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Is it possible to change the window manager to a layout like this?:

Gnome Files

The present one takes up too much screen estate, in my opinion. The attached image one is very simple and looks very neat.

If it can be coded/modified, I would like to know that too.

Current layout - It's the default design. But it feels a little too much.

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  • What is your "starting" point? IOW, which distro have you added XFCE to? AFAIK, Xubuntu which "Current Layout" seems to depict, has Thunar as file manager and xfwm4 as window manager. "Gnome Files" cropped so no one knows what's on the rest of the screen is a different file manager altogether and is usually associated with another window manager. Thunar is gtk2; "Files" is gtk3. You haven't mentioned if you're on 14.04 or 15.10 or whatever. gtk3 is evolving pretty rapidly. I feel you should make things more clear using words as well.
    – DK Bose
    Oct 27, 2015 at 11:00
  • Its a standard Xubuntu LTS 14.04 install. Everything is as-is. I remember when I had Lubuntu LTS 14.04, I had install Thunar, and it looked quite similar to the Gnome Files image.
    – arjun
    Oct 27, 2015 at 11:20
  • So you want Thunar's window decoration to look like that of "Files"? My guess is that that is not possible. BTW, when you provide additional information, it's better to add it to the question so that people don't need to read the comments to get the full picture.
    – DK Bose
    Oct 27, 2015 at 13:02
  • Any updates to this question? Like, suggesting several desired outcomes to solve this question? One of the ways has been explained in my answer below.
    – user37165
    Nov 10, 2015 at 17:10
  • @clearkimura what you suggested was a theme. That is helpful but I was looking for a solution which can make the window manager design itself different. Some "theme" which can change the design like the gnomes'.
    – arjun
    Nov 22, 2015 at 14:36

2 Answers 2

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It looks like you are using a Window Manager with a tall top bar. I use Defcon-IV for example, and it has a small top area. You can install more Window Manager styles by running: 

sudo apt-get install xfwm4-themes

To toggle viewing the top menu items, just hit ctrl+m in Thunar. Here is Thunar on my computer.

You can change the icon size by going to View > Normal Size or zooming in or out.

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In Xubuntu 14.04 and newer, it is possible to optimize the style without installing anything. Use the Greybird-compact style. Compared to the default style, significant amount of screen estate is saved for Thunar.

Xfce4 Thunar Greybird-compact vs Thunar default

Comparing GNOME Files to Thunar Greybird-compact, which is almost comparable to the desired bar height.

Xfce4 Thunar Greybird-compact vs GNOME Files

To minimize Thunar style, go to Settings Manager > Window Manager - Style, then change Theme to Greybird-compact. Click Close to finish. Finally, hide the menu bar by using Ctrl+M shortcut keys.

User can bring the menu bar again permanently by using the same shortcut keys. While the menu bar is hidden, you can still open the menu bar by pressing F10 key twice to temporarily show the File menu. Press Esc to close the menu and hide menu bar again.

Disclaimer: This is not the real answer. This answer suggests an alternative approach to use a minimal theme, which gives similar result of saving some screen estate. But this doesn't comply the requirement of original poster to modify source codes of the bar.

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