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I am currently using GNOME Shell, Unity and GNOME Classic on Ubuntu 11.10. I would like to know if I download LXDE, would the GTK applications that I have on GNOME 3.2 (which is being used by Unity and GNOME Shell) be able to be used in LXDE, or do I have to install separate software that can only be used by LXDE?

Because the apps I install on Unity Shell can also be accessed and used on GNOME Shell (I suppose this is because they are both running on GNOME 3.2 which uses GTK+3 libraries) can I find the same apps I install on GNOME Shell and Unity on LXDE?

Here's what I mean: I install GNOME Shell on Ubuntu 11.10. I am able to access the apps I installed on Unity on GNOME Shell from the search bar. Even the bookmarks I save on Firefox in Unity will also be saved in Firefox in GNOME Shell. What I am asking is will it be the same situation where I do not have to install apps specifically for LXDE?

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There is no special reason why gnome-shell or unity applications should not run under LXDE or any other desktop environments.

The only exceptions are applications that make specific use of capabilities and functionality that is very specific to a particular desktop environment.

LXDE/Lubuntu applications you will find are often GTK+ based - thus the vast majority of GTK+ apps you see in blogs running in Unity/Gnome-shell should work for LXDE.

If you are a purist, you should look out for the dependencies that a particular application brings with it. Some applications will have a dependency that would involve installing the majority of one desktop environment/stack.

To test what dependencies an application requires try a simulated install i.e.

sudo apt-get -s install [package-name]

Look at the sections: The following extra packages will be installed:

and

The following NEW packages will be installed

If the list is particularly lengthy then perhaps you should consider an alternative - less bulky/dependent application.

Occasionally after installing an application, it does not appear in the menu. For these applications have a look at the applications .desktop file in /usr/share/applications. Some applications desktop file has an entry similar to OnlyShowIn=Unity. I would remove this entry and it should (after logging out/logging in) appear in the menu again.

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