The GNOME Desktop

A typical desktop

GNOME is a window manager, a program that governs the display of windows on your screen. The example shown above illustrates some of the items that might typically be found on the desktop.

•  workspace - the background of the desktop

•  Applications Menu - hierarchical menus for launching programs; some parts customizeable, 

•  ControlPanel(s) - a customizable, graphic menu bar for tasks.

•  Terminal - window for typing Unix commands

•  Textedit - text editor for ASCII files

• Nautilus File Manager - create, move or rename files or directories

As many copies of a program or window can be present on the desktop as you wish.

The Mouse in Unix uses 3-buttons. The left button is the Select button. Essentialy everything you do is done with the left button. The right button is the Menu button. Holding down the right button over any window or part of a window, or even the desktop background, will give you a context-dependent menu. The Center button is the paste button. If you select a block of text in one place, you can move the cursor to another place, press the center button, and the selected text will be copied into the new location. This is sometimes a DANGEROUS button, because it is very easy to accidentally select and past a large block of text! On some mice, the center button is also a wheel that can be used for scrolling.

Note: Some mice  are two-button mice. You can emulate the third button by holding down both buttons at once. Sometimes tapping the gap between the two buttons also works.

Window focus

Choose System --> Preferences --> Windows.
The Windows menu governs the 'focus' of the screen, ie. where the keyboard and mouse take effect. By default, the 'active' window is chosen by clicking on a window. This will also bring that window to the front. However, the extra clicking required with these default settings can get tedious.

The best starting choices are to choose "Select windows when the mouse moves over them" . Make sure the box saying "Raise windows after an interval" is not checked. The combination of these two settings is usually the most convenient, and certainly the least frustrating for new users.

Also, set Titlebar Action to None. This eliminates an annoying feature of GNOME, whereby an accidental double-click, or even just holding down the mouse on a title bar in terminal programs such as OVDC, results in a window becoming maximized.

Window List Preferences

The control panel at the bottom of the screen contains a list of windows currently open. To make it easier to have a large number of windows open simultaneously, go to the vertical bar next to the window list on the lower control panel. Hold down the right mouse button to bring up the menu for the window list:


Choose Preferences, which will bring up the Window List Preferences. Select "Group windows when space is limited"

Create a launcher for the Nautilus file manager

The control panel at the top of the screen contains a set of icons for launching applications. To add a launcher for the file manager, do the following:

Open the menu for the upper panel by right clicking on the blank area of the panel.

Choose Add to Panel --> Application Launcher (do NOT choose Custom Application Launcher). Click on the 'Forward' button. Now, Open the System Tools tab and choose File Browser. Click on +Add, and then Close. The File Browser icon will appear on the upper control panel.

By default, the File Browser displays each file as a large icon, giving no further information. It is much more useful to have detailed information about each file appear.

Open the File Broswer by clicking on the File Browser icon.

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