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 that you want from the list of active desktop application windows. If an application has multiple windows open, press Alt+` (back-tick, located above the Tab key) to choose among those sub-windows. Release the Alt key to select it.FIGURE 2.7 Press Alt+Tab to select which running application to go to.
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 that you want to run, press Alt+F2 to display a command box. Type the name of the command that 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 that you want to launch and press Enter.
Escape. When you are stuck in an action that 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.
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 that you need to do. Refer to Chapter 14, “Administering Networking,” for further information on configuring networking.
Bluetooth. If your computer has Bluetooth hardware, you can enable that device to communicate with other Bluetooth devices (such as a Bluetooth headset or printer).
Devices. From the Devices screen, you can configure your keyboard, mouse and touchpad, printers, removable media, and other settings.
Sound. Click the Sound settings button to adjust sound input and output devices on your system.
Extending the GNOME 3 desktop
If the GNOME 3 shell doesn't do everything you'd like, don't despair. You can add extensions to provide additional functionality to GNOME 3. Also, a tool called GNOME Tweaks lets you change advanced settings in GNOME 3.
Using GNOME shell extensions
GNOME shell extensions are available to change the way your GNOME desktop looks and behaves. Visit the GNOME Shell Extensions site (http://extensions.gnome.org) from your Firefox browser on your GNOME 3 desktop. That site tells you what extensions you have installed and which ones are available for you to install. (You must select to allow the site to see those extensions.)
Because the extensions page knows what extensions you have and the version of GNOME 3 that you are running, it can present only those extensions that are compatible with your system. Many of the extensions help you add back in features from GNOME 2, including the following:
Applications Menu. Adds an Applications menu to the top panel, just as it was in GNOME 2.
Places Status Indicator. Adds a systems status menu, similar to the Places menu in GNOME 2, to let you navigate quickly to useful folders on your system.
Window list. Adds a list of active windows to the top panel, similar to the Window list that appeared on the bottom panel in GNOME 2.
To install an extension, simply select the ON button next to the name. Or, you can click the extension name from the list to see the extension's page and click the button on that page from OFF to ON. Click Install when you are asked if you want to download and install the extension. The extension is then added to your desktop.
Figure 2.9 shows an example of the Applications menu Window List (showing several active applications icons), and Places Status Indicator (with folders displayed from a drop-down menu) extensions installed.
FIGURE 2.9 Extensions add features to the GNOME 3 desktop.
More than 100 GNOME shell extensions are available now, and more are being added all the time. Other popular extensions include Notifications Alert (which alerts you of unread messages), Presentation Mode (which prevents the screensaver from coming on when you are giving a presentation), and Music Integration (which integrates popular music players into GNOME 3, so that you are alerted about songs being played).
Because the Extensions site can keep track of your extensions, you can click the Installed extensions button at the top of the page and see every extension that is installed. You can turn the extensions off and on from there and even delete them permanently.
Using the GNOME Tweak Tool
If you don't