This chapter introduces you to some of the very basic components of the desktop. These components include Windows, Workspaces, and Applications. Almost all the work (or play) that you do in GNOME will involve these very basic components. This chapter describes the default configuration of GNOME. Your vendor or system administrator may have configured your desktop to look different than what is described here.

GNOME Desktop components, introducing 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 desktop are as follows: 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 . 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 accomodate 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 . Desktop The desktop 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 for more information. Workspaces You can subdivide your desktop into separate workspaces. Each workspace can contain separate windows, allowing you to group related tasks together. For more information on working with workspaces, see . 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 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 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.

windows overview A window is a rectangular area of the screen, usually with a border all around and a title bar at the top. You can think of a window as a screen within the screen. Each window displays an application, allowing you to to have more than one application visible, and work on more than one task at a time. You can also think of windows as pieces of paper on your desktop: they can overlap, or be side by side, for example. You can control a window's position of the screen, as well as its size. You can control which windows overlap other windows, so the one you want to work with is completely visible. For more about moving and resizing windows, see . Each window is not necessarily a different application. An application usually has one main window, and may open additional windows at the request of the user. The rest of this section describe the different types of windows and how you can interact with them.

There are two main types of window: Application windows Application windows allow all the minimize, maximize and close operations through the buttons on the titlebar. When opening an application you will usually see a window of this type appear. Dialog windows Dialog windows appear at the request of an application window. A dialog window may alert you to a problem, ask for confirmation of an action, or request input from you. For example, if you tell an application to save a document, a dialog box will ask you where you want to save the new file. If you tell an application to quit while it is still busy, it may ask you to confirm that you want it to abandon work in progress. Some dialogs do not allow you to interact with the main application window until you have closed them: these are called modal dialogs. Others can be left open while you work with the main application window: these are called transient dialogs. You can select the text in a dialog with the mouse. This allows you to copy it to the clipboard (CTRL-C to copy), and paste it into another application. You may wish to quote the text you see in a dialog box when requesting support on the internet.

You can change the size and position of windows on the screen. This allows you to see more than one application and do diferent tasks at the same time. For example, you might want to read text on a web page and write with a word procesor; or simple change to another application to do a diferent task or see the progress. You can minimize a window if you are not currently interested in seeing it. This hides it from view. You can maximise a window to fill the whole screen so you can give it your full attention. Most of these actions are carried out by using the mouse on different parts of the the window's frame (see for a recap of using the mouse). The top edge of the window frame, called the titlebar because it also displays the title of the window, contains several buttons that change the way the window is displayed. shows the titlebar for a typical application window.

Titlebar of application window frame. Callouts: Window Menu button, Titlebar, Minimize, Maximize, Close Window buttons.

All actions can also be carried out from the Window Menu. To open this, click on the Window Menu Button at the left-hand edge of the titlebar. Common actions can also be carried out with keyboard shortcuts: see for a simple list of these. The following lists the actions you can carry out on a window, with the mouse or the keyboard: Move the window Drag the titlebar to move the window. You can click on any part of the titlebar except the buttons at either end to begin the drag action. The window will move on the screen as you drag the mouse. On less powerful computers, the movement of the window may be represented by moving an outline of its frame. You can also choose Move from the Window Menu, or press AltF7, and then either move the mouse or press the keyboard arrow keys to move the window. You can also press-and-hold Alt and drag any part of the window. As you move the window, some parts of the screen will give slight resistance to movement. This is to help you align windows more easily to the edges of the desktop, the panels, and the edges of other windows. You can also press-and-hold Shift while you move the window to cause it to only move between the corners of the desktop and other windows. If the Num Lock key is off, you can use the arrows on the numeric keypad, as well as the 7, 9, 1, and 3 keys to move diagonally. Resize the window Drag one of the borders to expand or contract the window on that side. Drag a corner to change two sides at once. The resize pointer appears when your mouse is in the correct position to begin the drag action. You can also choose Resize from the Window Menu, or press AltF8. The resize pointer appears. Move the mouse in the direction of the edge you want to resize, or press one of the keyboard arrows keys. The pointer changes to indicate the chosen edge. Now you can use the mouse or the arrow keys to move this edge of the window. Click the mouse or press Return to accept the change. Press Escape to cancel the resize action and return the window to its original size and shape. Minimize the window Click on the Minimize button in the titlebar, the leftmost of the group of three on the right. This removes the window from view. The window can be restored to its previous position and size on the screen from the window list on the bottom edge panel or the window selector in the top panel. You can also choose Minimize from the Window Menu, or press AltF9 . A minimized window is shown in the window list and the window selector with [ ] around its title. Maximize the window Click on the Maximize button in the titlebar, the middle of the group of three on the right. This expands the window so it fills the screen (the panels remain visible). You can also choose Maximize from the Window Menu, or press AltF10, or double-click any part of the titlebar except the buttons at either end. If you prefer, you can assign the double-click action to roll up the window: see . Unmaximize the window When a window is maximized, click again on the Maximize button to restore it to its previous position and size on the screen. You can also choose Unmaximize from the Window Menu, press AltF5, or double-click any part of the titlebar except the buttons at either end. Close the window Click the Close button, the rightmost of the group of three on the right. This could close the application too. The application will ask you to confirm closing a window that contains unsaved work. Workspaces commands or a link to them still to go in this section, perhaps

