Multiple Workspace rows in XFCE without xfce-panel?

Question

Is there a way to set the number of rows for desktop workspaces without using the xfce-panel applet "Workspace Switcher"?

I don’t run xfce-panel at all, preferring to use cairo-dock.

Answer 1

It's possible to manually set the _NET_DESKTOP_LAYOUT property using the xprop command.

For example, to get 4 columns x 2 rows, issue this:

xprop -root -f _NET_DESKTOP_LAYOUT 32cccc -set _NET_DESKTOP_LAYOUT 0,4,2,0

And to change the number of workspaces/desktops to 8:

xprop -root -f _NET_NUMBER_OF_DESKTOPS 32c -set _NET_NUMBER_OF_DESKTOPS 8

Further information regarding the _NET_DESKTOP_LAYOUT property (among others) can be found here