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|
<!DOCTYPE article PUBLIC "-//GNOME//DTD DocBook PNG Variant V1.1//EN"[ ]>
<article id="index">
<artheader>
<title>Introduction to Gnome</title>
<authorgroup>
<author>
<firstname>Gnome</firstname>
<surname>Documentation Team</surname>
</author>
</authorgroup>
<releaseinfo>
This document was last updated on April 25, 2001.
</releaseinfo>
<copyright>
<year>2000, 2001</year>
<holder>Red Hat, Inc., David A. Wheeler, Alexander Kirillov
</holder>
</copyright>
<legalnotice id="legalnotice">
<para>
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this
document under the terms of the <ulink type="help"
url="gnome-help:fdl"><citetitle>GNU Free Documentation
License</citetitle></ulink>, Version 1.1 or any later version
published by the Free Software Foundation with no Invariant
Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. You
may obtain a copy of the <citetitle>GNU Free Documentation
License</citetitle> from the Free Software Foundation by
visiting <ulink type="http" url="http://www.fsf.org">their Web
site</ulink> or by writing to: Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
</para>
<para>
Many of the names used by companies to distinguish their
products and services are claimed as trademarks. Where those
names appear in any Gnome documentation, and those trademarks
are made aware to the members of the Gnome Documentation
Project, the names have been printed in caps or initial caps.
</para>
</legalnotice>
</artheader>
<!-- ==================Section: ======================== -->
<sect1 id="whatisGnome">
<title>What is Gnome?</title>
<para>
Gnome is a user-friendly graphical desktop environment for UNIX and
UNIX-like systems that enables users to easily use and configure
their computers. Gnome includes a panel (for starting
applications and displaying status), a desktop (where data and
applications can be placed), a set of standard desktop tools and
applications, and a set of conventions that make it easy for
applications to cooperate and be consistent with each other.
Users of other operating systems or environments should feel
right at home using the powerful graphics-driven environment
Gnome provides. Gnome runs on a number of UNIX-like operating
systems, including Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris.
</para>
<para> Gnome is completely open source (free software) developed by
hundreds of programmers around the world. Both the source code
and ready-to-run binaries of Gnome are available for download on
the Internet; they are distributed under the terms of <ulink
type="gnome-help" url="gnome-help:gpl"> GNU General Public
License</ulink> (and its cousins, <ulink type="gnome-help"
url="gnome-help:lgpl">Lesser General Public License</ulink> and
<ulink type="gnome-help" url="gnome-help:fdl">Free Documentation
License</ulink> for libraries and documentation
respectively). In particular, this means that everyone is free
to use, copy or distribute Gnome. If you would like to learn
more about the Gnome project please visit the <ulink
url="http://www.gnome.org" type="http">Gnome web site</ulink>.
</para>
<para>
Gnome is highly configurable, enabling you to set your desktop
the way you want it to look and feel. Gnome supports many human
languages, and more are added every month. Gnome even supports
several Drag and Drop protocols for maximum interoperability
with non-Gnome applications.
</para>
<para>
Gnome comes from the acronym for the GNU Network Object Model
Environment (GNOME). Gnome is a part of the larger GNU project,
started in 1984 to develop a completely free UNIX-like operating
system. For more information, visit the <ulink
url="http://www.gnu.org" type="http">GNU Website</ulink>.
</para>
<para>
This guide describes Gnome 1.4 which the latest (as of March
2001) release of Gnome.
</para>
</sect1>
<!-- ==================Section: ======================== -->
<sect1 id="about">
<title>About This Guide</title>
<para>
This guide gives you a short introduction to Gnome. It is not
intended to cover all details of Gnome; if you need more
information, you should read detailed manuals listed in <xref
linkend="otherinfo">. Also, this guide assumes you already have
Gnome installed; if you need help installing Gnome, please check
the instructions on <ulink url="http://www.gnome.org"
type="http">Gnome Website</ulink>.
</para>
<para>
This guide was written by the members of Gnome
Documentation Project (GDP). If you have any comments or
suggestions about this guide
or if you can offer any other help in improving or translating
Gnome documentation, please send an e-mail to
<email>docs@gnome.org</email>, or visit <ulink
url="http://developer.gnome.org/projects/gdp/" type="http">GDP Web
Site</ulink>.
</para>
<para> The authors of this guide assume that you are
using the default configuration of Gnome (that is, default GTK
theme and <application>sawfish</application> window manager with
<guilabel>MicroGUI</guilabel> theme). Gnome is highly
configurable, so it is easy to change not only the look but also
the behavior of Gnome; however, we recommend that you do so only
after you already have some experience with Gnome.
