![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Panel Applet Library Reference Manual | ![]() |
---|
Simply installing the applet binary will obviously not be enough to make this applet working in the panel. Two files should be installed for this:
a .panel-applet
file so that the panel knows that the applet.
a D-Bus service file to autostart the binary when the panel wants to create an applet.
The .panel-applet
file is a key file about the applet binary, describing the applet factory from the binary and the applet types this factory can create.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 |
[Applet Factory] Id=HelloWorldFactory Name=Hello World Applet Factory Description=Factory for the window navigation related applets [HelloWorldApplet] Name=Hello World Description=Factory for the Hello World applet example Icon=hello-world-icon |
The file must contain a Applet Factory
group with the following keys:
Id
(string): the identifier of the applet factory. This must be the same name that will be used as the first parameter to PANEL_APPLET_OUT_PROCESS_FACTORY()
or PANEL_APPLET_IN_PROCESS_FACTORY()
.
InProcess
(boolean, optional): whether the applet should be in-process or out-of-process. By default, the applet is out-of-process.
Location
(string): the path to the applet binary. Only mandatory if InProcess
is true
.
Name
(localized string, optional): the name of the applet factory. For example: Hello World Factory
.
Description
(localized string, optional): the description of the applet factory. For example: Factory for the Hello World applet example
.
For each applet type, it must also contain a group named with the applet type identifier. Such a group must have the following keys:
Name
(localized string): the name of the applet type. For example: Hello World
.
Description
(localized string, optional): the description of the applet type. For example: Hello World applet example
.
Icon
(string, optional): the icon name of the applet type. For example: hello-world-icon
. It can also be the path to an icon, but this not recommended.
BonoboId
(list of strings, optional): a list of bonobo id. This will tell the panel that this applet type can be used instead of a bonobo applet if the bonobo applet id is in this list.
The communication between the panel and the applet factory is done over D-Bus. When creating an applet, the panel will send a message to the D-Bus service of the applet factory. If the D-Bus service is not running yet, it must be started automatically. We use D-Bus activation for this, which requires install a standard D-Bus service file. Please refer to the D-Bus documentation for more information about D-Bus service files.
This is only needed for out-of-process applets, because in-process applets do no need to have their binary autostarted for obvious reasons.