News and announcements

Cairo-Dock / GLX-Dock 2.4.0 is now released

Written for Cairo-Dock Core by Matthieu Baerts on 2011-09-28

The announce is available on our mailing list and on our forum.

http://listengine.tuxfamily.org/glx-dock.org/cairo-dock-list/2011/09/msg00000.html
http://glx-dock.org/bg_topic.php?t=5646

====

It's finally done, Cairo/GLX-Dock 2.4 is released!

We wanted to have a minor version (2.3.1) but it's really hard to say
"Now, we stop to add new functionalities"! :-)

So... what's new in this new version? The main changes:
 * The Power-Manager applet has been rewritten to work on any platform.
 * A new Help applet has been added to help our beloved users :-)
 * Integration in the XFCE desktop has been improved.
 * Several new DBus methods gives you the possibility to interact on the
dock more easily.
 * The dock can now be used in a Compiz-standalone environment.
 * Let your dock dance thanks to the new Impulse applet! Have a look at
this new applet, it's fun (but useless?) ;-)

But also a lot of improvements and fixed bugs.
About the core:
 * The dock tries to use applications' '.desktop' files: Unity
quicklists are supported and themes have been updated in order to use a
similar application if the default one is unavailable.
 * Added an entry on your desktop manager (GDM, LightDM, etc.) in order
to launch a Gnome session with Cairo-Dock as a panel. This option is
enable in Ubuntu Oneiric: you can open a Gnome session without Unity or
the Gnome-Panel.
 * It's now a bit easier to create a new dock.
 * A better integration with Window Managers (e.g. the dock tries to use
Scale effects of Compiz 0.8 and 0.9 or Kwin).
 * The icons in Cairo-Dock menus are now forced.
 * Gauge and graph drawing has been improved and a few options have been
added just like some new themes on our server.
 * The default theme has been updated.
 * The launch of the dock should be faster

About our plug-ins:
 * A new view for desklet-rendering has been added: Panel.
 * Output messages at the compilation have been added and improved.
 * Messaging Menu applet now works fine on Ubuntu Oneiric (and Natty).
 * Status-Notifer now works on Ubuntu Oneiric, KDE4 and any other
environment by using a custom watcher.
 * Composite-Manager replaces Compiz-Icon with more options for other
Window Managers.
 * The support of Gnome 3 tools has been improved.
 * Logout now works when no session-manager is present or if the
desktop-manager is not supported.
 * MusicPlayer applet supports MPRIS2.
 * PowerManager can be hidden if the battery is not used.
 * An option has been added to have a background colour on the icon when
it's always visible.
 * Gauge can be used with AlsaMixer applet (many themes are available).
 * The menu of Clipper has been improved.

About our third-party applets:
 * These applets can now be translated.
 * A few new applets are available! Simply have a look there:
http://glx-dock.org/mc_album.php?a=7

If you want to install this new version, the tarballs are available
there:
 * Core:
 -
http://launchpad.net/cairo-dock-core/2.4/2.4.0-1/+download/cairo-dock-2.4.0~1.tar.gz
 - MD5: 5c195e5999d9cbbdeee3851adf555a05
 - Signature:
http://launchpad.net/cairo-dock-core/2.4/2.4.0-1/+download/cairo-dock-2.4.0~1.tar.gz.asc
 * Plug-ins:
 -
http://launchpad.net/cairo-dock-plug-ins/2.4/2.4.0-1/+download/cairo-dock-plugins-2.4.0~1.tar.gz
 - MD5: e239c5ac949ac1ad50f48eca07420edc
 - Signature:
http://launchpad.net/cairo-dock-plug-ins/2.4/2.4.0-1/+download/cairo-dock-plugins-2.4.0~1.tar.gz.asc

For Ubuntu users: our repository and ppa have been updated. If you want
to use our ppa, simply launch these commands:
   sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cairo-dock-team
   sudo apt-get update
   sudo apt-get install cairo-dock cairo-dock-plug-ins

For Debian users: our repository will be updated asap!

