<para>This chapter describes how to use the panels at the top and bottom of the GNOME Desktop, how to customize the objects that appear on them, and how to add new panels to the desktop.</para>
</highlights>
<section id="panels-intro">
<title>Introduction</title>
<!-- Maintained for 2.8 compatibility -->
<anchor id="gospanel-2"/>
<indexterm>
<primary>panels</primary>
<secondary>introduction</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>A panel is an area in the GNOME Desktop where you have access to certain actions and information, no matter what the state of your application windows. <!-- The HIG says 'Do not use system modal windows', so panels are always available. --> For example, in the default GNOME panels, you can launch applications, see the date and time, control the system sound volume, and more.</para>
<para>You can customize panels to your liking. You can change their behavior and appearance, and you can add or remove objects from your panels. You can create multiple panels, and choose different properties, objects, and backgrounds for each panel. You can also hide panels.</para>
<para>By default, the GNOME Desktop contains a panel at the top edge of the screen,
and a panel at the bottom edge of the screen. The following sections describe
these panels.</para>
<section id="top-panel">
<title>Top Edge Panel</title>
<!-- preserve id for backwards compatibility: 2.12 -->
<anchor id="gospanel-6"/>
<indexterm>
<primary>panels</primary>
<secondary>top edge panel</secondary>
<see>top edge panel</see>
</indexterm>
<indexterm>
<primary>top edge panel</primary>
<secondary>introduction</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>By default, the top edge panel contains the following objects:</para>
<note><para>Your distribution of GNOME may have altered this default setup.</para></note>
<listitem><para>The Menu Bar contains the <guimenu>Applications</guimenu>, <guimenu>Places</guimenu>, and <guimenu>System</guimenu> menus. For more on the menu bar, see <xref linkend="menubar"/>.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>A set of application launcher icons</term>
<listitem><para>The exact number of icons depends on your GNOME distribution, but in general you will find at least a launcher for the <application>Web Browser</application>, an <application>Email client</application> and the <application>Help Browser</application>. Click on any launcher icon to open the corresponding application.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Click on the icon to switch user without logging out yourself. For more information, see the <ulink type="help" url="ghelp:fast-user-switch-applet">User Switcher Applet Manual</ulink></para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Click on the <application>Deskbar</application> icon to search for files, applications or the internet. <!-- Commenting out until upstream manual is useful - For more information, see the <ulink type="help" url="ghelp:deskbar">Deskbar Applet Manual</ulink>. -->For more information on searching, see <xref linkend="nautilus-searching"/></para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Displays icons from other applications that may require your attention, or that you may want to access without switching from your current application window. For more on this, see <xref linkend="panels-notification-area"/>.</para>
<para>Until an application adds an icon to the notification area, only a narrow bar is visible.</para>
<listitem><para>The <application>Clock</application> shows the current
time. Click on the time to open a small calendar. You can also view a world map by clicking the <guilabel>Locations</guilabel> expansion label. For more on this, see the <ulink type="help" url="ghelp:clock">Clock Applet Manual</ulink>.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><application>Volume Control</application>
applet</term>
<listitem><para>The <application>Volume Control</application> enables you to control the volume of the speakers on your system. For more on this, see the <ulink type="help" url="ghelp:gnome-volume-control">Volume Control Manual</ulink>.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<indexterm>
<primary>top edge panel</primary>
<secondary>shutdown icon</secondary>
</indexterm>
<application>Quit</application>icon</term>
<listitem><para>The <guibutton>Quit</guibutton> button allows you to log off, switch user, lock screen or power down the computer.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</section>
<section id="bottom-panel">
<title>Bottom Edge Panel</title>
<!-- preserve id for backwards compatibility: 2.12 -->
<anchor id="gospanel-3"/>
<indexterm>
<primary>panels</primary>
<secondary>bottom edge panel</secondary>
<see>bottom edge panel</see>
</indexterm>
<indexterm>
<primary>bottom edge panel</primary>
<secondary>introduction</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>By default, the bottom edge panel contains the following objects:</para>
<listitem><para>Click on this button to minimize all open windows and show the desktop. Click it again to restore all of the windows to their previous state.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Displays a button for each window that is open. The <application>Window List</application> enables you to minimize and restore windows. For more on this, see <xref linkend="windowlist"/>.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Enables you to manage deleted files and folders. For more on using the wastebasket, see the <ulink type="help" url="ghelp:trashapplet">Trash Manual</ulink>.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</section>
</section>
<section id="gospanel-5">
<title>Managing Panels</title>
