# Using the Panels

This chapter describes how to use the panels at the top and bottom of the GNOME Desktop, how to customize the objects that appear on them, and how to add new panels to the desktop.

## Introduction

A panel is an area in the GNOME Desktop where you have access to certain actions and information, no matter what the state of your application windows. For example, in the default GNOME panels, you can launch applications, see the date and time, control the system sound volume, and more.

You can customize panels to your liking. You can change their behavior and appearance, and you can add or remove objects from your panels. You can create multiple panels, and choose different properties, objects, and backgrounds for each panel. You can also hide panels.

By default, the GNOME Desktop contains a panel at the top edge of the screen, and a panel at the bottom edge of the screen. The following sections describe these panels.

### Top Edge Panel

By default, the top edge panel contains the following objects:

Your distribution of GNOME may have altered this default setup.

Menu Bar applet

  The Menu Bar contains the Applications, Places, and System menus. For more on the menu bar, see .

A set of application launcher icons

  The exact number of icons depends on your GNOME distribution, but in general you will find at least a launcher for the Web Browser, an Email client and the Help Browser. Click on any launcher icon to open the corresponding application.

Notification Area applet

  Displays icons from other applications that may require your attention, or that you may want to access without switching from your current application window. For more on this, see .

  Until an application adds an icon to the notification area, only a narrow bar is visible.

Clock applet

  The Clock shows the current time. Click on the time to open a small calendar. You can also view a world map by clicking the Locations expansion label. For more on this, see the Clock Applet Manual.

Volume Control applet

  The Volume Control enables you to control the volume of the speakers on your system. For more on this, see the Volume Control Manual.

Window Selector icon

  The Window Selector lists all of your open windows. To give focus to a window, click on the window selector icon at the extreme right of the top edge panel, then select the window. For more on this, see .

### Bottom Edge Panel

By default, the bottom edge panel contains the following objects:

Your distribution of GNOME may have altered this default setup.

Show Desktop button

  Click on this button to minimize all open windows and show the desktop. Click it again to restore all of the windows to their previous state.

Window List applet

  Displays a button for each window that is open. The Window List enables you to minimize and restore windows. For more on this, see .

Workspace Switcher applet

  Enables you to switch between your workspaces. For more on workspaces, see .

## Managing Panels

The following sections describe how to manage your panels.

To interact with a panel, you must click on a vacant space on the panel rather than on any of the objects it holds. If the hide buttons are visible on the panel, you can also middle-click or right-click on one of them to select the panel.

### Moving a Panel

To move a panel to another side of the screen, press and hold ALT and drag the panel to its new location. Click on any vacant space on the panel to begin the drag.

A panel that is not set to expand to the full width of the screen can be dragged away from the edge of the screen and placed anywhere. See for details on how to set a panel's expand property.

### Panel Properties

You can change the properties of each panel, such as the position of the panel, the hide behavior, and the visual appearance.

To modify the properties of a panel, right-click on a vacant space on the panel, then choose Properties. The Panel Properties dialog contains two tabbed sections, General and Background.

#### General Properties Tab

In the General tab, you can modify panel size, position, and hiding properties. The following table describes the dialog elements on the General tabbed section:

Dialog Element | Description
--- | ---
Orientation | Select the position of the panel on your screen. Click on the required position for the panel.
Size | Use the spin box to specify the size of the panel.
Expand | By default, a panel expands to the full length of the edge of the screen where it is located. A panel that does not expand can be moved away from the screen edges to any part of the screen.
Autohide | Select this option if you want the panel to only be fully visible when the mouse pointer is over it. The panel hides off-screen along its longest edge, leaving a narrow part visible along the edge of the desktop. Move the mouse pointer over the visible part of the panel to make it move back into view.
Show hide buttons | Select this option to display hide buttons at each end of your panel. Clicking on a hide button moves the panel lenthways, hiding it off-screen except for the hide button at the opposite end. Click this hide button to restore the panel to being fully visible.
Arrows on hide buttons | Select this option to display arrows on the hide buttons, if the hide button is enabled.

