Difference between revisions of "Install Desktop Environments"

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= Window Managers =
= Window Managers =


Although Desktop Environments commonly provide a good range of customisation options to suit personal taste and preference, they may still be seen as somewhat restrictive in the sense that they merely allow for the personalisation of their pre-defined components. However, certain Window Managers empower users to literally build their own desktop environments. In essence, they may be used as a foundation on which to add your own choice of panel, file manager, background provider, and so on; literally every aspect of the desktop may be . It is even possible to mix and match various components from other desktop environments into your own.
{{note|By nature, building your own desktop environment from a Window Manager will take substantially more time and effort than simply downloading a pre-defined desktop environment.}}
 
 
Although Desktop Environments commonly provide a good range of customisation options to suit personal taste and preference, they may still be seen as somewhat restrictive or controlled in the sense that they merely allow for the personalisation of their pre-defined components. However, certain Window Managers empower users to literally create their own desktop environments. In essence, they may be used as a foundation on which to build upon, as literally every component and every aspect of the desktop is under the direct control of the user. An environment may be as elaborate or as minimalistic as desired, and it is even possible to mix and match various components from other desktop environments.
 
Therefore extremely powerful and versatile, these window managers also carry the additional benefit of being faster and more resource efficient than pre-defined desktop environments. Interestingly, the super-lightweight LXDE environment is itself built on the Openbox window manager.  




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'''[http://openbox.org/ Openbox]''' is not a desktop environment, but a window manager. Although a basic menu is available (and accessed by right-clicking on the desktop), absolutely nothing else is provided with Openbox's basic installation - not even its own themes or configuration application! One for the minimalists out there, or perhaps those who want to use Openbox as a foundation to build on. It will be necessary to install and configure your own choice of panel, file manager, background provider, and so on. '''To install Openbox, enter the command:'''
'''[http://openbox.org/ Openbox]''' is by far the most popular Window Manager available. Due to its popularity there is excellent documentation available, as well as a good choice of additional themes that may be downloaded. '''To install Openbox, enter the command:'''


  sudo pacman -S openbox  
  sudo pacman -S openbox