<!-- Desktop Overview / Panels / To Create Panels -->
<anchor id="gosoverview-26"/>
<anchor id="gospanel-11"/><!-- To Interact With a Panel -->
<indexterm>
<primary>panels</primary>
<secondary>managing</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>The following sections describe how to manage your panels.</para>
<para>To interact with a panel, you must click on a vacant space on the panel rather than on any of the objects it holds. If the hide buttons are visible on the panel, you can also middle-click or right-click on one of them to select the panel.</para>
<section id="gospanel-12">
<title>Moving a Panel</title>
<indexterm>
<primary>panels</primary>
<secondary>moving</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>Drag a panel to another side of the screen to move it there. Click on any vacant space on the panel to begin the drag.</para>
<para>A panel that is not set to expand to the full width of the screen can be dragged away from the edge of the screen and placed anywhere. See <xref linkend="panel-properties"/> for details on how to set a panel's expand property.</para>
</section>
<section id="panel-properties">
<title>Panel Properties</title>
<!-- preserve id for backwards compatibility: 2.12 -->
<anchor id="gospanel-28"/>
<indexterm>
<primary>panels</primary>
<secondary>modifying properties</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>You can change
the properties of each panel, such as the position of the panel, the hide behavior,
and the visual appearance. </para>
<para>To modify the properties of a panel, right-click on a vacant space on the panel, then choose <guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem>. The <guilabel>Panel Properties</guilabel> dialog contains two tabbed sections, <guilabel>General</guilabel> and <guilabel>Background</guilabel>.</para>
<section id="panel-properties-general">
<title>General Properties Tab</title>
<para>In the <guilabel>General</guilabel> tab, you can modify panel size, position, and hiding properties. The following table describes the
dialog elements on the <guilabel>General</guilabel> tabbed section: </para>
<informaltable frame="topbot">
<tgroup cols="2" colsep="0" rowsep="0">
<colspec colname="colspec0" colwidth="28.57*"/>
<colspec colname="colspec1" colwidth="71.43*"/>
<thead>
<row rowsep="1">
<entry>
<para>Dialog Element</para>
</entry>
<entry>
<para>Description </para>
</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0">
<para>
<guilabel>Orientation</guilabel>
</para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1">
<para>Select the position of the panel on your screen.
Click on the required position for the panel. </para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry valign="top">
<para>
<guilabel>Size</guilabel>
</para>
</entry>
<entry valign="top">
<para>Use the spin box to specify the size of the panel.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0">
<para>
<guilabel>Expand</guilabel>
</para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1">
<para>By default, a panel expands to the full length of the edge of the screen where it is located. A panel that does not expand can be moved away from the screen edges to any part of the screen.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry valign="top">
<para>
<guilabel>Autohide</guilabel>
</para>
</entry>
<entry valign="top">
<para>Select this option if you want the panel to only be fully visible when the mouse pointer is over it. The panel hides off-screen along its longest edge, leaving a narrow part visible along the edge of the desktop. Move the mouse pointer over the visible part of the panel to make it move back into view.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry valign="top">
<para>
<guilabel>Show hide buttons</guilabel>
</para>
</entry>
<entry valign="top">
<para>Select this option to display hide buttons at each end of your
panel. Clicking on a hide button moves the panel lenthways, hiding it off-screen except for the hide button at the opposite end. Click this hide button to restore the panel to being fully visible.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry valign="top">
<para>
<guilabel>Arrows on hide buttons</guilabel>
</para>
</entry>
<entry valign="top">
<para>Select this option to display arrows on the hide
buttons, if the hide button is enabled.</para>
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section id="panel-properties-background">
<title>Background Properties Tab</title>
<para>You can choose the type of background for the panel in the <guilabel>Background</guilabel> tab. The choices are as follows:</para>
<informaltable frame="topbot">
<tgroup cols="2" colsep="0" rowsep="0">
<colspec colwidth="32.32*"/>
<colspec colwidth="67.68*"/>
<thead>
<row rowsep="1">
<entry>
<para>Dialog Element</para>
</entry>
<entry>
<para>Description</para>
</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry valign="top">
<para>
<guilabel>None (use system theme)</guilabel>
</para>
</entry>
<entry valign="top">
<para>Select this option to have the panel use the settings in the <link linkend="prefs-theme"><application>Appearance</application> preference tool</link>. This keeps your panel's background looking the same as the rest of the desktop and applications.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry valign="top">
<para>
<guilabel>Solid color</guilabel>
</para>
</entry>
<entry valign="top">
<para>Select this option to specify a single color for
the panel background. Click on the <guibutton>Color</guibutton> button to
display the color selector dialog. Choose the color that you require from
the color selector dialog. </para>
<para>Use the <guilabel>Style</guilabel>
slider to specify the degree of transparency or opaqueness for the color.