For all other: please have a look there:
http://glx-dock.org/ww_page.php?p=Accueil&lang=en#0-Installation

Note that if you like this work, don't hesitate to help us by reporting
bugs, by donating with Paypal or Flattr, by translating the dock, by
proposing new themes or new patches, by proposing new ideas, by posting
an article on your blog, or simply by giving to us a little comments on
our forum ;)
More information: http://glx-dock.org/ww_page.php?p=How%20to%20help%
20us&lang=en

And if you want to follow us, there are a few ways (a new mailing list
has been opened!): http://glx-dock.org/ww_page.php?p=Follow%20Us&lang=en

Thank you to all contributors!

The Cairo-Dock team.

A screenshot: (low resolution)
http://download.tuxfamily.org/glxdock/images/cairo-panel-2.4.0.jpg
(better resolution)
http://download.tuxfamily.org/glxdock/images/cairo-panel-2.4.0.png

A screencast with a few annotations:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NE6FFKhc66A

PS: on this screencast, the theme used is Oneiric-Panel with Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric and a Cairo-Dock session selected on the LightDM connexion window.
Recorded on Ubuntu 11.10 with a "Cairo-Dock" session and "Oneiric-Panel" theme.

Updated . Read more

GLX-Dock 2.3 released !

Written for Cairo-Dock Project by Fabounet on 2011-04-25

GLX-Dock 2.3 released !
see the article in the link below for a complete description of this new version.

Updated . Read more

GLX-Dock 2.2.1 and beyond

Written for Cairo-Dock Project by Fabounet on 2010-11-15

A hard work has been made to deliver the 2.2.0 before Ubuntu 10.10's release. This could be done just in time !
Now the 2.2.1 is already in a good progress. It's mainly an improvment version, designed to polish all the points that couldn't be because of a short timing, and also to better integrate with the latest news of the Ubuntu 10.10 stack.
A long-term roadmap is also available here "https://blueprints.launchpad.net/cairo-dock/+specs?show=all". It should bring us towards the 2.3 !

An official beta release of the 2.2 version of GLX-Dock is available.

Written for Cairo-Dock Project by Matthieu Baerts on 2010-07-28

An official beta release of the 2.2 version of GLX-Dock is available.

The main goal of this version is to approach the usability of the <your desktop environment here>-panel.
To reach it, we aimed at making an "Unity" theme, based on the recent interesting remarks of Canonical.

What's new?
----------
4 points were targeted :

* Be unobstrusive :
GLX-Dock now has 2 new visibility modes: "hide whenever the dock overlaps the active window" and "hide whenever the dock overlaps any window".
The dock will hide itself anytime it could get in your way, and will be visible otherwise.
You can choose between several smooth hiding animations: fade-out, semi-transparent, move-down, etc.
To make things better, icons that should draw your attention (like a message in the Pidgin applet or an alarm in the Clock applet) are visible (and animated) even when the dock is hidden.

Desklets (applets that are detached from the dock) can also be placed on your desktop without preventing you from clicking on what's behind.

Here is a short demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voco3Kj1Fxo

* Be useful:
Some new key functionnalities make the dock a swiss-knife : possibility to manage tasks in the Clock's calendar, possibility to lock the screen in the Logout applet, possibility to use tiny URLs in the Drop-and-Share applet, the Dustbin applet handles all the drives, etc.
The Me-Menu and Messaging-Menu applets developed by Canonical for the gnome-panel can also be added to the dock in 1 click.

For those who want to write applets easily and in an language, the Dbus API has also gained some new functions.
http://www.glx-dock.org/ww_page.php?p=Control_your_dock_with_DBus&lang=en#19-Write%20a%20DBus%20applet

* Be simple:
All the themes (including the default one) have been polished, they are pretty and functionnal after you select them.

The simple config panel now lets you set up most of the parameters you'd like to change in the first 5 minutes.
The advanced config panel is still present for those of you who want to tweak their theme, but you probably don't need it any more for a basic usage.

