GNOME 2.0 Desktop for the Solaris Operating Environment User Guide

Chapter 8 Using Your Desktop

By default, the Nautilus file manager manages your desktop. If you do not use Nautilus to manage your desktop, ignore this chapter. This chapter describes how to use the Nautilus desktop.

Introduction to the Desktop

The desktop lies behind all of the other components in your desktop environment. The desktop is an active component of the user interface. You can perform the following tasks from your desktop:

Start your applications, and open your files and folders.

You can add desktop objects for convenient access to files, folders, and applications that you use frequently. For example, you can add an application launcher to the desktop. You can create a symbolic link to a file that you use often, then add this link to your desktop. You can also store files and folders on the desktop.
Open the Desktop menu.

Right-click on the desktop to open the Desktop menu. You can use the Desktop menu to perform actions on the desktop.
Work with Trash.

You can move objects to Trash and empty your Trash.
Customize your desktop background.

You can customize the pattern or color of the desktop background.

By default, your desktop contains three objects.

Figure 8–1 Desktop with Default Objects

Table 8–1 describes the functions of the default objects on the desktop.

Table 8–1 Functions of Default Desktop Objects


Object	Component	Function
	Home	Opens a `Nautilus` window, and displays your home location in the view pane.
	Start Here	Provides an access point to some of the key features of the GNOME Desktop.
	GNOME Overview	Opens a help browser window, and displays overview information about the GNOME Desktop.
	Trash	Opens a `Nautilus` window, and displays your Trash in the view pane.

Desktop Objects

A desktop object is an icon on your desktop that you can use to open your files, folders, and applications. All objects on your desktop reside in the desktop directory. When you move objects to the desktop, the objects are moved to this directory. You can also use your home directory as the desktop directory.

By default, your desktop contains three objects. You can also add objects to your desktop to provide convenient access to files, folders, and applications that you use frequently. For example, you can add a launcher to your desktop to enable you to open a particular application that you use often.

Table 8–2 describes the types of object that you can add to your desktop.

Table 8–2 Types of Desktop Objects


Object Type	Description
Symbolic link	A symbolic link is an object that points to another file or folder. When you choose a symbolic link from the desktop, the file or folder that the symbolic link points to is opened. You can move or copy a symbolic link to the desktop. You can identify symbolic links by the default arrow emblem that appears on all symbolic links.
Launcher	You can add the following types of launcher to the desktop: Application: Starts a particular application. Link: Links to a particular file, folder, or URL.
File	You can add files to your desktop. Files on your desktop reside in your desktop directory.
Folder	You can move folders to your desktop, and you can create folders on your desktop. Folders on your desktop reside in your desktop directory.

You can modify desktop objects in the following ways:

View the properties of the object.
Rename the object.
Change the permissions of the object.
Change the icon that represents the object.
Resize the icon that represents the object.
Add an emblem to the object.

The following sections describe how to work with objects on the desktop.

To Select Objects on the Desktop

To select an object on the desktop, click on the object. To select multiple objects, press-and-hold Ctrl, then click on the objects that you want to select.

You can also select an area on the desktop to select all objects within that area. Click-and-hold on the desktop, then drag over the area that contains the objects that you want to select. When you click-and-hold then drag, a grey rectangle appears to mark the area that you select.

To select multiple areas, press-and-hold Ctrl, then drag over the areas that you want to select.

To Open an Object from the Desktop

To open an object from the desktop, double-click on the object. Alternatively, right-click on the object, then choose Open. When you open on an object, the default action for the object executes. For example, if the object is a text file, the text file opens in a Nautilus window. The default actions for file types are specified in the File Types and Programs preference tool.

To execute an action other than the default action for an object, right-click on the object, then choose Open With. Choose an action from the Open With submenu.

The items in the Open With submenu correspond to the contents of the following parts of the File Types and Programs preference tool:

Default action drop-down list in the Edit file type dialog
Viewer Component drop-down list in the Edit file type dialog

You can set your preferences in a Nautilus window so that you click once on a file to execute the default action.

To Add a Launcher to the Desktop

A desktop launcher can start an application or link to a particular file, folder, or FTP site.

To add a launcher to your desktop, perform the following steps:

Right-click on the desktop, then choose New Launcher. A Create Launcher dialog is displayed.

For information on how to enter the properties of the launcher in the Create Launcher dialog, see Working With Panels.

The command that you enter for the launcher is the command that is executed when you use the desktop object. The following table shows some sample commands and the actions that the commands perform.

Sample Command	Action
`gedit`	Starts the `gedit` application.
`gedit /user123/loremipsum.txt`	Opens the file `/user123/loremipsum.txt` in the `gedit` application.
`nautilus /user123/Projects`	Opens the folder `/user123/Projects` in a `Nautilus` window.

To Add a Symbolic Link to the Desktop

You can create symbolic links on your desktop to perform the following actions:

Open a particular file in a particular application.
Open a particular folder in a Nautilus window.
Run a binary file or a script.

To create a symbolic link on the desktop, perform the following steps:

Display the file or folder for which you want to create a symbolic link in a Nautilus window.
Create a symbolic link to the file or folder. To create a symbolic link to a file or folder, select the file or folder to which you want to create a link. Choose Edit -> Make Link. A link to the file or folder is added to the current folder. You can identify symbolic links by the default arrow emblem that appears on all symbolic links. The following figure shows a symbolic link to a file:
Drag the symbolic link to the desktop. The icon for the object is moved to the desktop.

