Caja in XFCE (or one feature of Caja)

soppel · 2026-05-01 16:08:40

Using another filemanager than the one that belongs to a desktop is not always a good idea.
I'm satisfied with all the options in XFCE. But I like one option in Caja very, very much.

In Caja it is possible to put a picture on the folders instead of the emblems in Thunar.
Example: if you have folders where every folder is a CD, the folders can show cover of the book in the CD-box.

So for this feature I should like to have Caja, but I don't need (of want) Mate.
Yes I've searched the internet, some say it works, others say it don't. Most of the information is some years old.

If there is a way to get this feature in Thunar, it would even be better.

ToZ · 2026-05-01 19:27:45

Xfce supports customized thumbnails for folders. Have a read through how to enable it.

soppel · 2026-05-05 18:07:55

Sorry for the late reply, but thank you very much!

I must admit that I don't understand how to activate it.
What I found is that (if it works) it is even better then the MATE system.

Maybe I can find ( or you have a link) to a 'how to'

ToZ · 2026-05-05 22:57:59

Here are the instructions to enable the functionality for your current user.

Make sure that the ImageMagick package is installed - the name of the package might vary between distros.
Create, if doesn't already exist, the local thumbnailer folder:
```
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/thumbnailers
```

Create the file ~/.local/share/thumbnailers/folder.thumbnailer with the following content:

 
[Thumbnailer Entry]
Version=1.0
Encoding=UTF-8
Type=X-Thumbnailer
Name=Folder Thumbnailer
MimeType=inode/directory;
Exec=sh -c '~/bin/folder-thumbnailer "$@"' _ %s %i %o %u

Create, if it doesn't already exist, the bin directory:
```
mkdir -p ~/bin
```

Create the file ~/bin/folder-thumbnailer with the following content:

#!/bin/bash
 
covers=("$2"/{.,}{folder,cover}.{jpg,png})
for f in "${covers[@]}"; do
  [ -f "$f" ] && {
    cover=$f
    break
  }
done
 
if [ -z "$cover" ] || ! convert -thumbnail "$1" "$cover" "$3"; then
  gdbus call --session --dest=org.freedesktop.thumbnails.Cache1 --object-path /org/freedesktop/thumbnails/Cache1 \
             --method org.freedesktop.thumbnails.Cache1.Delete "['$4']" >/dev/null
fi

Make this file executable:
```
chmod +x ~/bin/folder-thumbnailer
```
Easiest now is to log out and back in again.

For this to work, you need to have one of the following files in any given folder: .folder.jpg, .folder.png, .cover,jpg, .cover.png, folder.jpg, folder.png, cover.jpg, cover.png. If it exists, that image will be used as the folder icon.

Screenshot:

soppel · 2026-05-06 06:41:43

This should be a sticky, I'm ready before breakfast and coffee smile

Exactly what I needed. This is even better than in MATE. Here you're ready if there is a picture with one of these names.
In MATE I had to change every folder one by one. (maybe there is another way in MATE too, but I rather stay with XFCE)
My fear was that when I had to reinstall the OS with MATE, I had to start all over again for all the folders.

Great! Thanks again.

And now breakfast and coffee.....

Last edited by soppel (2026-05-06 06:43:24)

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#1 2026-05-01 16:08:40

Caja in XFCE (or one feature of Caja)

#2 2026-05-01 19:27:45

Re: Caja in XFCE (or one feature of Caja)

#3 2026-05-05 18:07:55

Re: Caja in XFCE (or one feature of Caja)

#4 2026-05-05 22:57:59

Re: Caja in XFCE (or one feature of Caja)

#5 2026-05-06 06:41:43

Re: Caja in XFCE (or one feature of Caja)

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