Please add the "Fixed length" functionality from 4.6 to xfce4-panel v4.8. This is a nice behaviour, so the buttons can fill the whole panel.
*** Bug 7132 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
First of all, due to size allocation implementations, the non-expanding plugin option is not working because it will expand the panel endlessly. If plugins like Global menu do not get enough size, not my problem, they should implement a decent size request mechanism. If you want a panel that does not completely fill your screen, you can also lower the length option and disable auto-increase-length, so the panel will stay that size.
It's not a matter of the global menu plugin (or any other plugin) not getting enough space, it's a matter of the window list plugin using more space than it needs, i.e. having a lower width limit, leaving empty space to the right where none is needed. Example: http://i.imgur.com/1x5yw.png The empty space between the icons and the global menu is the window buttons plugin. Unless I have misunderstood you, this free space is not necessary and the window buttons plugin should simply expand as necessary as more icons are added. Thank you for your prompt reply.
My above comment is mostly directed toward the issue raised in bug 7132 which I opened and which was marked a duplicate of this bug. I don't care about having the plugin fill a space of fixed width, I just want to get rid of the redundant empty space that extends to the right as shown above. This has nothing to do with setting xfce_panel_plugin_set_expand TRUE or FALSE, nor does it have anything to do with the size allocation functions in tasklist.c or tasklist-widget.c (as far as I could test, in any case). Thanks.
In xfce4.6 I used changeable window buttons, I could click on window title on taskbar not looking. Now switching between windows is not not convenient. Please, turn back fixed length.
The tasklist in master now only shrinks its size. This means that if there is no space left for expanding plugins on the panel, it will try to shrink plugins that have this option enabled. Definitely not the same as the fixed size, but makes the tasklist play a lot nicer with other plugins. This also means the tasklist can be aligned on the panel with expanding separator plugins.