</para>
</sect1>
<!-- ==================Section: ======================== -->
<sect1 id="conventions">
<title>Mouse Conventions Used in This Guide</title>
<para>
Before describing Gnome, let us introduce some terms used not
only in this guide but in all Gnome documents. Most importantly,
we need to clarify the use of mouse buttons and clicks.
</para>
<para>
Most Gnome documents assume that you are using a standard (for
UNIX) 3-button mouse and talk about left, right, and middle
mouse buttons; if a document says <quote>click</quote> without
explicitly specifying the button, the left button is
assumed. Some documents use notations <quote>mouse button
1</quote>, <quote>mouse button 2</quote> and <quote>mouse button
3</quote> (or MB1, MB2, MB3 for short) for left, middle, and
right buttons respectively.
</para>
<para>
If you are using a two-button mouse, you can emulate the middle
mouse button by pressing left and right buttons simultaneoulsy;
if you have a wheel mouse, the wheel can be used in place of the
middle mouse button.
</para>
<para>
You can switch the roles of the buttons using Gnome <application>
Control Center</application>. Many left-handers choose to reverse the
right and left buttons. If you have done so, you need to use the
right mouse button whenever document instructs you to click, and use
<emphasis>left</emphasis> mouse button whenever a document talks
about <quote>right-clicking</quote> or mouse button 3.
</para>
<para>
If you use a mouse with some unusual placement of buttons, a
trackball, or some other input device, you need to find out
which buttons correspond to <quote>right</quote>,
<quote>left</quote> and <quote>middle</quote>; this information
can usually be found in the manual which came with your
device. Usually, <quote>left</quote> button (MB1) is the one
under your index finger.
</para>
</sect1>
<!-- ==================Section: ======================== -->
<sect1 id="firstglance">
<title>First glance at Gnome: Desktop and Panel</title>
<para>
<xref linkend="desktop-fig"> shows an example of Gnome
running. Gnome is very configurable, so your screen may look
quite different.
</para>
<!-- figure ------>
<figure id="desktop-fig">
<title>Sample Gnome Display.</title>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Sample Gnome Display</screeninfo>
<graphic format="png" fileref="figures/desktop" srccredit="sasha">
</graphic>
</screenshot>
</figure>
<!-- /figure ------>
<!-- =======Subsection ============ -->
<sect2 id="panel">
<title>Panel</title>
<para>
The long bar at the bottom of <xref linkend="desktop-fig"> is
a Gnome Panel. It contains a number of useful things, such as
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>The <guibutton>Main Menu</guibutton>: this is the
button with the stylized footprint. Clicking this button
brings up a menu containing all Gnome applications
and commands, including the logout command.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Application launchers: these are buttons that start
various programs. For example, the toolbox button
starts the <application>Gnome Control Center</application>
(for configuring your system).
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Panel applets: these are are tiny programs designed to
work inside the Panel. For example, the
<application>clock</application> applet on the far right
shows the current time, and
<application>tasklist</application> applet (in the
middle of the panel) shows the list of all application
windows on your desktop (this will be discussed in
detail in <xref linkend="tasklist">).
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para> As with all Gnome components, Panel is highly
configurable: you can add or remove application launchers and
applets, edit the <guimenu>Main Menu</guimenu>, change Panel
background, or even create new Panels. For example, to move an
object, drag it to the new location using the <link
linkend="conventions">middle mouse button</link>; to configure
an object, get help on it, or remove it from the Panel,
right-click on it and select the appropriate item from the
<guimenu>pop-up</guimenu> menu. To hide the Panel when you are
not using it, click on one of the <guibutton>Hide
buttons</guibutton> (with small arrows) at the ends of the
Panel.
</para>
<para>More Panel operations are available from the
<guimenu>Panel</guimenu> menu, which you can open by
right-clicking in any empty space on the Panel (for example,
in the hide arrows) and selecting <guisubmenu>Panel</guisubmenu>
from the menu. The Panel menu also contains <ulink type="help"
url="gnome-help:panel">Panel manual</ulink>, which describes
all these options and more. </para>
</sect2>
<!-- =======Subsection ============ -->
<sect2 id="desktop">
<title>Desktop</title>
<para>
Everything outside the Panel is called
<quote>desktop</quote>. You can place icons for files, applications,
and other items on the desktop (a default collection of icons is
installed with Gnome), after which you can double-click on an item
to use it:
</para>
<itemizedlist mark="bullet">
<listitem>
<para>
If the item is a program, that program will start.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
If it is a data file, the appropriate program will start
up with that data loaded.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
If it is a directory, the File Manager will start and show
the contents of that directory. Your desktop will probably
have a icon showing a house and labeled
<guilabel><replaceable>yourname</replaceable>'s
Home</guilabel>. Double-clicking on this icon will start
the File Manager at your home directory.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<para>
The easiest way to place an item on the desktop is to
drag-and-drop a file from the File Manager window. This will be
discussed in more detail in <xref linkend="nautilus">. Once
the item is placed on the desktop, you can move it around the
desktop using the left mouse button, or you can click on it
with the right mouse button to bring up the
<guimenu>pop-up</guimenu> menu which allows you to delete the
item or change its properties.
