Chapter 4. Configuring the Panel

The GNOME Panel is highly configurable and comes equipped with many graphical tools to help you do the configuration. In this section you will learn how to configure any GNOME Panel the way you would like it. This section will cover the basic configuration of the GNOME Panel.

Global Panel Configuration

To start configuring the GNOME panel right click on the panel and select the Global Properties menu item. You may also press the Main Menu button and select the Panel | Global Properties menu item.

This will bring the Global Panel Configuration dialog up. With this dialog you can set the global properties for all panels you use now and any panels you add in the future.

The Global Panel Configuration Dialog contains six tabs which help you configure the global properties of the GNOME Panel: Animation, Launcher Icon, Drawer Icon, Menu Icon, and Miscellaneous. Each of these tabs is explained below.

Animation Tab - the functions on this tab will allow you to change Panel behaviors that are animated.

  • Auto-Hide Animation Speed - If you have the panel hiding automatically this will control how fast it occurs.

  • Explicit-Hide Animation Speed - This controls the hide speed when you press the Panel's Hide Button.

  • Drawer Animation Speed - If you use a Drawer panel this will control how fast the drawer menu will raise.

  • Auto-Hide Minimize Delay(ms) - If you have the Panel set to minimize automatically this will allow you to control how much time passes before it minimizes. The Panel will start the time count once the mouse is no longer over it. It will appear again when the mouse is passed to the area it occupies when up. This time is measured in milliseconds.

  • Auto-Hide Minimized Size(pixels) - If you have the Panel hiding automatically this determines the number of pixels that will show while the Panel is minimized.

Launcher icon Tab

  • Tiles enabled - This checkbox will enable background tiles for all icons on the Panel.

  • Tile filename (up) - This is the name and path of the image file you wish to use for the tile in the up position(inactive, not pressed) You may press the Browse button to search for the file. Tiles must be enabled to access this option.

  • Tile filename (down) - This is the name and path of the image file you wish to use for the tile in the down position(active, pressed) You may press the Browse button to search for the file. Tiles must be enabled to access this option.

  • Border width (tile only) - This determines the width of the border around a tile. Tiles must be enabled to access this option.

  • Depth (displacement when pressed) - This determines the depth a tile will displace when pressed. Tiles must be enabled to access this option.

Drawer icon Tab

  • Tiles enabled - This checkbox will enable background tiles for all drawers on the Panel.

  • Tile filename (up) - This is the name and path of the image file you wish to use for the tile in the up position(inactive, not pressed) You may press the Browse button to search for the file. Drawer tiles must be enabled to access this option.

  • Tile filename (down) - This is the name and path of the image file you wish to use for the tile in the down position(active, pressed) You may press the Browse button to search for the file. Drawer tiles must be enabled to access this option.

  • Border width (tile only) - This determines the width of the border around a tile. Drawer tiles must be enabled to access this option.

  • Depth (displacement when pressed) - This determines the depth a tile will displace when pressed. Drawer tiles must be enabled to access this option.

Menu icon Tab

  • Tiles enabled - This checkbox will enable background tiles for the Main Menu button on the Panel.

  • Tile filename (up) - This is the name and path of the image file you wish to use for the tile in the up position(inactive, not pressed) You may press the Browse button to search for the file. Menu tiles must be enabled to access this option.

  • Tile filename (down) - This is the name and path of the image file you wish to use for the tile in the down position(active, pressed) You may press the Browse button to search for the file. Menu tiles must be enabled to access this option.

  • Border width (tile only) - This determines the width of the border around a tile. Menu tiles must be enabled to access this option.

  • Depth (displacement when pressed) - This determines the depth a tile will displace when pressed. Menu tiles must be enabled to access this option.

Miscellaneous Tab

  • Tooltips -Tooltips enabled - This enables tooltips for items on the panel. Tooltips are pop-up help dialogs that appear when you mouse is over an element on the panel.

  • Show Small Icons - This will enable small icons in the Main Menu.

  • Show ... buttons - This will enable three small dots to appear on Main Menu items that launch dialogs.

  • Switched movement - This allows launcher buttons on the panel to switch places with other icons when being moved.

  • Free Movement (doesn't disturb other applets) - This allows icons on the panel to remain where they are and not be switched by another icon being moved. This is a good feature to use if you like the way your icons are arranged.

  • Prompt before logout - This will bring up a yes/no dialog which asks you if you would really like to log out.

  • Applet padding - This changes the amount of space (padding) between icons and applets.

Active Panel Configuration

On any given Panel you may configure the properties for that Panel alone. To change the configuration of the active Panel, right mouse click on the Panel and select the This panel properties menu item from the pop-up menu. You may also press the Main Menu button and select the Panel | This panel properties menu item.

This will bring up the Panel properties dialog box. In this box you can change the properties for the active Panel.

The Panel properties dialog contains two tabs to help you set the active Panel properties: Edge Panel and Background. Both of these tabs are explained below.

Edge Panel Tab

  • Position - This changes the position of the Panel on the screen. You may select either Top, Right, Left or Bottom. The Panel will change position once you have pressed the Apply button.

  • Minimize Options - The options here will enable you to either Explicitly hide the Panel yourself using the hide buttons or Auto Hide when the mouse is not over the Panel. If you choose to Auto Hide you might want to Disable the hide buttons here as well. You may also disable the hide button arrows graphics on the Panel as well.

Background Tab

  • Background - These options allow you to change the background of the Panel itself. You may choose if you wish to have the standard, Pixmap, or Color background. The standard look for the Panel is determined by the GTK theme you are running at the time. The Pixmap option allows you to choose an image to tile or scale to the Panel. The Color option allows you to specify a particular color for the Panel.

IMPORTANT: An easier way to change the background of your panel is to drag and drop an image file from the GNOME File Manager onto the Panel. This will automatically change the background of the panel to that image.

  • Image file - If you choose to have a Pixmap for the background of your Panel this will allow you to choose which image to use. If you press the Browse button you can search for the file you want to use.

  • Scale image to fit panel - This allows a background image to scale to the size of the panel. If not checked images will tile to the panel.

  • Background color - If you choose to have your Panel one color this button will launch a dialog which allows you to specify which color to use.