DockBarX Live Window Previews Finally Work With Compiz 0.9.x

DockBarX is a lightweight taskbar / panel replacement for Linux. It works as a GNOME panel applet (for GNOME 2.x), as an Avant Window Navigator applet or as a stand alone dock (called DockX) that you can use in any desktop environment: KDE, XFCE, GNOME 3 (with GNOME Shell), etc.

DockBarX has been updated today with a work-around for the bug that caused live windows previews not to work with Compiz 0.9.x in GNOME (well, for most of us anyway because it seems it worked for some of you).

However, the live window previews still don't work in GNOME Shell (because this feature requires Compiz).


Here is a video I've recorded with DockBarX running in AWN (and live window previews activated of course):

Install DockBarX in Ubuntu

As usual, the latest DockBarX is available in the main WebUpd8 PPA for Ubuntu 11.10, 11.04, 10.10 and 10.04 - add the PPA and install it using the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install dockbarx dockbarx-themes-extra

To install the AWN applet, use the following command:

sudo apt-get install awn-applet-dockbarx

Once installed, look for "DockBarX Preference" in the menu / dash to configure how DockBarX or DockX looks and behaves.

To launch DockBarX in the stand-alone mode, press ALT + F2 and type: "dockx". If you use Gnome2 panel or Avant Window Navigator, DockBarX should show up in the applet list so add it like with any other applet.


If you're not using Ubuntu, download DockBarX via Gnome-Look.

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Ambiance Blue: A Cool Blueish Ambiance Theme Pack (GTK2/GTK3/GNOME Shell)

Ambiance Blue is a pack that includes GTK2, GTK3, GNOME Shell and Avant Window Navigator themes, especially designed for those who like the Ambiance theme style but don't like the orange or simply want to try a fresh style while keeping the overall Ambiance look.

Since the pack comes with both GTK2 and GTK3 themes, you can use Ambiance Blue in both GNOME 2 (Ubuntu 11.04 or older) as well as GNOME 3 (Ubuntu 11.10) - or other Linux distributions, but for the GTK3 theme you'll need to install Unico GTK3 engine.

Here's Ambiance Blue GTK2 theme in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal:

And Ambiance Blue GTK2 + GTK3 + GNOME Shell theme running in Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot:

As you can see, Ambiance Blue window titlebar works just fine under GNOME Shell in Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot as opposed to the original Ambiance theme which at least for me, reverts to some odd-looking ancient fallback theme (but that will probably be fixed soon).

To install Ambiance Blue in Ubuntu (any version), download it, extract the archive, then extract "ambiance_blue.tar.gz" and copy the "Ambiance Blue" folder to the ~/.themes directory (if it doesn't exist, create it). Then use GNOME Tweak Tool to change the theme (it's available in the Ubuntu 11.10 repositories) for the GTK3/Gnome Shell theme or the usual Appearance Preferences for the GTK2 theme.

For old Ubuntu versions and other Linux distributions, the Ambiance Blue DeviantArt page provides exact installation instructions (you'll need the latest Murrine and Unico, depending on which version of the theme you want to use).

Download Ambiance Blue Theme Suite

Thanks to Satyajit for the tip!

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Autohide Added To DockBarX v0.45

 

(DockBarX running as an Avant Window Navigator applet)

DockBarX is a GNOME Panel / AWN applet and last month it also got an option to run as a stand-alone dock (run "dockx" to launch it) but it was missing autohide, a very important feature for a dock.

Well, autohide was added to DockBarX 0.45, released today. There's no intellihide and you can't customize the autohide behavior yet, but this is an important step and we might see this in a future release.

DockBarX 0.45 also comes with lots of bug fixes such as crashes or quicklists being displayed in random order.

(DockBarX running as a stand-alone dock)

Install DockBarX

DockBarX 0.45 is available in the main WebUpd8 PPA for Ubuntu 11.10, 11.04, 10.10 and 10.04. Add the PPA and install it using the commands below:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install dockbarx dockbarx-themes-extra

To also install the Avant Window Navigator DockBarX applet, use the following command:

sudo apt-get install awn-applet-dockbarx

To run it as a stand-alone dock, press ALT + F2 and type "dockx".


If you're not using Ubuntu, get DockBarX 0.45 via Gnome-Look.


Oh and remember: you can stay up to date with the latest applications uploaded to the WebUpd8 PPAs by subscribing to http://ppa.webupd8.org/

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DockBarX 0.44 Can Run As Stand-Alone Dock, Gets Unity Quicklists, More

(DockBarX running as an Avant Window Navigator applet)

After four months of development, a new DockBarX version has finally been released: 0.44. Previously, DockBarX could run as a Avant Window Navigator / GNOME Panel applet but starting with this version, DockBarx works as a stand-alone dock too (run "dockx" to launch it), great for those running GNOME Shell or the classic GNOME session.

This new feature also comes with some options:

• you can position the dock on the left / bottom / right / top
• there are 3 modes: centered, panel or corner
• you can change the dock size
• multi-monitor support: you can specify the number of monitors via command line ("dockx --monitor 1").

(DockBarX running as a stand-alone dock)

There is still a lot of work to do for this new feature though: it doesn't have autohide, etc.


But that's not the only new feature in DockBarX 0.44. The new version also comes with:

• Unity quicklists support
• Another Unity-like feature - number shortcuts: for instance you can press SUPER+1 to select the first group, etc. But unlike Unity, the numbers are not displayed when holding the SUPER key.
• Improved keyboard shortcut handling
• Locked lists: "one click switch solution as long as you are prepared to sacrifice some screen real-estate. By selecting "Use locked list" from the group menu of a group with more than one window, you'll get a window list that stays open indefinitely".

Unfortunately there's a bug in Compiz 0.9.x which makes the DockBarX window previews very dark so if you use Ubuntu 11.04, the window preview feature will not work proprely (unless you use the downgraded Compiz). Also, the window previews feature won't work under GNOME Shell because DockBarX requires Compiz for this feature.

DockBarX screenshots

(DockX - Unity quicklists)

(Media Player controls available in DockBarX)

(DockBarX running as a GNOME Panel applet)

(DockX - recent documents)

Install DockBarx in Ubuntu

As usual, DockBarX is available in the main WebUpd8 PPA for Ubuntu 10.04, 10.10 and 11.04. It also works under Ubuntu 11.10 but not as a GNOME3 panel applet.

Add the PPA and install DockBarX 0.44 using the commands below:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install dockbarx dockbarx-themes-extra

To also install the Avant Window Navigator DockBarX applet, use the following command:

sudo apt-get install awn-applet-dockbarx

Then, to use DockBarX:

• with GNOME 2.x Panel: right click the panel, select "Add to panel" and add "DockBarX".
• with Avant Window Navigator: in the AWN preferences, add DockBarX to your dock
• as a stand-alone dock: press ALT + F2 and enter: "dockx".

For configuring DockBarx, a new "DockBarX Preference" entry should be available in your menu.

Arch Linux users can get DockBarX from AUR. Thanks to madek for the heads up!

If you don't use Ubuntu or Arch, download DockBarX via its GNOME-Look page.

Report any bugs you may find @ Launchpad.

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