LINUX Desktops Using the GNOME and KDE Desktops

LINUX Desktops Using the GNOME and KDE Desktops Learning Red Hat Enterprise Linux & Fedora, 4 th Edition By Bill Mc. Carty, 2004 1

LINUX Desktops n n Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Fedora Core support two desktops: q GNOME and KDE 2

Using the GNOME Desktop n When you first log in to your Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Fedora Core system, q q you will see the GNOME desktop The contents of your desktop may be slightly different 3

Switching to GNOME from KDE n If you want to launch a GNOME session, q but KDE is configured as the default desktop environment: n n select Gnome from the Session menu of the system login screen. Of course, GNOME must be installed in order for this to work. 4

The GNOME Desktop Content 5

The GNOME Desktop n Right click to: q q n Creating a new folder Creating a new launcher Opening a terminal window. . . Pager q provides what's called a virtual desktop n n n a desktop that's larger than the size of your monitor screen Home Directory icon q to access the file manager called Nautilus 6

The GNOME Desktop n Drive icons q If you have permission n q and media is present, n q to mount a CD-ROM or floppy drive, your desktop includes an icon representing the drive You can see the content of the media n Double click on the icon 7

The GNOME Desktop n Start Here icon q To access to GNOME facilities: n Applications q n Preferences q n The Applications icon lets you launch various applications. to view and modify a variety of preferences, including § those for the desktop, § document handlers, § user interface look and feel, § multimedia, § peripherals. System Settings q q access to tools for viewing and modifying the system configuration 8

The GNOME Desktop n n n Trash icon q view files that have been deleted by using Nautilus the shell's rm command q are not stored in the trash To process trash q Simply double-click the icon q GNOME launches Nautilus n n q To restore a deleted file, n q to view the folder where deleted files are stored you can drag it to a new location To permanently delete files n n right-clicking the Trash icon select Empty Trash 9

The GNOME Panel n the GNOME panel q n appears along the bottom edge of the display you can move the panel q q to a different location; click and drag the panel n n to the desired location. The panel functionally q q resembles the Windows taskbar; you can use it n n n to launch programs, switch from one program to another, and perform other tasks 10

Default GNOME panel n n n n Main menu q presents a menu to choose a variety of programs. Web browser q Launches the Mozilla web browser. Email q Launches the Evolution email client Open. Office Writer q Launches the Open. Office word processor Open. Office Impress q Launches the Open. Office presentation creator Open. Office Calc q Launches the Open. Office spreadsheet, described Print Manager q Manages printers and documents queued for printing 11

Default GNOME panel n n Pager Task list q q The task list contains a button for each active task. Clicking a task's button n Volume Control q q n Lets you adjust the level of sound appears only if your system has a sound adapter. Alert Notification Tool q n raises the task's window to the front of the screen Alerts you when errata or updates are available. Clock q The clock displays your system's current time. 12

Using GNOME Terminal n n Similar to the MS-DOS Prompt window provides a window in q q n To launch GNOME terminal, q q n to type shell commands and view their output right-click the desktop select New Terminal from the pop-up menu. You can open multiple GNOME terminal windows if you like. 13

View of GNOME Terminal 14

Editing terminal settings n The Edit => Current Profile q lets you configure the operation of GNOME terminal 15

Using the KDE Desktop n If your system is configured to use GNOME q q you can launch a KDE session, select KDE from the Session menu n q of the system login screen. KDE must be installed! 16

View of The KDE desktop 17

Using Konqueror n n KDE's file manager and web browser To launch: q click the home directory icon n n q click the Start (red hat) icon n q resembles a small house superimposed on a larger file folder and then clicking Home Konqueror displays the content of your n /home folder 18

n clicking the Tree View icon, n q it is the rightmost icon on Konqueror's toolbar, you can cause Konqueror n n to display information in a format resembles the familiar two-pane layout q q used by the Microsoft Windows Explorer and GNOME's Nautilus. 19

Konqueror: displaying folder contents 20

Konqueror's detailed mode in Tree View 21

End of Chapter LINUX Desktops 22