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Introduction

When you start a desktop session for the first time, you should see a default startup screen, with panels, windows, and various icons.

The major components of the GNOME Desktop are as follows:

Desktop

The desktop itself is behind all of the other components on the desktop. You can place objects on the desktop to access your files and directories quickly, or to start applications that you use often. See the section called “The Desktop” for more information.

Panels

The panels are the two bars that run along the top and bottom of the screen. By default, the top panel shows you the GNOME main menu bar, the date and time, and the launcher for the GNOME help system, and the bottom panel shows you the list of open windows and the workspace switcher.

Panels can be customized to contain a variety of tools, such as other menus and launchers, and small utility applications, called panel applets. For example, you can configure your panel to display the current weather for your location. For more information on panels, see Chapter 4, Working With Panels.

Windows

Most applications run inside of one or more windows. You can display multiple windows on your desktop at the same time. Windows can be resized and moved around to accommodate your workflow. Each window has a titlebar at the top with buttons which allow you to minimize, maximize, and close the window. For more information on working with windows, see the section called “Windows”.

Workspaces

You can subdivide your desktop into separate workspaces. Each workspace can contain several windows, allowing you to group related tasks together. For more information on working with workspaces, see the section called “Workspaces”.

File Manager

The Nautilus file manager provides access to your files, folders, and applications. You can manage the contents of folders in the file manager and open the files in the appropriate applications. See Chapter 6, Nautilus File Manager for more information.

Preferences

You can customize your desktop using the desktop preference tools. Each tool controls a particular part of the behavior of the desktop. The preference tools can be found in the Preferences submenu of the Desktop top-level menu on your panel. See Chapter 8, Configuring Your Desktop for more information on the various preference tools.

Your vendor or system administrator can make configuration changes to suit your needs, so your desktop might not match exactly what is described in this manual. Nevertheless, this manual provides a useful introduction to using the various components of your desktop.


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Desktop Overview
Desktop User Guide Next
The Desktop

 
 
  Published under the terms of the GNU General Public License Design by Interspire