Changes

Configuring the Ubuntu Desktop Panels

33 bytes added, 13:58, 27 April 2009
no edit summary
The Ubuntu Desktop Panels are probably the most useful aspect of the entire desktop simply because they provide quick access to a wide variety of functionalityand visual status information. As with just about every other aspect of the GNOME desktop, these panels are accompanied by extensive configuration options. In this chapter of [[Ubuntu Desktop Essentials]] we will look at each of these configuration options in detail.
== What are Desktop Panels ==
== Changing the Position of a Panel ==
A panel can be placed in one of four different locations on the desktop: the top, bottom, far left or far right of the desktop. The positions of the standard top and bottom panels are locked by default. To unlock these panels so that they may be relocated, right click on the panel and select ''Allow panel to be moved'' from the popup menu. Once unlocked, there are two ways to change the position of a an Ubuntu GNOME Desktop panel. By far the easiest method is to simply click with the left hand mouse button on the panel you wish to relocate and drag it to the new location.
Alternatively, the location of the panel can be adjusted using the ''Properties'' dialog of the panel. This dialog is accessed by clicking with the right hand mouse button on any blank area of the panel and selecting ''Properties'' from the popup menu:
A number of configuration options are available for changing the appearance of each desktop panel. These changes are implemented using the Panel Properties dialog (accessed by right clicking on the panel to be changed and selecting ''Properties'' from the popup menu).
The ''Size'' property controls the height (when the panel is in a horizontal orientation) or width (when in vertical orientation). It is not possible to reduce the size to the extent where items will no long longer be visible (the minimum value is typically around 23 pixels).
A different color or even an image may be specified for the panel background. These settings are available from the ''Background'' page of the panel properties dialog: