Xfce Forum

FutureMan

Member

Registered: 2025-07-11

Posts: 2

I have feedback about Xfce

Any Xfce developers here? I've got some feeback.

Ok so go here and read my conversation with phrdina, make sure you read this to understand what's going on here, if you don't read this you won't understand where I'm coming from ➡️ https://github.com/virt-manager/virt-ma … ssions/942

He said it's not possible to do scale factor in virt-manager on KVM but he said "If I understand it correctly, Whonix uses XFce as window manager and it is possible to set scaling inside the VM, more details here https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/HiDPI#Xfce "

Ok so going off those instructions, in whonix workstation I go to applications and select settings and select appearance, now in appearance I select settings and there you can change window scaling from 1 to 2 and hey that works, that mostly does the trick but it does need work cause it's not perfect.

Ok so first off the mouse cursor is too small and needs to be a little bit bigger and sometimes the mouse cursor will grow in size and then shrink depending on where it is. For example, in whonix workstation open up shared folders settings, and the mouse cursor will grow when you move it onto it and then it'll shrink when you move it off it. So sometimes the mouse cursor will grow and shrink depending on where you move it.

And I've found something else too. Ok, so all I've done is in Whonix workstation, I've changed the window scaling from 1 to 2, and you see the screenshot, you see what the red arrows are pointing to? The x for closing it is really really small.

https://imgur.com/a/EfEErKK

And I'm gonna have to look cause there might be a way in the settings to increase the size of the mouse and make the x bigger but honestly this should all be taken care of automatically when I switch the scale factor from 1 to 2. That's all I should have to do just switch the window scaling from 1 to 2, all the rest should scale accordingly.

When I go and switch the window scaling from 1 to 2 everything should scale perfectly on the screen automatically for me. I shouldn't have to do anything else.

So virt-manager does not have a built in scale factor option and it looks like the virt-manager developers aren't interested in making one but inside Whonix there is a way to do adjust scale by adjusting the "Window Scaling" but it's not perfect, it needs some more work.

Now on the whonix forum I brought this to the head Whonix developer and he said this isn't a whonix problem this is an Xfce problem and that I'd need to report it to Xfce.

Edit: So someone on Reddit said
"Perhaps the "Window Decoration" you are using isn't friendly with 2x scaling and you can choose one that is. There are a ton included in Xfce by default and there are even ones designed specifically for HiDPI monitors. I guess my point is not everything you don't like is going to be a bug. Sometimes it's just choices. You should start by changing your window decoration to either "default-hdpi" or "default-xhdpi" because that will make your title bar and buttons as large as you could possibly need at 2x and that's why they are included."

So I switched to "default-xhdpi" and that fixed the small x problem but the mouse is still slightly too small and the mouse cursor growing and shrinking depending on where it is, is still a problem. For example, in whonix workstation open up shared folders settings, and the mouse cursor will grow when you move it onto it and then it'll shrink when you move it off it.

But of course remember I've got my PC hooked up to my 55 inch TCL TV.

So yeah the window scaling needs some more attention is all, it just needs to be improved is all. You need to remember that some of us have our PCs hooked up to our big screen TVs.

Thank you.

Edit: Is there a way to make the mouse cursor bigger in Xfce?

Last edited by FutureMan (2025-07-11 07:07:43)

ToZ

Administrator

From: Canada

Registered: 2011-06-02

Posts: 12,214

Re: I have feedback about Xfce

Edit: Is there a way to make the mouse cursor bigger in Xfce?

Settings Manager > Mouse and Touchpad > Theme tab > Size setting.

What version of Xfce does Whonix run?

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CwF

Moderator

Registered: 2018-01-28

Posts: 316

Re: I have feedback about Xfce

I can't see the cursor size in the dialog since it clips, but it is also available in 'Settings Editor' under xsettings ‘CursorThemeSize’. I use 44 or so. In the same area is the setting ‘LastCustomDPI’ where I use 120 to 144 instead of a scaling value which I leave at 1.

That works well for my 6' viewing distance from 43" monitors. Adjust to suite.

I frequently use vm's pulled from other network computers, all Xfce, and either virt-managers native viewer or the standalone virt-viewer will scale the the vm's desktop native size to host window size. That setting is in the host window menu under View>Scale Display>Always

FutureMan

Member

Registered: 2025-07-11

Posts: 2

Re: I have feedback about Xfce

Edit: Is there a way to make the mouse cursor bigger in Xfce?

Settings Manager > Mouse and Touchpad > Theme tab > Size setting.

What version of Xfce does Whonix run?

I am not sure. How do I check?

Added later 01 min 58 s:

  In the same area is the setting ‘LastCustomDPI’ where I use 120 to 144 instead of a scaling value which I leave at 1.

So this is better than changing the scaling from 1 to 2?

Added later 04 min 26 s:

I can't see the cursor size in the dialog since it clips,

What do you mean here exactly? Why is it clipping?

Added later 8 h 31 min 58 s:

Settings Manager > Mouse and Touchpad > Theme tab > Size setting.

Hey this worked so thank you. I mean I think that pretty much covers the bases for me then. I fixed everything else except I thought the mouse cursor was too small but now it's much bigger so thank you.

As for what @CwF is telling me to do, I'm not sure what he's saying exactly, like what is he saying exactly?  I need detailed steps. You're kinda confusing me.

CwF

Moderator

Registered: 2018-01-28

Posts: 316

Re: I have feedback about Xfce

@FutureMan
If the scaling and cursor size change is working for you, then disregard my comments.

Before scaling was considered, modifying DPI was the way to scale. I haven't kept close track of how well scaling works, or doesn't, since I've been steady with DPI mods for more than a decade now. Even though I have 4k monitors (dumb commercial displays not smart tv's) I run them at 1080p.  That is not enough resolution to need 2:1 scaling. Side note, the 4k's at 1080 do look better than the older native 1080's I have, maybe imagination!

The clipping I referred to is the dialog box for adjusting cursor size clips the entry box so that I can't see the second digit so I use the other method mentioned. Perhaps that would render correctly with scaling rather than the DPI hack. However, using DPI to adjust scaling works better with my heavy use of tcl/tk last I tried it.

The DPI setting is on the Settings>Appearance>Fonts tab with Fonts in the 10-13 size. I typically combine this with a theme with the option -hdpi or -xhdpi  in Settings>Window Manager>Style. This does allow finer tuning than a blanket 2x scale imo.