Just in time for the Christmas holidays, Arch Linux has given its users a delightful surprise. The latest version of the lightweight Xfce desktop environment, 4.20, debuted just a week ago, is now available in the stable distro’s repositories.
Following Void Linuxโanother popular systemd-free rolling release distribution, which made Xfce 4.20 available a few days earlierโArch users can now join in and enjoy this new release too.
Regarding the desktop environment itself, weโve already covered it in detail in our review at launch. But letโs quickly revisit its highlights:
- Experimental Wayland support: Most Xfce components can now run under Wayland, backed by a new abstraction library (libxfce4windowing), though full functionality and compositor integration are still in progress.
- Improved HiDPI and scaling: Icons and thumbnails scale correctly, eliminating blurriness on high-resolution displays.
- Thunar enhancements: Dramatic performance improvements for handling large file sets, new toolbar options (view switcher, menu, new tab/window), CSD support, better file transfer dialogs, and improved undo/redo processes.
- Panel refinements: Configurable panel border width, better icon size handling, enhanced clock modes, and a hover-triggered โShow Desktopโ action.
- Power management simplification: Lock screen management unified under xfce4-screensaver, new power profile handling, and more accurate battery status calculations.
- Desktop and background improvements: Asynchronous wallpaper loading, gamma-corrected gradients, improved icon placement and sorting on the desktop, and more intuitive context menus.
- Settings enhancements: Faster icon theme loading, clearer warnings for incomplete icon themes, easier display profile management, and new mouse acceleration and scrolling options.
- xfconf and xfwm4 updates: Improved channel writing, systemd user unit support, and xfwm4 stability and theme enhancements.
If youโre an Arch user excited to try out the new Xfce 4.20 desktop environment, getting started is simple:
sudo pacman -S xfce4 xfce4-goodiesCode language: Bash (bash)Already using the previous 4.18 version? No problem. Just update your system to upgrade to the latest release:
sudo pacman -SyuCode language: Bash (bash)And one last thingโif you feel unsure about Archโs Pacman package manager, donโt worry. Our โBeginnerโs Guide to Using Pacman on Arch Linuxโ is here to help. Itโs packed with tips to make managing software on this amazing Linux distro a breeze.
If youโve hesitated to try Arch, nowโs the perfect time. Picture this: you’re cozy with a warm cup of tea, eagerly awaiting Santa’s arrival. Why not make the most of the moment?
Our comprehensive installation guide will walk you through the process step by step, making it easy and seamless. By the end, you’ll be ready to proudly announce to the world (and to Santa, too, of course), “BTW, I use Arch!” Happy Arching!
