path: root/gnome2-user-guide/C/goseditmainmenu.xml

<chapter id="menubar">
  <title>Menubar</title>
  
  <!-- preserve id for backwards compatibility: 2.12 -->
  <anchor id="goseditmainmenu-1"/><!-- Working With Menus -->
  <anchor id="goseditmainmenu-2"/><!-- Introduction to Menus -->  
  <anchor id="goseditmainmenu-5"/><!-- Menu Features -->
  <anchor id="goseditmainmenu-11"/><!-- Menu Item Popup Menu -->
  <anchor id="goseditmainmenu-51"/><!-- Actions Menu -->
  <anchor id="menus-introduction"/><!-- Introduction to Menus --> 
        
  <highlights>
    <para>This chapter describes how to use the GNOME Desktop Menubar.</para>
  </highlights>
  <indexterm>
    <primary>menus</primary>
    <secondary>introduction</secondary>
  </indexterm>
  <indexterm>
    <primary>menus</primary>
    <secondary>Menu Bar</secondary>
    <see>Menu Bar</see>
  </indexterm>
  <indexterm>
    <primary>Menu Bar</primary>
    <secondary>introduction</secondary>
  </indexterm>  

  <para>The menubar at the top of the GNOME Desktop, in the <link linkend="top-panel">Top Edge Panel</link>, is your main point of access to GNOME. Use the <guimenu>Applications</guimenu> menu to launch applications, the <guimenu>Places</guimenu> to open locations on your computer or network, and the <guimenu>Desktop</guimenu> to customize your system, get help with GNOME, and log out of GNOME or shut down your computer.</para>
  <para>The following sections describe these three menus.</para>
  <tip><para>The menubar is in fact a panel object: you can move the menubar to another panel, or have more than one instance of the menubar in your panels. For more on this, see <xref linkend="panel-menus"/>.</para></tip>

  <section id="applications-menu">
    <title>Applications Menu</title>
    <!-- preserve id for backwards compatibility: 2.12 -->
    <anchor id="goseditmainmenu-8"/>     
    <indexterm>
      <primary>menus</primary>
      <secondary>Applications menu</secondary>
    </indexterm>
    <para>The <guimenu>Applications</guimenu> menu contains a hierarchy of submenus, from which you can start the applications that are installed on your system.</para>
    <para>Each submenu correponds to a category. For example, in the <guimenu>Sound &amp; Video</guimenu> submenu, you will find applications for playing CDs and recording sound.</para>
    <para>To launch an application, perform the following steps:</para>
    <orderedlist>
      <listitem><para>Open the <guimenu>Applications</guimenu> menu by clicking on it.</para></listitem>
      <listitem><para>Move the mouse down the menu to the category the application you want is in. Each submenu opens as your mouse passes over the category.</para></listitem>
      <listitem><para>Click the menu item for the application.</para></listitem>
    </orderedlist>
    <para>When you install a new application, it is automatically added to the <guimenu>Applications</guimenu> menu in a suitable category. For example, if you install an instant messenger application, a VoIP application, or an FTP client, you will find it in the <guimenu>Internet</guimenu> submenu.</para>
  </section>
  <section id="places-menu">
    <title>Places Menu</title>
    <indexterm>
      <primary>Places menu</primary>
    </indexterm>
    <para>The <guimenu>Places</guimenu> menu is a quick way to go to various locations on your computer and your local network. The <guimenu>Places</guimenu> menu allows you to open the following items:</para>
    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem><para>Your Home folder<remark>Add link!</remark></para></listitem>    
      <listitem><para>The Desktop folder, which corresponds to the items displays in the desktop.</para></listitem>    
      <listitem><para>The items in your Nautilus bookmarks. For more on this, see <xref linkend="gosnautilus-36"/>.</para></listitem>
      <listitem><para>Your computer, which shows all your drives.</para></listitem>
      <listitem><para>The Nautilus CD/DVD Creator. For more on this, see <xref linkend="gosnautilus-475"/>.</para></listitem>
      <listitem><para>The local network. For more on this, see <xref linkend="gosnautilus-465"/>.</para></listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
    
    <para>The last three items on the menu perform actions rather than open locations.</para>    
                   
