Preface
Now that you have installed Ubuntu Linux and made the switch from Windows (maybe), the only thing left is to learn how to actually get your hands dirty with it. In this guide I will be showing you how to do some configuration and customization of your Ubuntu system. Additionally, this time we will get a bit more into command line and showing how to do some of the tasks we have been doing graphically can also be done via a terminal. Once again, the target audience will be Windows users and there is no prior Linux / Ubuntu experience needed outside of what I covered in my previous articles.
Here is a breakdown of what is in this guide:
- Customizing Ubuntu
- Setting up KDE
- File management
- Introduction to the Linux command line
- Common tasks from the command line
- Understanding permissions
- Multibooting: configuring GRUB
- Manually installing programs
- Other stuff
- File sharing
- Setting up a PDF printer
- Getting help
Customizing Ubuntu
By now you should be pretty familiar with how to graphically navigate around your Ubuntu system, but have you tried to customize the look or color scheme? Just about everything in Ubuntu (GNOME) can be configured much the same way Windows can, and in some cases more. Some of these features you may have already discovered, but let’s go over some.
Before we move into covering the operating system customization, we should make sure we have all the system fonts installed. Before you ask, let’s remember that 93% of computers are running Windows so, even in Linux we have to conform to the Windows world. So what do fonts have to do with this? Quite a bit, since websites are developed using fonts which are not open source (fonts can actually be quite expensive, for instance movie producers pay handily to have their own fonts developed for use in their credits), some examples of these include Arial and the ever popular Verdana, without these your system may not be able to view certain websites, PDF’s, or Word documents. To remedy this, simply turn to Automatix. There is an option available for “MS True Type Fonts”, installing this will not make Ubuntu display the fonts as they appear in Windows, but tells Ubuntu to use a similar font to ensure Windows compatibility.
You probably noticed when you first logged into Ubuntu that there were two taskbar-like strips at the top and bottom of the desktop. These are called “panels”, and are extremely customizable. You can add shortcuts (right click on a program in the Applications menu and select Add this launcher to panel), hardware monitors, stock tickers, weather reporters, battery meters (for you laptop users), and lots more by simply right clicking on a panel and selecting Add to Panel. Additionally, extra panels can be added, moved, deleted, set to auto-hide, or further customized by the right click menu. Play around with it for a bit to find the options you like best. Personally, I like to have the current weather, command line, and since I support a lot of Windows computers, the terminal server client on my top panel. All of these options are available via a right click and then Add to Panel.
One of the features I really love in Linux that Windows has yet to offer is the workspace switcher. Simply put, you can have multiple “virtual desktops”, each with their own programs open. For example, I like to use three so I can have my music library on one, development programs on another, and my browser or any other programs I might use on another. I can then easily switch between the work spaces using the key combination Ctrl + Alt + Left/Right Arrow. This allows you to have your open programs “organized” and keeps your program panel from getting cluttered with all the applications you have open. The workspace switcher is installed by default on the bottom panel, or you can add one by right clicking on the panel where you would like to place it and select Add to Panel. Additionally, the number and layout of the work spaces can be modified in the preferences with a right click.
Pretty much all of the system and overall appearance customization can be done through the utilities available via System > Preferences and System > Administration. The configuration programs are well segregated and should be fairly self-evident with the action they customize. Here are a few common tasks people like to do with their Windows installs and how to do them in Ubuntu:
- Automatically log in a certain user at start up (if you use VNC to remote connect, you probably want to set this up): System > Administration > Login Screen Setup
- Control start up services: System > Administration > Services
Note: For those of you looking for more advanced service control, install Boot-up Manager from Synaptic, then run it from Applications > System Tools - Set default font size or view type for when you open the file browser: System > Preference > File Management
- Configure your network connections: System > Administration > Networking
- Change the GUI theme: System > Preferences > Theme
You can download lots of themes and graphics for GNOME at the GNOME Art Website - Set keyboard hotkeys: System > Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts
| Login Screen Setup | Theme Selection | Boot-up Manager |
Setting up KDE
The most radical customization you can do to your Ubuntu is install a completely different window manager. As you know, Ubuntu, by default, ships with the GNOME desktop environment, however the other popular Linux desktop environment, called KDE (K Desktop Environment), can certainly be installed on your Ubuntu system. There is a distinct difference between the two, as KDE looks and acts very much like Windows XP (if you select the Windows behavior mode). For this reason, if you were going to show a Windows user Linux, I would recommend showing them KDE over GNOME.
For an objective look of KDE vs. GNOME, here is a breakdown of some pros and cons:
| Pros | Cons |
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You don’t have to take my word for it, in fact, if you have a faster machine, you probably would not even notice the slower boot time or higher memory and CPU usage. Therefore, I encourage you to give KDE a shot and decide for yourself. Setting it up on your system is easy, here is how:
- From Synaptic, install package “kde” and its 400+ dependencies which are auto selected
- Wait a while for this to finish
- Wait a bit longer
- If you have a default login set, disable it (System > Administration > Login Screen Setup)
- Reboot your computer
- At the login screen, click the Sessions button
- Select KDE (you can also select GNOME here if you have KDE set to your default)
- Enter your login and password
- You will be prompted whether or not you want to make KDE your default login session
I would recommend saying no (for now) until you determine if you like KDE over GNOME, however you can always change your preference later - Answer some simple configuration questions
- You’re in! Give KDE a whirl!
While I will not go into configuration of KDE in this article, you can see at first glance it is pretty impressive. It is also extremely configurable, acts very similar to Windows and comes with lots more games and utility programs by default (these will be available in GNOME as well). Discussing all KDE offers by default is a topic for a whole different article, so see for yourself, play around for a while.
One more thing to add, you may have noticed when you downloaded Ubuntu that there is also a distribution named Kubuntu. This is another officially supported Ubuntu release which ships with KDE instead of GNOME as the window manager. The installation of the operating system is practically identical to the Ubuntu installation, so if you prefer KDE you can install Kubuntu as your base system.
| KDE – K Desktop Environment | ||
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