Linux on any device

Barpanel is a powerful desktop panel that enables you to have all you want just one-click-far. It is extensible through plugins and is fully themeable. This latest release brings a number of enhancements, feature additions and fixes. A more complete list of additions follows:

• Integration with stalonetray to enable a system tray for Barpanel (finally)
• New default theme “FlatRed”, which is fast and simple. A companion theme “FlatGreen” also included.
• Startup time used mainly in menu reading has been greatly reduced
• Fixed the _STRUT setting for the top panel to stop window managers from positioning windows under the panel
• Default configuration file is automatically copied to user’s home directory to make configuration easier
• The format and contents of the clock plugin are made completely configurable
• Ability to restore default configuration via a command line switch
• Ability to configure the browser to be used in the search box plugin
• Clicking on the clock plugin now shows a calendar, and allows to configure your current time/date
• Volume control plugin is removed and replaced with the launcher plugin
• Battery status is now shown graphically with red/yellow/green icons
• Menu editor command is configurable via the configuration file (previously hardcoded to alacarte)
• A number of visual enhancements

One of the major additions in this release (also previously one of the major missing features) is the inclusion of a functioning system tray. For this purpose, Barpanel integrates with another project, stalonetray. Consequently, stalonetray is required in order for the system tray to function.

For those upgrading from a previous version, it is recommended that you reset your previously customized configuration file to ensure correct functionality and to immediately take advantage of the new enhancements. This is either by removing the ~/.barpanel/config.xml file, or executing barpanel v0.5.0 using the –default-config switch.

The default configuration file provided is customized for those using Gnome, and has been tested mainly on Ubuntu desktops. For users of other desktops, some customization here might be necessary. I will also happily receive any customized configuration files and incorporate into future releases as defaults for non-Gnome users.

Downloads are available on the project page. For more information, please see also the Barpanel homepage.

As usual, all comments and feedback are most welcome.

Tags: Announcements, BarPanel