The XFce desktop environment consists of different components, each providing a part of the functionality.
The panel provides a clock, icons, pop-up menus, buttons to change the virtual desktop and gives access to the configuration dialog.
The window manager controls the placement, movement and decorations of the windows. It also provides a root menu, keybindings and session management.
XFTree is a small, but versatile file manager.
XFce comes with a lot of utilities to make your life easier:
xfbd / xfbdmgr : xfbd sets the background of your desktop and xfbdmgr allows you to create lists of backdrops for xfbd to choose from.
xfclock : clock and calendar (with appointment management).
xfdiff : graphical frontend to diff to view difference between files or directories (and make or apply patches).
xfglob : graphical search tool.
xfgnome : xfwm module that provides gnome compatibility (activated from the xfce setup dialog).
xfmenu : xfwm module to read gnome and kde menus and add them to the xfwm menu.
xfmouse : xfwm module manage the mouse settings.
xfpager : xfwm module that shows the virtual desktops and allows you to switch between them. It can be activated from the xfce setup dialog.
xfrun : let's you run any command (includes a command history).
xfsamba : samba network browser. Samba is the protocol used to communicate with windows computers.
xfsound : xfwm module that manages the sounds played for certain events.
xfumed : user menu editor. Can be started from the xfwm menu. Editor for the `User Programs' submenu.
There are several scripts included in the XFce distribution to offer some additional functionality:
xfhelp : started from the info icon on the right of the panel. Starts a browser with the HTML help file (nestscape or another browser defined by the $BROWSER environmental variable).
xflock : started from the lock icon on the center part of the panel. Starts xscreensaver or xlock (one of these must be installed for this to work).
xfmountdev : this script mounts a device and opens the appropriate path in xftree. It looks at /etc/fstab for info on devices and mountpoints. Takes a mountpoint as argument (e.g. xfmountdev /mnt/floppy).
xfprint : started from the printer icon on the panel. allows you to drag and drop files on the icon to have them printed.
xfterm : wrapper around an x terminal (xterm or another terminal defined by the $TERMCMD environmental variable) that allows some intelligent behaviour when dropping files on it from the file manager, like showing a text file with less or a html file with lynx.
xftrash : started from the recycle icon on the panel. Allows you to drag and drop a file on the icon to put it in the recycle bin of xftree.