For example, to make the panel transparent, move the slider to the <guilabel>Transparent</guilabel> end.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry valign="top">
<para>
<guilabel>Background image</guilabel>
</para>
</entry>
<entry valign="top">
<para>Select this option to specify an image for the panel
background. Click on the button to browse for an image file. When you have selected the file, click <guibutton>OK</guibutton>. </para>
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
<!-- section folded in: preserve id for backwards compatibility: 2.12 -->
<anchor id="gospanel-61"/>
<indexterm>
<primary>panels</primary>
<secondary>changing background</secondary>
</indexterm>
<!-- Shaun, why does this bit here change the vertical space between the previous
table and the following paragraph? -->
<para>You can also drag a color or image on to a panel to set the color
or image as the background of the panel. You can drag a color or image from
many applications. For example:</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>You can drag a color from any color selector dialog.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>You can drag an image file from the <application>Nautilus</application> file manager to set it as the background of the panel.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>You can drag a color or a pattern from the <link linkend="nautilus-backgrounds-and-emblems"><guilabel>Backgrounds
and Emblems</guilabel> dialog</link> in <application>Nautilus</application> file manager to a panel to set it as the background.</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<para>Click <guibutton>Close</guibutton> to close the <guilabel>Panel Properties</guilabel> dialog.</para>
</section>
</section>
<section id="gospanel-7">
<title>Hiding a Panel</title>
<indexterm>
<primary>panels</primary>
<secondary>hiding</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>You can hide or show a panel if it has hide buttons. If
the hide buttons are not visible on a panel, modify the panel properties so
that the hide buttons are visible. </para>
<para>Hide buttons are at either end of a panel. The hide buttons contain
an optional arrow icon. The following illustration shows hide buttons. </para>
<phrase>A horizontal panel and a vertical panel, both with hide buttons.</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
<para>To hide a panel, click on one of the hide buttons. The panel shrinks
in the direction of the arrow on the hide button. The hide button at the other
end of the panel remains visible.</para>
<para>To show a hidden panel again, click on the visible hide button. The
panel expands in the direction of the arrow on the hide button. Both hide
buttons are now visible.</para>
<para>You can set a panel to autohide. When you set autohide, the panel hides
automatically when the mouse is not pointing to the panel. The panel reappears
when you point to the part of the screen where the panel resides. To set your
panel to autohide, <link linkend="panel-properties">modify the properties</link> of the panel.</para>
</section>
<section id="gospanel-10">
<title>Adding a New Panel</title>
<indexterm>
<primary>panels</primary>
<secondary>adding new</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>To add a panel, right-click on a vacant space on any panel, then choose <guimenuitem>New Panel</guimenuitem>. The new panel is added to the GNOME Desktop. The
new panel contains no objects. You can customize the new panel to suit your
preferences.</para>
</section>
<section id="gospanel-31">
<title>Deleting a Panel</title>
<!-- Desktop Overview / Panels / To Delete Panels -->
<anchor id="gosoverview-508"/>
<indexterm>
<primary>panels</primary>
<secondary>deleting</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>To delete a panel from the GNOME Desktop, right-click on the panel that
you want to delete, then choose <menuchoice><guimenuitem>Delete This Panel</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.</para>
<note>
<para>You must always have at least one panel in the GNOME Desktop.
If you have only one panel in the GNOME Desktop, you cannot delete that panel.</para>
<para>You use the mouse buttons to interact with a panel object
in the following ways:</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>Left-click</term>
<listitem>
<para>Launches the panel object.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Middle-click</term>
<listitem>
<para>Enables you to grab
an object, then drag the object to a new location.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Right-click</term>
<listitem>
<para>Opens the panel object
popup menu.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<section id="gospanel-39">
<title>To Select an Applet</title>
<indexterm>
<primary>applets</primary>
<secondary>selecting</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>Some restrictions apply on where you can click on an applet in order
to display the panel object popup menu, or to move the applet, as follows: </para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>Some applets have popup menus of applet-specific commands
that open when you right-click on particular parts of the applet. For example,
the <application><link linkend="windowlist">Window List</link></application> applet has a vertical handle on
the left side, and buttons that represent your windows on the right side.
