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104 Part I . Linux First Steps The following sections describe some things you can do with the GNOME panel. Use the Main Menu Click the main menu icon on the panel, and you see categories of applications and system tools that you can select. Click the application you want to launch. To add an item to launch from the panel and to view its properties right-click it. There is currently no way to add or remove applications to or from this menu from the GUI in GNOME. However, you can manually add items to your GNOME menus. To add to the main menu, create a .desktop file in the /usr/share/applications directory. The easiest way to do that is to copy an existing .desktop file that is on the menu you want and modify it. For example, to add a video player to the Sound & Video menu, you could do the following (as root user): # cd /usr/share/applications # cp gnome-cd.desktop vidplay.desktop Next use any text editor to change the contents of the vidplay.desktop file you created by adding a comment, file to execute, icon to display, and application name. After you save the changes, the new item immediately appears on the menu (no need to restart anything). Adding an Applet There are several small applications, called applets, that you can run directly on the GNOME panel. These applications can show information you may want to see on an ongoing basis or may just provide some amusement. To see what applets are available and to add applets that you want to your panel, perform the following steps: 1. Right-click an open space in the panel so that the panel menu appears. 2. Select Add to Panel. An Add to Panel window appears. 3. Select from among several dozen applets, including a clock, dictionary lookup, stock ticker, weather report, lock screen, log out, run application, take screen shot, fortune-telling fish, eyes that follow your mouse, e-mail Inbox monitor, and modem lights monitor. The applet appears on the panel, ready for you to use. Figure 3-9 shows (from left to right) eyes, system monitor, CD player, stock ticker, e-mail Inbox monitor, and dictionary lookup applets. Figure 3-9: Placing applets on the Panel makes it easy to access them.

Chapter 3 . Getting into the Desktop 103 From the gconf-editor window, select apps.metacity, and then choose from general, global_keybindings, keybindings_commands, window_keybindings, and workspace_names. Click each key to see its value, along with short and long descriptions of the key. Using the GNOME panel The GNOME panel is the place from which you manage your desktop. From this panel you can start applications (from buttons or menus), see what programs are active, and monitor how your system is running. There are also many ways to change the panel by adding applications or monitors, or by changing the placement or behavior of the panel, for example. Right-click any open space on the panel to see the Panel menu (see Figure 3-8). Figure 3-8: The GNOME panel menu. From GNOME s Panel menu, you can perform a variety of functions, including: . Use the main menu. The main menu (represented by a red hat in Red Hat systems) displays most of the applications and system tools you will use from the desktop. . Add to panel. Add an applet, menu, launcher, drawer, or button. . Delete this panel. Delete the current panel. . Properties. Change the panel s position, size, and background properties. . New panel. Add panels to your desktop in different styles and locations. You can also work with items on a panel. For example, you can: . Move items. Move items on a panel simply by dragging and dropping them to new positions. . Resize items. Some elements, such as the Window List, can be resized by clicking an edge and dragging it to the new size. . Use the Window List. Tasks running on the desktop appear in the Window List area. Click a task to minimize or maximize it.

102 Part I . Linux First Steps Table 3-3 Metacity Keyboard Shortcuts Actions Keystrokes Window focus Cycle forward, with pop-up icons Alt+Tab Cycle backward, with pop-up icons Alt+Shift+Tab Cycle forward, without pop-up icons Alt+Esc Cycle backward, without pop-up icons Alt+Shift+Esc Panel focus Cycle forward among panels Alt+Ctrl+Tab Cycle backward among panels Alt+Ctrl+Shift+Tab Workspace focus Move to workspace to the right Ctrl+Alt+right arrow Move to workspace to the left Ctrl+Alt+left arrow Move to upper workspace Ctrl+Alt+up arrow Move to lower workspace Ctrl+Alt+down arrow Minimize/maximize all windows Ctrl+Alt+D Show window menu Alt-Space bar Close menu Esc Another Metacity feature of interest is the workspace switcher. Four virtual workspaces appear in the workspace switcher on the GNOME panel. Here are some things to do with the workspace switcher: . Choose current workspace Four virtual workspaces appear in the workspace switcher. Click any of the four virtual workspaces to make it your current workspace. . Move windows to other workspaces Click any window, each represented by a tiny rectangle in a workspace, to drag-and-drop it to another workspace. . Add more workspaces Right-click the workspace switcher, and select Preferences. You can add workspaces (up to 32). . Name workspaces Right-click the workspace switcher and select Preferences. Click in the Workspaces pane to change names of workspaces to any names you choose. You can view and change information about Metacity controls and settings using the gconf-editor window (type gconf-editor from a Terminal window). As the window says, it is not the recommended way of changing preferences, so when possible, you should change the desktop through GNOME preferences. However, gconf-editor is a good way to see descriptions of each Metacity feature.

