| SUSE LINUX Documentation Part III. Desktop / Chapter 8. The GNOME Desktop | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 7.3. Important Utilities | 8.2. File Management with Nautilus |  | |
| SUSE LINUX Documentation Part III. Desktop / Chapter 8. The GNOME Desktop | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.3. Important Utilities | 8.2. File Management with Nautilus | | |
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 Nautilus file manager. It also includes descriptions of 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. 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 provides a Mac-like look-and-feel on the Linux desktop.
The following issues are very important in GNOME:
Like a Mac desktop, the GNOME desktop is entirely ruled by the double-click. To trigger an event by clicking a desktop icon (for example, to open your home folder), 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. After you specify your preferences, click the button to save your changes and exit the dialog. You will not find , , 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 does have built-in support for assistive technologies, such as braille, speech synthesizers, and on-screen keyboards to support handicapped users. For information about these technologies, see Section 8.4, “Assistive Technology Support”.
The default GNOME desktop features the following desktop icons providing basic navigation and functionalities for your system:
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.
The desktop icon provides easy access to your private data.
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.
You can right-click an icon to display a menu offering file operations such as 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 add a small icon to an item (such as a file or a folder) to visually mark the item. For example, to mark a file as important, you can add an Important emblem to the file icon. Use to view and modify the access, read, and write permission settings for this file for the user, the group, or others. manages comments. The menu for the trash can additionally features , which deletes the contents of the trash can.
To remove an icon from the desktop, simply drag it to the trash can. Be careful with this option—if you throw folder 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 with Nautilus (see Section 8.2.1, “Navigating in Nautilus”). Right-click the object then click . Drag the link from the Nautilus window and drop it onto the desktop.
Right-clicking an empty spot on the desktop displays a menu with various options. Select to create a new folder or to create a new document. You can 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 by the and options. It is also possible to change the desktop background or paste an item on the desktop.
On your first login, the GNOME desktop starts with two panels, one located at the top of the screen and the other located at 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 (Firefox Web browser and OpenOffice.org Writer), a system tray holding applet icons (SUSEWatcher, SUSEPlugger, Display Settings, and Network Settings), 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 on the left. If you click the name of a window in the taskbar, the window is moved to the foreground. If the program is already in the foreground, a mouse click minimizes it. Clicking a minimized application reopens the window.
To the right of 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, you can open an editor in one workspace, some shells on another, and your e-mail application and Web browser on a third. Move a window to another workspace by dragging its icon in the Workspace Switcher from one workspace to another.
Right-click an empty spot in a panel to open a menu offering help, information, and commands for GNOME and the panels. Select to open a configuration dialog where you can change the position and background of the panel. You can add launchers, tools, and various applets to the existing panels with . Remove panel elements by right-clicking their icons and selecting . Add a new panel by clicking .
The menu provides an easily accessible hierarchy of the applications installed on your system. Most of them are grouped into smaller submenus dedicated to a category, such as , , and . To start any application, click to display the complete menu, select a suitable category, click the submenu, then click the application's name.
Applications not listed in the menu can be started via the prompt (Alt-F2) if you know the command. For example, if you want to browse your digital photographs and can not find gThumb in the menu, enter gthumb at the prompt.
The menu provides easy access to common locations, such as your home directory, drives, the 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, see Section 8.2.2, “File Management”.
The menu contains controls for managing your desktop. Here, find the (customizes your desktop), (starts the screen saver and requires the password to stop it), and (ends your session), and an easy-to-use program for taking screen shots of your desktop. The screen shot function can also be accessed by pressing Print Screen (also known as PrtSc).
An applet is a small application that resides within a panel, indicated by a small icon that you click to interact with the applet. Unlike “real” applications, applets do not have their own windows on screen. Some applets are already preconfigured to be in your panel on first start, but there are many more applets you can add to your own panels.
Add an applet to a panel from the panel menu. Right-click any empty space on the panel then click . Select the applet to add then click . The new applet is then permanently added to the panel.
To modify the properties of an applet, right-click the applet to display the panel object pop-up menu then click . To move an applet, middle-click the applet.
