11368_Linux Desktop Environment

8/3/2019 11368_Linux Desktop Environment

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Linux DesktopEnvironmentGNOME and KDE



GNOME• GNU Network Object OrientedModel Environment



Panel• This is the complete gray rectangular box at the bottom ofthe screen. It contains various shortcut buttons (whichlaunch applications when clicked), a menu that providesaccess to more applications, a workspace switcher, an

application tab bar, a status notification bar, and thedate−time applet.



• Going from left to right along the remainder of the panel:The next six items of the panel are shortcut buttons for various

frequently used applications − • browsers, mail applications, word processors, spreadsheets, and a

printer manager.• · The curious looking square (with four equal divisions in it) is the

workspace switcher, • · Next we have the application task bars, which provide a convenient

way of switching between• whatever GUI applications are currently running in the workspace. The

image above shows two• applications running − the Mozilla web browser, and the Gaim instant

messenger application.• · At the right−most end of the panel we have the notification area,

where various applications can indicate their status using icons:• · The red round icon with an exclamation sign is the Red Hat Network

Agent icon, which is indicating critical updates pending for your

desktop.• · Finally, we have the date and time applet, which displays the currentdate and time in the desktop.



Using Applications• The main menu can be accessed not only from the panel, but from anywhere on the workspace. You can bring up the main menu near

the mouse pointer at any time, by typing the keys Alt−F1

• All GUI applications that you execute run in the workspace of thescreen, and to switch between GUI applications, you can click onthe corresponding bar on the panel. Of course, it's easy to fill upthe workspace with various executing GUI applications, so to avoidovercrowding, Red Hat Linux offers

• you a number of workspaces. By default, you have four such

workspaces to work with. The workspace switcher (on the panel)allows you to switch from one workspace to another.



Eg A web browser and an instant messenger open in one workspace, and

a spreadsheet open in a different workspace. In such a case, your workspace

switcher would give youa tiny preview of the applications running on the various desktops, as shown inthe figure givenbelow:



Using the Main Menu

• Major applications and configuration programs for your desktop havebeen neatly organized into various categories in the main menu as shownbelow:



• The applications that you find here are the applications that Red Hatrecommends as the first choice for users.

• There are many other applications in the distribution, some of whichduplicate the functionality of the

• applications found here. Some of them are installed by default and can be

invoked using the other techniques• given in this list; others must be installed



• Using the Run Program... Menu Item • The Run Program ... menu option near the bottom of the main menu that

we saw in the screenshot above. When you select this option, you get adialog box like the one shown below, within which you type in the name ofthe application you want to launch: The Run Program... dialog can also be

invoked by using the shortcut key• combination Alt−F2.



Adding New Shortcuts to the Panel

You can add new shortcuts into the panel too. The easiest way is to right−click with you mouse somewhere on the panel (but not on top of any existing shortcuts orapplets), and select Add to Panel | Launcher from menu. This will open up the

desktop menu, allowing you to select the application that you wish to add to thepanel. The following image shows how to add a launcher for the Gaim instantmessaging client to the panel:



• Changing the Size of the Shortcut Icons • If you want to change the size of the shortcut icons in the panel,

you can adjust them by right clicking on the panel and selectingProperties. Then, in the Edge tab of the resulting dialog, selectthe appropriate value in the Size field (the default value isMedium).



Using a Terminal Emulator• This is an interface in which we can invoke GUI and non−GUI

applications by typing out the complete command. The interfacein a terminal emulator is completely character−based andnon−graphical.

• When you invoke gnome−terminal in this way, you get a terminal−like window thatlooks like the one shown

• here. You can now start typing away the name of the programs that you want to

execute



KDE(Kool Desktop Environment)



KDE• You can start the KDE Control Center from either the Main MenuK icon (Settings => Desktop) or from the panel, by clicking on

the KDE Control Center icon, which looks like: The KDE Control

Center is divided into two main panels. On the left, you'll findcategories, and on the right, (the main panel), you will see thecorresponding elements you can modify for a category. Thecategories may be collapsed when you first open the control

center. Click on the+ to expand the categories.





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11368_Linux Desktop Environment