To open the panel object popup menu for the <application>Window List</application>
applet, you must right-click on the handle. If you right-click on a button
on the right side, a popup menu for the button opens.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Some applets have areas that you cannot use to select the
applet. For example, the <application>Command Line</application> applet has
a field in which you enter commands. You cannot middle-click or right-click
on this field to select the applet. Instead, middle-click or right-click on
another part of the applet. </para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</section>
</section>
<section id="panels-addobject">
<title>Adding an Object to a Panel</title>
<!-- preserve for backwards compatibility: 2.12 -->
<anchor id="gospanel-15"/>
<!-- Desktop Overview / Panels / To Add Objects to Panels -->
<anchor id="gosoverview-4"/>
<anchor id="gospanel-40"/><!-- To Add an Applet to a Panel -->
<indexterm>
<primary>panel objects</primary>
<secondary>adding</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>To add an object to a panel, perform the following steps:</para>
<orderedlist>
<listitem><para>
Right-click on a vacant space on a panel to open the panel popup menu.
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>
Choose <guisubmenu>Add to Panel</guisubmenu>.</para>
<para>The <guilabel>Add to Panel</guilabel> dialog opens.The available panel objects are listed alphabetically, with <link linkend="launchers">launchers</link> at the top.</para>
<tip><para>You can type a part of the name or description of an object in the <guilabel>find</guilabel> box. This will narrow the list to those objects that match what you type.</para>
<para>To restore the full list, delete the text in the <guilabel>find</guilabel> box.</para>
</tip>
</listitem>
<listitem><para>
Either drag an object from the list to a panel, or select an object from the list and click <guibutton>Add</guibutton> to add it at the spot on the panel where you first right-clicked.
</para></listitem>
</orderedlist>
<para>You can add also add any item in the <guimenu>Applications</guimenu> menu to the panel: right-click the menu item and choose <guimenuitem>Add this launcher to panel</guimenuitem>.</para>
<para>Each launcher corresponds to a <filename>.desktop</filename> file. You
can drag a <filename>.desktop</filename> file on to your panels to add the
launcher to the panel. </para>
<!--Each menu corresponds to a directory. You can drag the directory on to your panels to add the directory to the panel as a menu object. Is this still true?-->
</section>
<section id="gospanel-9">
<title>Modifying the Properties of an Object</title>
<!-- preserve id for backwards compatibility: 2.12 -->
<anchor id="gospanel-41"/><!-- To Modify Preferences for an Applet -->
<indexterm>
<primary>panel objects</primary>
<secondary>modifying properties</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>Some panel objects, such as launchers and drawers,
have a set of associated properties. The properties are different for each
type of object. The properties specify details such as the following: <itemizedlist><listitem><para>The command that starts a launcher application.</para></listitem><listitem><para>The location of the source files for a menu.</para></listitem><listitem><para>The icon that represents the object.</para></listitem></itemizedlist></para>
<para>To modify the properties of an object, perform the following steps: </para>
<phrase>Panel object popup menu. Menu items: Properties, Remove From Panel, Lock, Move.</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
</figure>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Choose <guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem>. Use the <guilabel>Properties</guilabel> dialog to modify the properties as required. The properties
in the <guilabel>Properties</guilabel> dialog depend on which object you select
in step 1. </para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Close the <guilabel>Properties</guilabel> dialog.</para>
</listitem>
</orderedlist>
</section>
<section id="gospanel-32">
<title>Moving a Panel Object</title>
<indexterm>
<primary>panel objects</primary>
<secondary>moving</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>You can move panel objects within a panel, and from one panel to another
panel. You can also move objects between panels and drawers.</para>
<para>To move a panel object, middle-click and hold on the object and drag
the object to a new location. When you release the middle mouse button, the
object anchors at the new location.</para>
<para>Alternatively, you can use the panel object popup menu to move an object,
as follows: </para>
<orderedlist>
<listitem>
<para>Right-click on the object, then choose <guimenuitem>Move</guimenuitem>.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Point to the new location for the object, then click any mouse
button to anchor the object to the new location. This location can be on any
panel that is currently in the GNOME Desktop. </para>
</listitem>
</orderedlist>
<para>Movement of a panel object affects the position of other objects on
the panel. To control how objects move on a panel, you can specify a movement
mode. To specify the movement mode, press one of the following keys as you
move the panel object:</para>
<informaltable frame="topbot">
<tgroup cols="3" colsep="0" rowsep="0">
<colspec colname="colspec2" colwidth="15.00*"/>
<colspec colname="colspec1" colwidth="30.00*"/>
<colspec colname="colspec3" colwidth="54.00*"/>
<thead>
<row rowsep="1">
<entry colname="colspec2">
<para>Key</para>
</entry>
<entry>
<para>Movement Mode</para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec3">
<para>Description</para>
</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec2" valign="top">
<para>No key</para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Switched movement</para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec3" valign="top">
<para>The object swaps places with other panel
objects. Switched movement is the default movement mode.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec2" valign="top">
