Part I. Introducing Linux / Chapter 3. The GNOME Desktop | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 2.6. Software Development | 3.2. Settings |  | |
Part I. Introducing Linux / Chapter 3. The GNOME Desktop | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.6. Software Development | 3.2. Settings | | |
Table of Contents
Abstract
This chapter introduces the GNOME (GNU Network Object Model Environment) desktop. It provides a brief overview of the most important elements and functionalities of your desktop, including an in-depth description of the file manager Nautilus. Finally, get to know several smart and useful applications that can help you feel at home in your new desktop environment.
GNOME has a very intuitive look and feel to it. However, users migrating to Linux from a Microsoft Windows desktop might need to get accustomed to a few things. Users migrating from a Macintosh might notice that GNOME feels very much like home, because it aims to provide a Mac-type look and feel to a Linux desktop.
Two issues are very important:
Like a Mac desktop, a GNOME desktop is entirely ruled by the double-click. To trigger an event by clicking a desktop icon, for example, open your home folder, you need to double-click it. To open subdirectories in the file manager, double-click the parent folder.
Any configuration dialog opened from a GNOME application or as part of the GNOME desktop configuration follows the principle of “instant apply.” Once you enter your preferences, just click the button to save them and leave the dialog. You will not find any , , or buttons in this kind of dialog.
The most important elements of the GNOME desktop are the icons on the desktop, the panels at the top and bottom border of the screen, and the panel menus. The mouse is your most important tool, although GNOME has built-in support for assistive technologies, such as braille, speech synthesizers, and on-screen keyboards to support handicapped users. For details on these technologies, refer to Section 3.5, “Assistive Technology Support”.
The default GNOME desktop features at least the following desktop icons providing basic navigation and functionalities of your system:
Anything you want to delete can be dropped onto the desktop icon. As long as you do not empty the trash can, these items are not deleted permanently and can still be restored.
The desktop icon provides easy access to your private data.
The desktop icon can be used to quickly access any device attached to your computer. This includes hard drives, partitions, digital cameras, and USB flash drives.
Right-clicking an icon displays a menu offering file operations, like copying, cutting, or renaming. Selecting from the menu displays a configuration dialog. The title of an icon and the icon itself can be changed with . Use the tab to view and modify the access, read, and write permission settings for this file for the user, the group, or others. The tab manages comments. The menu for the trash can additionally features the option. This deletes its contents.
To remove an icon from the desktop, simply move it into the trash can. However, be careful with this option—if you throw folder icons or file icons into the trash can, the actual data is deleted. If the icons only represent links to a file or directory, only the links are deleted.
To create a link on the desktop to a folder or a file, access the object in question with Nautilus. Right-click the object and select . Drag the link from the Nautilus window and drop it on the desktop.
Right-clicking a free spot on the desktop displays a menu with various options. Select to create a new folder. Create a launcher icon for an application with . Provide the name of the application and the command for starting it then choose an icon to represent it. The order and alignment of desktop icons are controlled via and . It is also possible to change the desktop background or reset it to its default setting. If you need a command line environment, click .
On first login, the GNOME desktop starts with two panels located at the top and the bottom of the screen. The upper panel holds the three panel menus (, , and ), a quick launch area providing application buttons for the most important programs, a system tray holding applet icons, and a notification area with the system clock and the volume control.
The bottom panel contains the window icons of all started applications in the taskbar. If you click the name of a window in the taskbar, it is moved to the foreground. If the program is already in the foreground, a mouse click minimizes it. Clicking a minimized application reopens the respective window.
Beside the taskbar, the provides access to additional work areas. These virtual desktops provide extra space in which to arrange open applications and windows. For example, put an editor on one workspace, some shells on another, and your e-mail application and Web browser on a third. Move a window to another workspace by just dragging its icon in the workspace switcher from one workspace to another.
If you right-click an empty spot in the panel, a menu opens, offering help, information, and commands for GNOME and panels. Select to open a configuration dialog in which to change the position and background of the panel. If desired, add launchers, tools, and various applets to the existing panels with . Remove panel elements by right-clicking their icons and selecting . A new panel can be added with .
The menu provides an easily accessible hierarchy of the applications installed on your system. Most of them are grouped into smaller submenus each dedicated to a category, like , , and . To start any application, just click to unfold the complete menu. Then select a suitable category, unfold the submenu, and click the application's name.
Applications not in the menu can still be started via the prompt (Alt-F2), if you know their command. For example, if you want to browse your digital photographs and could not find gThumb in the menu, enter gthumb at the prompt.
The menu provides easy access to common locations, such as the user's home, drives, and desktop and network folders. A search function for recent documents and a file search can also be launched with this menu. For more information about file management of local and remote folders, refer to Section 3.3.2, “File Management”.
The menu contains the basic controls for managing your desktop. Here, find and as well as an easy-to-use function for taking screenshots of your desktop. The screenshot function can alternatively be accessed just by pressing the Print Screen key (also known as PrtSc).
Applets are little applications that are nested in the panel by means of a small icon. Unlike a “real” application, they do not have their own window on screen. Some applets are already preconfigured to be in your panel on first start, but there are many more to be discovered and added to your own custom panel.
Adding a panel applet is very simple. Just right-click the panel to open the dialog, shown in Figure 3.1, “Adding a New Icon to the Panel”, scroll down until you find what you need, select the item, and click . A new applet is then permanently added to the panel.