    <itemizedlist>          
      <listitem><para><guimenuitem>Connect to Server</guimenuitem> lets you choose a server on your network. For more on this, see <xref linkend="gosnautilus-37"/>.</para></listitem>
      <listitem><para><guimenuitem>Search for Files</guimenuitem> lets you search for files on your computer. For more on this, see the <ulink type="help" url="ghelp:gnome-search-tool">Search for Files Manual</ulink>.</para></listitem>     
      <listitem><para>The <guimenuitem>Recent Documents</guimenuitem> submenu lists the documents you have recently opened. The last entry in the submenu clears the list.</para></listitem>                  
    </itemizedlist>                
  </section>
  <section id="desktop-menu">
    <title>Desktop Menu</title>  
    <indexterm>
      <primary>Desktop Menu</primary>
    </indexterm>
    <para>The <guimenu>Desktop</guimenu> menu allows you to set your preferences for the GNOME Desktop, get help with using GNOME, and log out or shut down.</para>  
    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem><para>The <guimenuitem>Administration</guimenuitem> submenu contains tools to manage your computer. These all require your system's password.</para></listitem>
      <listitem><para>The <guimenuitem>Preferences</guimenuitem> submenu contains all the <firstterm>preference tools</firstterm>. With these you can configure your GNOME Desktop. For more on preference tools, see <xref linkend="prefs"/>.</para></listitem>
      <listitem><para>The <guimenuitem>Help</guimenuitem> item launches the Help Browser.</para></listitem>
      <listitem><para>The <guimenuitem>About GNOME</guimenuitem> item has a brief introduction to GNOME, links to the GNOME website, and credits.</para></listitem>
      <listitem><para>The <guimenuitem>Lock Screen</guimenuitem> command starts your screensaver, and requires your password to return to the desktop. For more on this, see <xref linkend="lock-screen"/>.</para></listitem>
      <listitem><para>Choose <guimenuitem>Log Out</guimenuitem> to log out of GNOME, or to switch user.</para></listitem>
      <listitem><para>Choose <guimenuitem>Shut Down</guimenuitem> to end your GNOME session and turn off your computer, or restart it.</para></listitem>
     </itemizedlist>
     
     <para>For more on logging out and shutting down, see <xref linkend="shutdown"/>.</para> 
     