<para><keycap>Alt</keycap> key</para>
</entry>
<entry valign="top">
<para>Free movement</para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec3" valign="top">
<para>The object jumps over other panel objects
into the next vacant space on the panel.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec2" valign="top">
<para><keycap>Shift</keycap> key </para>
</entry>
<entry valign="top">
<para>Push movement</para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec3" valign="top">
<para>The object pushes other panel objects
further along the panel. </para>
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section id="gospanel-566">
<title>Locking a Panel Object</title>
<indexterm>
<primary>panel objects</primary>
<secondary>locking</secondary>
</indexterm>
<indexterm>
<primary>locking panel objects</primary>
</indexterm>
<para>You can lock panel objects so that the objects stay in the same position
on the panel. Use this if you do not want some panel objects
to change position when you move other panel objects.</para>
<para>To lock an object to its current location in the panel,
right-click on the object to open the panel object popup menu, then select <guimenuitem>Lock To Panel</guimenuitem>. Deselect this to unlock the object.</para>
</section>
<section id="gospanel-33">
<title>Removing a Panel Object</title>
<indexterm>
<primary>panel objects</primary>
<secondary>removing</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>To remove an object from a panel, right-click on the object
to open the panel object popup menu and then choose <guimenuitem>Remove From
Panel</guimenuitem>. </para>
</section>
</section>
<!-- ============================================== big bag o' panel objects -->
<!-- <remark>won't work because of yelp topic clumping</remark>
<para>This section describes the different objects you can add to your panels.</para>
<para>For a list of the objects that are on the top and bottom panels by default, see <xref linkend="top-panel"/> and <xref linkend="bottom-panel"/>.</para>
-->
<section id="gospanel-17">
<title>Applets</title>
<indexterm>
<primary>applets</primary>
<secondary>introduction</secondary>
</indexterm>
<indexterm>
<primary>panel objects</primary>
<secondary>applets</secondary>
<see>applets</see>
</indexterm>
<para>An applet is a small application whose
user interface resides within a panel. The following figure shows the following
applets, from left to right: </para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para><application><link linkend="windowlist">Window List</link></application>: Displays the windows
currently open on your system.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><application>Volume Control</application>: Enables you to
control the volume of the speaker on your system.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><application>Clock</application>: Shows the current date and time.</para>
<phrase>Sample applets. The context describes the graphic.</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
</section>
<section id="launchers">
<title>Launchers</title>
<!-- preserve id for backwards compatibility: 2.12 -->
<anchor id="gospanel-16"/>
<indexterm>
<primary>panel objects</primary>
<secondary>launchers</secondary>
<see>launchers</see>
</indexterm>
<para>A <firstterm>launcher</firstterm> is an object that performs a specific action when you open it.</para>
<para>You can find launchers in the panels, in the panel menubar, and on the desktop. A launcher is represented by an icon in all of these locations.</para>
<para>You might use a launcher to do any of the following:</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>Start a particular application.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Execute a command.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Open a folder.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Open a Web browser at a particular page on the Web. <!-- <firstterm>Uniform Resource Locator</firstterm> (URL). A URL is the address of a particular location --></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Open special <firstterm>Uniform Resource Identifiers</firstterm>
(URIs). The GNOME Desktop contains special URIs that enable you to access
particular functions from the file manager. <indexterm><primary>special URI
<para>You can modify the properties of a launcher. For example, the properties
of a launcher include the name of the launcher, the icon that represents the
launcher, and how the launcher runs. For more on this, see <xref linkend="launchers-modify"/>.</para>
<note><para>
In certain situations, a launcher in a menu might not show an icon. For example, if it specifies no icon to display, or if the entire menu is set to show no icons.
</para></note>
<section id="gospanel-34">
<title>Adding a Launcher to a Panel</title>
<indexterm>
<primary>launchers</primary>
<secondary>adding to panel</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>You can add a launcher to a panel in one of the following
ways:</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>From the panel popup menu</para>
<para>Right-click on any vacant space on the panel,
then choose <guimenu>Add to Panel</guimenu>. The <link linkend="panels-addobject"><guilabel>Add to Panel</guilabel> dialog</link> opens.</para>
<para>To create a new launcher, select <guilabel>Custom Application Launcher</guilabel> from the list. A <guilabel>Create Launcher</guilabel>
dialog is displayed. For more information on the properties in this dialog,
see <xref linkend="launchers-properties"/>.</para>
<para>Alternatively, to add an existing launcher to the panel, select <guilabel>Application Launcher</guilabel> from the list. Choose the launcher that you want
to add from the list of menu items.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>From any menu</para>
<para>To add a launcher to a panel from a menu, perform one of the following
steps:</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>Open a menu that contains the launcher. Drag the launcher
on to the panel. </para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Open the menu that contains the launcher and right-click on the title of the launcher.