</para>
</sect2>
<!-- =======Subsection ============ -->
<sect2 id="mouse">
<title>Using the Mouse</title>
<para>
As you have already seen, you can do almost anything just by
clicking with your mouse. Here are some conventions which work
almost anywhere in Gnome:
</para>
<itemizedlist mark="bullet">
<listitem><para>
Clicking on an item with the left mouse button selects
(hilights) it. If you need to select several objects, hold down
<keycap>CTRL</keycap> key while clicking.
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>
Double-clicking on an item runs the default action for
this item (running an application, opening the file, etc.)
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>
Clicking on an item with the right mouse button brings up
the context menu, which contains all the commands and
information available for this item. If you have selected
a group of items, right-clicking on any of them will bring
up the context menu which applies to all of these items.
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>
You can
select text anywhere on the screen using the left mouse
button, and then insert this text into any other place on
the screen which accepts text input, by clicking with the
<link linkend="conventions">middle mouse button</link>.
</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<para>
In addition, clicking with the right mouse button on any empty
space on your desktop brings up a <guimenu>pop-up</guimenu>
menu, which allows you to change desktop background or other
properties, or add a new item to the desktop. Clicking on the
desktop with the middle mouse button produces the default menu
for your window manager (see <xref linkend="windows">).
</para>
</sect2>
<!-- =======Subsection:Logging out ============ -->
<sect2 id="logout">
<title>Logging Out</title>
<para> To log out of Gnome, click on the <guimenu>Main Menu</guimenu>
button and select <guimenuitem>Log out</guimenuitem>. Gnome
will prompt you for confirmation; it will also give you an
option to save the session — that is, information about
currently open applications and their location on the screen
will be saved, so that when you login next time, the same
applications will be in the same places (this only works for
applications which are fully Gnome-compliant).
</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>
<!-- ==================Section: working with wondows =============== -->
<sect1 id="windows">
<title>Working With Windows</title>
<para>
The graphical system used by all UNIX-like operating systems, X
Window System, allows you to have several windows on your
screen, with a different application running each in each
window. By itself, however, X Window System can only do very
low-level operations, so it is always used in conjunction with
another piece of software, called window manager. A window
manager provides windows' borders and buttons, allows you to
move, close, and resize windows, etc. Gnome can work with many
window managers. The most popular are:
<ulink type="http" url="http://www.enlightenment.org">
<application>Enlightenment</application></ulink> and <ulink
type="http" url="http://sawmill.sourceforge.net">
<application>Sawfish</application></ulink> (formerly known as
Sawmill). Each window manager can use many different styles of
window decorations and buttons (this is referred to as
<quote>window manager theme</quote>). Since it is impossible to
cover them all, in this section we only describe the default
window manager shipped with Gnome,
<application>Sawfish</application>, and its default theme
(<guilabel>MicroGUI</guilabel>). An example of the window border in
the <guilabel>MicroGUI</guilabel> theme is shown in <xref
linkend="microguiborder">
</para>
<!-- figure ------>
<figure id="microguiborder">
<title>Window Border in MicroGUI Style.</title>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Window border in MicroGUI style</screeninfo>
<graphic format="png" fileref="figures/microguiborder" srccredit="sasha">
</graphic>
</screenshot>
</figure>
<!-- /figure ------>
<para>
So, what can you do with windows?
</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<emphasis>Closing, minimizing, and maximizing windows</emphasis>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
To close a window, click on the button with the
small yellow <quote>x</quote> in the right side of the window
border. If the application has any unsaved data, it will
prompt you to save it.
</para>
<para>
To maximize a window, i.e. make it fill the entire
screen (except for the part taken by the panels), click
on the button with small yellow <quote>up</quote>
arrow. Clicking on this arrow once again will restore
the window to its original size.
</para>
<para> To minimize (hide or iconify) a window, click on the
button with small yellow <quote>down</quote> arrow. The
window will disappear from screen. However, it is not
lost forever — the application in this window continues
running, no data is lost — it is just temporarily
hidden. All minimized windows are shown in the tasklist
applet and can be restored as described below.
