Move– Change window to moving mode. Moving your mouse moves the window. Click to fix the window to a spot.
● Resize– Change the window to resize mode. Moving your mouse resizes the window. Click to keep the size.
● Workspace selections– Several selections let you use workspaces in different ways. Select Always on Top to make the current window always on top of other windows in the workspace. Select Always on Visible Workspace to always show the window on the workspace that is visible. Or select Move to Workspace Up or Move to Workspace Down to move the window to the workspace above or below, respectively.
Figure 2.2 Show all windows on the desktop minimized.
Figure 2.3 Show the list of available applications.
Figure 2.4 Click the middle mouse button to display an application's selection menu.
Figure 2.5 As new desktops are used, additional ones appear on the right.
If you don't feel comfortable navigating GNOME 3 with your mouse, or if you don't have a mouse, the next section helps you navigate the desktop from the keyboard.
Navigating with the keyboard
If you prefer to keep your hands on the keyboard, you can work with the GNOME 3 desktop directly from the keyboard in a number of ways, including these:
● Windows key– Presses the Windows key on the keyboard. On most PC keyboards, this is the key with the Microsoft Windows logo on it next to the Alt key. This toggles the mini-window (Overview) and active-window (current workspace) views. Many people use this key often.
● Select different views– From the Windows or Applications view, hold Ctrl+Alt+Tab to see a menu of the different views (see Figure 2.6). Still holding the Ctrl+Alt keys, press Tab again to highlight one of the following icons from the menu and release to select it:
● Top bar– Keeps the current view.
● Dash– Highlights the first application in the application bar on the left. Use arrow keys to move up and down that menu, and press Enter to open the highlighted application.
● Windows– Selects the Windows view.
● Applications– Selects the Applications view.
● Search– Highlights the search box. Type a few letters to show only icons for applications that contain the letters you type. When you have typed enough letters to uniquely identify the application you want, press Enter to launch the application.
● Message tray– Reveals the bottom message tray. This tray lets you view notifications and open removable media.
● Select an active window– Return to any of your workspaces (press the Windows key if you are not already on an active workspace). Press Alt+Tab to see a list of all active windows (see Figure 2.7). Continue to hold the Alt key as you press the Tab key (or right or left arrow keys) to highlight the application you want from the list of active desktop application windows. If an application has multiple windows open, press Alt+‘ (backtick, located above the Tab key) to choose among those sub-windows. Release the Alt key to select it.
● Launch a command or application– From any active workspace, you can launch a Linux command or a graphical application. Here are some examples:
● Applications– From the Overview screen, press Ctrl+Alt+Tab and continue to press Tab until the Applications icon is highlighted; then release Ctrl+Alt. The Applications view appears, with the first icon highlighted. Use the Tab key or arrow keys (up, down, right, and left) to highlight the application icon you want, and press Enter.
● Command box– If you know the name (or part of a name) of a command you want to run, press Alt+F2 to display a command box. Type the name of the command you want to run into the box (try gnome-calculator to open a calculator application, for example).
● Search box– From the Overview screen, press Ctrl+Alt+Tab and continue to press Tab until the magnifying glass (Search) icon is highlighted; then release Ctrl+Alt. In the search box now highlighted, type a few letters in an application's name or description (type scr to see what you get). Keep typing until the application you want is highlighted (in this case, Screenshot), and press Enter to launch it.
● Dash– From the Overview screen, press Ctrl+Alt+Tab and continue to press Tab until the star (Dash) icon is highlighted; then release Ctrl+Alt. From the Dash, move the up and down arrows to highlight an application you want to launch, and press Enter.
● Escape– When you are stuck in an action you don't want to complete, try pressing the Esc key. For example, after pressing Alt+F2 (to enter a command), opening an icon from the top bar, or going to an overview page, pressing Esc returns you to the active window on the active desktop.
Figure 2.6 Press Ctrl+Alt+Tab to display additional desktop areas to select.
Figure 2.7 Press Alt+Tab to select which running application to go to.
I hope you now feel comfortable navigating the GNOME 3 desktop. Next, you can try running some useful and fun desktop applications from GNOME 3.
Setting up the GNOME 3 desktop
Much of what you need GNOME 3 to do for you is set up automatically. However, you need to make a few tweaks to get the desktop the way you want. Most of these setup activities are available from the System Settings window (see Figure 2.8). Open the Settings icon from the Applications list.
Figure 2.8 Change desktop settings from the System Settings window.
Here are some suggestions for configuring a GNOME 3 desktop:
● Configure networking– A wired network connection is often configured automatically when you boot up your Fedora system. For wireless, you probably have to select your wireless network and add a password when prompted. An icon in the top bar lets you do any wired or wireless network configuration you need to do. Refer to Chapter 14, “Administering Networking,” for further information on configuring networking.
● Personal settings– Tools in this group let you change your desktop background (Background), use different online accounts (Online Accounts), and set your language and date and currency format based on region (Region and Language) and screen locking (Screen). To change your background, open the System Settings window, select Background, and