Choose <guimenuitem>Add this launcher to panel</guimenuitem>. This method will only work if the launcher is on a sub-menu of the menu that you opened.</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>From the file manager</para>
<para>To add a launcher to a panel from the file manager, find the <filename>.desktop</filename> file for the launcher in your file system, then drag the <filename>.desktop</filename> file to the panel. </para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</section>
<section id="launchers-modify">
<title>Modifying a Launcher</title>
<!-- preserve id for backwards compatibility: 2.12 -->
<anchor id="gospanel-36"/>
<indexterm>
<primary>launchers</primary>
<secondary>modifying properties</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>To modify the properties of a launcher in a panel, perform the following
steps: </para>
<orderedlist>
<listitem>
<para>Right-click on the launcher to open the panel object popup
menu.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Choose <guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem>. Use the <guilabel>Launcher Properties</guilabel> dialog to modify the properties as required.
For more information on the <guilabel>Launcher Properties</guilabel> dialog,
see <xref linkend="launchers-properties"/>. </para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Click <guibutton>Close</guibutton> to close the <guilabel>Launcher Properties</guilabel> dialog.</para>
</listitem>
</orderedlist>
</section>
<section id="launchers-properties">
<title>Launcher Properties</title>
<!-- preserve id for backwards compatibility: 2.12 -->
<anchor id="gospanel-52"/><!-- To Create a Launcher With the Create Launcher Dialog -->
<para>When you create or edit a launcher, the following properties can be set:</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry><term>Type</term>
<listitem>
<para>Use the drop-down list to specify whether this launcher starts an application or opens a location: </para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry><term>Application</term>
<listitem>
<para>The launcher starts an application.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term>Application in Terminal</term>
<listitem>
<para>The launcher starts an application through a terminal window.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term>Location</term>
<listitem>
<para>The launcher opens a file, web page or other location.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<para>If you are editing a location launcher, this drop-down list
will not be displayed. If you are editing an application launcher,
the <guilabel>Location</guilabel> option will not be available.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term>Name</term>
<listitem>
<para>This is the name that is displayed if you add the launcher to a menu
or to the desktop.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term>Command</term>
<listitem>
<para>For an application launcher, specify a command to execute when
you click on the launcher. For sample commands, see <xref linkend="launchers-properties-commands"/>.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term>Location</term>
<listitem>
<para>For a location launcher, specify the location to be opened.
Click <guibutton>Browse</guibutton> to select a location on your
computer, or type a web address to launch a web page. For sample
locations, see <xref linkend="launchers-properties-commands"/></para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term>Comment</term>
<listitem>
<para>This is displayed as a tooltip when you point to the
launcher icon on the panel.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<para>To choose an icon for the launcher, click on the icon button, which displays a generic icon by default. An icon selector dialog is displayed. Choose an icon from the dialog. </para>
<para>To change the icon for the launcher, click on the button showing the current icon. An icon selector dialog is displayed. Choose an icon from the dialog. </para>
<section id="launchers-properties-commands">
<title>Launcher Commands and Locations</title>
<!-- Maintained for backwards compatibility: 2.14 -->
<anchor id="gospanel-556"/>
<para>Examples of commands and locations that you can use in the <guilabel>Launcher Properties</guilabel> dialog can be found below.</para>
<para>If you choose <guilabel>Application</guilabel> or <guilabel>Application in Terminal</guilabel>
from the <guilabel>Type</guilabel> drop-down box, the <guilabel>Command</guilabel> text box will be displayed. The following table shows some sample commands and the actions that the commands perform:</para>
<informaltable frame="topbot">
<tgroup cols="2" colsep="0" rowsep="0">
<colspec colname="colspec0" colwidth="47.36*"/>
<colspec colname="colspec1" colwidth="52.64*"/>
<thead>
<row rowsep="1">
<entry>
<para>Sample Application Command</para>
</entry>
<entry>
<para>Action</para>
</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para>
<command>gedit</command>
</para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Starts the <application>gedit</application> text editor application.</para>
<para>Opens the file <filename>/home/user/loremipsum.txt</filename> in the <application>gedit</application> text editor application.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para>
<command>nautilus /home/user/Projects</command>
</para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Opens the folder <filename>/home/user/Projects</filename> in a File Browser window.</para>
