Ubuntu Tips and Tricks
In this tutorial of Learning Linux, we will be going over the top ten tips and tricks that helped me have a enjoyable experience with Ubuntu.
1. Install Gnome themes. If you haven’t heard of this you are really missing out. The themes provided with Ubuntu are fine for the normal user but for geeks like us you may want something more suited to your taste. To begin point your browser to http://www.gnome-look.org/. Here you can find complete themes, icons, login screens, etc… In the left sidebar look for the topic you want and then scroll down (or search) until you find something you like. To install something (for example a theme-which is what you will be doing most of the time,) download it, open System/ Preferences/ Appearance, go to the “Theme” tab and click “install”. Then locate and select the file to activate it. To install a login screen go to System/Administration>Login Window and it’s basically the same from there.
If you find yourself reinstalling a theme you may see a message saying, “can’t move directory over directory.” This happens when you delete a theme then try to reinstall it. This is however very easy to fix. Just go to your home folder, and push CTRL+H to show hidden files. Navigate to the folder named .themes and delete the folder with the name of the previously deleted theme. You should now be able to reinstall the theme without any problem.
My favorite themes packages are the Moomex desktop theme with the new “Breathe” icons. (The icons come separately.)
2. Install those essential packages. Another essential thing to do upon installing Ubuntu is to install some essential packages. Open the the “Add/Remove” window. Make sure that “show all available programs” is selected from the dropdown list. First do a search for “java”. The average user will need, “Sun Java Runtime,” OpenJDK Java Webstart and Runtime” and Sun Java Plugin.” Some more packages I find essential are, “Ubuntu Restricted Extras,” and the Gstreamer Plugins which lloqa you play restricted file types such as MP3’s and others.
3. Edit what runs at Startup. Go to System>Preferences>Startup Applications. From here you can add your own program to run at startup or disable the splash screen (which I do not recommend for beginner and intermediate Ubuntu users.) Ubuntu also lets you chose whether to remember open applications from the last shutdown.
4. Install some cool fonts. To install fonts in Ubuntu, just go to Computer/Filesystem/usr/share/fonts/truetype/. (Most fonts if not all fonts you will be installing in Ubuntu will be in the TrueType format.) Then create a folder for your fonts to go into. I created a folder named “Personal” so I can remember which fonts I installed in case I need to transfer them to another computer.
5. Install restricted drivers. One of the first things you need to do after installing Ubuntu is check out if you need any restricted drivers. Go to System>Administration>Hardware Drivers to see if you do. You may not need them or you may as in my case where I didn’t have the driver for my wireless card.
6. Edit root files. Every once in a while you will need to edit some files in a root directory such as the “folder” talked about above. If you try to copy and paste a file into those folders, you will be denied permission. Do bypass this open a terminal and type “gksu nautilus”. After entering your password a window will open with root permissions to the folder. Just copy and paste through that window and it will not deny you access.
7. Install Gnome Deskbar Applet. This handy application sits in your panel and acts as an instant file searcher and it can open web pages. You can also set it to be used as a Dictionary. To install it open the Terminal and type, “sudo apt-get install deskbar-applet”. Then right click a panel, click “add to panel” and scroll down to the Deskbar Applet. From there you can set your preferences to your heart’s delight.
8. Make use of Workspaces! This is one thing in Ubuntu that once you use it you will never know how you lived without it. Add to panel and scroll down to Workspaces. (You may already have it on a panel.) Workspaces are basically multiple desktops. You click the little boxes in the Workspace Switcher and the Desktop slides to a new desktop that has no applications in the taskbar (is that the right name for it?) The programs are still running, just in the other workspace. This is really helpful is you have a lot of programs open at one time.
9. Enable visual effects. Go to System/Preferences/Appearance, Visual Effects tab. From there you can change the level of eye candy Ubuntu uses.
10. Linux has an active community that wants to help you! Finally, remember there is a great community of Ubuntu users who are willing to help you with your problems. Go to http://www.ubuntuforums.org to get started.
~ Theo
