[arch-general] Cannot Find Desktop in GNOME3
After upgrading my box to GNOME 3 last week, I can't seem to find the desktop anywhere on my gnome setup. I use the keyboard exclusively for navigating around so I would normally use Ctrl+Alt+d to open the desktop for keyboard focus. Alas I cannot do that any more. Also, with prior versions of Gnome, pressing Ctrl+Alt+Tab would toggle you through the Bottom Panel, Top Panel, and the Desktop. Now it only toggles between the top and bottom panels. Has the desktop, as we know it, gone away? At the moment, I am using fallback mode because gnome-shell is completely broken as far as screen reader accessibility is concerned. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated; thanks.
On Mon, May 09, 2011 at 09:03:21AM -0700, Steve Holmes wrote:
Has the desktop, as we know it, gone away? At the moment, I am using fallback mode because gnome-shell is completely broken as far as screen reader accessibility is concerned. GNOME 3 has no desktop at all. You can start nautilus and you will have it, but I, for one, think it does not comply with The GNOME 3 Way (no configurability, no usability, made for TOTAL IDIOTS.) -- -- Kwpolska (http://kwpolska.co.cc) stop html mail | always bottom-post www.asciiribbon.org | www.netmeister.org/news/learn2quote.html GPG KEY: 5EAAEA16 | Arch Linux x86_64, zsh, mutt, vim.
On 05/09/2011 07:03 PM, Steve Holmes wrote:
After upgrading my box to GNOME 3 last week, I can't seem to find the desktop anywhere on my gnome setup. I use the keyboard exclusively for navigating around so I would normally use Ctrl+Alt+d to open the desktop for keyboard focus. Alas I cannot do that any more. Also, with prior versions of Gnome, pressing Ctrl+Alt+Tab would toggle you through the Bottom Panel, Top Panel, and the Desktop. Now it only toggles between the top and bottom panels. Has the desktop, as we know it, gone away? At the moment, I am using fallback mode because gnome-shell is completely broken as far as screen reader accessibility is concerned.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated; thanks.
is there but you have to change a bit your way of using it. For example you can hit the super key, default being the windows key and start typing the name of the application you want to start, like nautilus. from what i see accessibility, is broken a lot in gnome 3 and i hope they will fix that in 3.2 -- Ionuț
[...] from what i see accessibility, is broken a lot in gnome 3 and i hope they will fix that in 3.2
A little bit off-topic, but how often is the 'Fun statistics' [1] changing . I ask because I think it is interesting what impact Gnome3 has. [1] https://www.archlinux.de/?page=FunStatistics -- ======================================== This mail was sent using 100% recycled electrons ========================================
On 09-05-2011 18:45, Filip Filipov wrote:
[...] from what i see accessibility, is broken a lot in gnome 3 and i hope they will fix that in 3.2
A little bit off-topic, but how often is the 'Fun statistics' [1] changing . I ask because I think it is interesting what impact Gnome3 has.
Even more off-topic, aren't percentages supposed to add to 100%? :p -- Mauro Santos
On Monday, May 09, 2011 12:53:55 Mauro Santos wrote:
On 09-05-2011 18:45, Filip Filipov wrote:
[...] from what i see accessibility, is broken a lot in gnome 3 and i hope they will fix that in 3.2
A little bit off-topic, but how often is the 'Fun statistics' [1] changing . I ask because I think it is interesting what impact Gnome3 has.
Even more off-topic, aren't percentages supposed to add to 100%? :p
How conformist of you! :O
Am 09.05.2011 19:57, schrieb Yaro Kasear:
On Monday, May 09, 2011 12:53:55 Mauro Santos wrote:
On 09-05-2011 18:45, Filip Filipov wrote:
[...] from what i see accessibility, is broken a lot in gnome 3 and i hope they will fix that in 3.2 A little bit off-topic, but how often is the 'Fun statistics' [1] changing . I ask because I think it is interesting what impact Gnome3 has.
