Chapter 9. Using GNOME

Table of Contents
9.1. GNOME at a Glance
9.1.1. Panel
9.1.2. Desktop
9.2. The GNOME Panel
9.2.1. Some Useful Panel Buttons And Applets
9.2.2. Configuring The Panel
9.3. GNOME Main Menu
9.4. GNOME File Manager: Nautilus
9.5. Getting Help

This chapter is dedicated to GNOME, another favorite graphical user interface. Although its features resemble a lot those of KDE, the user interface is a bit different to what you might be accustomed to. GNOME and KDE provide roughly equivalent functionalities (even though each one of them have their own die-hard fans who would argue otherwise). Moreover, you can use GNOME applications in KDE and vice versa. So you can get your work done with either one of them – choose the one you prefer. All Mandrake Linux tools and menus work equally well in GNOME and KDE: our goal is to provide you with the best of both worlds.

9.1. GNOME at a Glance

When you log in to a GNOME session, you will see the GNOME desktop, similar to the one shown in figure 9-1.

Figure 9-1. GNOME Desktop

9.1.1. Panel

The long bar at the bottom of the GNOME desktop is called the GNOME Panel. It contains a number of useful applets/programs. Applets are tiny programs designed to work inside the panel. The most important one of them is the Main Menu (button with a footprint at the left side of the panel). It provides access to all GNOME (and not only GNOME) applications and commands. We will discuss the Main Menu in GNOME Main Menu.

The GNOME Panel also contains buttons for launching applications, for logging out and locking your screen, and a number of other applets. For example, the Clock applet on the far right shows the current time, and the Tasklist applet (in the middle of the panel) shows the list of all application windows on your desktop. The GNOME Panel will be discussed in The GNOME Panel.

Note

If you change virtual desktops, you will only see the windows opened in that specific desktop.

9.1.2. Desktop

Everything outside the panel is called "desktop". You can place icons for files, applications, and other items on it. For example, the default configuration of GNOME shipped with Mandrake Linux contains icons for your home directory (at the top left corner), several useful applications (such as Mandrake Control Center), Mandrake Linux web sites and a trash can. To open any of these objects, double-click on it:

  • if the item is a program, that program will start;

  • if it is a data file, the appropriate program will start up with that data loaded;

  • if it is a directory, the file manager will be launched and show the contents of that directory;

  • if it is a web address, GNOME will start your default web browser to show this site.

You can also right-click on any of these icons to produce a pop-up menu, which contains list of actions for this icon. This list contains items Show Properties (which also allows you to change some of the properties. For example, select a new icon), Move to Trash, as well as other options.

Tip

In fact, the same conventions (double-click to open, right-click for pop-up menu) apply to almost every GNOME component.

9.1.2.1. Desktop Menus

Finally, here are some useful menus for your GNOME desktop:

Desktop Background Menu

Right-clicking anywhere on the desktop (away from the icons, application windows, and the panel) produces the Desktop Background menu. Among other things, this menu gives you access to your CD-ROM, floppy disk, and other removable drives. It also enables to change the desktop background image, place new icons on the desktop, and more.

Root Menu

Clicking on your desktop (away from the icons, application windows, and the panel) with the middle mouse button produces the Root menu (also called the Window Manager menu). (If you have a two-button mouse, press left and right mouse buttons simultaneously to emulate a third one.) Its most useful sub-menu is the Windows, which contains a list of all your application windows. This is very convenient when you have so many opened windows that you can not find the one you need. The Root menu also holds the Help sub-menu, providing a quick way to access the GNOME Help System.


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