Cairo-Dock 2.1.3 Is Out, Features A Simplified Configuration Panel

After 3 months of hard work, the new version of GLX-Dock/Cairo-Dock (2.1.3) is out. The new version brings a lot of fixes for some existing problems such as smoother auto-hide, automatic detection of indirect rendering for Intel/ATI cards, but the most visible change in Cairo Dock v2.1.3 is the new configuration panel which is now very easy to use. According to Fabounet (the Cairo Dock developer):

Even my Mom could configure the dock ^_^

However, an advanced mode is still available so you can fully customize your dock to the smallest detail.


Other changes in Cairo Dock 2.1.3:

• Thumnbails of windows now have an emblem to help recognize the application.
• Icons pointing on sub-docks can display the sub-dock's content to quickly know what is inside the sub-dock.
• When an application demands your attention, only its icon will appear when the dock is hidden, so that you are quietly notified of any event even when your dock is hidden.
• The ShowDesktop applet lets you change the resolution of the screen in 1 click.
• The Dnd2Share applet which is used to quickly share some text/picture/video/files can now directly sends the clipboard's content (like an instant screenshot).

Here are some screenshots with the new, simplified configuration:

But the less visible and yet most important change is probably the release of the 1.0 version of the DBus API. This lets you control your dock from an external program (the terminal, a script, etc). It even lets you write complete applets in any language (Python, Vala, Mono, even Bash !).

Full documentation regarding this Dbus API is available HERE.

It is very comprehensive and comes with a lot of exemples, and even a functional demonstration applet. The Dbus API has already been used to write several applets (a Gnomenu applet, an xchat applet, a Calendar applet, etc).

Here is an example:
Be sure that the Dbus plug-in is active in the config panel, and run the following command in a terminal :

dbus-send --session --dest=org.cairodock.CairoDock /org/cairodock/CairoDock org.cairodock.CairoDock.ShowDock boolean:false

Your dock is now hidden ! Now run the opposite command :

dbus-send --session --dest=org.cairodock.CairoDock /org/cairodock/CairoDock org.cairodock.CairoDock.ShowDock boolean:true

Your dock is back! Although this example may look trivial, it shows you have a complete control over your dock, its icons, and its desklets.

Install Cairo Dock

If you use the daily Cairo Dock PPA (unstable), make sure you disable it and remove Cairo Dock before proceeding to the steps below!

For any Ubuntu version (the Ubuntu version will be grabbed by the command), paste this in a terminal to add the Cairo Dock PPA:

sudo -v
echo "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/cairo-dock-team/ppa/ubuntu $(lsb_release -sc) main ## Cairo-Dock-PPA" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys E80D6BF5

And then install Cairo Dock:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install cairo-dock cairo-dock-plug-ins

The PPA can be found HERE (in case you just want to download the .deb files, etc.).

And finally, here is a video with Cairo Dock in action (please note that Cairo Dock v2.0.0 is featured in the video, not the latest 2.1.3!):




For a lot of screenshots with various Cairo Dock themes, see our Cairo Dock v2 post.

Special thanks to Fabounet who sent us all this info!