16.12.

2016 Learning The Basics

Learning the Basics

As with every operating system there are some things that you may not be familiar with.
This section will deal with how to complete simple, every day tasks such as browsing the
web and listening to music, as well as other useful information that you may be unaware
of.

The Desktop
The elementary OS desktop is very simple and easy to learn. It consists of two elements:
the panel and the dock. You can customize the desktop's wallpaper through System
Settings → Desktop → Wallpaper.

The Panel
At the top of the screen you can see the Panel. On the left is the Applications menu, in the
center are the time and date, and on the right are the Indicators.

Applications

On the left side of the panel is the Applications item. Clicking Applications brings up a
launcher with all of your installed apps. You can view multiple pages of apps using the
pagers at the bottom or by scrolling. You can also use the view switcher at the top to
switch between a grid view and a category view.

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You can search for apps by name or by keyword and perform actions associated with
them. You can also search for system settings panes. Some of the actions you can 묋nd in
search include:

Shutdown and Restart

Compose Message
New Private Browsing Window
Math operations (example: 23 * 5)

To open the applications menu with the keyboard, press ⌘ + space .

Indicators

On the right side of the panel are icons called Indicators. These tell you of the current
status of your session, i.e. your network connections, battery power, time, chat and email
accounts, etc. Clicking an indicator exposes more information and related actions.

The Dock

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At the bottom of the screen is the Dock. It contains your favorite apps well as any apps
that are currently open.

The contents of the dock are easily customizable. To add an app to the dock, drag and
drop it from Applications on the panel or right-click an open app's icon and choose Keep
in Dock. To remove an app from the dock, drag it o쨂 and drop it in an empty space on
your desktop or right-click the icon and uncheck Keep in Dock. To rearrange apps on the
dock, simply drag and drop them.

By default, the dock hides o쨂 the bottom of the screen when an app is maximized. Simply
move your mouse to the bottom center of the screen to reveal the dock.

You can customize the dock's behavior through System Settings → Desktop → Dock.

App Windows
Apps exist in their own windows which can be closed, maximized, or moved around.

When you open an app, its window appears on the desktop. Each app typically has three
areas: the window buttons, a toolbar, and the contents of the app.

Window Buttons
An app's window buttons are at the top corners of the app window. The close button is
on the left and the maximize button is on the right. Pressing the close button will close
the app's window. Pressing the maximize button will toggle whether the app window
takes up the full screen or not. You can move an app's window around the desktop by
dragging empty space between the window buttons.

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Toolbar
Many apps have a toolbar at the top of the app. This area contains common actions or
navigation items for the app. You can move an app's window around by dragging any
blank area of a toolbar.

Multitasking
elementary OS supports two types of multitasking: windows and workspaces.

Windows
Apps open in app windows. They can overlap on your desktop and be moved around. You
can switch between windows several ways:

click on the window you want to switch to

click on the app's icon in the dock
press Alt + Tab
To see an overview of your open app windows, press ⌘ + W .

You can customize these shortcuts through System Settings → Keyboard → Shortcuts
→ Windows.

Hot Corners
You can also con묋gure "hot corners" (shortcuts activated by placing your cursor in the
corner of the display) to activate multi-tasking functions like the window overview,
workspace overview, and more.

You can customize hot corners through System Settings → Desktop → Hot Corners.

Workspaces
By default, all app windows open on one workspace. However, you can use multiple
workspaces to organize your work봋ow:

To see an overview of your workspaces, press ⌘ + S

To quickly move left or right through your workspaces, press ⌘ + ← or ⌘ +
→

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To cycle through your workspaces, press ⌘ + Tab

You can jump straight to a speci묋c workspace by pressing ⌘ + 1 through ⌘ +
9 . You can always jump to a new workspace with ⌘ + 0 .
You can also drag app windows between workspaces by dragging their icons in the
workspace overview, or move them left and right between workspaces using ⌘ +
Alt + ← or → respectively. To see an overview of app windows across all

workspaces, press ⌘ + A .

You can customize these shortcuts through System Settings → Keyboard → Shortcuts
→ Workspaces.

Note: ⌘ refers to the "super" key. It is also known as the "Windows" key on most PCs or the
"Command" key on Macs.

Multiple Displays
The panel, dock, and workspaces appear only on the primary display. Any other attached
displays act as standalone workspaces. To manage and rearrange displays, head to
System Settings → Displays. Your primary display is marked with a 묋lled-in star () and
each display's settings can be changed from its cog () menu.

Installing Apps
elementary OS comes bundled with AppCenter, an app store for free apps. Installing a
new app from AppCenter is easy:

1. Open the AppCenter app.

2. Search in the top-right, or browse.
3. Click Install next to the app you want to install.

You may be asked for your password prior to installing an app.

Note: Some software may not be available from AppCenter. While we don't recommend
downloading software from the general Internet, apps that are compatible with Ubuntu 16.04
LTS should work on elementary OS Loki.

Updating
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elementary OS includes updates as part of AppCenter. Notice the tab "Updates" at the
top of the window. We recommend you check for updates at least once a week to make
sure your computer has the latest features and protection.

For more information related to security patches, read the Ubuntu security notices.

System Settings
elementary OS comes with a handy app called "System Settings" that controls all of your
system-wide (or "global") preferences. System Settings gives you the ability to adjust
things like keyboard shortcuts, display resolution, your wallpaper, and more.

Search
You can quickly 묋nd settings you are looking for by typing keywords in the search bar at
the top of the window. The contents of the System Settings window will 묋lter down to
match your search.

App Settings
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Keep in mind that System Settings only deals with the global preferences for elementary
OS. Although, some apps may also have their own preferences, you will not 묋nd them
here. Instead, look for them inside the app in question.

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