Adding a File or Folder to the Desktop

The following sections describe how you can add file objects and folder objects to the desktop.

To Move a File or Folder to the Desktop

You can move a file or folder from a Nautilus window to the desktop. To move a file or folder to the desktop, perform the following steps:

Open a Nautilus window.
In the view pane, display the file or folder that you want to move.
Drag the file or folder to the desktop. The icon for the file or folder is moved to the desktop. The file or folder is moved to your desktop directory.

Alternatively, select the file or folder, then choose Edit -> Cut Files. Right-click on any desktop object, then choose Paste Files.

To Copy a File or Folder to the Desktop

You can copy a file or folder from a Nautilus window to the desktop. To copy a file or folder to the desktop, perform the following steps:

Open a Nautilus window.
In the view pane, display the file or folder that you want to move.
Press-and-hold Ctrl, then drag the file or folder to the desktop. An icon for the file or folder is added to the desktop. The file or folder is copied to your desktop directory.

Alternatively, select the file or folder, then choose Edit -> Copy Files. Right-click on any desktop object, then choose Paste Files.

To Create a Folder Object on the Desktop

To create a folder object, right-click on the desktop to open the Desktop menu. Choose New Folder. An untitled folder is added to the desktop. Type the name of the new folder, then press Return. The folder is displayed with the new name. The new folder resides in your desktop directory.

To Remove an Object from the Desktop

To remove an object from the desktop, right-click on the object, then choose Move to Trash. Alternatively, drag the object to Trash.

To Delete an Object from the Desktop

When you delete an object from the desktop, the object is not moved to Trash, but is immediately deleted from the desktop. The Delete menu item is only available if you select the Include a Delete command that bypasses Trash option in the Nautilus Preferences dialog.

To delete an object from the desktop right-click on the object, then choose Delete.

Using Trash on the Desktop

You can move the following items to Trash:

Files
Folders
Desktop objects

If you need to retrieve a file from Trash, you can view Trash and move the file out of Trash. When you empty Trash, you delete the items in Trash permanently.

To Display Trash

You can display the contents of Trash in the following ways:

From the desktop

Double-click on the Trash object on the desktop. The contents of Trash are displayed in a Nautilus window.
From a Nautilus window

Choose Go -> Trash. The contents of Trash are displayed in the window.

To Empty Trash

You can empty the contents of Trash in the following ways:

From the desktop

Right-click on the Trash object, then choose Empty Trash.
From a Nautilus window

Choose File -> Empty Trash.

Using the Desktop Menu

Desktop menu. The context describes the graphic.

To open the Desktop menu, right-click on a vacant space on the desktop. You can use the Desktop menu to perform actions on the desktop.

Table 8–3 describes the items in the Desktop menu.

Table 8–3 Items on the Desktop Menu


Menu Item	Function
New Window	Opens a new `Nautilus` window that displays your home location.
New Folder	Creates a new folder object on your desktop. The folder is created in your desktop directory.
New Terminal	Starts a `GNOME Terminal`.
New Launcher	Creates a launcher on your desktop. For more information, see To Add a Launcher to the Desktop.
Scripts	Opens a submenu of scripts that you can run.
Clean Up By Name	Arranges the objects on the desktop alphabetically by name.
Cut Files	Deletes the selected file or files from the folder or desktop, and places the file or files in buffer.
Copy Files	Copies the selected file or files from the folder or desktop, and places the file or files in buffer.
Paste Files	Puts the file or files in the buffer into the selected folder or the desktop.
Disks	Enables you to mount diskettes and other removable media.
Change Desktop Background	Starts the `Background` preference tool to enable you to change the desktop background.
Use Default Background	Resets the desktop background to the last pattern that you chose from the Backgrounds and Emblems dialog. You can access the Backgrounds and Emblems dialog from `Nautilus` windows.

Changing the Pattern or Color of the Desktop

You can change the pattern or color of the desktop background to suit your preferences. Nautilus includes background patterns and colors that you can use to change the look-and-feel of the desktop background.

You can change the pattern or color of the desktop background in any of the following ways:

Drag a pattern or color from another window or dialog to the desktop.

If your desktop background is a color, you can create a gradient effect from a color into the desktop background color. A gradient effect is a visual effect where one color blends gradually into another color. To create a gradient effect on your desktop background, drag a color to one of the edges of the screen. The color blends from the edge to which you drag the color, to the opposite edge of the screen.

Before you drag a color to a screen edge, check if there is an edge panel on the screen edge. If there is an edge panel on the screen edge, you must hide the panel before you drag the color.
Use the Background preference tool.
Choose a pattern or color for the background from the Backgrounds and Emblems dialog. To change the pattern or color of the desktop background, perform the following steps:
1. Open a Nautilus window.
2. Choose Edit -> Backgrounds and Emblems. The Backgrounds and Emblems dialog is displayed.
3. To display a list of patterns that you can use, click on the Patterns button. To display a list of the colors that you can use, click on the Colors button.
4. To change the desktop background to a pattern, drag the pattern to the desktop background. To change the desktop background to a color, drag the color to the desktop background.
5. Click Close to close the dialog.