#### Background Properties Tab

You can choose the type of background for the panel in the Background tab. The choices are as follows:

Dialog Element | Description
--- | ---
None (use system theme) | Select this option to have the panel use the settings in the Appearance preference tool. This keeps your panel's background looking the same as the rest of the desktop and applications.
Solid color | Select this option to specify a single color for the panel background. Click on the Color button to display the color selector dialog. Choose the color that you require from the color selector dialog. Use the Style slider to specify the degree of transparency or opaqueness for the color. For example, to make the panel transparent, move the slider to the Transparent end.
Background image | Select this option to specify an image for the panel background. Click on the button to browse for an image file. When you have selected the file, click OK.

You can also drag a color or image on to a panel to set the color or image as the background of the panel. You can drag a color or image from many applications. For example:

- You can drag a color from any color selector dialog.

- You can drag an image file from the Nautilus file manager to set it as the background of the panel.

- You can drag a color or a pattern from the Backgrounds and Emblems dialog in Nautilus file manager to a panel to set it as the background.

Click Close to close the Panel Properties dialog.

### Hiding a Panel

You can hide or show a panel if it has hide buttons. If the hide buttons are not visible on a panel, modify the panel properties so that the hide buttons are visible.

Hide buttons are at either end of a panel. The hide buttons contain an optional arrow icon. The following illustration shows hide buttons.

A horizontal panel and a vertical panel, both with hide buttons.

To hide a panel, click on one of the hide buttons. The panel shrinks in the direction of the arrow on the hide button. The hide button at the other end of the panel remains visible.

To show a hidden panel again, click on the visible hide button. The panel expands in the direction of the arrow on the hide button. Both hide buttons are now visible.

You can set a panel to autohide. When you set autohide, the panel hides automatically when the mouse is not pointing to the panel. The panel reappears when you point to the part of the screen where the panel resides. To set your panel to autohide, modify the properties of the panel.

### Adding a New Panel

To add a panel, right-click on a vacant space on any panel, then choose New Panel. The new panel is added to the GNOME Desktop. The new panel contains no objects. You can customize the new panel to suit your preferences.

### Deleting a Panel

To delete a panel from the GNOME Desktop, right-click on the panel that you want to delete, then choose Delete This Panel.

You must always have at least one panel in the GNOME Desktop. If you have only one panel in the GNOME Desktop, you cannot delete that panel.

## Panel Objects

This section describes the objects that you can add to and use from your panels.

### Interacting With Panel Objects

You use the mouse buttons to interact with a panel object in the following ways:

Left-click

  Launches the panel object.

Middle-click

  Enables you to grab an object, then drag the object to a new location.

Right-click

  Opens the panel object popup menu.

#### To Select an Applet

Some restrictions apply on where you can click on an applet in order to display the panel object popup menu, or to move the applet, as follows:

- Some applets have popup menus of applet-specific commands that open when you right-click on particular parts of the applet. For example, the Window List applet has a vertical handle on the left side, and buttons that represent your windows on the right side. To open the panel object popup menu for the Window List applet, you must right-click on the handle. If you right-click on a button on the right side, a popup menu for the button opens.

- Some applets have areas that you cannot use to select the applet. For example, the Command Line applet has a field in which you enter commands. You cannot middle-click or right-click on this field to select the applet. Instead, middle-click or right-click on another part of the applet.

### Adding an Object to a Panel

To add an object to a panel, perform the following steps:

1. Right-click on a vacant space on a panel to open the panel popup menu.

2. Choose Add to Panel.

   The Add to Panel dialog opens.The available panel objects are listed alphabetically, with launchers at the top.

   You can type a part of the name or description of an object in the find box. This will narrow the list to those objects that match what you type.

   To restore the full list, delete the text in the find box.

3. Either drag an object from the list to a panel, or select an object from the list and click Add to add it at the spot on the panel where you first right-clicked.

You can also add any item in the Applications menu to the panel: right-click the menu item and choose Add this launcher to panel.

