After six months of intense development, the team LXQt unveiled via a blog post the release of version 2.2.0 of its lightweight desktop environment. This update strengthens Wayland support, improves file and terminal management, and brings several new features.
For those who are unaware of LXQt, they should know that this eIt is a lightweight, modular and modern desk, Combining the best of LXDE and Razor-qt, following a classic organization but with improvements aimed at efficiency and ease of use, LXQt is a standout choice for those looking for an agile and customizable desktop.
Main new features of LXQt 2.2.0
In this new version of LXQt 2.2.0, one of the most notable advances is the improved support for the Wayland protocol, since now, in configurations with multiple displays, display names are used instead of serial numbers, this in order to facilitate the management of connected monitors.
In addition, the component lxqt-wayland-session has been updated to allow running LXQt in combination with various composition managers from Wayland. Supported composite servers now include LabWC, WayFire, kwin_wayland, Sway, Hyprland, River, and Niri, significantly expanding the options for users looking for a modern experience outside of X11.
Another new feature that stands out in LXQt 2.2.0 is that it now PCManFM-Qt allows users to define their own options for launching terminal emulators, Offering greater customization. The bulk file renaming tool has also been improved, incorporating support for string replacement operations, facilitating repetitive actions on large collections of files.
In addition to that, when using the "Open with" option over multiple files of different MIME types, The system now suggests applications capable of handling each file type individually. Also, the Ctrl+Shift+Number key combination has been added to quickly change the file list display mode, along with improvements to drag-and-drop behavior.
Improvements in QTerminal and QTermWidget
The terminal emulator QTerminal and its associated widget QTermWidget introduces several features, Among them, the following stand out: support for blinking text cursor and the ability to automatically hide the mouse cursor while typing.
La Text rendering has been improved to correctly display special characters and character combinations. In addition, QTerminal now displays a confirmation message when trying to close it if there are any active processes, preventing accidental shutdowns. The option to switch focus between terminals by simply hovering over them has also been added, and the configuration dialog box has been simplified to make it more accessible.
Session, panel, and general power management improvements in LXQt 2.2.0
In the energy section, LXQt 2.2.0 integrates support for power profiles Managed by power-profiles-daemon, displaying available options directly from the battery indicator in the taskbar. By default, closing the laptop lid activates sleep mode, improving performance in mobile environments.
LXQt session now features multi-instance protection of the lxqt-session process for the same user, avoiding conflictsAdditionally, a D-Bus method has been added to facilitate remote execution of applications within an active LXQt session, opening up new integration possibilities with scripts and automation tools.
El LXQt Panel also receives improvements. It is now possible to customize the text color in the Custom Command add-in area, which is useful for highlighting or differentiating the outputs of different commands executed directly from the panel.
Furthermore, the Fancy Menu, a visual alternative to the classic application menu, incorporates the possibility of navigating using the Page Up and Page Down keys, making scrolling through long lists of programs much more agile.
The compression tool LXQt Archiver has been updated to activate by default the support for 7zip, One of the most popular and efficient compression formats. Additionally, the 7z utility is used to manage RAR files, offering a complete and functional solution.
Finally, if you are interested in knowing more about it, you can check the details in the following link
Download and get LXQt 2.2.0
For those interested in trying out LXQt 2.1.0, you should know that this new version is now available Available on official channels of the main distributions, in addition to the fact that it is also source code available for compilation.