this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2023
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I need to switch from KDE to xfce without losing my files, any advice?

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have 5+ DEs on my pop_os install, you don't lose files in your users home.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (3 children)

May I ask why you have 5+ DEs installed? And also, isn’t that quite the mess with all the dotfiles?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (2 children)

We don't talk about their 5+ desktop environments just like we don't talk about my fourteen Windows VMs...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hold on, I get the 5 DEs if you like to tinker but ME? Really?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I think using virtualbox is the bigger offense here.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

for testing, and no, no issues at all with the various dot files.

Cluttered app menus, and an occasional "default open with app" setting changed is about the only issues.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Is the dotfile overhead of a DE substantially more than any other program? Is there a particular conflict that you're thinking of?

For a multiuser system it can be great to have multiple DEs or WMs.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I am thinking about .Xresources, for example, and gtk things and other files in .config. I didn’t mean the DE specific dotfiles.

[–] fr_mg 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

why do you think you are going to loose your files if change desktop?

[–] pete_the_cat 5 points 1 year ago

OP is most likely new to Linux and is used to the intertwining of the GUI and OS like they are in OS X and Windows.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Presumably they equate changing desktops with "reinstalling".

[–] fr_mg 1 points 1 year ago

Dangerous asumption: one man, one finger, one second...and you will have a disaster.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I mean people already answered your question, but I want to know why you want to leave kde plasma? It was the best I have found (after gnome, but in gnome I can't change shit)

[–] mumblerfish 1 points 1 year ago

Do you mean files on your computer or open on the kde desktop? If they are open and you cannot save them for some reason and wanna jump to another DE you can do that by starting another x-server on a new vt, then you can jump to it with the ctrl+alt+F#-keys. I don't remember the commands to do this, though.