Productivity in Xubuntu: Native XFCE Tools (2026)

Work efficiency with utilities from the official repository

1. Native Calendars and Organizers

In Xubuntu, calendar management is done using Orage or the xfce4-calendar-plugin. Both are lightweight, native to XFCE, and do not require GNOME dependencies to work.

Recommended setup: Add the calendar plugin to the panel for quick access, and use Orage for advanced event management with CalDAV synchronization (standard protocol to access remote calendars, e.g., Nextcloud, Google Calendar) if needed.

Installation and useful commands

# Install Orage (calendar manager)
sudo apt install orage

# Install calendar plugin for the panel
sudo apt install xfce4-calendar-plugin

# Run Orage
orage

# Sync with CalDAV (example)
orage --sync

2. Office Suite: LibreOffice on XFCE

For office productivity, Xubuntu includes native support for LibreOffice. Although not exclusive to XFCE, it is optimized to work in lightweight environments and is the official recommendation of the Xubuntu project.

Lightweight alternative: For users who prefer more minimalist tools, abiword (word processor) and gnumeric (spreadsheet) are available in repositories and consume fewer resources than LibreOffice, while maintaining compatibility with standard formats.

Installing LibreOffice and lightweight alternatives

# Install full LibreOffice
sudo apt install libreoffice libreoffice-l10n-en libreoffice-help-en

# Install only specific components
sudo apt install libreoffice-writer   # Word processor
sudo apt install libreoffice-calc     # Spreadsheet
sudo apt install libreoffice-impress  # Presentations

# Lightweight alternatives
sudo apt install abiword gnumeric

# Launch LibreOffice
libreoffice

⚠️ Note: If you use LibreOffice on a system with limited resources, disable OpenGL acceleration and Java to improve performance. Go to Tools → Options → LibreOffice → Memory and adjust the values.

3. Calculators and Mathematical Tools

For calculations in Xubuntu, native options include Galculator and XCalc. Both are lightweight, functional, and do not require GNOME dependencies, aligning with XFCE's efficiency philosophy.

Recommended setup: Use Galculator for everyday operations (with financial, logical, and scientific modes) and XCalc for scripts or automations that require a minimalist interface.

Installing calculators

# Install Galculator
sudo apt install galculator

# Install XCalc (usually preinstalled)
sudo apt install x11-apps

# Run Galculator
galculator

# Run XCalc
xcalc

4. Font Management and Dictionaries

For font management, Xubuntu supports Font Manager, a lightweight tool to install, organize and preview fonts without overloading the system. For dictionaries, xfce4-dict (a tool that allows searching definitions, synonyms or translations in local or remote dictionaries) offers quick lookups from the panel or as a standalone application.

✓ Recommended workflow: Install Font Manager for advanced font management, and add xfce4-dict to the panel for quick definitions while writing documents.

Installing font and dictionary tools

# Install Font Manager
sudo apt install font-manager

# Install dictionary plugin for XFCE
sudo apt install xfce4-dict

# Install local English dictionaries
sudo apt install hunspell-en-us

# Configure remote dictionaries in xfce4-dict (e.g., Wordnik, Dict server)
# Edit ~/.config/xfce4/dict/dictrc

# Run Font Manager
font-manager

# Run dictionary from terminal
xfce4-dict

5. Native Printing, Scanning and Fax

For printing and scanning tasks, Xubuntu includes native support for xfprint4 and XSane. Both tools are lightweight, functional, and do not require GNOME components to operate.

Recommended setup: Use xfprint4 for print queue management and XSane for advanced scanning with support for multiple output formats (PDF, PNG, JPEG).

Installing printing and scanning tools

# Install xfprint4 (printer manager)
sudo apt install xfprint4

# Install XSane (scanner)
sudo apt install xsane

# Install simple-scan (lightweight alternative)
sudo apt install simple-scan

# Run xfprint4
xfprint4

# Run XSane
xsane

# Run simple-scan
simple-scan

Note about fax: Xubuntu does not include native graphical tools for modern faxing. If you need to send/receive faxes, install efax or hylafax from the terminal, or use online services.

📚 Useful links

• Official LibreOffice Website
• Orage Documentation
• Galculator on Ubuntu Repositories
• xfce4-dict Guide
• Xubuntu Productivity Tips