Each launcher corresponds to a `.desktop` file. You can drag a `.desktop` file on to your panels to add the launcher to the panel.

### Modifying the Properties of an Object

Some panel objects, such as launchers and drawers, have a set of associated properties. The properties are different for each type of object. The properties specify details such as the following:

- The command that starts a launcher application.

- The location of the source files for a menu.

- The icon that represents the object.

To modify the properties of an object, perform the following steps:

1. Right-click on the object to open the panel object popup menu, as shown in .

   #### Panel Object Popup Menu

   Panel object popup menu. Menu items: Properties, Remove From Panel, Lock, Move.

2. Choose Properties. Use the Properties dialog to modify the properties as required. The properties in the Properties dialog depend on which object you select in step 1.

3. Close the Properties dialog.

### Moving a Panel Object

You can move panel objects within a panel, and from one panel to another panel. You can also move objects between panels and drawers.

To move a panel object, middle-click and hold on the object and drag the object to a new location. When you release the middle mouse button, the object anchors at the new location.

Alternatively, you can use the panel object popup menu to move an object, as follows:

1. Right-click on the object, then choose Move.

2. Point to the new location for the object, then click any mouse button to anchor the object to the new location. This location can be on any panel that is currently in the GNOME Desktop.

Movement of a panel object affects the position of other objects on the panel. To control how objects move on a panel, you can specify a movement mode. To specify the movement mode, press one of the following keys as you move the panel object:

Key | Movement Mode | Description
--- | --- | ---
No key | Switched movement | The object swaps places with other panel objects. Switched movement is the default movement mode.
Alt key | Free movement | The object jumps over other panel objects into the next vacant space on the panel.
Shift key | Push movement | The object pushes other panel objects further along the panel.

### Locking a Panel Object

You can lock panel objects so that the objects stay in the same position on the panel. Use this if you do not want some panel objects to change position when you move other panel objects.

To lock an object to its current location in the panel, right-click on the object to open the panel object popup menu, then select Lock To Panel. Deselect this to unlock the object.

### Removing a Panel Object

To remove an object from a panel, right-click on the object to open the panel object popup menu and then choose Remove From Panel.

## Applets

An applet is a small application whose user interface resides within a panel. The following figure shows the following applets, from left to right:

- Window List: Displays the windows currently open on your system.

- Volume Control: Enables you to control the volume of the speaker on your system.

- Clock: Shows the current date and time.

Sample applets. The context describes the graphic.

## Launchers

A launcher is an object that performs a specific action when you open it.

You can find launchers in the panels, in the panel menubar, and on the desktop. A launcher is represented by an icon in all of these locations.

You might use a launcher to do any of the following:

- Start a particular application.

- Execute a command.

- Open a folder.

- Open a Web browser at a particular page on the Web.

- Open special Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs). The GNOME Desktop contains special URIs that enable you to access particular functions from the file manager.

You can modify the properties of a launcher. For example, the properties of a launcher include the name of the launcher, the icon that represents the launcher, and how the launcher runs. For more on this, see .

In certain situations, a launcher in a menu might not show an icon. For example, if it specifies no icon to display, or if the entire menu is set to show no icons.

### Adding a Launcher to a Panel

You can add a launcher to a panel in one of the following ways:

- From the panel popup menu

  Right-click on any vacant space on the panel, then choose Add to Panel. The Add to Panel dialog opens.

  To create a new launcher, select Custom Application Launcher from the list. A Create Launcher dialog is displayed. For more information on the properties in this dialog, see .

  Alternatively, to add an existing launcher to the panel, select Application Launcher from the list. Choose the launcher that you want to add from the list of menu items.

- From any menu

  To add a launcher to a panel from a menu, perform one of the following steps:

  - Open a menu that contains the launcher. Drag the launcher on to the panel.

  - Open the menu that contains the launcher and right-click on the title of the launcher. Choose Add this launcher to panel. This method will only work if the launcher is on a sub-menu of the menu that you opened.

