path: root/introduction-to-gnome/C/introduction-to-gnome.sgml

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<article id="index">
  <artheader> 
  <title>Introduction to Gnome</title>
 <authorgroup>
   <author>
    <firstname>Gnome</firstname>
    <surname>Documentation Team</surname>
   </author>
  </authorgroup>

  <releaseinfo>
   This is a draft of Introduction to Gnome for Gnome 1.4
  </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 February
      2001) release of Gnome. 
  </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 &mdash; 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 &mdash; the application in this window continues
	      running, no data is lost &mdash; 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 &mdash; 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 &mdash; 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 &mdash;
      most notably, panels and icons on your desktop &mdash; 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 &mdash; 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>
	         &mdash; a full-featured Excel-compatible spreadsheet
	      </para>
	    </listitem>
	    <listitem><para>
		<application>AbiWord</application> &mdash; 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> &mdash;
		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 &mdash; 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 &mdash; 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 &mdash; 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
      &mdash; 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 &mdash; 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 &mdash;
	for example, if your panel is missing &mdash; 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: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 &mdash;
        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>.
    </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>