* Unity:
For this purpose, a new view has been added : the "panel" view. It turns the Dock into a pretty panel.
Also, since netbooks have a small screen footprint, it's a good idea to spread icons over several main docks. Therefore, it's now possible to create as many docks as you want, and to configure them independently (position, visibility, view, background).

Here is a short demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FAh-rg4vAY

To try it:
---------
If you're under Ubuntu >= 9.04 :
    sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cairo-dock-team/weekly
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install cairo-dock cairo-dock-plug-ins
otherwise :
    echo "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/cairo-dock-team/weekly/ubuntu $(lsb_release -sc) main ## Cairo-Dock-PPA-Weekly" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list
    sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys E80D6BF5
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install cairo-dock cairo-dock-plug-ins

It is already very stable, but as any beta, it can contain some bugs.
The work is now focusing on fixing them all.
We appreciate any kind of contribution: bug reports, feedbacks, videos, themes, translations, patches, applets, etc

Read more

Cairo-Dock 2.1.3 is out !

Written for Cairo-Dock Project by Matthieu Baerts on 2010-02-14

After 3 months of hard work, the new version of GLX-Dock/Cairo-Dock (2.1.3) is out !
     http://glx-dock.org

**The News: **
The most visible change is probably the new configuration panel, which has been refined so that even my Mom could configure the dock !
This version is also the opportunity to fix a lot of the existing problems (smoother auto-hide, automatic detection of indirect rendering for Intel/ATI cards, etc)

Few other changes will also make your dock looks more polish and convenient :
Thumnbails of windows now have an emblem to help recognize the application.
Icons pointing on sub-docks can display the sub-dock's content to quickly know what is inside the sub-dock.
When an application demands your attention, only its icon will appear when the dock is hidden, so that you are quietly notified of any event even when your dock is hidden.
The ShowDesktop applet lets you change the resolution of the screen in 1 click.
The Dnd2Share applet which is used to quickly share some text/picture/video/files can now directly sends the clipboard's content (like an instant screenshot).

>Some screenshots of these new things are avaible there => http://www.glx-dock.org/ww_page.php?p=2.1.3

**The Dbus API: **
But the less visible and yet most important change is probably the release of the 1.0 version of the DBus API.
This lets you control your dock from an external program (the terminal, a script, etc).
It even lets you write complete applets in any language (there are already some demos in Python, Vala, Mono or even Bash !).
A full documentation is available here :
http://www.glx-dock.org/ww_page.php?p=Control_your_dock_with_DBus
It is very comprehensive and comes with a lot of exemples, and even a functionnal demonstration applet.
The Dbus API has already been used to write several applets (a Gnomenu applet, an xchat applet, a Calendar applet, etc).

Let's see a short exemple :
Be sure that the Dbus plug-in is active in the config panel, and run the following command in a terminal :
  $ dbus-send --session --dest=org.cairodock.CairoDock /org/cairodock/CairoDock org.cairodock.CairoDock.ShowDock boolean:false

Your dock is now hidden ! Now run the opposite command :
  $ dbus-send --session --dest=org.cairodock.CairoDock /org/cairodock/CairoDock org.cairodock.CairoDock.ShowDock boolean:true

Your dock is back ! Although this exemple may look trivial, it shows you have a complete control over your dock, its icons, and its desklets.
Don't hesitate to share your own applet here with others users !

**How to grab it: **
Tarballs: https://launchpad.net/cairo-dock-core & https://launchpad.net/cairo-dock-plug-ins
Some explanations about the compilation http://www.glx-dock.org/ww_page.php?p=By%20compilation
Debian/Ubuntu: Our repository is now available there http://repository.glx-dock.org/. More informations : http://www.glx-dock.org/ww_page.php?p=Accueil&lang=en#0-Installation

PS: Follow us on identi.ca (identi.ca/cairodock) or Twitter (twitter.com/cairodock) ! Or speak with us on #cairo-dock or #cairo-dock-fr on irc.freenode.net
PS 2: Due to a crappy registrar (vivadomaine.com), the domaine name cairo-dock.org is no longer available. But now, you can find all our "tools" (wiki, forum, doc, dépôt, etc.) on glx-dock.org !

Read more

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