Panel Overview

A panel is an area in the Oracle Solaris Desktop where you have access to certain actions and information. For example, in the default panels, you can launch applications, see the date and time, control the system sound volume, and more.

You can change the panel behavior and its appearance, and add or remove objects from panels. You can create multiple panels, and choose different properties, objects, and backgrounds for each panel. You can also hide panels. By default, the Oracle Solaris Desktop contains a panel at the top and bottom edges of the screen. The following sections describe these panels.

Top Edge Panel

By default, the top edge panel contains the applets described in the following table.

Table 4-1 Top Edge Panel Applets

Applet	Description
Menubar	Contains the Applications, Places, and System menus. For more information about the Menubar, see Chapter 6, Using the Main Menubar.
A set of application launcher icons	Use icons to launch the File Manager, the Firefox web browser, the Thunderbird mail application, the Package Manager, and the terminal.
Notification Area	Displays icons from other applications that might require attention, or that you might want to access without switching from the current application window. For more information about the notification area applets, see Notification Area Applet. Until an application adds an icon to the notification area, only a narrow bar is visible.
Clock	Displays the current time. Clicking the time opens a small calendar. You can also view a world map by clicking the Locations expansion label. For more information about clock applet, see the Clock Applet Manual.
Volume Control	Enables you to control the speaker volume on the system. For more on volume control, see the Volume Control Manual.

Bottom Edge Panel

By default, the bottom edge panel contains the applets described in the following table.

Table 4-2 Bottom Edge Panel Applets

Applet	Description
Show Desktop	Minimizes all open windows and displays the desktop. Click again to restore all the windows to their previous state.
Window List	Displays a button for each open window. The Window List enables you to minimize and restore windows. For more information about Window List, see Window List.
Workspace Switcher	Enables you to switch workspaces. For more information about workspaces, see Working With Workspaces.
Trash Applet	Shows whether you have any deleted files in the Trash. Click the applet to view its contents in the File Manager. To empty Trash, right-click the applet and select Empty Trash.

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