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113Chapter 3Getting into the Desktopdistribution, but you can get a bunch of other themes from themes. freshmeat.net(click on Metacity). Click Install theme, and then click the Window Border tab to select from differ- ent themes that change the title bar and other borders of your windows. Clickthe Icons tab to choose different icons to represent items on your desktop. Themes change immediately as you click or when you drag a theme name onthe desktop. Exiting GNOMEWhen you are done with your work, you can either log out from your current sessionor shut down your computer completely. To exit from GNOME, do the following: 1.Click the red hat menu button. 2.Select Log Out from the menu. A pop-up window appears, asking if you wantto Log Out, Shut Down, or Restart the computer. At this point, you can also choose to save your session by clicking Save CurrentSetup. This is a great way to have the applications that you use all the time restartthe next time you log in. Make sure you save your data before you exit, however. Most applications do not yet support the data-saving feature. 3.Select Log Out from the pop-up menu. This logs you out and returns you toeither the graphical login screen or to your shell login prompt. (If you selectShut Down, the system shuts down, and if you select Reboot, the systemrestarts.) 4.Select OK to finish exiting from GNOME. If you are unable to get to the Log Out button (if, for example, your Panel crashed), there are two other exit methods. Try one of these two ways, depending on howyou started the desktop: .If you started the desktop by typing startxfrom your login shell, pressCtrl+Alt+F1 to return to your login shell. Then press Ctrl+C to kill the desktop. .If you started the desktop from a graphical login screen, first open a Terminalwindow (right-click the desktop and select New Terminal). In the Terminalwindow, type ps x | moreto see a list of running processes. Look for a com- mand named gnome-sessionand determine its number under the PID col- umn. Then type kill -9 PID, where PIDis replaced by the PID number. Youshould see the graphical login screen. Although these are not the most graceful ways to exit the desktop, they work. Youshould be able to log in again and restart the desktop. Tip08_

112Part ILinux First Stepsextension appears in a Nautilus window, you can see the icon that will repre- sent the file, the mime type assigned to the file, and the action (if any) that staken when you open the file. You can modify any file type that appears in these preferences windows. Youcan choose what applications are run and what icons represent data of thattype. You can even create your own data types. .Screensaver Choose from dozens of screensavers from the Screensaverwindow. Select Random Screensaver to have your screen saver chosen ran- domly from those you mark with a check, or select one that you like from thelist to use all the time. Next, choose how long your screen must be idle beforethe screensaver starts (default is 10 minutes). For random screen savers, youcan select how long before cycling to the next screen saver. You can alsochoose to require a password or to enable power management to shut downyour monitor after a set number of minutes (Advanced Tab). Figure 3-14shows the Screensaver Preferences dialog box. Figure 3-14:Select specific or random screen savers from the Screensaver Preferences dialog box. .Theme Selector Choose an entire theme of elements to be used on yourdesktop, if you like. A desktop theme affects not only the background butalsothe way that many buttons and menu selections appear. There are only afew themes available for the window manager (Metacity) in the Fedora Core08_

