1. To get the panel to show up above maximized windows, copy/paste the following command in a terminal (thanks to Nick Schermer for the tip!): xfconf-query -c xfce4-panel -p /panels/panel-0/disable-struts -t bool -n -s true 2. Right click the panel and select "Panel Preferences": On the Display tab, uncheck "Lock panel" and change the panel length to something smaller then 70-80% (whatever you like). 3. Go to Settings > Settings Manager, select "Window Manager" under "Title alignment", select "Right" and only place the title, minimize, maximize and close buttons on the titlebar: You can of course place them all on the left if you want, but make sure to also move the panel on the right. That's it!