Red Hat Enterprise Linux includes a powerful graphical desktop
environment where you can easily access your applications, files,
and system resources. Both new and experienced users can take full
advantage of their Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems using the
graphical desktop.
This chapter covers the fundamentals of the desktop and how to
configure it for your needs.
2.1. Using
Nautilus
Your first view of the graphical desktop looks something like
Figure 2-1. The
desktop offers the following tools, represented as desktop icons:
Computer, User's
Home, and Trash. Each of these tools is
an application of the Nautilus file
manager.
Nautilus provides a graphical display
of your system and personal files. Nautilus is designed to be much more than a
visual listing of files, however. It allows you to configure your
desktop, configure your Red Hat Enterprise Linux system, browse
your photo collection, access your network resources and more
— all from one integrated interface. In essence, Nautilus becomes a shell for your entire desktop
experience.
Working in Nautilus provides an
alternative to using a shell prompt to navigate the file system.
The following sections explain how to use Nautilus to enhance your desktop experience.
2.1.1. Using
the Computer icon
Double-clicking the Computer icon takes
you to a list of all of the devices on
your system. A device is anything connected to your computer to
which data is sent or from which it is received. (You have probably
heard of a 'device driver' before - this is a piece of software
that allows a device to talk to your computer.) Most modern systems
have the following devices: a floppy drive, a CD-ROM drive, and at
least one hard drive. Other devices may be listed depending on the
makeup of your system.
- Removable Media
-
Double-click either the Floppy icon or
the CD-ROM icon to mount the drive with
Nautilus and open a new window with the
drive's contents. You can also right-click on the drive and then
select from the menu. Note:
you must first unmount a floppy before you eject it. Refer to
Chapter 13 Diskettes and CD-ROMs
for more information.
- Disk
-
This references the hard drive. If you are using Linux, your
hard drive is already mounted, and may not be accessible from this
window. If you have other hard drives available on your system
(possibly used for other operating sytems), they may be mountable
here.
- Filesystem
-
Double-click on the Filesystem icon and
Nautilus opens a window that shows the
entire file system, starting from the /
directory. This is a quick way to reach such useful folders as
/tmp/ and /usr/bin/. If you are not logged in as root,
some folders will be unavailable. This is to prevent accidental
damage to your system.
- Network
-
Double-click the Network icon to bring up
a list of all systems on your network. Linux systems are listed
individually. Systems running other operating systems are grouped
under an icon that reflects this. (For example, Windows systems on your network appear under a
Windows Network icon.) You are only able to
browse those machines you have permission to access.
2.1.2. User's
Home
The tool associated with the 
icon is referred to as User's Home in this
manual. The label under the icon varies according to your user
name. If you are logged in as root, the label reads root's Home. User "joe" would see the label
joe's Home.
Double-clicking on the User's Home icon
allows you to navigate through your home directory or the rest of
the file system.
The browser window opens in icon view. The icons are designed to
allow easy recognition of file types; directories are represented
by folders, music files have musical notes, and so on. Nautilus automatically sorts your files by name
and arranges them neatly. When you open a directory it opens in a
new browser window.
To move a file from one directory to another, drag and drop the
file into the new location, or cut and paste it. Note that in
Nautilus, dragging and dropping a file
moves it rather than placing a copy in the new location. If you
wish to copy a file instead, right-click on the icon, select
, and paste the file in the new
directory.
Most of these settings can be configured to meet your
preferences. (Refer to Section 2.1.4
Customizing Nautilus for more information.)
2.1.3. Trash
Nautilus includes a Trash icon similar to that of other operating
systems; files inside the Trash are not
deleted until you choose to do so. The Trash bin can be opened by double-clicking on the
desktop icon. It opens as a Nautilus
window, which allows you to easily move files in and out. To empty
the Trash, right-click on the desktop
icon and select .
2.1.4.
Customizing Nautilus
You can also change the way Nautilus
behaves. To do so, select =>
from an open Nautilus window. A new configuration window opens
with many customization options. These customization options are
categorized by the tabs at the top of the window.
- Views Tab
-
The Views tab allows you to choose how
your files and folders are displayed. You can also choose a
Default Zoom Level. Zooming in on icons not
only increases the size of the icons, but adds to the displayed
information about each file or folder.
- BehaviorTab
-
The Behavior tab allows you to specify
that Nautilus should Always open in browser windows. If you check this
option, opening a folder displays the directory's contents in the
current window. This behavior may be more familiar to those users
accustomed to using the Start Here icon. You
can also choose to include a delete option that bypases the
Trash bin.
- Display Tab
-
The Diplay tab features a series of
drop-down boxes listing various file details. Selecting these
options sets the order in which these details appear as you zoom
in. You can also set the format for dates and times within
Nautilus.
(This only changes the time format for Nautilus. To change the date and time format of
the clock on the Panel, right-click on
it and choose .)
- List Columns Tab
-
The List Columns tab allows you to
select which details are shown when folder contents are displayed
as a list. If you click on the description of a detail, you can
then change the order in which it is displayed by clicking
Move Up or Move
Down.
- Preview Tab
-
The Preview tab allows you to select the
types of files that are previewed by
Nautilus. For text files, this means
that part of the text is visible on the icon. For image files, this
means that Nautilus displays a thumbnail (or scaled-down view) of the file. For
sound files, Nautilus plays the sound
while your mouse pointer hovers over the file. If Nautilus seems to be sluggish on your machine,
try turning these resource-intensive features off to increase the
speed.