Chapter 3 . Getting into the Desktop 101 Figure 3-7: In the GNOME desktop environment, you can manage applications from the panel. There really isn t much you can do with Metacity (except get your work done efficiently). Assigning new themes to Metacity and changing colors and window decorations is done through the GNOME preferences (and is described later). A few Metacity themes exist, but expect the number to grow. Basic Metacity functions that might interest you are keyboard shortcuts and the workspace switcher. Table 3-3 shows keyboard shortcuts to get around the Metacity window manager. Desktop area Preferences window Nautilus file manager Panel Desktop icons E-mail Writer Print manager Red Hat network alert notification Workspace switcher Impress Clock Window list Calc Web browser Red Hat main menu

100 Part I . Linux First Steps preferences. To use your GNOME desktop, you should become familiar with the following components: . Metacity (window manager) The default window manager for GNOME in Fedora is Metacity. It provides such things as themes, and window borders and controls. . Nautilus (file manager/graphical shell) When you open a folder (by double-clicking the Home icon on your desktop, for example), the Nautilus window opens and displays the contents of the selected folder. Nautilus can also display other types of content, such as shared folders from Windows computers on the network (using SMB). . GNOME panel (application/task launcher) This panel, which lines the bottom of your screen, is designed to make it convenient for you to launch the applications you use, manage running applications, and work with multiple virtual desktops. By default, the panel contains the main menu (represented by a red hat in Red Hat Linux or a footprint icon in others), desktop application launchers (Evolution e-mail and a set of OpenOffice.org applications), a workspace switcher (for managing four virtual desktops), window list, and a clock. It also has an icon to alert you when you need software updates. . Desktop area The windows and icons you use are arranged on the desktop area, which supports such things a drag-and-drop between applications, a desktop menu (right-click to see it), and icons for launching applications. There is a Computer icon which consolidates CD drives, floppy drives, the file system, and shared network resources in one place. GNOME also includes a set of Preferences windows that enable you to configure different aspects of your desktop. You can change backgrounds, colors, fonts, keyboard shortcuts, and other features relating to the look and behavior of the desktop. Figure 3-7 shows how the GNOME desktop environment appears the first time you log in, with a few windows added to the screen. The following sections provide details on using the GNOME desktop. Using the Metacity Window Manager The Metacity window manager seems to have been chosen as the default window manager for GNOME in Red Hat Linux because of its simplicity. The creator of Metacity refers to it as a boring window manager for the adult in you then goes on to compare other window managers to colorful, sugary cereal, while Metacity is characterized as Cheerios.

