When you start your Ubuntu system, you are asked for a username and password to log in with. In the last chapter you specified a user account when installing the system, so use that to log in. First type in your username and press enter, then your password and press enter. Tip: Language? Sprache? Langue? Lingua? Click the Options > Select Language button to change the language of the desktop. If you click the button and the selection does not include your language, jump to the Ubuntu in Your Language section on page 100 to add new language packs. After a few seconds you will see the Ubuntu desktop appear (see Figure 3-1). The desktop comprises three main areas Figure 3-1. The Ubuntu desktop is simple, uncluttered and... brown.
You may have noticed that, unlike other OS, there are no icons on the desktop. The reason for this is that your icons typically get covered by applications, and, as such, you can't get at them. If you need to start applications, you typically use the Applications menu or the shortcuts. Tip: Device Icons Although there are no applications on the desktop, when you plug in USB devices such as portable music players, key rings, or digital cameras a device icon will appear on the desktop. Starting Applications and Finding ThingsStarting applications is simple. Just click on the Applications menu on the left side of the panel. Inside this menu are a number of submenus for different types of applications. Hover your mouse over each category, and then click the application that you want to load. As an example, click on Applications > Internet > Firefox Web Browser. After a few seconds the browser will pop up. When applications are loaded, the brown window border has three buttons on the right-hand side:
Every application has an entry in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. You can click these entries to minimize or maximize the application and right-click to see some other options. Changing Your Menu LayoutAlthough the main Applications, Places, and System menus are logical by default, you may want to further customize them by moving entries into different submenus, not displaying certain items, and other tweaks. All of this is easily done with the built-in menu editor. To edit the menus, right-click on a menu, and select Edit Menus. The menu editor now appears, as seen in Figure 3-2. Figure 3-2. The menu editor lets you easily change the Ubuntu menus.The menu editor is fairly intuitive. To adjust which items are shown, click on a submenu and deselect the items that you don't want to display. To add a new item, select the submenu the item should appear in, and then select File > New Entry. The box from Figure 3-3 will appear. Figure 3-3. Feel free to add your own menu items.
In the Name box enter the name of the application you are adding. In the Comment box enter a brief description of the application, and then add the command to run the application in the Command box. You can also use the Browse button to select the application to run. Finally, click No Icon, and select an icon for the item. Click OK to finish adding it. Find Your Files and FoldersWhen using your computer you often need to save and open files and folders, move them around, and perform other tasks. The Places menu contains a bunch of entries to access different parts of your computer and the network. These include
Configure Your SystemThe third and final menu, System, is used to configure the system and customize your desktop. Inside the menu are two submenus.
Tip: Feel the Power When you installed Ubuntu, you were asked for a username and password for the system. This password not only provides access to your normal user account but also accesses the all-powerful Administration features. As such, when you access the menu options and are asked for the password just enter your normal password, and you can use them. This feature only applies to the first user that you created on the system. If you add another account, the user cannot access the Administration options unless you explicitly give him or her access. Shortcut IconsOn the panel there are a number of shortcut icons next to the menus. These small icons are always visible and can be single-clicked to gain immediate access to your favorite applications. Ubuntu comes with some stock shortcuts on the panel, but you are welcome to add your own. Adding your own icon is as simple as finding the application you want to add in the menu and then dragging it to the panel. You can then right-click the new shortcut icon and select Move to move it to the right place. AppletsOne of the most useful features in Ubuntu is the ability to run small programs called applets on the panel. These small programs are useful for a variety of different tasks, and provide quick and easy access via the panel. To add an applet, right-click the panel and select Add to Panel. The window shown in Figure 3-4 pops up. Select one of the many applets, and click Add. When the applet appears on the panel, you can press the middle mouse button (or the left and right buttons together) to move it around. Figure 3-4. Ubuntu comes bundled with a selection of applets.The Notification AreaIn the top right-hand part of the panel is the notification area and the clock. The notification area is similar to the Windows system tray in that it provides a series of small icons that indicate something specific. A good example of this is the battery monitor. This small icon displays how much power your laptop has left, and when you hover the mouse over it you can see how much time is left before your computer gives up the ghost. You can fiddle with the notification area items by right-clicking them to view a context menu. Some icons (such as the volume control) allow you to left-click on them to view them. Try clicking the little speaker icon and adjusting the slider. Quick Tip Right-click the volume icon, and select Open Volume Control to access the mixer settings for your sound card. These settings configure the speakers, microphone, line-in, and any other sound card input or outputs. The ClockNext to the notification area is the clock. Click on the clock to view a calendar. Later, when you use Evolution, items that are added to your calendar appear in the clock applet too. Instead of opening up Evolution to find out when your dreaded dentist appointment is, just click on the clock to see it immediately. Quick Tip Customize your clock by right-clicking it and selecting Preferences. The TaskbarThe taskbar sits at the bottom of the screen. This small bar is always visible and indicates which applications are currently open. In addition to this, the taskbar also sneaks in a few other handy little features. To the far left of the taskbar is the Hide/Show Desktop button. Clicking this button hides all of your open applications and shows the desktop. Clicking it again redisplays them. This button is useful when you need to quickly access something on your desktop. Next to this button is the applications area, which shows each of the currently open applications. For each application, an entry is added, and you can right-click it to view a context menu. This menu is used to minimize, maximize, resize, close, and do other things to the application. Quick Tip You can switch between multiple applications in Ubuntu just like in Windows by pressing Alt-Tab. When you press this key combination, a small window appears that can be used to switch between active applications. To the right of the applications area are four small rectangles called the workspaces. Each of these rectangles represents another screen in which you can view an application. As an example, you may use your Web browser and e-mail client on the first desktop, talk to your friends on IRC and instant messenger on the second desktop, listen to your music in your audio player on the third desktop, and make notes in a text editor on the fourth one. You can then just click each virtual desktop to switch to it to access your different applications. Another useful tip is when moving applications between virtual desktopsif you have an application on the first desktop, just right-click the brown window or the taskbar entry, select Move to Another Workspace, and pick the relevant workspace number. The menu also has Move to Workspace Left and Move to Workspace Right options, too. This makes moving applications between your workspaces quite simple. To the right of the workspaces is the wastebasket. Files that are dragged onto this icon are destined to be deleted. To fully delete these files, right-click the wastebasket and select Empty the Wastebasket. Tip: Usability and the Ubuntu Desktop Throughout the development of the Ubuntu desktop, great care and attention has gone into usability. As an example, the four corners of the screen are established as areas that are simple to accessyou don't need to carefully mouse over the area and can instead just throw your mouse to the corner. This is why each corner has an important feature. It makes accessing each feature that little bit easier. Ubuntu is filled with tiny usability improvements such as this that help make it as intuitive as possible. Shutting Your Computer Down and Logging OutTo lock your screen, shut your computer down, log out, hibernate or suspend, and then click System > Log Out. You then will see the dialog box displayed in Figure 3-5. Figure 3-5. Who knew that logging out had so many possibilities?
There are a number of options here available upon log out.
|