Chapter 10: Personalizing Ubuntu: Getting Everything Just Right

Although you can create a link to a program, which will then work the same as a launcher, links are usually used to create shortcuts to files. If you then double-click the shortcut, the application associated with that file type will open the file. If you create a shortcut to a picture, for example, when you double-click it, the Eye of GNOME previewer will start.

To create a link, locate the file you want to create the link to, right-click it, and select Make Link. Then copy the new link to wherever you want it to appear, such as the desktop. You don't need to choose an icon, because the link inherits the icon of the original file. For example, if it's a picture link, it will inherit the thumbnail preview icon.

Note: If you find the Make Link option grayed out, it's likely that you don't have sufficient permissions to write the link to the directory in question.

You can add either the Applications menu or the entire set of menus (Applications, Places, and System) to the bottom of the screen. This can help those who long for the Windows Start button approach to access programs.

To add the Application, Places, and System menu to the Panel at the bottom of the Ubuntu desktop, follow these steps:

When you add just the Applications menu, it appears as a single icon. To move it to the bottom-left side of the desktop, in the same location as the Windows Start menu, you need to delete and then re-create the Show Desktop icon and the Window List. Here are the steps:

When you're finished, the Applications menu should appear as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9. If you just can't do without that Start button, you can re-create one on your Ubuntu desktop.

Creating new instances of the menus won't delete the old ones. If you create a new Applications menu at the bottom of the screen, for example, the old Applications menu will remain at the top of the screen. In fact, you can have as many instances of the menus on the desktop as you wish, although this won't be a good use of desktop space!

To delete any menu, simply right-click anywhere on that menu and select Remove from Panel.

The developers who designed Ubuntu's desktop decided to keep the desktop clean of icons. This included relegating the Wastebasket icon to its own applet at the bottom-right side of the screen. Many people find using the applet a little difficult and miss the desktop trash can icon, which has been present on Windows and Mac OS desktops for more than 20 years.

The good news is that it's easy to get the trash can back. Click Applications→System Tools→Configuration Editor. In the program window that appears, click the down arrows next to Apps, then Nautilus, and then Desktop. On the right side of the program window, put a check in the trash_icon_visible entry.

Alternatively, in the Configuration Editor, click Edit→Find and enter trash_icon_visible as a search term. Make sure that the Search Also In Key Names box has a check in it. Then click Find. The results will be listed at the bottom of the program window. Click the /apps/nautilus/desktop/trash_icon_visible entry. Then make sure there's a check in the trash_icon_visible box.

Be careful when using the Configuration Editor program. It lets you configure just about every aspect of the GNOME desktop and doesn't warn you when you're about to do something devastating, so the potential for accidental damage is high!