Xfce Forum

bent fender

Member

Registered: 2025-03-13

Posts: 7

transparent panels how2

Sorry if this is more a TWEAKING than an installation issue but here goes anyway:

There may be a canonical way to create transparent panels (I haven't found it) but there is also an idiot's coincidental one: just create a panel with an image and then remove or rename that image.

I also noted that the image will stretch nicely but only to fill the width of the resized panel, not the length.

JmaCWQ

Member

Registered: 2022-12-06

Posts: 55

Re: transparent panels how2

I did this by creating a totally transparent image to use for the Panel backgrounds.
It's 400x40 pixels and stretches, resizes etc. as it should regardless of what size the panel is.
Display Compositing must be on for this to work correctly.
Some of my panels layered on top of one another using this same transparent image as background.

bent fender

Member

Registered: 2025-03-13

Posts: 7

Re: transparent panels how2

I'd be curious to see the rest of that image :-)

I just tried an alternative to transparent, a reversed gradient panel on a just isntalled VoidLinux

https://trixtar.org/temp-pub-buffer/void-screenshot.png

Last edited by bent fender (2025-03-14 13:33:38)

JmaCWQ

Member

Registered: 2022-12-06

Posts: 55

Re: transparent panels how2

The time & date on the right and the CPU & RAM on the left are Conky's.
The network monitor (semi-transparent background), status tray plugin, 2 layers of launchers and window buttons above those are all separate panels.

peter.48

Member

From: France, sud-ouest

Registered: 2017-01-31

Posts: 159

Re: transparent panels how2

In panel preferences, second tab, in position “background” choose “solid color”, then click on the rectangle with the color. 

Color selection window opens, click on “+” (add new color),

a new window opens where you move the transparency slider to the left (full transparency), select and that's it.