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
<para>If you choose <guilabel>Location</guilabel> from the <guilabel>Type</guilabel>
drop-down box, the <guilabel>Location</guilabel> text box will be displayed. The following table
shows some sample locations and the actions that will happen if you click on the launcher:<indexterm><primary>special URIs</primary><secondary>launchers</secondary></indexterm></para>
<para>The <guibutton>Lock Screen</guibutton> button locks your screen
and activates your screensaver when you click on it. To access your session
again, you must enter your password.</para>
<para>To add a <guibutton>Lock Screen</guibutton> button to a panel, right-click
on any vacant space on the panel. Choose <guimenu>Add to Panel</guimenu>, then choose <application>Lock Screen</application> from the Add to Panel dialog. See <xref linkend="panels-addobject"/> for more on this.</para>
<para>Right-click on the <guibutton>Lock Screen</guibutton> button to open a menu
of screensaver-related commands. <xref linkend="gosstartsession-TBL-83"/> describes
the commands that are available from the menu.</para>
<para>Locks the screen immediately. This command performs
the same function as when you click on the <guibutton>Lock Screen</guibutton> button.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry valign="top">
<para>
<guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem>
</para>
</entry>
<entry valign="top">
<para>Opens the <link linkend="prefs-screensaver"><application>Screensaver</application> preference tool</link>, with which you can configure the type of screensaver that is displayed when you lock the screen.</para>
<para>The <guibutton>Search</guibutton> button opens the
<application>Search Tool</application>, which allows you to search for
files on your computer. </para>
<para>To add a <guibutton>Search</guibutton> button to a panel, right-click
on any vacant space on the panel. Choose <guimenu>Add to Panel</guimenu>, then choose <application>Search for Files</application> from the Add to Panel dialog. See <xref linkend="panels-addobject"/> for more on this.</para>
<para>To open the <application>Search Tool</application>, click on
the <guibutton>Search</guibutton> button. </para>
<para>For more information on the <application>Search Tool</application>,
see the <ulink type="help" url="ghelp:gnome-search-tool">Search Tool Manual</ulink>.</para>
<phrase>Open drawer. The context describes the graphic.</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
<para>The arrow on the icon indicates that it represents a drawer
or menu.</para>
<para>You can add, move, and remove objects from drawers in the same way that
you add, move, and remove objects from panels. </para>
<section id="gospanel-42">
<title>To Open and Close a Drawer</title>
<indexterm>
<primary>drawers</primary>
<secondary>opening</secondary>
</indexterm>
<indexterm>
<primary>drawers</primary>
<secondary>closing</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>To open a drawer, click on the drawer's icon in a panel. You can close
a drawer in the following ways: </para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>Click on the drawer's icon.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Click on the drawer hide button.</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</section>
<section id="gospanel-420">
<title>To Add a Drawer to a Panel</title>
<indexterm>
<primary>drawers</primary>
<secondary>adding to panel</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>You can add a drawer to a panel in the following ways: </para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>From the panel popup menu</term>
<listitem>
<orderedlist>
<listitem><para>Right-click on any vacant space on the panel, then choose
<guimenuitem>Add to Panel</guimenuitem>.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>In the <application>Add to Panel</application> dialog, select
<guilabel>Drawer</guilabel>. Click <guibutton>Add</guibutton>, then click
<guibutton>Close</guibutton>.</para></listitem>
</orderedlist>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>From any menu</term>
<listitem>
<para>You can add a menu as a drawer object to a panel.</para>
<para>To add a menu as a drawer to a panel, open the menu from the panel.
Right-click on any launcher in the menu, then choose <menuchoice><guimenu>Entire menu</guimenu><guimenuitem>Add this as drawer to panel</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</section>
<section id="gospanel-54">
<title>To Add an Object to a Drawer</title>
<indexterm>
<primary>drawers</primary>
<secondary>adding objects to</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>You add an object to a drawer in the same way that you add
objects to panels. For more information, see <xref linkend="panels-addobject"/>.</para>
</section>
<section id="gospanel-550">
<title>To Modify Drawer Properties</title>
<indexterm>
<primary>drawers</primary>
<secondary>modifying properties</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>You can modify the properties of each drawer individually. For
example, you can change the visual appearance of the drawer and whether
it has hide buttons.</para>
<para>To modify properties for a drawer perform the following steps: </para>
<orderedlist>
<listitem>
<para>Right-click on the drawer, then choose
<guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem> to display the <guilabel>Drawer Properties</guilabel> dialog.