To work with an application, you need to give the focus to its window. When a window has focus, any actions such as mouse clicks, typing text, or keyboard shortcuts, are directed to the application in that window. Only one window can have focus at a time. The window that has focus will appear on top of other windows, so nothing covers any part of it. It may also have a different appearance from other windows, depending on your choice of theme. You can give the focus to a window in any of the following ways: With the mouse, click on any part of the window, if the window is visible. On the bottom panel, click on the window list button that represents the window in the Window List. On the Menu Panel, click the window list icon and choose the window you want to switch to from the list. The window list icon is at the extreme right of the panel, and its icon matches that of the current window's Window Menu button. If the window you choose is on a different workspace, you will be switched to that workspace. For more on workspaces, see . With the keyboard, hold the [Alt] key and press the [Tab] key. A pop-up window appears with a list of icons representing each window. While still holding [Alt], press [Tab] to move the selection along the list: a black rectangle frames the selected icon and the position of the window it corresponds to is highlighted with a black border. When the window you want to see is selected, release the [Alt] key. Using [Shift+Tab] instead of just [Tab] cycles through the icons in reverse order. You can customize the shortcut used to perform this action with the Keyboard Shortcuts preference tool.

workspaces overview Workspaces allow you to manage which windows are on your screen. You can imagine workspaces as being virtual screens, which you can switch between at any time. Every workspace contains the same desktop, the same panels, and the same menus. However, you can run different applications, and open different windows in each workspace. The applications in each workspace will remain there when you switch to other workspaces. By default, four workspaces are available. You can switch between them with the Workspace Switcher applet at the right of the bottom panel. This shows a representation of your workspaces, by default a row of four rectangles. Click on one to switch to that workspace. In , Workspace Switcher contains four workspaces. The first three workspaces contain open windows. The last workspace does not contain currently open windows. The currently active workspace is highlighted.

Workspace Switcher. The context describes the graphic.

Each workspace can have any number of applications open in it. The number of workspaces can be customized: see . Workspaces enable you to organize the GNOME Desktop when you run many applications at the same time. One way to use workspaces is to allocate a specific function to each workspace: one for email, one for web browsing, one for graphic design, etc. However, everyone has their own preference and you are in no way restricted to only using workspaces like this.

workspaces switching between You can switch between workspaces in any of the following ways: In the Workspace Switcher applet in the bottom panel, click on the workspace where you want to work. Move the mouse over the Workspace Switcher applet in the bottom panel, and scroll the mouse wheel. Press CtrlAltright arrow to switch to the workspace on the right of the current workspace. Press CtrlAltleft arrow to switch to the workspace on the left of the current workspace. The arrow shortcut keys work according to how your workspaces are set out in the Workspace Switcher applet. If you change your panel so workspaces are displayed vertically instead of horizontally, use CtrlAltup arrow and CtrlAltdown arrow to switch workspaces.