- From the file manager

  To add a launcher to a panel from the file manager, find the `.desktop` file for the launcher in your file system, then drag the `.desktop` file to the panel.

### Modifying a Launcher

To modify the properties of a launcher in a panel, perform the following steps:

1. Right-click on the launcher to open the panel object popup menu.

2. Choose Properties. Use the Launcher Properties dialog to modify the properties as required. For more information on the Launcher Properties dialog, see .

3. Click Close to close the Launcher Properties dialog.

### Launcher Properties

When you create or edit a launcher, the following properties can be set:

Type

  Use the drop-down list to specify whether this launcher starts an application or opens a location:

  Application

    The launcher starts an application.

  Application in Terminal

    The launcher starts an application through a terminal window.

  Location

    The launcher opens a file, web page or other location.

  If you are editing a location launcher, this drop-down list will not be displayed. If you are editing an application launcher, the Location option will not be available.

Name

  This is the name that is displayed if you add the launcher to a menu or to the desktop.

Command

  For an application launcher, specify a command to execute when you click on the launcher. For sample commands, see .

Location

  For a location launcher, specify the location to be opened. Click Browse to select a location on your computer, or type a web address to launch a web page. For sample locations, see

Comment

  This is displayed as a tooltip when you point to the launcher icon on the panel.

To choose an icon for the launcher, click on the icon button, which displays a generic icon by default. An icon selector dialog is displayed. Choose an icon from the dialog.

To change the icon for the launcher, click on the button showing the current icon. An icon selector dialog is displayed. Choose an icon from the dialog.

#### Launcher Commands and Locations

Examples of commands and locations that you can use in the Launcher Properties dialog can be found below.

If you choose Application or Application in Terminal from the Type drop-down box, the Command text box will be displayed. The following table shows some sample commands and the actions that the commands perform:

Sample Application Command | Action
--- | ---
`gedit` | Starts the gedit text editor application.
`gedit /home/user/loremipsum.txt` | Opens the file `/home/user/loremipsum.txt` in the gedit text editor application.
`nautilus /home/user/Projects` | Opens the folder `/home/user/Projects` in a File Browser window.

If you choose Location from the Type drop-down box, the Location text box will be displayed. The following table shows some sample locations and the actions that will happen if you click on the launcher:

Sample Location | Action
--- | ---
`file:///home/user/loremipsum.txt` | Opens the file `/home/user/loremipsum.txt` in the default viewer for its file type.
`file:///home/user/Projects` | Opens the folder `/home/user/Projects` in a File Browser window.
`http://www.gnome.org` | Opens the GNOME website in your default browser.
`ftp://ftp.gnome.org` | Opens the GNOME FTP site in your default browser.

## Buttons

You can add buttons to your panels to provide quick access to common actions and functions.

### Force Quit Button

Force Quit icon.

The Force Quit button allows you to click on a window to force an application to quit. This button is useful if you want to terminate an application that does not respond to your commands, if the application has frozen or crashed, for example.

To add a Force Quit button to a panel, right-click on any vacant space on the panel. Choose Add to Panel, then choose Force Quit from the Add to Panel dialog. See for more on this.

To terminate an application, click on the Force Quit button, then click on a window from the application that you want to terminate. If you do not want to terminate an application after you have clicked on the Force Quit button, press Esc.

### Lock Screen Button

Lock screen icon.

The Lock Screen button locks your screen and activates your screensaver when you click on it. To access your session again, you must enter your password.

To add a Lock Screen button to a panel, right-click on any vacant space on the panel. Choose Add to Panel, then choose Lock Screen from the Add to Panel dialog. See for more on this.

Right-click on the Lock Screen button to open a menu of screensaver-related commands. describes the commands that are available from the menu.

#### Lock Screen Menu Items

Menu Item | Function
--- | ---
Activate Screensaver | Activates the screensaver immediately. This will also lock the screen if you have set Lock screen when screensaver is active in the Screensaver preference tool.
Lock Screen | Locks the screen immediately. This command performs the same function as when you click on the Lock Screen button.
Properties | Opens the Screensaver preference tool, with which you can configure the type of screensaver that is displayed when you lock the screen.