The dialog displays the <guilabel>General</guilabel> tabbed section.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Select the properties for the drawer in the dialog. The following
table describes the elements on the <guilabel>General</guilabel> tabbed section:</para>
<informaltable frame="topbot">
<tgroup cols="2" colsep="0" rowsep="0">
<colspec colname="colspec0" colwidth="28.57*"/>
<colspec colname="colspec1" colwidth="71.43*"/>
<thead>
<row rowsep="1">
<entry>
<para>Dialog Element</para>
</entry>
<entry>
<para>Description </para>
</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0">
<para>
<guilabel>Size</guilabel>
</para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1">
<para>Specify the width of the drawer when it is open.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0">
<para>
<guilabel>Icon</guilabel>
</para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1">
<para>Choose an icon to represent the drawer. Click
on the <guibutton>Icon</guibutton> button to display an icon selector dialog.
Choose an icon from the dialog and click <guibutton>OK</guibutton> to confirm your choice.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry valign="top">
<para>
<guilabel>Show hide buttons</guilabel>
</para>
</entry>
<entry valign="top">
<para>Select this option to display hide buttons on your
drawer. When you click one of the buttons, the drawer will close.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry valign="top">
<para>
<guilabel>Arrows on hide buttons</guilabel>
</para>
</entry>
<entry valign="top">
<para>Select this option to display arrows on the hide
buttons, if the hide buttons are enabled.</para>
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>You can use the <guilabel>Background</guilabel> tabbed section
to set the background for the drawer. For information on how to complete the <guilabel>Background</guilabel> tabbed section, see <xref linkend="panel-properties"/>. You can also drag a color or image on to a drawer
to set the color or image as the background of the drawer. For more information,
see <xref linkend="panel-properties-background"/>.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Click <guibutton>Close</guibutton> to close the <guilabel>Drawer Properties</guilabel> dialog.</para>
</listitem>
</orderedlist>
</section>
</section>
<section id="panel-default">
<!-- a temporary home for things that should one day be in a greater list of panel objects -->
<title>Default Panel Objects</title>
<para>This section covers the panel objects that appear in the default GNOME desktop.</para>
<section id="panel-windowselector">
<title>Window Selector Applet</title>
<!-- preserve for backwards compatibility: 2.12 -->
<anchor id="gosmetacity-27"/>
<indexterm>
<primary>top edge panel</primary>
<secondary>window selector icon</secondary>
</indexterm>
<indexterm>
<primary>window selector</primary>
<secondary>top edge panel</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>You can view a list of all windows
that are currently open. You can also choose a window to give focus to. To
view the window list, click on the <application>Window Selector</application>
applet. The following figure shows an example of the <application>Window Selector</application> applet:</para>
<phrase>Menu Bar applet. Menus: Applications, Places, Desktop.</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
<para>The <application>Menu Bar</application> contains the
<guimenu>Applications</guimenu>, <guimenu>Places</guimenu>, and
<guimenu>System</guimenu> menus. You can access
almost all of the standard applications, commands, and configuration options
from the <application>Menu Bar</application>. For more on using the Menu Bar, see <xref linkend="menubar"/>.</para>
</section>
<!-- This has been pasted from the Window List manual so that the Window List applet help is integrated into the GUG. -->
<!-- This section needs gross refactoring (making task-based for starters) -->
<section id="windowlist">
<title>Window List</title>
<para>The <application>Window List</application> applet enables you to manage the windows that are open on the GNOME desktop. Window List uses a button to represent each window or group of windows that is open. The state of the buttons in the applet varies depending on the state of the window that the button represents. The following table explains the possible states of the <application>Window List</application> buttons.</para>
<para>You can use <application>Window List</application> to perform the following tasks:</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>To give focus to a window</para>
<para>If you click on the Window List button that represents a window that is on the desktop but does not have focus, the applet gives focus to the window. </para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>To minimize a window</para>
<para>If you click on the Window List button that represents the window that has focus, the applet minimizes the window. </para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>To restore a minimized window</para>
<para>If you click on the Window List button that represents a minimized window, the applet restores the window.</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<para>You can change the order of the Window List buttons by dragging a button to a different location on the Window List.</para>
<para>To define how the Window List behaves when you restore windows, select one of the following options.</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para><guilabel>Restore to current workspace</guilabel></para>
<para>Select this option to restore a window from the applet to the current workspace, even if the window did not previously reside in the current workspace.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem><para><guilabel>Restore to native workspace</guilabel></para>
<para>Select this option to switch to the workspace in which a window originally resided when you restore the window from the applet. </para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<para>These options are only available if <guilabel>Show windows from all workspaces</guilabel> is selected in the <guilabel>Window List Content</guilabel> section of the dialog.</para>
