GNOME Overview

When you log in to a GNOME session, you will see a desktop similar to the one shown in Figure 6.1.

Figure 6.1. GNOME Desktop

GNOME Desktop

The desktop itself is where the icons lay (in the upper-left corner). In the following table, we explain what they represent.

Table 6.1. GNOME Desktop Icons

IconMeaning
Home Folder. Opens up the Nautilus file manager in your personal files directory (/home/queen).
CD-ROM. Launches Nautilus and displays the CD-ROM's contents if the said CD-ROM contains data. However, for audio CDs, an error message will be shown. Do not worry, your machine is not broken: Nautilus cannot read audio CDs for now.
Floppy Disk. Opens Nautilus showing the contents of the floppy disk, if any. An error message will be displayed if the floppy drive is empty.
MandrakeOnline. Launches the MandrakeOnline wizard which allows you to set up a MandrakeClub account. Note that if it is the first time that you launched this wizard, you will be asked for your root password.
Trash. Contains all the files that have been deleted. Note that the trash can only contains the files you deleted through Nautilus. If you were to delete files through a command line (such as the GNOME terminal), those files will have been deleted forever, hence they are not accessible through the trash-can icon.

The icons on your desktop are all linked to different types of files, directories, web sites or applications. Here are the actions which will be undertaken if:

You can also right-click on any of these icons to produce a pop-up menu, which contains a list of actions. This list contains options such as Open, Open With, Rename and Properties (the latter also allows you to change some of the parameters of that icon).

GNOME Panel

At the bottom of the desktop sits the panel which contains 10 default components.

Table 6.2. GNOME Panel Objects

ObjectsMeaning
The GNOMEMain Menu, which contains all your applications, from text editors to office applications to configuration tools (and games, too!).
The Help icon gives you access to general GNOME help.
Galeon is one of the fastest and most complete web browsers around. It is based on the Mozilla rendering engine.
The Evolution suite consists of an e-mail client, a contact management tool, as well as appointment and task scheduling.
Clicking on this icon will launch the GNOME terminal, a terminal emulator. For more information about the command line please consult the Reference Guide's Introduction to the Command Line chapter.
The Mandrake Control Center, which allows you to easily configure all aspects of your Mandrake Linux system.
A clock which you can personalize by right-clicking on it. Clicking on the icon also produces a calendar.

Next to the clock (going from right to left) is the Show Desktop utility, the workspace switcher (Section , “Workspace Switcher”) and the Window List. The first one has only one function: click on it to minimize/restore all windows on your desktop. The latter displays the applications which are open in the current virtual desktop.

Figure 6.2. GNOME Window List

GNOME Window List

In our example we see, from left to right, the GNOME terminal, and The GIMP, a powerful raster graphics application. At the extreme-right are the 4 workspaces. As you can see, the first one on the left is in blue, while the three other ones are in grey. The blue one is the “active” one, that is the one in which you are presently. We will speak more about workspaces in Section , “Workspace Switcher”.

Desktop Menu

Finally, there is a “hidden” menu which can be very useful: the Desktop Background menu. By right-clicking anywhere on the desktop (away from the icons, application windows, and panels), you will be able to access, your CD-ROM, floppy disk, and other removable drives. You can also launch a New Window (which opens Nautilus) a New Folder (which creates a new folder on your desktop), a New Terminal (Section , “GNOME Panel”, see the GNOME terminal description). It also enables you to change the desktop background image, place new icons on the desktop, etc.