The GNOME Panel

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The panel is the center of the GNOME interface (see Figure 6-4). Through it you can start your applications, run applets, and access desktop areas. You can think of the GNOME panel as a type of tool you can use on your desktop. You can have several GNOME panels displayed on your desktop, each with applets and menus you have placed in them. In this respect, GNOME is flexible, enabling you to configure your panels any way you want. You can customize a panel to fit your own needs, holding applets and menus of your own selection. You may add new panels, add applications to the panel, and add various applets.

Figure 6-4: The GNOME panel

Panel configuration tasks such as adding applications, selecting applets, setting up menus, and creating new panels are handled from the Panel pop-up menu. Just right-click anywhere on your panel to display a menu with entries for Properties, New Panel, Add To Panel, and Delete This Panel, along with help and about entries. New Panel lets you create other panels; Add To Panel lets you add items to the panel such as application launchers, applets for simple tasks like the Workspace Switcher, and menus like the main applications menu. The Properties entry will display a dialog for configuring the features for that panel, like the position of the panel and its hiding capabilities.

Note 

You open the main menu by clicking its button on the panel. On Red Hat, the Main Menu button is a stylized picture of a red hat. It is initially located on the left side of your panel, the lower-left corner of your screen. You only need to single-click the Main Menu button.

Panel Properties

To configure individual panels, you use the Panel Properties dialog box. To display this dialog box, you right-click the particular panel and select the Properties entry in the pop-up menu. For individual panels, you can set features for edge panel configuration and the background. The Panel Properties dialog box includes a tabbed panel for each. On the edge panel, you can choose options for positioning an edge panel and for minimizing it, including the Auto-Hide feature. The Hide Buttons feature enables you to hide the panel yourself.

On the Background panel, you can change the background image used for the panel. You can select an image, have it scaled to fit the panel, and select a background color. For an image, you can also drag and drop an image file from the file manager to the panel; that image then becomes the background image for the panel.

Displaying Panels

You can hide the panel at any time by clicking either of the Hide buttons located on each end of the panel. The Hide buttons are thin buttons showing a small arrow. This is the direction in which the panel will hide. To redisplay the panel, move your mouse off the screen in that direction at the bottom of the screen. You can enable or disable the Hide buttons in the panel's properties window. If you want the panel to automatically hide when you are not using it, select the Auto-Hide option in the panel configuration window. Moving the mouse to the bottom of the screen redisplays the panel. You can also move the panel to another edge of the screen by clicking and dragging on either end of the panel with your middle mouse button (both buttons simultaneously for two-button mice).

Adding Panels

To add a new panel, select the New Panel entry in the Panel pop-up menu. You can then select the panel type, choosing from a menu, edge, floating, sliding, or corner panel. The default is an edge panel. An edge panel is displayed across one of the edges of the screen. Your original panel is an edge panel. A menu panel is a panel implemented as a menu bar across the top of the desktop with menus for applications and actions. It can hold any objects that a standard panel can hold. A floating panel is one that you can position anywhere on the desktop. A sliding panel is sized to the number of items in the panel and can be placed anywhere on the edge of the desktop. A corner panel is a smaller panel also sized to the number of items on it and is positioned in the corner of the edge of a desktop.

Panel Objects

A panel can contain several different types of objects. These include menus, launchers, applets, drawers, and special objects.

• Menus   The main menu is an example of a panel menu. Launchers are buttons used to start an application or execute a command.

• Launchers   The Web browser icon is an example of a launcher button. You can select any application entry in the main menu and create a launcher for it on the panel.

• Applets   An applet is a small application designed to run within the panel. The Workspace Switcher showing the different desktops is an example of a GNOME applet.

• Drawers   A drawer is an extension of the panel that can be open or closed. You can think of a drawer as a shrinkable part of the panel. You can add anything to it that you can to a regular panel, including applets, menus, and even other drawers.

• Special objects   These are used for special tasks not supported by other panel objects. For example, the Logout and Lock buttons are special objects.

Application Launchers

Adding applications to a panel is easy. For an application already in the main menu, you only need to go to its entry and right-click it. Then select the Add This Launcher To Panel entry. An application launcher for that application is then automatically added to the panel. Suppose you use gedit frequently and want to add its icon to the panel, instead of having to go through the main menu all the time. Right-click the Text Editor menu entry in the Accessories menu, and select the Add This Launcher To Panel option. The gedit icon now appears in your panel.

To add an application icon not in the main menu, first right-click the panel to display the pop-up menu and select the Add To Panel entry. From there, select the Launcher entry. This opens the Create Launcher window for entering properties for the application launcher. You are prompted for the application name, the command that invokes it, and its type. To select an icon for your launcher, click the Icon button. This opens the Icon Browser window, listing icons from which you can choose.

Adding Drawers

You can also group applications under a Drawer icon. Clicking the Drawer icon displays a list of the different application icons you can then select. To add a drawer to your panel, right-click the panel and select the Drawer entry. You can then drag items from windows to the drawer icon to have them listed in the drawer. For particular menu entries, you can right-click the menu entry and select Add Launcher To Pane. Once in the panel, you can drag the icon to the drawer.

If you want to add, as a drawer, a whole menu of applications on the main menu to your panel, right-click any item in that menu, then select Entire Menu from the pop-up menu, and then select the Add This As Drawer To Panel entry. The entire menu appears as a drawer on your panel, holding icons instead of menu entries. For example, suppose you want to place the Internet applications menu on your panel. Right-click any entry item, selecting Entire Menu, and select Add This As Drawer To Panel. A drawer appears on your panel labeled Internet, and clicking it displays a pop-up list of icons for all the Internet applications.

Adding Menus

A menu differs from a drawer in that a drawer holds application icons instead of menu entries. You can add menus to your panel, much as you add drawers. To add a submenu in the main menu to your panel, right-click any item and select Entire Menu, and then select the Add This As Menu To Panel entry. The menu title appears in the panel; you can click it to display the menu entries.

You can also add directory folders to a panel. Click and drag the Folder icon from the file manager window to your panel. Whenever you click this Folder button, a file manager window opens, displaying that directory. You already have a Folder button for your home directory. You can add directory folders to any drawer on your panel.

Moving and Removing Objects

To move any object within the panel, even the Menu icon, just drag it with the middle mouse button. You can also right-click it and choose Move Applet to let you move the applet. You can move it either to a different place on the same panel or to a different panel. When moving objects, you can have them either push over, switch with, or jump over other objects that they run into on the panel. To push over an object, you hold the SHIFT key down while moving the object. To switch with an object, you hold down the CTRL key, and to jump over an object, you hold down the ALT key.

To remove an object from the panel, right-click it to display a pop-up menu for it, and then choose the Remove From Panel entry.

Special Panel Objects

Special panel objects perform operations not supported by other panel objects. Currently, these include the Lock, Logout, and Launcher buttons, as well as swallowed applications and the status dock. The Lock button shows a padlock and will lock your desktop, running the screensaver in its place. To access your desktop, click it and then enter your user password at the password prompt. The Logout button shows a monitor with a half-moon. Clicking it will display the Logout dialog box, and you can then log out. It is the same as selecting Logout from the main menu. The Launcher button shows a launcher icon. It opens the Create Launcher dialog box, which allows you to enter or select an application to run.

The status dock is designed to hold status docklets. A status docklet provides current status information on an application. KDE applications that support status docklets can use the GNOME status dock when run under GNOME.

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