Manjaro/Arch Linux - Guide (x86_64)

This Installation Guide will allow you to install the MaXXdesktop on a Manjaro Arch Linux Distribution from version 20 and above.

We cannot 100% confirm if MaXXdesktop runs fine on other derivatives of Arch Linux, but it should.

Release Notes for Octane Alpha v2.2.0

Backup Older MaXXdesktop Installation

To guaranty a successful installation or upgrade, you must backup your current MaXXdesktop installation. Follow the simple instructions below.

It is VERY IMPORTANT to backup your older MaXXdesktop installation outside a running MaXXdesktop session. Ideally from the text console or from another desktop session like GNOME or KDE.

1. Backup you current MaXXdesktop Installation

$ sudo -s
cd /opt
mv MaXX MaXX-old
exit
$

2. Run the following commands (AS ROOT) to remove deprecated files from older version 2.0 of MaXXdesktop.

This step is optional in case you modified or installed old MaXX GTK Themes. At this point you probably know what your are doing...

$ sudo -s
rm /usr/share/themes/IndigoMagic
rm /usr/share/themes/Rio
rm /usr/share/themes/Gotham
rm /usr/share/themes/MaXX*
exit
$

Prerequisites

Below are the prerequisites for installing and running MaXXdesktop and some older X11/Motif applications...

System Requirements

Supported 64 bit (x86_64) Linux distribution running on an Intel or AMD CPU.
Minimum of 8GB recommended, althought MaXXdesktop runs fine on 4GB. Be warn of OOM Killer (oom_repear).

Storage Space Requirements

250MB   in  /tmp  partition (something it is part of the / 'root' partition)
800MB   in  /opt  partition (something it is part of the / 'root' partition)

Software Package Requirements

1. Here is the step required to install libjpeg6 missing dependency

Before logging into MID for the first time, ensure libjpeg6 is installed. It can be found in the Arch repositories as
libjpeg6-turbo.

sudo pacman -S libjpeg6
// reference to libjepg6-turbo https://www.archlinux.org/packages/community/x86_64/libjpeg6-turbo/

2. Here is the step required to install libtinfo from ncurses library missing dependency

libtinfo is an ncurses library which is included in most Linux distributions as part of most ncurses packages.

However in Arch it is not included with ncurses, but you can easily install it from the Arch User Repository (AUR) via the ncurses compatibility library: ncurses5-compat-libs

sudo pamac install ncurses5-compat-libs

// reference to ncurses5-compat-libs https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/ncurses5-compat-libs/ (edited) 
// aur.archlinux.org
// AUR (en) - ncurses5-compat-libs
// System V Release 4.0 curses emulation library, ABI 5

3. Mandatory Fonts for Modern Look fonts are required to run MaXXdesktop 2.2.0. Make sure they are present before you login.

$ sudo pacman -S  ttf-dejavu noto-fonts noto-fonts-extra

Installation

Now let's install the MaXX Interactive Desktop onto your system. Follow the simple instructions to download and run the installer.

You will need root access to run some of the commands...

1. Download and Install MaXX Interactive Desktop - Octane v2.2.0

cd /tmp
wget https://s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/cdn.maxxinteractive.com/maxx-desktop-installer/MaXX-Desktop-LINUX-x64-2.2.0-alpha-1-Installer.sh
chmod a+x MaXX-Desktop-LINUX-x64-2.2.0-alpha-1-Installer.sh
su or sudo -s
./MaXX-Desktop-LINUX-x64-2.2.0-alpha-1-Installer.sh
 exit

Post Installation

The follow additional step is required to fix an issue with PNG icons with ROX.

1. Edit the file $HOME/.maxxdesktop/desktopenv and replace this line:

export XDG_DATA_DIRS=$HOME/.maxxdesktop:$XDG_DATA_DIRS

With this:

export XDG_DATA_DIRS=$HOME/.maxxdesktop:$XDG_DATA_DIRS:/usr/share:/usr/share/local

Post Installation - Backing up User Preferences

We recommend to backup your User Preferences.

1. Run the following commands (UNDER YOUR NORMAL USER) to backup your MaXXdesktop User Preferences.

$ cd $HOME
$ mv .maxxdesktop dot.maxxdesktop-back
$

Almost Done

Log out or simply restart your computer to allow your Display Manager (we recommend lightDM with our custom backgrounds) to take into account the new addition.

Once your system is rebooted, you can now choose MaXX Interactive Desktop from GDM's available session menu.

To customize your environment, refer to this book.

Congratulation and Welcome to MaXXdesktop!