workspaces specifying number of To add workspaces to the GNOME Desktop, right-click on the Workspace Switcher applet, then choose Preferences. The Workspace Switcher Preferences dialog is displayed. Use the Number of workspaces spin box to specify the number of workspaces that you require. For more on this, see the Workspace Switcher Applet Manual.

applications overview An application is a type of computer program that allows you to perform a particular task. You might use applications to create text documents such as letters or reports; to work with spreadsheets; to listen to your favorite music; to navigate the Internet; or to create, edit, or view images and videos. For each of these tasks, you would use a different application. To launch an application, open the Applications menu and choose the application you want from the submenus. For more on this, see . The applications that are part of GNOME include the following: Gedit Text Editor can read, create, or modify any kind of simple text without any formatting. Dictionary allows you to look up definitions of a word. Image Viewer can display single image files, as well as large image collections. Calculator performs basic, financial, and scientific calculations. Character Map lets you choose letters and symbols from the Unicode character set and paste them into any application. If you are writing in several languages, not all the characters you need will be on your keyboard. Nautilus File Manager displays your folders and their contents. Use this to copy, move, classify your files; and access CDs, USB flashdrives, or any removable media. When you choose an item from the Places menu, a Nautilus File Manager window opens you show you that location. Terminal gives you access to the system command line. Further standard GNOME applications include games, music and video players, a web browser, software accessibility tools, and utilities to manage your system. Your distributor or vendor may have added other GNOME applications, such as a word processor and a graphics editor. Your distributor or vendor may alsoprovide you with a way to install further applications. All GNOME applications have many features in common, which makes it easier to learn how to work with a new GNOME application. The rest of this section describes some of these features.

The applications that are provided with the GNOME Desktop share several characteristics. For example, the applications have a consistent look-and-feel. The applications share characteristics because the applications use the same programming libraries. An application that uses the standard GNOME programming libraries is called a GNOME-compliant application. For example, Nautilus and the gedit text editor are GNOME-compliant applications. GNOME provides libraries in addition to the libraries provided by your operating system. The libraries enable GNOME to run your existing applications as well as GNOME-compliant applications. For example, if your operating system is UNIX-based, you can run your current X11 applications and Motif applications from the GNOME Desktop. Some of the features of GNOME-compliant applications are as follows: Consistent look-and-feel GNOME-compliant applications have a consistent look-and-feel. GNOME-compliant applications use the look-and-feel settings that you specify in the preference tools. You can use the following tools to change the look-and-feel of your GNOME-compliant applications: Menus & Toolbars preference tool Theme preference tool Menubars, toolbars, and statusbars Most GNOME-compliant applications have a menubar, a toolbar, and a statusbar. The menubar always contains a File menu and a Help menu. The File menu always contains an Quit menu item, and the Help menu always contains an About menu item. A toolbar is a bar that appears under the menubar. A toolbar contains buttons for the most commonly-used commands. A statusbar is a bar at the bottom of a window that provides information about the current state of what you are viewing in the window. GNOME-compliant applications might also contains other bars. For example, Nautilus contains a location bar. Some of the bars in GNOME-compliant applications are detachable. That is, the bar has a handle that you can grab then drag the bar to another location. You can drag the bar to snap to another side of the window, or to another part of the screen. For example, you can detach the menubar, toolbar, and location bar in the file manager. Default shortcut keys GNOME-compliant applications use the same shortcut keys to perform the same actions. For example, to quit a GNOME-compliant application, press CtrlQ. To undo an action in a GNOME-compliant application, press CtrlZ. Drag-and-drop GNOME-compliant applications use the same protocol to implement drag-and-drop operations. Therefore, GNOME-compliant applications provide consistent feedback when you drag-and-drop items. The use of the same protocol also enables GNOME-compliant applications to interoperate in a sophisticated manner. For example, GNOME-compliant applications recognize the format of the items that you drag. When you drag a HTML file from a Nautilus window to a web browser, the file is displayed in HTML format in the browser. However, when you drag the HTML file to a text editor, the file is displayed in plain text format in the text editor.