To set global preferences for panels, you modify the values of the preference keys in the /apps/panel/global location. For example, if you do not want users to ever use panel animation, set a mandatory value as follows:
# gconftool-2 --direct --config-source xml:readwrite:/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.mandatory --type bool --set /apps/panel/global/enable_animations false
To set a default value for this preference, run the following command:
# gconftool-2 --direct --config-source xml:readwrite:/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults --type bool --set /apps/panel/global/enable_animations false
You can also set other global panel preferences. For information on the other global panel preferences, see the panel-global-config.schemas schema definition file.