111Chapter 3Getting into the DesktopThe following items highlight some of the preferences you might want to change: .Accessibility If you have difficulty operating a mouse or keyboard, theKeyboard Accessibility Preferences (AccessX) window lets you adapt mouseand keyboard settings to make it easier for you to operate your computer. From the Preferences window, open Accessibility. .Desktop Background From Desktop Background Preferences, you canchoose a solid color or an image to use as wallpaper. If you choose to use asolid color (by selecting No Wallpaper), click the Color box, select a colorfrom the palette, and click OK. To use wallpaper for your background, open the folder containing the imageyou want to use, and then drag the image into the Desktop Wallpaper pane onthe Desktop Preferences window. You can choose from a variety of images inthe /usr/share/nautilus/patternsand /usr/share/backgrounds/tilesdirectories. Then choose to have the wallpaper image tiled (repeated pattern), centered, scaled (in proportion), or stretched (using any proportion to fill thescreen). .CD and DVD Properties Even if you don t change CD properties, it is impor- tant to know what happens when you insert a CD or DVD. (These propertiesare associated with a feature called magicdev, which is a bit controversial. You ll learn more about magicdev in Chapter 19.) For data CDs, the CD is mounted when it is inserted, any autorun pro- gram on the CD is run, and a file manager window opens for the CD. Ifyou would rather mount and open the CD as you choose, you can turnoff any or all of these preferences. For audio CDs, the gnome-cd player is launched and the CD begins play- ing. You can type in a different CD player, if you like, or clear the RunCommand When CD Is Inserted check box so that you can choose whichplayer to use later. For blank CDs, a CD-burning utility is launched through the Nautilus win- dow. After that, you can burn audio files or data to the blank CD. For DVD (video), the DVD is not set to play automatically. If you have aplayer installed that can play the content of DVDs that you have, turn onthis feature and add the command to run the player into the Commandbox. For a data DVD, such as the one that comes with this book, you cansimply mount it to access the data. .File Types and Programs The File Types and Programs preferences canhelp you understand the different types of data files that GNOME knowsabout. Double-click this icon to see data types (audio, documents, images, information, and so on) that have definitions in GNOME. Then choose a partic- ular data type (such as Audio, ogg audio). From the Edit File Type window that appears, you can see the informationassigned to the file type. For example, when data that ends with an .ogg08_

110Part ILinux First Steps .MIME types and file types To handle different types of content that may beencountered in the Nautilus window, you can set applications to respondbased on MIME type and file type. With a folder being displayed, right-click afile for which you want to assign an application. Click either Open With anApplication or Open With a Viewer. If no application or viewer has beenassigned for the file type, click Associate Application to be able to select anapplication. From the Add File Types window, you can add an applicationbased on the file extension and MIME type representing the file. .Drag-and-drop You can use drag-and-drop within the Nautilus window, between the Nautilus and the desktop, or among multiple Nautilus windows. As other GNOME-compliant applications become available, they are expectedto also support the drag-and-drop feature. If you would like more information on the Nautilus file manager, visit the GNOMEWeb site (www.gnome.org/nautilus). Changing GNOME PreferencesThere are many ways to change the behavior, look, and feel of your GNOME desktop. Most GNOME preferences can be modified from the Preferences window. The easiestway to access that is to type preferences:in the Nautilus Open Location box. Unlike earlier versions of GNOME for Fedora Core and Red Hat Linux, boundariesbetween preferences relating to the window manager (Metacity), file manager(Nautilus), and the GNOME desktop itself have been blurred. Preferences for all ofthese features are in the Preferences window. Figure 3-13 shows the Preferenceswindow, with icons that represent features you can change. Figure 3-13:Change the look-and-feel of your desktop from the Preferences window.

109Chapter 3Getting into the DesktopIcons in Nautilus often indicate the type of data that a particular file contains. Thecontents or file extension of each file can determine which application is used towork with the file, or you can right-click an icon to open the file it represents with aparticular application or viewer. Here are some of the more interesting features of Nautilus: .Sidebar From the Browse Folder view described previously, select View. Side Pane to have a sidebar appear in the left column of the screen. From thesidebar, you can click a pull-down menu that represents different types ofinformation you can select one at a time. The Tree tab, for example, shows a tree view of the directory structure, soyou can easily traverse your directories. The Notes tab lets you add notesthat become associated with the current Directory or Web page, and theHistory tab displays a history of directories and Web sites you have visited, enabling you to click those items to return to the sites they represent. Thereis also an Emblems tab that lets you drag-and-drop emblems on files or fold- ers to indicate something about the file or folder (emblems include icons rep- resenting drafts, urgent, bug, and multimedia). .Windows file and printer sharing If your computer is connected to a LANon which Windows computers are sharing files and printers, you can viewthose resources from Nautilus. Type smb:in the Open Location box (selectFile.Open Location to get there) to see available workgroups. Click a work- group to see computers from that workgroup that are sharing files and print- ers. Figure 3-12 shows an example of Nautilus displaying icons representingWindows computers in a workgroup called estreet (smb://estreet). Figure 3-12:Display shared Windows file and printer servers (SMB) in Nautilus.