### Log Out Button

Log Out icon.

The Log Out button allows you to log out of a GNOME session or switch to a different user account.

To add a Log Out button to a panel, right-click on any vacant space on the panel. Choose Add to Panel, then choose Log Out from the Add to Panel dialog. See for more on this.

To log out of your session or switch users, click on the Log Out button and then click on the appropriate button in the dialog that appears.

### Run Button

Run Application icon.

The Run button opens the Run Application dialog, which allows you to start an application by choosing it from a list.

To add a Run button to a panel, right-click on any vacant space on the panel. Choose Add to Panel, then choose Run Application from the Add to Panel dialog. See for more on this.

To open the Run Application dialog, click on the Run button.

For more information on the Run Application dialog, see .

### Search Button

Search Tool icon.

The Search button opens the Search Tool, which allows you to search for files on your computer.

To add a Search button to a panel, right-click on any vacant space on the panel. Choose Add to Panel, then choose Search for Files from the Add to Panel dialog. See for more on this.

To open the Search Tool, click on the Search button.

For more information on the Search Tool, see the Search Tool Manual.

### Show Desktop Button

Show Desktop icon.

You can use the Show Desktop button to minimize all open windows and show the desktop.

To add a Show Desktop button to a panel, right-click on any vacant space on the panel. Choose Add to Panel, then choose Show Desktop from the Add to Panel dialog. See for more on this.

To minimize all windows and show the desktop, click on the Show Desktop button. To restore all windows to their previous state, click it again.

## Menus

You can add the following types of menu to your panels:

- Menu Bar: You can access almost all of the standard applications, commands, and configuration options from the menus in the Menu Bar. It contains the Applications, Places, and System menus.

  To add a Menu Bar to a panel, right-click on any vacant space on the panel. Choose Add to Panel, then choose Menu Bar from the Add to Panel dialog. See for more on this.

- Main Menu: The Main Menu contains the same items as the Menu Bar, but organizes them into one menu instead of three. It takes up less space on the panels as a result.

  To add a Main Menu to a panel, right-click on any vacant space on the panel. Choose Add to Panel, then choose Main Menu from the Add to Panel dialog. See for more on this.

- Submenus: You can add a submenu of the Menu Bar or Main Menu directly to the panel. For example, you can add the Games submenu of the Applications menu to the panel.

  To add a submenu to a panel, open the submenu, right-click on a launcher, then choose Entire menu Add this as menu to panel.

## Drawers

A drawer is an extension of a panel. You can open and close a drawer in the same way that you can show and hide a panel. A drawer can contain all panel objects, including launchers, menus, applets, and other drawers. When you open a drawer, you can use the objects in the same way that you use objects on a panel.

The following figure shows an open drawer that contains two panel objects.

Open drawer. The context describes the graphic.

The arrow on the icon indicates that it represents a drawer or menu.

You can add, move, and remove objects from drawers in the same way that you add, move, and remove objects from panels.

### To Open and Close a Drawer

To open a drawer, click on the drawer's icon in a panel. You can close a drawer in the following ways:

- Click on the drawer's icon.

- Click on the drawer hide button.

### To Add a Drawer to a Panel

You can add a drawer to a panel in the following ways:

From the panel popup menu

  1. Right-click on any vacant space on the panel, then choose Add to Panel.

  2. In the Add to Panel dialog, select Drawer. Click Add, then click Close.

From any menu

  You can add a menu as a drawer object to a panel.

  To add a menu as a drawer to a panel, open the menu from the panel. Right-click on any launcher in the menu, then choose Entire menu Add this as drawer to panel.

### To Add an Object to a Drawer

You add an object to a drawer in the same way that you add objects to panels. For more information, see .

### To Modify Drawer Properties

You can modify the properties of each drawer individually. For example, you can change the visual appearance of the drawer and whether it has hide buttons.

To modify properties for a drawer perform the following steps:

1. Right-click on the drawer, then choose Properties to display the Drawer Properties dialog. The dialog displays the General tabbed section.