</para>
<para> A convenient alternative to minimizing windows is
<quote>shading</quote> them. When you shade a window, it
<quote>rolls up</quote> into its own title bar, so the
title bar is the only part of the window left on
screen. To shade a window, double-click on the title
bar; to unshade, double-click again. Try it!
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<emphasis>Raising and lowering windows</emphasis>
</term>
<listitem>
<para> Windows on your screen can overlap, so that one of
the windows is <quote>on top</quote> of another. You can
<quote>raise</quote> a window (i.e., put it on top of
all others) by clicking on the window title bar. You can
also switch a window from raised to lowered and back by
clicking on the title bar with the <link
linkend="conventions">middle mouse button</link>, or by
clicking anywhere inside the window with the right mouse
button while holding down <keycap>ALT</keycap> key.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<emphasis>Focus</emphasis>
</term>
<listitem>
<para> Of all the windows on your screen, only one is active
(in computer parlance, <quote>focused</quote>), which means
that anything you type on the keyboard will be sent to the
application running in that window. (It does not mean that the
applications in other windows are idle — they can
be running as well.) To help you see which window has
focus, the title bar of this window has different color
(left side is blue, as opposed to gray for all other
windows). To change focus to another window, just click
anywhere in this window. You can also click in the
window title bar to focus and raise the window
simultaneously.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<emphasis>Moving and resizing windows</emphasis>
</term>
<listitem>
<para> To move a window, drag its title bar to a new
location using left mouse button (i.e., click in the
title bar and move the mouse without releasing the
button). You can also move a window by clicking anywhere
inside the window while holding down the
<keycap>ALT</keycap> key.
</para>
<para>
To resize a window, place the mouse cursor on any of the
window borders (except the top one) or corners. The
mouse cursor will change to an arrow pushing a line or
corner, allowing you to drag the border or corner to a new
position.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<sect2 id="tasklist">
<title>Tasklist</title>
<para>
All the windows on your desktop (including the minimized ones)
are shown in the <application>tasklist</application>, located
on your Panel. For each window, a mini-icon and beginning of
the window title is shown. To restore a minimized window, just click
on its title in the tasklist. Right-clicking on the window
title brings up the <guimenu>pop-up</guimenu> menu whihc
allows you to shade a window, close it, or kill the
application running in the window. The last option should only
be used when an application is frozen and does not respond to
<quote>close window</quote> command. If you kill an
application, you lose all unsaved data!
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="wm-menus">
<title> Window Operations Menu</title>
<para>
<application>Sawfish</application> also provides a menu for
each window; this menu contains all the operations for this
window described above, and then some. To access this menu,
click on the button in the left side of the window title bar
(with the small triangle pointing down). You can also invoke
this menu by right-clicking in the window title or clicking
anywhere in the window with the <link
linkend="conventions">middle mouse button</link> while holding
down the <keycap>ALT</keycap> key.
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="wm-desktop-menu">
<title>Desktop Menu</title>
<para>
Finally, <application>Sawfish</application> also provides a
<quote>desktop menu</quote>; it can be accessed by clicking on any
empty space of the desktop with the <link
linkend="conventions">middle mouse button</link>. It
contains the following options:
</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<guimenuitem>Windows</guimenuitem>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Provides list of all windows, including minimized
ones. Selecting one of these windows restores it (if it
was minimized) and raises it over other windows. Very
convenient if you have so many windows that the one you
need is completely covered by others.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<guimenuitem>Workspaces</guimenuitem>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>Allows you to switch from one workspace to another,
create and delete workspaces. See
<application>Sawfish</application> manual for details.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<guimenuitem>Programs</guimenuitem>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Same as <guisubmenu>Programs</guisubmenu> section
of the <guimenu>Main Menu</guimenu>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<guimenuitem>Customize</guimenuitem>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Allows the user to customize all properties of the
<application>Sawfish</application> behavior. For a new
user, we recommend trying various
<guilabel>Appearance</guilabel> settings, but leaving
all other subsections alone.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<guimenuitem>Help</guimenuitem>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Provides links to <application>Sawfish</application> web
page, <application>Sawfish</application> manual (beware:
this is not a user's manual but rather a manual for
people who write extensions/customizations to
<application>Sawfish</application> using LISP
programming language), link to <citetitle>Gnome Users
Guide</citetitle>, and to <ulink
type="http"url="http://www.gnome.org">Gnome Web
site</ulink>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</sect2>
</sect1>
<!-- ==================Section: ======================== -->
<sect1 id="nautilus">
<title>Nautilus: Gnome File Manager, Help Browser, and More</title>
<para>
Gnome 1.4 includes a <quote>graphical shell</quote>,
<application>Nautilus</application>. It combines file manager,
help browser, web browser, FTP client, and much more. To launch
it, select <guimenuitem>Nautilus</guimenuitem> in the
<guimenu>Main Menu</guimenu>, or just dpuble-click on any directory
icon on your desktop.