[1] https://www.archlinux.de/?page=FunStatistics Even more off-topic, aren't percentages supposed to add to 100%? :p How conformist of you! :O
It just counts what packages people have installed. As most users have more than one program in any of those categories, the sum percentages is over 100. I wonder who is represented by the 0.07% not using bash though :)
Thanks for telling me about the desktop being gone. I really wondered and am a bit surprised as I thought most people valued and used a desktop area quite a bit. Yes, I opened up my home directory from the places and then opened the desktop folder from there. Actually, I think my desktop was actually a top level folder in my places menu but still, not the same. In fact, I have had launchers on the desktop in the past but I guess I could get them on there again if I wanted. It's just that the desktop was typically addressable from a single keystroke before. Well whatever... I've heard comments like that before about gnome getting less and less configurable; pretty soon, it will be like that other windows operating system out there.
On Monday, May 09, 2011 14:46:11 Steve Holmes wrote:
Thanks for telling me about the desktop being gone. I really wondered and am a bit surprised as I thought most people valued and used a desktop area quite a bit. Yes, I opened up my home directory from the places and then opened the desktop folder from there. Actually, I think my desktop was actually a top level folder in my places menu but still, not the same. In fact, I have had launchers on the desktop in the past but I guess I could get them on there again if I wanted. It's just that the desktop was typically addressable from a single keystroke before. Well whatever...
I've heard comments like that before about gnome getting less and less configurable; pretty soon, it will be like that other windows operating system out there.
Though the direction of GNOME where it's getting less and less features and functions isn't something Arch can fix, I agree. It's part of why I like KDE, which is incredibly flexible and loaded. A bit large, though.
-----Mensaje original----- De: arch-general-bounces@archlinux.org [mailto:arch-general- bounces@archlinux.org] En nombre de Steve Holmes Enviado el: lunes, 09 de mayo de 2011 21:46 Para: General Discussion about Arch Linux Asunto: Re: [arch-general] Cannot Find Desktop in GNOME3
Thanks for telling me about the desktop being gone. I really wondered and am a bit surprised as I thought most people valued and used a desktop area quite a bit. Yes, I opened up my home directory from the places and then opened the desktop folder from there. Actually, I think my desktop was actually a top level folder in my places menu but still, not the same. In fact, I have had launchers on the desktop in the past but I guess I could get them on there again if I wanted. It's just that the desktop was typically addressable from a single keystroke before. Well whatever...
I've heard comments like that before about gnome getting less and less configurable; pretty soon, it will be like that other windows operating system out there.
You can install gnome-tweak-tool. When you launch it, the last option is "File Manager". Then you can select "Have file manager handle the desktop". Logout, login, and your icons and folders should be back to your desktop. It works almost as it used to. Best Regards, Guillermo Leira
On 05/09/2011 11:11 PM, Guillermo Leira wrote:
-----Mensaje original----- De: arch-general-bounces@archlinux.org [mailto:arch-general- bounces@archlinux.org] En nombre de Steve Holmes Enviado el: lunes, 09 de mayo de 2011 21:46 Para: General Discussion about Arch Linux Asunto: Re: [arch-general] Cannot Find Desktop in GNOME3
Thanks for telling me about the desktop being gone. I really wondered and am a bit surprised as I thought most people valued and used a desktop area quite a bit. Yes, I opened up my home directory from the places and then opened the desktop folder from there. Actually, I think my desktop was actually a top level folder in my places menu but still, not the same. In fact, I have had launchers on the desktop in the past but I guess I could get them on there again if I wanted. It's just that the desktop was typically addressable from a single keystroke before. Well whatever...
I've heard comments like that before about gnome getting less and less configurable; pretty soon, it will be like that other windows operating system out there.
You can install gnome-tweak-tool. When you launch it, the last option is "File Manager". Then you can select "Have file manager handle the desktop". Logout, login, and your icons and folders should be back to your desktop. It works almost as it used to.
