Chapter 2. GNOME in 60 Seconds (or so)

GNOME is the default desktop environment in Red Hat Linux 7.0. Like KDE, GNOME is flexible and user-friendly, providing both the power of your new Red Hat Linux system and a comfortable graphical user interface -- or GUI.

This chapter will help you get acquainted with some of the fundamentals of GNOME. You'll find greater detail about specific tasks -- such as connecting a printer and setting up your Internet account -- in later chapters.

You'll find the latest GNOME-related information at the the official GNOME website: http://www.gnome.org.

For a similar orientation to KDE, turn to Chapter 3.

TipIf you want to use both
 

If you've got both GNOME and KDE on your system, you can often use applications from the other environment in your chosen environment. For example, you can use the KDE e-mail client, KMail, even though your chosen environment is GNOME. The same can be said for other applications which aren't strictly GNOME or KDE applications, such as those you might find online.

An Overview

When you first begin your GNOME X Window session, among the first items you'll see are:

Using Your Mouse

Using the left mouse button selects an item to open or drag to another location; by holding down the left mouse button while you drag the cursor over items, you can select multiple items on the desktop.

TipMake your two-button mouse act like it has three buttons
 

A three-button mouse offers the greatest flexibility in GNOME. If you have a two-button mouse, however, and you selected three-button emulation when you installed Red Hat Linux, simply hold down both left and right mouse buttons at the same time to get the effect of a middle mouse button.

Pressing the middle button of your mouse on the desktop will reveal a GNOME applications menu, help menus and configuration menus for sawfish, the default GNOME window manager.

Using the right mouse button reveals a menu of actions which you can take. Right-clicking on the desktop shows you options such as adding desktop items, customizing the background and more. Right-clicking on a folder or application reveals a menu related to actions you can take with your selection, such as deletion, properties and more.

Drag and Drop

You can drag and drop items in GNOME, meaning that you can "carry" data or applications from one area of the desktop to another, "drop" items in folders or on applications, and move or copy information and applications.