Chapter 3 . Getting into the Desktop 99 3. Select one of the categories of applications. 4. Select any application from that category (or select Add This Menu To Add the Whole Menu of Applications). An icon representing the application immediately appears on the panel. (If the panel seems a bit crowded, you might want to remove some applications you don t use.) If you decide later that you no longer want this application to be available on the panel, right-click the edge of the icon and click the Remove button. To move it to a different location on the panel, right-click it, click Move, move it to where you want it on the panel, and click again. Adding Applications to the Desktop To add an application to the desktop, use the desktop menu. Here s how: 1. Right-click an open area of the desktop. 2. Select Create New.File.Link to Application from the menu. 3. On the Properties window that appears, click the General tab and replace Link to Application with the name you want to appear for the application on the desktop. On that same tab, click the gear icon and select one icon from the list to represent your application. 4. Click the Application tab and add a description of the application and a comment. Then in the Command box, type the command you want to run or browse your file system (click the Browse button) to find the command to run. 5. Click OK, and the icon for the new application launcher appears on the desktop. If you decide later that you no longer want this application to be available on the desktop, right-click the icon and click Delete or Move to Trash. The GNOME Desktop GNOME (pronounced guh-nome) provides the desktop environment that you get by default when you install Fedora Core and other Red Hat Linux systems. This desktop environment provides the software that is between your X Window System framework and the look-and-feel provided by the window manager. GNOME is a stable and reliable desktop environment, with a few cool features in it. The new GNOME 2.8 desktop comes with the most recent version of Fedora Core. For GNOME 2.8, enhancements include a new volume manager (for managing removable media), keyring manager (for managing keys), and remote desktop

98 Part I . Linux First Steps Other attributes you can change for the selected fonts are size (in points) and character set (to select an ISO standard character set). Select Apply to apply the changes. . Colors Under the Appearance & Themes heading, select Colors. The window that appears lets you change the color of selected items on the desktop. Select a whole color scheme from the Color Scheme list box. Or select an item from the Widget color box to change a particular item. Items you can change include text, backgrounds, links, buttons, and title bars. Changing Panel Attributes For most people, the panel is the place where they select which desktop is active and which applications are run. You can change panel behavior from the Configure Panel window. Right-click any empty space on your panel, and then select Configure Panel. You can change these features from the Settings window that appears: . Arrangement Change the location of the panel by clicking Top, Left, Bottom, or Right in the Panel Location list box. The Panel Style selection lets you change the size of the Panel from Medium to Tiny, Small, or Large. . Hiding Certain selections enable you to autohide the panel or use hide buttons. Under the Hide Mode heading, choose whether to hide only when a panel hiding button is clicked or to hide automatically after a set number of seconds when the cursor is not in the panel area. You can also show or not show hiding buttons. Sliders let you select the delay and speed at which panels and buttons are hidden. . Menus Unlike with the GNOME main menu, you have the capability to manipulate the main menu from the GUI in KDE. Click the Edit K Menu button. The KDE Menu editor that appears lets you cut, copy, paste, remove, and modify submenus and applications from your main menu. Adding Application Launchers and MIME Types You want to be able to quickly access the applications that you use most often. One of the best ways to make that possible is to add icons to the panel or the desktop that can launch the applications you need with a single click. Procedures for adding applications to the panel and desktop are described in the following sections. Adding Applications to the Panel You can add any KDE application to the KDE panel quite easily. Here s how: 1. Right-click an open space on the panel. 2. Choose Add.Application Button.

Chapter 3 . Getting into the Desktop 97 Changing the Display You can change a lot of the look-and-feel of your desktop display. Under the Appearance & Themes topic (click the plus sign), you can change Background, Colors, Fonts, Icons, Launch Feedback, Panel, Screen Saver, Style, Theme Manager, and Window Decoration. Here are a few of the desktop features you may want to change: . Background Under the Appearance & Themes heading in the KDE Control Center, select Background. By default, all of your virtual desktops use the same background. To have different backgrounds for each virtual desktop, select the box next to the Setting for Desktop heading, choose any of the four desktops, and then choose the background you want for the current desktop. For each desktop, select Picture, Slideshow, or No Picture. For a Picture, there are several backgrounds you can choose from the pull-down menu, or you can browse your file system for a picture. To do a slide show, click Slideshow and select Setup (to choose your pictures and define how often they change). Click Apply to apply your selections. . Screensaver Under the Appearance & Themes heading, select Screen Saver. From the window that appears, select from a list of screen savers. KNOPPIX only includes a blank screen saver. However, Fedora Core comes with about 160 different screen savers. My favorite is Slideshow, where you can have a slide show of images for your screen saver. Click Setup to identify an image directory or otherwise modify the behavior of the screen saver. Under settings, select how many minutes of inactivity before the screen saver turns on. You can also choose Require Password to require that a password be entered before you can access your display after the screen saver has come on. If you are working in a place where you want your desktop to be secure, be sure to turn on the Require Password feature. This prevents others from gaining access to your computer when you forget to lock it or shut it off. If you have any virtual terminals open, switch to them and type vlock to lock each of them as well. (You need to install the vlock package if the vlock command isn t available.) . Fonts You can assign different fonts to different places in which fonts appear on the desktop. Under the Appearance & Themes heading, select Fonts. Select one of the categories of fonts (General, Fixed width, Toolbar, Menu, Window title, Taskbar, and Desktop fonts). Then click the Choose check box to select a font from the Select Font list box that you want to assign to that category. If the font is available, an example of the text appears in the Sample text box. To use 100dpi fonts, you need to add an entry for 100dpi fonts to /etc/X11/ xorg.conf file. After you make that change, you need to restart the X server for it to take effect. Tip Tip