Best Regards,
Guillermo Leira
i don't really encourage anyone to do that when using gnome-shell. With gnome-shell only ONE instance of the application can run and enabling the desktop to be handled by nautilus will mean that is running in the background and you cannot click on the icon to launch it again. -- Ionuț
On Mon, May 9, 2011 at 3:22 PM, Ionut Biru <ibiru@archlinux.org> wrote:
On 05/09/2011 11:11 PM, Guillermo Leira wrote:
You can install gnome-tweak-tool. When you launch it, the last option is "File Manager". Then you can select "Have file manager handle the desktop". Logout, login, and your icons and folders should be back to your desktop. It works almost as it used to.
i don't really encourage anyone to do that when using gnome-shell. With gnome-shell only ONE instance of the application can run and enabling the desktop to be handled by nautilus will mean that is running in the background and you cannot click on the icon to launch it again.
ah ... slightly annoying. thanks for that. i had it enabled for all my machines because i like nautilus-driven desktop, but this is subtle and i didn't notice the effect it would have ... sooo, how can you have two directories open then? i see that it works by clicking on the desktop directories twice; couldn't the icon be made to launch nautilus in the same way (however that is)? C Anthony
On Mon, May 9, 2011 at 10:58 PM, C Anthony Risinger <anthony@extof.me> wrote:
sooo, how can you have two directories open then? i see that it works by clicking on the desktop directories twice; couldn't the icon be made to launch nautilus in the same way (however that is)?
Ctrl+Click on the launcher will open a new window. As will Right Click → New Window. Middle Click on the launcher will open a new window on a new workspace.
On 5/9/11, Jan Steffens <jan.steffens@gmail.com> wrote:
On Mon, May 9, 2011 at 10:58 PM, C Anthony Risinger <anthony@extof.me> wrote:
sooo, how can you have two directories open then? i see that it works by clicking on the desktop directories twice; couldn't the icon be made to launch nautilus in the same way (however that is)?
Ctrl+Click on the launcher will open a new window. As will Right Click → New Window. Middle Click on the launcher will open a new window on a new workspace.
Are there keyboard alternatives to any of these clicking options? Also, can gnome-tweak-tool be used without gnome-shell running? I had to uninstall gnome-shell because it was extremely inaccessible to the Orca screen reader. I understand this a11y problem will not be resolved until gnome 3.2 is released <sigh>.
On Tue, May 10, 2011 at 01:40, Steve Holmes <steve.holmes88@gmail.com>wrote:
Are there keyboard alternatives to any of these clicking options?
in the gnomeShell cheat sheet[1] it is only written "Most keybindings can be viewed under the User Menu -> System Settings -> Keyboard -> Shortcuts", although I don't know what they call 'User Menu'.
Also, can gnome-tweak-tool be used without gnome-shell running? I had to uninstall gnome-shell because it was extremely inaccessible to the Orca screen reader. I understand this a11y problem will not be resolved until gnome 3.2 is released <sigh>.
lets hope it will be. [1] http://live.gnome.org/GnomeShell/CheatSheet -- ======================================== This mail was sent using 100% recycled electrons ========================================
I have a desktop now. I didn't have to run gnome-shell or keep it permanenttly installed. This is what I did, and it should work for you as well. Go into a terminal and enter these commands: sudo pacman -S gnome-shell gnome-tweak-tool gnome-tweak-tool Now go to the second page from the bottom, I think it's called "file manager" or similar and tab to the button that speaks, "switch toggle button not pressed." Unfortunately, most of these buttons and dropdown boxes don't speak what they are, but this one is the only thing in that window. Press space to activate the button. Then you can just hit alt-f4 to close the window. You should be placed back in the terminal where you ran gnome-tweak-tool, where you now can run sudo pacman -R gnome-shell gnome-tweak-tool The next time you log in, you will have a Nautilus desktop nearly as you remember it from 2.32 and earlier. Orca will have a few problems, such as saying that every icon you land on is unselected and that you never have anything selected on your desktop when using the "where am I" function, but overall, it works. You also still won't be able to use alt-control-d to get to your desktop, but it seems to be in the panel list once again. Hope this helps get you up and running. ~Kyle
