stop xfce4-clipman from adding itself to autostart when not in XFCE

frmald · 2021-02-12 09:09:13

Not sure this belongs here, but I had a problem with xfce4-clipman. I tried to play with fluxbox a bit (I used to be a heavy FB user, still have it on some older machines I maintain). Needing clipboard history, I started xfce4-clipman manually.

Upon logging out and back into XFCE, clipman refused to start from the panel, leading to repeated error dialogs with the option to re-execute (and fail again, of course, since clipman had already autostart-ed) or remove from panel. Unfortunately the autostart version of clipman shows no icons and cannot be controlled in XFCE (it does show an icon in the Fluxbox "toolbar", if started manually or from ~/.fluxbox/apps).

Luckily, I knew switching DE's these days can lead to such messes, so I have ~/.config under git.

The question is, how to prevent clipman from adding itself to autostart? Or how to start it independently of DE's?

Last edited by frmald (2021-02-12 09:10:11)

ToZ · 2021-02-12 15:07:57

frmald wrote:

The question is, how to prevent clipman from adding itself to autostart?

For new users, (depending on the distro you are using) you can delete the /etc/xdg/autostart/xfce4-clipman-plugin-autostart.desktop file. There is a good chance though it will be replaced if the package is ever updated.

For existing users, you can edit the same file in ~/.config/autostart and making sure that "Hidden=true" is set. Or alternatively, clear you sessions cache in case it is being started that way. The best way to clear your sessions cache is to delete the contents of ~/.cache/sessions while not logged in graphically to Xfce.

frmald · 2021-02-14 07:07:11

ToZ wrote:

For new users, (depending on the distro you are using) you can delete the /etc/xdg/autostart/xfce4-clipman-plugin-autostart.desktop file. There is a good chance though it will be replaced if the package is ever updated.

Yes; that can be solved with dpkg-divert on Debian.

For existing users, you can edit the same file in ~/.config/autostart and making sure that "Hidden=true" is set.

Thanks, I thought so...

But there's something I'm still missing. I removed the panel item for clipman and let it do its autostart thing. It runs when I log into XFCE (I see it in ps) but it doesn't show an icon anywhere. If clipman is unable to be useful unpaneled in XFCE, why does it insist on adding itself to autostart? I doubt it does it out of kindness of heart for non-XFCE users (e.g. fluxbox, where it does work stand-alone and shows up in the docking area of the "toolbar").

Does XFCE provide a space for independent (non-panel) apps to dock themselves?

ToZ · 2021-02-14 11:39:09

frmald wrote:

Does XFCE provide a space for independent (non-panel) apps to dock themselves?

Xfce supports both the systray (notification area) and application indicators (status notifier and indicator plugins). They would have to follow one of those specs to show up in one of the existing plugins. Otherwise they won't show up.

Xfce4-clipman can run in two modes (app mode and plugin mode). If you run it in app mode (via "xfce4-clipman") it will place a tray icon in the systray (notification area, pre-4.16 or the new Status Tray plugin in 4.16). If you add it to the panel as a panel plugin, it creates its own plugin object - separate from the systray. Do you have the systray added to your panel when you run "xfce4-clipman"?

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#1 2021-02-12 09:09:13

stop xfce4-clipman from adding itself to autostart when not in XFCE

#2 2021-02-12 15:07:57

Re: stop xfce4-clipman from adding itself to autostart when not in XFCE

#3 2021-02-14 07:07:11

Re: stop xfce4-clipman from adding itself to autostart when not in XFCE

#4 2021-02-14 11:39:09

Re: stop xfce4-clipman from adding itself to autostart when not in XFCE

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