</para>
<sect2 id="nautilus-fm">
<title>Managing Your Files With Nautilus</title>
<para>
As most modern graphic file managers,
<application>Nautilus</application> shows the contents of a
selected directory using icons to represent files and
subdirectories. Double-clicking on any file or directory opens
it (for data files, it starts the appropriate application
which opens this file). Right-clicking on a file or directory
produces a <guimenu>pop-up</guimenu> menu. Using this menu,
you can delete or rename the file, view and change file
properties or permissions, and more.
</para>
<para> <application>Nautilus</application> also provides an easy
way to move files between directories. To move move a file
from one directory to another, open each directory in a
different <application>Nautilus</application> window by selecting
<guimenuitem>New window</guimenuitem> from the
<application>Nautilus</application> <guimenu>File</guimenu> menu.
Select the file you need, and drag it from one window into another
using the mouse. You can also drag a file or directory to the desktop.
</para>
<para> <application>Nautilus</application> provides many more
tools to manipulate your files. It is also highly
customizable, so you can easily change the way files are
displayed (for example, you can choose a custom icon for a
given file). For detailed description of all these
possibilities, read <ulink type="help"
url="gnome-help:nautilus">Nautilus manual</ulink>.
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="nautilus-help">
<title>Reading Documentation With Nautilus</title>
<para>
In addition to being a file manager,
<application>Nautilus</application> is also a help browser:
you can use it to read documentation installed on your
system. This includes not only Gnome documentation, but also
UNIX-style manual pages (manpages), GNU info pages
(documentation format used GNU project utilities), and other
types of documentation. To view the list of all documentation
installed on your system, click on the
<guilabel>Help</guilabel> tab in the left panel of
<application>Nautilus</application>.
</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>
<!-- ==================Section: ======================== -->
<sect1 id="customizing">
<title>Customizing</title>
<para>
Gnome is highly configurable — you can change almost
anything: background color, key bindings, location of panels
and contents of the <guimenu>Main Menu</guimenu>, and more.
Most of these changes are done using <application>Gnome Control
Center</application>, which can be found in
<guisubmenu>Settings</guisubmenu> submenu of the <guimenu>Main
Menu</guimenu>; this menu also allows you to access a specific
section of the <application>Gnome Control Center</application>.
The <application>Control Center</application> has its own
detailed documentation which you should consult before making
any changes.
</para>
<para>
Here we would like to give just an overview of the most commonly
used options of the <application>Gnome Control
Center</application>.
</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>Background</term>
<listitem>
<para>
You can change the desktop background by selecting
<guilabel>Background</guilabel> in the
<guilabel>Desktop</guilabel> section of <application>Gnome
Control Center</application>. (A quicker alternative to
access this section is to right-click on any empty space on
your desktop and select <guimenuitem>Change Desktop
Background</guimenuitem> from the <guimenu>pop-up</guimenu>
menu).
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Theme Selector</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
<guilabel>Theme Selector</guilabel> allows you to change the
desktop theme (also known as GTK theme). This changes the
appearance of the <guimenu>Main Menu</guimenu>, as well as
menus, toolbars, scrollbars, checkbuttons and other elements
of graphical user interface for all Gnome applications. Many
users find the default GTK theme rather dull, so the first
thing they do is switching to another one.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Sawfish window manager</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
This section
allows you to change settings for the window manager. In
particular, in the <guilabel>Appearance</guilabel>
subsection you can change the frame style (theme), which
determines the window borders and buttons. You can also
change the font used for window title bars. If you
are a new user, we recommend that you do not change
other settings.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Session</guilabel>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
In this section you can define
the startup programs (that is, programs that are run every
time you log in), enable or disable login hints and logout
confirmation dialog.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<para>
In addition, you can change properties of various items —
most notably, panels and icons on your desktop — by
clicking on them with the right mouse button and selecting
<guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem> from the
<guimenu>pop-up</guimenu> menu. In this way, you can change the
caption of an icon, size and background color (or even
background image) of the Panel, and much more.
</para>
<!-- <note>
<title>NOTE</title>
<para>
Desktop icons corresponding to various drives and devices of
your system (such as floppy drive or CD-ROM) have more
complicated nature, so you can not change their caption using
the <guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem> dialog.