Although I agree that installing and uninstalling gnome-shell and gnome-tweak-tool is a way to get this done, I don't think it's the best, nor the easiest. There is an alternative, which seems to be easier IMO. In gnome-terminal you can run the next command as user: GSETTINGS_BACKEND=dconf gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background show-desktop-icons true It should be a single line, but Evolution is splitting it. You can revert, if you ever wish to do so, with: GSETTINGS_BACKEND=dconf gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background show-desktop-icons false Again, this should be a single line. This way neither gnome-shell, nor gnome-tweak-tool are needed. Besides, using this method, every single thing done in gnome-tweak-tool can be done without it, directly from the command line. -- <>< Sorin-Mihai Vârgolici
According to Sorin-Mihai Vârgolici: # GSETTINGS_BACKEND=dconf gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background show-desktop-icons true Wow! I wish I had known about this before I did all that extra stuff with gnome-tweek-tool, gnome-shell and pacman. :) Is there a good source of documentation for dconf and gsettings so I can find out what all I can set in this way? Also, does the configuration editor help with discovery of these settings? ~Kyle
We're supposed to read the release info and the man pages, but most of us don't. dconf-editor is intended to be used as gconf-editor was, and gsettings, is intended to replace gconftool-2, but for now, in most cases, they are still both in our systems, as it will take some time until all GNOME related applications will switch to dconf, if ever, though that's the ideea. gsettings, gconftool-2 and gconf-editor have man pages, but dconf-editor doesn't, though, is quite simple to get the ideea once it's started. If you start it from a terminal, don't mind the debug info. -- <>< Sorin-Mihai Vârgolici
On 05/11/2011 02:06 AM, Kyle wrote:
According to Sorin-Mihai Vârgolici: # GSETTINGS_BACKEND=dconf gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background show-desktop-icons true
Wow! I wish I had known about this before I did all that extra stuff with gnome-tweek-tool, gnome-shell and pacman. :) Is there a good source of documentation for dconf and gsettings so I can find out what all I can set in this way? Also, does the configuration editor help with discovery of these settings? ~Kyle
want to know something cool? you can even do profiling and customize gsettings using plain text files! https://live.gnome.org/dconf/SystemAdminstrators -- Ionuț
On 05/11/2011 08:26 AM, Ionut Biru wrote:
On 05/11/2011 02:06 AM, Kyle wrote:
According to Sorin-Mihai Vârgolici: # GSETTINGS_BACKEND=dconf gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background show-desktop-icons true
Wow! I wish I had known about this before I did all that extra stuff with gnome-tweek-tool, gnome-shell and pacman. :) Is there a good source of documentation for dconf and gsettings so I can find out what all I can set in this way? Also, does the configuration editor help with discovery of these settings? ~Kyle
want to know something cool? you can even do profiling and customize gsettings using plain text files!
/me hides correct link: https://live.gnome.org/dconf/SystemAdministrators -- Ionuț
According to Ionut Biru: # correct link: https://live.gnome.org/dconf/SystemAdministrators Some good stuff here. Thanks for the link. ~Kyle
On Wed, May 11, 2011 at 02:06, Kyle <kyle@gmx.ca> wrote:
[...] Is there a good source of documentation for dconf and gsettings so I can find out what all I can set in this way? Also, does the configuration editor help with discovery of these settings?
From the archwiki[1] there is this link http://blog.fpmurphy.com/2011/03/customizing-the-gnome-3-shell.html
there is also dconf-editor explained . [1] https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GNOME#Using_Gnome-tweak-tool
On Tue, May 10, 2011 at 6:34 PM, Filip Filipov <pilif.pilif@googlemail.com> wrote:
On Tue, May 10, 2011 at 01:40, Steve Holmes <steve.holmes88@gmail.com>wrote:
in the gnomeShell cheat sheet[1] it is only written "Most keybindings can be viewed under the User Menu -> System Settings -> Keyboard -> Shortcuts", although I don't know what they call 'User Menu'.
lets hope it will be.
[1] http://live.gnome.org/GnomeShell/CheatSheet
-- ======================================== This mail was sent using 100% recycled electrons ========================================
"user menu" seems to be what you see when you click your username on the top right corner of your desktop.
participants (13)
-
Auguste Pop
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C Anthony Risinger
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Filip Filipov
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Guillermo Leira
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Gunnar Meyer
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Ionut Biru
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Jan Steffens
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Kwpolska
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Kyle
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Mauro Santos
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Sorin-Mihai Vârgolici
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Steve Holmes
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Yaro Kasear