96 Part I . Linux First Steps Using Virtual Desktops To give you more space to run applications than will fit on your physical screen, KDE gives you access to several virtual desktops at the same time. Using the 1, 2, 3, and 4 buttons on the panel, you can easily move between the different desktops. Just click the one you want. If you want to move an application from one desktop to another, you can do so from the window menu. Click the window menu button for the window you want to move, click To Desktop, and then select Desktop 1, 2, 3, or 4. The window will disappear from the current desktop and move to the one you selected. Configuring the Desktop If you want to change the look, feel, or behavior of your KDE desktop, the best place to start is the KDE Control Center. The Control Center window (Figure 3-6) lets you configure dozens of attributes associated with colors, fonts, backgrounds, and screen savers. You can also change attributes relating to how you work with windows and files. To open the KDE Control Center from the desktop, select Settings.Control Center from the K menu or open a Terminal window and type sudo kcontrol. Figure 3-6: Manage your KDE desktop from the KDE Control Center. Click the plus (+) sign next to the topic you want to configure, and then select the particular item you want to configure. The following sections describe some of the features you can configure from the Control Center.

Chapter 3 . Getting into the Desktop 95 Uncluttering the Desktop If your windows are scattered willy-nilly all over the desktop, here are a couple of ways you can make your desktop s appearance a little neater: . Unclutter windows Right-click the desktop, and then click Windows. Unclutter Windows on the menu. All windows that are currently displayed on the desktop are lined up along the left side of the screen (or aligned with other windows), from the top down. . Cascade windows Right-click the desktop, and then click Windows. Cascade windows on the menu. The windows are aligned as they are with the Unclutter selection, except that the windows are each indented starting from the upper-left corner. Moving Windows The easiest way to move a window from one location to another is to place the cursor on the window s title bar, hold down the mouse button and drag the window to a new location, and release the mouse button to drop the window. Another way to do it is to click the window menu button (top-left corner of the title bar), select Move, move the mouse to relocate the window, and then click again to place it. If somehow the window gets stuck in a location where the title bar is off the screen, you can move it back to where you want it by holding down the Alt key and clicking the left mouse button in the inner window. Then move the window where you want it and release. Resizing Windows To resize a window, grab anywhere on the outer edge of the window border, and then move the mouse until the window is the size you want. Grab a corner to resize vertically and horizontally at the same time. Grab a side to resize in only one direction. You can also resize a window by clicking the window menu button (top-left corner of the title bar) and selecting Size. Move the mouse until the window is resized and click to leave it there. Pinning Windows on Top or Bottom You can set a window to always stay on top of all other windows or always stay under them. Keeping a window on top can be useful for a small window that you want to always refer to (such as a clock or a small TV viewing window). To pin a window on top of the desktop, click in the window title bar. From the menu that appears, select Advanced.Keep Above Others. Likewise, to keep the window on the bottom, select Advanced.Keep Below Others.