</para>
</note> -->
<para>
Almost every Gnome application has its own
preferences settings (look for
<guimenu>Preferences</guimenu> or <guimenu>Settings</guimenu> in
the menus), so you can change, for example, colors used by the Gnome
Terminal or make it transparent — the possibilities are
unlimited!
</para>
</sect1>
<!-- ==================Section: ======================== -->
<sect1 id="apps">
<title>Gnome Applications and Utilities</title>
<para>
Gnome comes with many applications and utilities; in addition,
Gnome allows you to use any third party applications such as
<application>Netscape</application>), KDE applications, or other
applications and utilities installed on your system. Here is a
list of some of the most useful tools and applications which you
can find in Gnome's <guimenu>Main Menu</guimenu> (this is not a
complete list!)
</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><guisubmenu>Applications</guisubmenu>
</term>
<listitem>
<para> These include office and productivity applications
such as </para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>
<application>Gnumeric</application>
— a full-featured Excel-compatible spreadsheet
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem><para>
<application>AbiWord</application> — a lightweight
word processing application
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem><para>
<application>Gnome Calendar</application> to help
you manage your busy schedule
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem><para> Several text editors, from simple and
easy to use <application>gedit</application> to the
(arguably) the most powerful text editor ever created,
<application>Emacs</application> (which is not a Gnome
appication)
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guisubmenu>Graphics</guisubmenu>
</term>
<listitem>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>
<application>Gimp</application> —
image editing program for power users; rivals
<application>Photoshop</application>
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem><para>Image viewers such as <application>Eye of
Gnome</application>, <application>GQview</application> and
<application>xv</application>
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guisubmenu>Utilities</guisubmenu>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>Among other things, here you will find </para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>
<application>Calculator</application>
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem><para>
<application>Gnome Search
tool</application> which you can use to find a file
on your system
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem><para>
<application>gfloppy</application> for formatting
floppy disks
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem><para>
<application>GDict</application>for
looking up a word in one of the many dictionaries
freely available on the Internet
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guisubmenu>Multimedia</guisubmenu>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Here you will find <application>CD player</application>,
<application>Mixer</application> (which also can be used
to adjust volume of your speakers), and an MP3 player
<application>XMMS</application>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guisubmenu>System</guisubmenu>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
This submenu contains utilities for managing your
system. You can find out detailed information about your
processor, memory, and operating system using
<application>System Info</application>, check how much
space you have left on your disks using <application>Gnome
DiskFree</application>, or view all the processes (jobs)
which are currently running on your computer using
<application>System monitor</application>. In addition,
<application>System monitor</application> also shows you
load level for the processor and memory, and allows you to
kill a stalled or otherwise unwanted job.
</para>
<para>
This submenu also contains tools for managing software
installed on your system, namely
<application>GnoRPM</application> and <application>Helix
Gnome Update</application> (if you are using the
distribution of Gnome prepared by Helix Code, Inc.).
<application>GnoRPM</application> allows you to view all
software packages installed on your system (if you are
using a distribution of Linux based on RPM packages, such
as Red Hat, SuSe, or Mandrake); it also allows you to remove,
update, or install new packages.
<application>Helix Gnome Update</application> provides an
extremely easy, almost one-click, way to update your
Gnome installation. Both of these utilities , however, require
that you have system administrator (root) privileges.
</para>
<para>
And finally, the same submenu also contains various
terminal emulators (<application>xterm</application>,
<application>Color xterm</application>,
<application>Gnome Terminal</application>) letting you use
the most powerful (although not most user friendly) interface
ever created — the command line prompt.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guisubmenu>Internet</guisubmenu>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Here, you will find <application>Netscape</application> web
browser, <application>X-Chat</application> for Internet Relay
Chat (IRC), <application>Gnome-ICU</application> for talking
with other people using ICQ protocol, and
<application>gftp</application> which is a graphical tool
for FTP file transfers. Note that Gnome file manager,
<application>Nautilus</application>, also has built-in FTP
capabilities, so <application>gftp</application> is needed
only in those rare cases when you need something really
complicated (for example, transferring files using secure
version of FTP, based on <application>ssh</application>).
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guisubmenu>Games</guisubmenu>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Lots of them — just try!