108Part ILinux First StepsUsing the Nautilus File ManagerAt one time, file managers did little more than let you run applications, create datafiles, and open folders. These days, as the information a user needs expandsbeyond the local system, file managers are expected to also display Web pages, access FTP sites, and play multimedia content. The Nautilus file manager, which isthe default GNOME file manager, is an example of just such a file manager. When you open the Nautilus file manager window (from the GNOME main menu orby opening the Home icon or other folder on your desktop), you see the name ofthe location you are viewing (such as the folder name) and what that location con- tains (files, folders, and applications). Figure 3-11 is an example of the file managerwindow displaying the home directory of a user named chris (/home/chris). Figure 3-11:The Nautilus file manager enables you to move around the file system, open directories, launch applications, and open Samba folders. In GNOME 2.8, the default Nautilus window has been greatly simplified to showfewer controls and provide more space for file and directory icons. Double-click afolder to open that folder in a new window. Select your folder name in the lower-leftcorner of the window to see the file system hierarchy above the current folder (asshown in Figure 3-11). Whatever size, location, and other setting you had for thefolder the last time you closed it, GNOME remembers and returns it to that statethe next time you open it. To see more controls, right-click a folder and select Browse Folder to open it. Iconson the toolbar of the Nautilus window let you move forward and back among thedirectories and Web sites you visit. To move up the directory structure, click the uparrow. To refresh the view of the folder or Web page, click the Reload button. TheHome button takes you to your home page, and the Computer button lets you seethe same type of information you would see from a My Computer icon on a Windowssystem (CD drive, floppy drive, hard disk file systems, and network folders).

107Chapter 3Getting into the DesktopFigure 3-10 shows a portion of the panel with an open drawer that includes iconsfor launching a Terminal window, the GIMP, and the Ethereal window. Figure 3-10:Add launchers or applets to a draweron your GNOME panel. Changing Panel PropertiesPanel properties you can change are limited to the orientation, size, hiding policy, and background. To open the Panel Properties window that applies to a specificpanel, right-click on an open space on the panel and choose Properties. The PanelProperties window that appears includes the following values: .Name Contains a name by which you identify this panel. .Orientation Move the panel to different locations on the screen by clickingon a new position. .Size Select the size of your panel by choosing its height in pixels (48 pixelsby default). .Expand Click this check box to have the panel expand to fill the entire side, or unselect the check box to make the panel only as wide as the applets itcontains. .AutoHide Select whether a panel is automatically hidden (appearing onlywhen the mouse pointer is in the area). .Show Hide buttons Choose whether the Hide/Unhide buttons (with pixmaparrows on them) appear on the edges of the panel. .Arrows on hide buttons If you select Show Hide Buttons, you can chooseto have arrows on those buttons. .Background From the Background tab, you can assign a color to the back- ground of the panel, assign a pixmap image, or just leave the default (which isbased on the current system theme). Click the Background Image check box ifyou want to select an Image for the background, and then select an image, such as a tile from /usr/share/backgrounds/tilesor other directory. I usually turn on the AutoHide feature and turn off the Hide buttons. UsingAutoHide gives you more desktop space to work with. When you move yourmouse to the edge where the panel is, the panel pops up so you don t needHide buttons. Tip08_

