of the highlights from this release:

• New version of xfce4-settings with a new dialog to set up your monitors
• Improved themes with Gtk3.8 support and bugfixes
• A new tool to change your theme colors, gtk-theme-config (not installed by default, yet)
• Updated version of Gnumeric

The Beta 1 image can be downloaded here.

The final released is due October 17, 2013.

References

Xubuntu Saucy Salamander Beta 1

[HOW TO] Install additional dictionaries for LibreOffice in Xubuntu

When LibreOffice is installed it comes with the English dictionary pre-installed (on a English installation). If you need a dictionary for a language other than English, follow this article.

Install

First we need to find the right package name. Open a terminal window and run:

apt-cache search myspell

This will list several myspell packages and in front of the name of the package a description will tell which language the package is for. Annotate the myspell package name.

Now use sudo apt-get install MYSPELL_PACKAGE to install the package (replace MYSPELL_PACKAGE with the name determined before). Example for European Portuguese:

sudo apt-get install myspell-pt-pt