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</sect1>
<!-- ==================Section: ======================== -->
<sect1 id="trouble">
<title>Help - I Am in Trouble!</title>
<para>
Everyone runs into trouble sooner or later. Here is some
advice on how to handle the most common problems:
</para>
<sect2 id="kill-an-app">
<title>Killing a Stalled Application</title>
<para>
If an application is stalled or frozen — that is, if it
does not respond to your mouse clicks and keyboard commands,
you can either wait and hope that it wakes up, or kill it. If
you decide to kill it (NOTE: You will lose all unsaved data),
start the <application>Gnome System monitor</application>
(from <guisubmenu>System</guisubmenu> submenu of the
<guimenu>Main Menu</guimenu>), right-click on the frozen
application name, and select <guimenuitem>Kill
now</guimenuitem>. Using <application>Gnome System
monitor</application> also allows you to find and kill all
helper processes started by this application.
</para>
<para>
If a Gnome application freezes or crashes (unexpectedly dies)
repeatedly, you should file a bug report as described in <xref
linkend="feedback">.
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="kill-X11">
<title>My Whole System Froze!</title>
<para> If your whole system is frozen and is not responding, do not
hurry to push the <quote>reset</quote> button on the computer
— this is usually the worst solution. Most probably, it is
not the operating system itself that is frozen (UNIX systems are
known for stability), but just the graphical part, X Window
System. In this case, you can try to restart X Window System by
simultaneously pressing
<!-- <keycombo>-->
<keycap>CTRL</keycap>-<keycap>ALT</keycap>-<keycap>Backspace</keycap>.
<!-- </keycombo>--> This should work for
the implementation of X Window system used on Linux and *BSD,
XFree86 — unless it was disabled by your system
administrator. Of course, in this way you also lose all unsaved
data, but at least you do not risk to mess up the whole file
system.
</para>
</sect2>
<!-- <sect2 id="icons-messedup">
<title>My Gnome Desktop Icons Are All Messed up!</title>
<para>
This sometimes happens when upgrading from an older version of
Gnome. In this case, try this trick: delete the file
<filename>~/.Gnome/metadata.db</filename> (note the dot!), where
<filename>~</filename> is your home directory, then log out and
login again. If this didn't help, read on.
</para>
</sect2> -->
<sect2 id="Gnome-messedup">
<title>My Whole Gnome Configuration is Messed Up!</title>
<para>
If you have more serious problems than just desktop icons —
for example, if your panel is missing — the radical solution
is to remove all your Gnome configuration files and start from
scratch. This is an emergency solution, as you lose all
configuration settings and will need to configure your menus,
panels, etc. again from scratch, that is, from the default Gnome
configuration. However, this only affects Gnome configuration,
so your data files and settings for non-Gnome applications
remain intact.
</para>
<para> To remove all your Gnome configuration files and return
to the original Gnome configuration, logout then log in again
holding down keys <keycap>CTRL</keycap> and
<keycap>SHIFT</keycap> (immediately after entering your
password in the login dialog). You will be presented a dialog,
offering you the choice to reset the saved session (that is,
which applications were open when you last logged out); reset
your Gnome configuration settings; or both.
</para>
<para>
Finally, if you have really severe problems and your system
freezes or becomes otherwise unusable as soon as you login,
you have one last option. You can select
<guimenuitem>Failsafe</guimenuitem> session type instead of
the default <guimenuitem>Gnome</guimenuitem> in the login
screen. Both Gnome and KDE Login Managers support this. In
this session type, Gnome is not started; instead, you are
presented with a single terminal window. This is almost
guaranteed to start OK, and if you know how to use
command-line tools to find and fix your problem, you have a
chance. Otherwise, ask an expert.
</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>
<!-- ==================Section: ======================== -->
<sect1 id="otherinfo">
<title>Where to Find More Information</title>
<sect2 id="Gnome-docs">
<title>Documentation Included with Gnome</title>
<para>
Gnome includes detailed documentation for the majority
of applications, utilities and other components, such as Panel
or Nautilus file manager. You can view the list of all Gnome
documents installed on your system using the <guilabel>Help
Contents</guilabel> tab in <link
linkend="nautilus-help">Nautilus</link>. So, if you want to
know more about one of these components, read the appropriate
manual.
</para>
<para>
In addition to the manuals for individual components, Gnome
documentation also includes:
</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<ulink type="help" url="gnome-help:gnome-users-guide">
<citetitle>Gnome Users Guide</citetitle>
</ulink>
</term>
<listitem>
<para> In addtition to general overview, this users
guide also contains detailed documentation for core Gnome
components (Desktop, Panel, Nautilus, Control Center and
more).