2. Select the properties for the drawer in the dialog. The following table describes the elements on the General tabbed section:

   Dialog Element | Description
   --- | ---
   Size | Specify the width of the drawer when it is open.
   Icon | Choose an icon to represent the drawer. Click on the Icon button to display an icon selector dialog. Choose an icon from the dialog and click OK to confirm your choice.
   Show hide buttons | Select this option to display hide buttons on your drawer. When you click one of the buttons, the drawer will close.
   Arrows on hide buttons | Select this option to display arrows on the hide buttons, if the hide buttons are enabled.

3. You can use the Background tabbed section to set the background for the drawer. For information on how to complete the Background tabbed section, see . You can also drag a color or image on to a drawer to set the color or image as the background of the drawer. For more information, see .

4. Click Close to close the Drawer Properties dialog.

## Default Panel Objects

This section covers the panel objects that appear in the default GNOME desktop.

### Window Selector Applet

You can view a list of all windows that are currently open. You can also choose a window to give focus to. To view the window list, click on the Window Selector applet. The following figure shows an example of the Window Selector applet:

Window selector applet displayed from the top edge panel.

To give focus to a window, select the window from the Window Selector applet.

The Window Selector lists the windows in all workspaces. The windows in all workspaces other than the current workspace are listed under a separator line.

### Notification Area Applet

Notification Area icon.

The Notification Area applet displays icons from various applications to indicate activity in the application. For example, when you use the CD Player application to play a CD, a CD icon is displayed in the Notification Area applet. The graphic above illustrates the CD icon in the Notification Area applet.

### Menu Bar

Menu Bar applet. Menus: Applications, Places, System.

The Menu Bar contains the Applications, Places, and System menus. You can access almost all of the standard applications, commands, and configuration options from the Menu Bar. For more on using the Menu Bar, see .

### Window List

The Window List applet enables you to manage the windows that are open on the GNOME desktop. Window List uses a button to represent each window or group of windows that is open. The state of the buttons in the applet varies depending on the state of the window that the button represents. The following table explains the possible states of the Window List buttons.

State | Indicates...
--- | ---
The button is pressed in. | The window has focus.
The button appears faded. The button text is surrounded by square brackets. | The window is minimized.
The button is not pressed in, and is not faded. | The window is displayed on the desktop and is not minimized.
There is a number in parentheses at the end of the button title. | The button represents a group of buttons.

#### Usage

You can use Window List to perform the following tasks:

- To give focus to a window

  If you click on the Window List button that represents a window that is on the desktop but does not have focus, the applet gives focus to the window.

- To minimize a window

  If you click on the Window List button that represents the window that has focus, the applet minimizes the window.

- To restore a minimized window

  If you click on the Window List button that represents a minimized window, the applet restores the window.

You can change the order of the Window List buttons by dragging a button to a different location on the Window List.

#### Preferences

To configure the Window List, right-click on the handle to the left of the window buttons, then choose Preferences. The following preferences can be changed:

Window List Content

  To specify which windows to display in the Window List, select one of the following options:

  - Show windows from current workspace

    Select this option to only show the windows that are open in the current workspace.

  - Show windows from all workspaces

    Select this option to show the windows that are open in all workspaces.

Window Grouping

  To specify when the Window List should group windows that belong to the same application, select one of the following options:

  - Never group windows

    Select this option to never group windows of the same application under one button.

  - Group windows when space is limited

    Select this option to group windows of the same application under one button when the space on the panel is restricted.

  - Always group windows

    Select this option to always group windows of the same application under one button.

Restoring Minimized Windows

  To define how the Window List behaves when you restore windows, select one of the following options.

  - Restore to current workspace

    Select this option to restore a window from the applet to the current workspace, even if the window did not previously reside in the current workspace.

  - Restore to native workspace

    Select this option to switch to the workspace in which a window originally resided when you restore the window from the applet.

  These options are only available if Show windows from all workspaces is selected in the Window List Content section of the dialog.