  <!-- translators: rest of this file is still being worked on and will change a lot -->
  </section>    
  <section id="goseditmainmenu-54">
    <title>Customizing Your Menus</title>
    <indexterm>
      <primary>menus</primary>
      <secondary>customizing</secondary>
    </indexterm>
    <para>You can modify the contents of the following menus:</para>
    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem>
        <para><guimenu>Applications</guimenu> menu</para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para><guimenu>Desktop Preferences</guimenu> menu</para>
      </listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
    <para>You use the following GNOME Desktop components to customize menus:</para>
    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem>
        <para>Menus on panels</para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para><application>Nautilus</application> file manager</para>
      </listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
    <para>When you use panels to customize your menus, you use the menu item popup
menu. For more information, see <xref linkend="goseditmainmenu-11"/>.</para>
    <para>When you use the file manager to customize your menus, you must access the <guimenu>Applications</guimenu> menu or the <guimenu>Desktop Preferences</guimenu>
menu from within the file manager. To access the <guimenu>Applications</guimenu>
menu or the <guimenu>Desktop Preferences</guimenu> menu, open a file manager
window. </para>
    <para>To access menus
in the file manager, access one of the following URIs in the file manager:</para>
    <informaltable frame="topbot">
      <tgroup cols="2" colsep="0" rowsep="0">
        <colspec colwidth="50*"/>
        <colspec colwidth="50*"/>
        <thead>
          <row rowsep="1">
            <entry>
              <para>Menu</para>
            </entry>
            <entry>
              <para>Enter this URI</para>
            </entry>
          </row>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          <row>
            <entry valign="top">
              <para><guimenu>Applications</guimenu> menu</para>
            </entry>
            <entry valign="top">
              <para>
                <command>applications:///</command>
              </para>
            </entry>
          </row>
          <row>
            <entry valign="top">
              <para><guimenu>Desktop Preferences</guimenu> menu</para>
            </entry>
            <entry valign="top">
              <para>
                <command>preferences:///</command>
              </para>
            </entry>
          </row>
        </tbody>
      </tgroup>
    </informaltable>
    <para>For more information on the file manager, see <citetitle>Nautilus File
Manager</citetitle>.</para>
    <section id="goseditmainmenu-61">
      <title>To Add a Menu</title>
      <indexterm>
        <primary>menus</primary>
        <secondary>adding</secondary>
      </indexterm>
      <para>To add a menu, perform the following steps:</para>
      <orderedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>In a file manager window, access the location where you want
to add the menu. For example, if you want to add a menu to the <guimenu>Applications</guimenu> menu, enter <command>applications:///</command> URI.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Choose <menuchoice><guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>Create Folder</guimenuitem></menuchoice>. An untitled folder
is added to the menu. The name of the folder is selected.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Type a name for the folder, then press <keycap>Return</keycap>. </para>
        </listitem>
      </orderedlist>
      <para>The next time that you log out then log in again, the menu is in the
assigned location.</para>
    </section>
    <section id="goseditmainmenu-55">
      <title>To Add a Launcher to a Menu</title>
      <indexterm>
        <primary>menus</primary>
        <secondary>adding launchers to</secondary>
      </indexterm>
      <para>To add a launcher to a menu, perform the following steps:</para>
      <orderedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>Right-click on any item in the menu to which you want to add
the launcher.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Choose <menuchoice><guimenu>Entire menu</guimenu><guimenuitem>Add new item to this menu</guimenuitem></menuchoice>. A <guilabel>Create Launcher</guilabel> dialog is displayed.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Enter the properties of the launcher in the <guilabel>Create
Launcher</guilabel> dialog. For more information on the elements in the <guilabel>Create Launcher</guilabel> dialog, see <emphasis>Working With Panels</emphasis>.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Click <guibutton>OK</guibutton>.</para>
        </listitem>
      </orderedlist>
    </section>
    <section id="goseditmainmenu-63">
      <title>To Add a Launcher to an Empty Menu</title>
      <para>To add a launcher to an empty menu, perform the following steps:</para>
      <orderedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>In a file manager window, access the menu where you want to
add the launcher. </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Choose <menuchoice><guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>Create Launcher</guimenuitem></menuchoice>. A <guilabel>Create
Launcher</guilabel> dialog is displayed.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Enter the properties of the launcher in the <guilabel>Create
Launcher</guilabel> dialog. For more information on the elements in the <guilabel>Create Launcher</guilabel> dialog, see <emphasis>Working With Panels</emphasis>.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Click <guibutton>OK</guibutton>.</para>
        </listitem>
      </orderedlist>
    </section>
    <section id="goseditmainmenu-56">
      <title>To Copy a Launcher to a Menu</title>
      <indexterm>
        <primary>menus</primary>
        <secondary>copying launchers to</secondary>
      </indexterm>
      <para>To copy an existing launcher to a menu, perform the following
steps:</para>
      <orderedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>In a file manager window, access the location from which you
want to copy the launcher.  For example, if you want to copy a launcher from
the <guimenu>Applications</guimenu> menu, enter <command>applications:///</command> URI.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Select the launcher that you want to copy, then choose <menuchoice><guimenu>Edit</guimenu><guimenuitem>Copy File</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>In a file manager  window, access the location to which you
want to copy the launcher.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Choose <menuchoice><guimenu>Edit</guimenu><guimenuitem>Paste Files</guimenuitem></menuchoice>. The launcher is added to the new location.</para>
        </listitem>
      </orderedlist>
      <para>Alternatively, you can drag the launcher from one location to another.</para>
      <para>The next time that you log out then log in again, the launcher is in
the new menu location.</para>
    </section>
    <section id="goseditmainmenu-62">
      <title>To Edit the Properties of a Menu</title>
      <indexterm>
        <primary>menus</primary>
        <secondary>editing properties</secondary>
      </indexterm>
      <para>To edit the properties of a menu, perform the following
steps:</para>
      <orderedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>Right-click on any item in the menu that you want to edit.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Choose <menuchoice><guimenu>Entire menu</guimenu><guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem></menuchoice>. A <guilabel>Launcher Properties</guilabel> dialog is displayed.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Modify the properties of the menu in the <guilabel>Launcher
Properties</guilabel> dialog. For more information on the elements in the <guilabel>Launcher Properties</guilabel> dialog, see <emphasis>Working With Panels</emphasis>.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Click <guibutton>OK</guibutton>.</para>
        </listitem>
      </orderedlist>
    </section>
    <section id="goseditmainmenu-57">
      <title>To Edit a Menu Item</title>
      <indexterm>
        <primary>menus</primary>
        <secondary>editing menu items</secondary>
      </indexterm>
      <para>To edit a menu item, perform the following steps:</para>
      <orderedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>Right-click on the item that you want to edit.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Choose <guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem>. A <guilabel>Launcher Properties</guilabel> dialog is displayed.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Modify the properties of the launcher in the <guilabel>Launcher
Properties</guilabel> dialog. For more information on the elements in the <guilabel>Launcher Properties</guilabel> dialog, see <emphasis>Working With Panels</emphasis>.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Click <guibutton>OK</guibutton>.</para>
        </listitem>
      </orderedlist>
    </section>
    <section id="goseditmainmenu-58">
      <title>To Delete an Item from a Menu</title>
      <indexterm>
        <primary>menus</primary>
        <secondary>deleting menu items</secondary>
      </indexterm>
      <para>To delete an item from a menu, use the menu item popup menu.
To delete an item from a menu, perform the following steps:</para>
      <orderedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>Right-click on the item that you want to delete.</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Choose <guimenuitem>Remove this item</guimenuitem>. </para>
        </listitem>
      </orderedlist>
    </section>
  </section>
</chapter>