106Part ILinux First StepsIf the application you want to launch is not on your red hat menu, you can build alauncher yourself as follows: 1.Right-click in an open space on the panel. 2.Select Add to Panel.Custom Application Launcher.Add. The CreateLauncher window appears. 3.Provide the following information for the application that you want to add: Name A name to identify the application (this appears in the tool tipwhen your mouse is over the icon). Generic Name A name to identify the type of application. Comment A comment describing the application. It also appears whenyou later move your mouse over the launcher. Command The command line that is run when the application islaunched. Use the full path name, plus any required options. Type Select Application (to launch an application). (Other selectionsinclude Link, to open a Web address in a browser, or FSDevice, to open afile system.) Run in Terminal Click this box if the application is a character-basedor ncurses application. (Applications written using the curses libraryrun in a Terminal window but offer screen-oriented mouse and keyboardcontrols.) 4.Click the Icon box (it might say No Icon). Select one of the icons shown andclick OK. Alternatively, you can browse the Linux file system to choose an icon. Icons available to represent your application are contained in the /usr/share/ pixmapsdirectory. These icons are either in .pngor .xpmformats. If there isn tan icon in the directory you want to use, create your own (in one of those two for- mats) and assign it to the application. 5.Click OK. The application should now appear in the panel. Click it to start the application. Adding a DrawerA drawer is an icon that you can click to display other icons representing menus, applets, and launchers; it behaves just like a panel. Essentially any item you canadd to a panel you can add to a drawer. By adding a drawer to your GNOME panel, you can include several applets and launchers that together take up only the spaceof one icon. Click on the drawer to show the applets and launchers as though theywere being pulled out of a drawer icon on the panel. To add a drawer to your panel, right-click the panel and select Add to Panel.Drawer. A drawer appears on the panel. Right-click it, and add applets or launchers to it asyou would to a panel. Click the icon again to retract the drawer. Note08_

105Chapter 3Getting into the DesktopAfter an applet is installed, right-click it on the panel to see what options are avail- able. For example, select Preferences for the stock ticker, and you can add or deletestocks whose prices you want to monitor. If you don t like the applet s location, right-click it, click Move, slide the mouse until the applet is where you want it(evento another panel), and click to set its location. If you no longer want an applet to appear on the panel, right-click it, and then clickRemove From Panel. The icon representing the applet disappears. If you find thatyou have run out of room on your panel, you can add a new panel to another partof the screen, as described in the next section. Adding Another PanelYou can have several panels on your GNOME desktop. You can add panels that runalong the entire bottom, top, or side of the screen. To add a panel, do the following: 1.Right-click an open space in the panel so that the Panel menu appears. 2.Select New Panel. A new panel appears at the top of the screen. 3.Right-click an open space in the new panel and select Properties. 4.From the Panel Properties, select where you want the panel from theOrientation box (Top, Bottom, Left or Right). After you ve added a panel, you can add applets or application launchers to it asyou did to the default panel. To remove a panel, right-click it and select DeleteThisPanel. Adding an Application LauncherIcons on your panel represent a Web browser and several office productivity appli- cations. You can add your own icons to launch applications from the panel as well. To add a new application launcher to the panel, do the following: 1.Right-click in an open space on the panel. 2.Select Add to Panel.Application Launcher from the menu. All applicationcategories from your main desktop menu (the one under the red hat or foot- print icon) appear. 3.Select the arrow next to the category of application you want, and then selectAdd. An icon representing the application appears. To launch the application you just added, simply click the icon on the panel.

104Part ILinux First StepsThe following sections describe some things you can do with the GNOME panel. Use the Main MenuClick the main menu icon on the panel, and you see categories of applications andsystem tools that you can select. Click the application you want to launch. To addan item to launch from the panel and to view its properties right-click it. Thereis currently no way to add or remove applications to or from this menu from theGUI in GNOME. However, you can manually add items to your GNOME menus. To add to the main menu, create a .desktopfile in the /usr/share/applicationsdirectory. The easiest way to do that is to copy an existing .desktopfile that is onthe 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.desktopNext use any text editor to change the contents of the vidplay.desktopfile youcreated 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 (noneed to restart anything). Adding an AppletThere are several small applications, called applets,that you can run directly on theGNOME panel. These applications can show information you may want to see on anongoing basis or may just provide some amusement. To see what applets are avail- able 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, dictionarylookup, stock ticker, weather report, lock screen, log out, run application, takescreen shot, fortune-telling fish, eyes that follow your mouse, e-mail Inboxmonitor, and modem lights monitor. The applet appears on the panel, readyfor 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.