====== Preferences ======

You can open the Desktop settings dialog by clicking on the {gui>Desktop} icon in the [[../..:xfce4-settings:|Settings Manager]] or by right-clicking on an empty area of the desktop and selecting {gui>Desktop Settings} from the popup menu. 

===== Background =====

<figure "Background Tab">
{{xfdesktop411-background1.png?nolink&|}}</figure>

As its name implies, the **Background** tab has options to control the look of your desktop background. You can use images, colors or a combination of both. Use the {gui>Style:} option to control how your images will be displayed or to choose not to display an image at all. The {gui>Folder:} option points to the source for your image files. If your image folder contains multiple files, you can vary them by ticking the **Change the background** box. Using the {gui>Color:} option, you can select a solid color, a gradient or transparency. Finally, you can apply these choices to all workspaces at once or just the current workspace by checking/unchecking that box.

More details on how each of these options works can be found in the [[Usage|Usage]] section.
===== Menus =====

<figure "Menus Tab">
{{xfdesktop411-menus.png?nolink&|}}
</figure>

The **Menus** tab gives you the option of controlling what happens when you right-click and middle-click on the desktop. The **Desktop Menu** choice offers an alternative to going through **Settings Manager** for bringing up the **Desktop Settings** dialog. The **Window List Menu** choices give you various options for displaying a list of open applications and their workspaces.

The [[Usage|Usage]] section shows some examples of how the different **Window List Menu** choices look when enabled.


===== Icons =====

<figure "Icons Tab">
{{xfdesktop411-icons.png?nolink&|}}
</figure>

Some people like a perfectly clean desktop. Others prefer to have their favorite icons appear there. The options in the **Icons** tab give you your preference of what types of icons, if any, you want displayed, as well as how they will look and behave.