In the next article we are going to take a look at how we can customize the top panel of the GNOME desktop. For this we will use the Taskbar extension. All of us who use it know that the GNOME default desktop is pretty basic. But thanks to the extensions that we can add, we will be able to turn it into something more functional.
El GNOME top panel, commonly known as the Taskbar, can be quite customized to include some cool features. These are features that many users use often, such as the ability to add an icon to display the desktop. This will minimize all open windows and show us the desktop clean of windows. We can also see the icons of the running applications, change color, opacity, etc.
After finishing the customization we are going to get a great, compact and more useful taskbar. To this we will be able to add the applications icon and the option to switch between the work areas, among others.
Add more options to Ubuntu's top panel using the Taskbar extension
This article I have to say that I tried it on a ubuntu 18.04. In the I use GNOME version 3.28, in virtual machine.
What can be read below, will work only on Ubuntu as of GNOME 3.10. As indicated on their page, this extension works in GNOME versions from 3.10 to 3.28. To install this extension on Ubuntu 18.04, all you have to do is follow these steps:
- → The first thing you should do is enable GNOME extensions on your Ubuntu desktop. To do this, you can consult the article that a colleague wrote a while ago on this blog. In it he explained how enable GNOME extensions in Ubuntu.
- → Once the extensions are enabled on the desktop, you just have to go to the following link to install taskbar from GNOME extensions page.
- → Place the slider in the 'ON' position to install it on your desktop.
- → At this point, you should immediately see the new taskbar features applied to the top panel. To configure your settings, update the extensions web page. After the update, you should see the settings icon right next to the 'ON' button. Click there.
- → Now you can adjust the taskbar settings. If you access the eyelash 'Summary'will allow you to manage the various functions of the extension. For example, we will be able to disable 'Show all applications', we can also add a'Bottom panel'or see the icons of our favorite applications.
- → The 'Panels' tab will allow you to manage the size of the panel, the position of the taskbar, the size of the icons and also the background color of the panel with opacity control.
What can we configure with Taskbar?
In addition to the above, we will also be able to find a lot of other things that we can modify. Among them we could highlight the option to close tasks with a right or middle click. We will also find the possibility of activating tasks by hovering the mouse, scrolling through the work areas, key combinations, etc.
There are so many configuration possibilities that to discover them all, the ideal is for each user to try them out for themselves, to configure the taskbar to their liking.
One option that I would like to highlight is the practical 'Import / Export configurations'. When you have finished adjusting the settings, you will be able to use the export button to save the settings. You will be able to import this configuration when necessary in the future. This will save you a lot of time to add your favorite options back to your GNOME desktop.
As you can see, you will be able to adjust the settings of the taskbar in a simple way. This window will allow you to manage the different functions of the Taskbar extension. To have access to the configuration more at hand, it is interesting to have installed GNOME-Tweaks.
Ultimately, GNOME thanks to its extensions, it is a very flexible interface, even though it may not seem like it at first. We can customize it to our liking and according to our needs. It is only a matter of spending some time configuring it, to end up having a very useful and attractive desktop.