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<!-- <varlistentry>
<term>
<ulink type="help" url="gnome-help:users-faq">
<citetitle>Frequently Asked Questions</citetitle>
</ulink>
</term>
<listitem>
<para> This document contains answers to some of the most
commonly asked questions about Gnome.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><ulink type="help" url="gnome-help:new_in_1.4">
<citetitle>What is new in Gnome 1.4</citetitle>
</ulink>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
This document describes changes in Gnome 1.4 (compared to
the previous release, Gnome 1.2)
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry> -->
<varlistentry>
<term> <ulink type="help" url="gnome-help:unix-primer">
<citetitle>If you are new to UNIX/Linux...</citetitle>
</ulink>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
This short document gives the minimal necessary
information about UNIX and UNIX-like operating systems,
including such things as filenames, paths and
directories, permissions, symbolic links and most
confusing of them all, the notion of
<quote>mounting</quote>. If you never used UNIX system
before, be sure to read this.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><ulink type="help" url="gnome-help:glossary">
<citetitle>Glossary</citetitle></ulink>
</term>
<listitem>
<para>Gives brief explanation of some of computer-related
terms you may see in Gnome documentation, from ASCII to X
Window System.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="gnome-www">
<title> Gnome Resources on the Internet</title>
<para>
In addition to documentation shipped with Gnome, there is also
wealth of information available on the Internet. A good
starting point is, of course, the <ulink type="http"
url="http://www.gnome.org">Gnome Website</ulink>. There you
will find instructions for installing Gnome, reviews and tips,
developer information, and more.
</para>
<para>
If you can not find an answer to your question there, you
may ask other Gnome users and developers on Gnome mailing list
(subscription instructions can be found <ulink type="http"
url="http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-list">here</ulink>).
Note, however, that this list is for Gnome-related questions
only (do not ask how to configure X Window System, for instance),
and it is impolite (to say the least) to ask a question without
first checking if this question is already answered in available
documents such as <ulink type="gnome-help"
url="gnome-help:users-faq">Gnome FAQ</ulink>.
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="not-Gnome-docs">
<title>Everything Not Gnome</title>
<para>
You should realize that Gnome is just part of your computer
system. If you want to unleash the full potential of your
computer, you need to understand not just Gnome but also the
underlying operating system (UNIX/Linux/FreeBSD), various
tools and utilities included with it, and its graphics system
(X Window System). Each of these components usually comes with
its own documentation. Most of UNIX commands and utilities are
documented in so-called <quote>manual pages</quote>, or man pages
for short. You can view them using <application>Nautilus</application>
(see <xref linkend="nautilus-help">). This documentation is usually
very detailed and more technical than most users would like.
Another documentation format used by utilities from the
GNU project is called <quote>info pages</quote>. They, too,
can be viewed using <application>Nautilus</application>. Many
applications also have documentation in other formats. Sometimes
it is not easy to find documentation for a given application —
try looking in the directory <filename>/usr/doc</filename>.
</para>
<para> Documentation for operating system itself varies from one
system to another. The best advice is to check the printed manual
which came with your system. For Linux, a good source of information
is the Linux Documentation Project (LDP); you can read or their
documentation on the Internet (at <ulink type="http"
url="http://www.linuxdoc.org">http://www.linuxdoc.org</ulink>).
Virtually all Linux distributions also include copies of LDP
documents; usually they are found at
<filename>/usr/doc/LDP</filename> or
<filename>/usr/doc/HOWTO</filename>.
</para>
<para>
And of course, there are a number of books available about all
flavors of UNIX/Linux, Gnome, and about anything else you might
be interested in. Check your local bookstore.
</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="feedback">
<title>Feedback</title>
<para>
If you have any comments, suggestions, or complaints about this
guide, please send them to Gnome Documentation project at
<email>docs@gnome.org</email>.
</para>
<para>
If you find a bug in one of Gnome applications, please report
it! The developers do read these reports and try to fix all
reported bugs. The easiest way to send a bug report is to use
<application>Gnome Bug Report Tool</application>, found in the
<guisubmenu>Utilities</guisubmenu> submenu of the <guimenu>Main
Menu</guimenu>. This tool will be automatically started if a
Gnome application crashes. It should also be used for submitting
suggestions or requests for new features for Gnome applications:
just select <guilabel>Severity: enhancement</guilabel> in the
appropriate window of <application>Gnome Bug Report
Tool</application>. Detailed information about contacting
developers and reporting bugs can be found in <ulink type="help"
url="gnome-help:gnome-feedback"><citetitle>Reporting GNOME bugs
and other feedback</citetitle></ulink> document, which you can
find in the <guilabel>Help</guilabel> tab of
<application>Nautilus</application> file manager.
</para>
<para>
If you have questions about Gnome, or want to discuss Gnome
with other users and developers, you should subscribe to the
Gnome mailing list as described in <xref linkend="gnome-www">.
</para>
</sect1>
</article>
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