An Overview

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

• The Desktop -- The main workspace of your environment which incorporates everything, including the items which follow in this list (see Figure 2-1 for an example). Windows are placed on the Desktop; launchers are also found here for applications, documents or other data. Double-clicking will open a folder or start an application. See the section called The Desktop.

• Folders -- When you first log in, folders contain links to documentation such as support, help and reference guides, either on your installed system (locally) or on the Web. Folders (as well as launchers to other applications) can be added and deleted from the Desktop. See Figure 2-2 for an example of folders and launchers on the desktop. See the section called Folders.

• The Panel -- The long bar across the bottom of the Desktop (for example, Figure 2-4). The Panel serves as a quick launcher for applications and applets (mini-applications), as well as minimized applications you may already be running. See the section called The Panel.

• Main Menu Button -- Part of the Panel, this button, which looks like the stylized GNOME footprint (see Figure 2-7 for an example), holds launchers and submenus to all of the included applications and applets for your Red Hat Linux system. Some applications which you install will also be incorporated into this menu. You can add launchers to these menus, as well. See the section called Main Menu Button.

• Help Button -- By default, you'll find a button on the Panel which has a question mark on it. This button is a launcher to the GNOME Help Browser. See the section called Finding Help.

• Multiple desktops -- In the center of the Panel you'll find the Desk Guide, which shows you the number of desktops available to you. You can spread your work throughout multiple desktops, rather than crowd one desktop area with multiple applications. See the section called Multiple Desktops.

• Switching environments -- Although it's not something you'll find on your desktop, there's a utility which allows you to easily and quickly change your choice of environments. Called Switchdesk, you can use this utility to quickly and easily change from GNOME to KDE or vice-versa. See the section called Switching Environments.

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.

	Make 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.