XFCE Shortcuts & Commands

Quick reference for XFCE keyboard shortcuts, file manager navigation, panel configuration, and settings commands within the ADL environment.

Window Manager Shortcuts

Default xfwm4 keybindings for window and workspace management.

Shortcut	Action
Alt+F4	Close window
Alt+F5	Maximize horizontal
Alt+F6	Maximize vertical
Alt+F7	Move window
Alt+F8	Resize window
Alt+F9	Minimize window
Alt+F10	Maximize / restore window
Alt+F11	Toggle fullscreen
Alt+F12	Toggle above / below other windows
Alt+Tab	Cycle windows forward
Alt+Shift+Tab	Cycle windows reverse
Super+D	Show desktop (minimize all)

Workspace Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Alt+Insert	Add workspace
Alt+Delete	Remove last workspace
Ctrl+Alt+Left	Switch to workspace left
Ctrl+Alt+Right	Switch to workspace right
Ctrl+Alt+Up	Switch to workspace above
Ctrl+Alt+Down	Switch to workspace below
Alt+Shift+Left	Move window to workspace left
Alt+Shift+Right	Move window to workspace right
Alt+Shift+Up	Move window to workspace above
Alt+Shift+Down	Move window to workspace below

Thunar File Manager Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+L	Focus location bar
Ctrl+N	New window
Ctrl+T	New tab
Ctrl+W	Close tab
Ctrl+H	Show / hide hidden files
Ctrl+E	Toggle side pane
Ctrl+Shift+N	Create new folder
F2	Rename selected item
Delete	Move to trash
Shift+Delete	Permanent delete
Alt+Enter	Properties dialog
Backspace	Go to parent directory
Alt+Left	Navigate back
Alt+Right	Navigate forward

Panel Configuration

Panel Commands

Command	Description
xfce4-panel	Start the panel
xfce4-panel --restart	Restart the panel process
xfce4-panel --quit	Stop the panel
xfce4-panel --preferences	Open panel preferences dialog

$xfce4-panel --restart

Common Panel Plugins

Plugin	Package	Purpose
Whisker Menu	xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin	Application launcher
Task Manager	built-in	Window list
Clock	built-in	Date and time display
System Tray	built-in	Notification area
PulseAudio	xfce4-pulseaudio-plugin	Volume control
Battery Monitor	xfce4-battery-plugin	Battery status
CPU Graph	xfce4-cpugraph-plugin	CPU usage monitor
Weather	xfce4-weather-plugin	Weather information

Panel Properties via xfconf-query

$xfconf-query -c xfce4-panel -p /panels/panel-1/size -s 32

$xfconf-query -c xfce4-panel -p /panels/panel-1/position -s 'p=8;x=0;y=0'

✅💡 Finding panel property names

List all panel properties with xfconf-query -c xfce4-panel -lv to discover the exact keys before modifying them.

XFCE Settings Commands

Launch individual settings dialogs from the command line.

Command	Settings Dialog
xfce4-settings-manager	All settings (main hub)
xfce4-display-settings	Display and resolution
xfce4-appearance-settings	Themes, icons, fonts
xfce4-keyboard-settings	Keyboard layout and shortcuts
xfce4-mouse-settings	Mouse and touchpad
xfce4-power-manager-settings	Power management
xfce4-notifyd-config	Notification daemon
xfce4-screensaver-preferences	Screensaver and lock screen

$xfce4-settings-manager

Customizing Shortcuts

Using the GUI

Open the keyboard settings dialog to add or modify shortcuts:

$xfce4-keyboard-settings

Navigate to the Application Shortcuts tab to bind custom commands to key combinations, or the Window Manager tab (via xfwm4-settings) to change window manager keybindings.

Using xfconf-query

Set a custom shortcut from the command line. The key path uses the keybind string as the property name and the command as the value:

$xfconf-query -c xfce4-keyboard-shortcuts -p '/commands/custom/<Super>t' -n -t string -s 'xfce4-terminal'

Remove a shortcut:

$xfconf-query -c xfce4-keyboard-shortcuts -p '/commands/custom/<Super>t' -r

Shortcut Configuration File

Shortcuts are stored in the xfconf XML backend:

~/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfce4-keyboard-shortcuts.xml

ℹ️Manual edits

If you edit the XML file directly, restart xfconfd or log out and back in for changes to take effect. Using xfconf-query applies changes immediately.

xfconf-query Reference

xfconf-query reads and writes XFCE configuration values stored in the xfconf daemon. Every XFCE settings dialog writes to an xfconf channel.

Common Operations

Operation	Command
List all channels	xfconf-query -l
List all properties in a channel	xfconf-query -c <channel> -lv
Read a property	xfconf-query -c <channel> -p <property>
Set a property	xfconf-query -c <channel> -p <property> -s <value>
Create a new property	xfconf-query -c <channel> -p <property> -n -t <type> -s <value>
Reset a property to default	xfconf-query -c <channel> -p <property> -r
Reset a property tree	xfconf-query -c <channel> -p <property> -rR

Useful Examples

Set the desktop wallpaper:

$xfconf-query -c xfce4-desktop -p /backdrop/screen0/monitorVNC-0/workspace0/last-image -s '/path/to/wallpaper.png'

Change the window manager theme:

$xfconf-query -c xfwm4 -p /general/theme -s 'Default'

Set the GTK theme:

$xfconf-query -c xsettings -p /Net/ThemeName -s 'Adwaita-dark'

Disable the compositor:

$xfconf-query -c xfwm4 -p /general/use_compositing -s false

Frequently used xfconf channels

Channel	Controls
xfwm4	Window manager behavior and appearance
xfce4-panel	Panel layout and plugins
xfce4-desktop	Desktop wallpaper and icons
xfce4-keyboard-shortcuts	All keyboard shortcuts
xsettings	GTK theme, fonts, DPI
xfce4-session	Session startup and behavior
xfce4-power-manager	Power and battery settings
thunar	File manager preferences

⭐Best Practice

Before modifying settings via xfconf-query, read the current value first to note the default. This makes it easy to revert: xfconf-query -c <channel> -p <property>.