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Questions tagged [gnome]

This is a very general tag that should only be used for questions referring to GNOME in general and not a specific component. GNOME (GNU Network Object Model Environment) is a collection of GTK-based software that provides the desktop environment GNOME Shell.

GNOME Shell is a GTK-based desktop environment, and it's one of the most well-known desktop environments available.

screenshot showing a graphical desktop with GNOME Shell Screenshot showing GNOME Shell 44 (released in March 2023).

Use of the tag

Use it when asking about the the GNOME desktop environment as a whole, how to run non-native gnome applications in GNOME, general configuration and behavior change.

If you want to ask about or some other GNOME application, use that as a tag instead.

Key Features

  • Automatic workspace management

    At any given moment, it only keeps open as many workspaces as you have active windows on, plus an extra empty one to start more windows. When you remove all the windows from a workspace, that workspace will be removed until you need it again.

  • Extensions

    GNOME Shell and its functionality and interface can be extended or modified through the use of extensions. For more information on how to install these extensions, see How to install GNOME Shell extensions.

  • Messaging Tray

    GNOME Shell provides a uniform interface for messages, notifications, and alerts. It allows the user to stay focused on the primary task and have controllable information display. It also provides a lightweight interface to background operations.

System requirements

Minimum

  • Processor - 1 GHz (x86)
  • Memory - 1.5 MB
  • Hard drive capacity - 7 GB
  • Video card - VGA @ 640x480

Recommended

  • Processor - better than 1 GHz (x86)
  • Memory - 1.5 GB
  • Hard drive capacity - 10 GB
  • Video card - VGA @ 1024x768

How to install

Click this link to install the gnome-shellInstall GNOME Shell package, find it in the Ubuntu Software Center/Software app, or type sudo apt-get install gnome-shell in a terminal. There are more instructions at How do I install and use the latest version of GNOME?

Sources

11148 questions
88
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4 answers

Why are .goutputstream-xxxxx files created in home folder?

I find a lot of files with names of the like .goutputstream-xxxxx where xxxxx are some alphanumeric characters. Here is a screenshot of the home folder Any idea why I should keep these or can I remove and also stop further creation?
John Eipe
  • 2,077
25
votes
1 answer

How to get a normal application menu in the top- or titlebar in Gnome

I am very sorry to see Unity disappear - for me it is the best Linux desktop interface. I am now trying if Gnome is workable for me. One thing I hate about gnome is that it does not show the application menu in either the top- or the title…
FvEldijk
  • 357
22
votes
6 answers

How do I change the date format in Gnome 3 shell?

I want to change the date/time format on the top panel to a format close to RFC 3339 / ISO 8601, like one of these: %F %T → 2013-06-24 16:13:00 %F %a %T → 2013-06-24 Mon 16:13:00 %A %F %T → Monday 2013-06-24 16:13:00 I know Unity has a preference…
James Haigh
  • 867
22
votes
4 answers

How do I disable Ctrl-Alt-D in gnome-shell?

I am using gnome 3 and gnome-shell (not gnome classic) on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS with emacs. I would like to use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+D with emacs, however whenever I hit that keystroke, gnome intercepts it and hides all windows. I have tried…
cg505
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2 answers

How can I kill/close an 'orphaned' window?

I've been running some Python scripts to graph some stuff and occasionally I'll lose track of what windows it spawned and just kill it with ^Z. However, unlike in Windows, the associated windows don't die; they stick around and cannot be…
Nick T
  • 2,483
20
votes
4 answers

How to set the desktop to $HOME/Desktop?

Recently I deleted the folder Desktop from my $HOME directory. When I logged in again all files and directories in $HOME were shown on the desktop. So I wanted to get the folder back. What is the recommended way to achieve this? I edited…
qbi
  • 19,125
18
votes
1 answer

How to turn off Sticky Edges in Ubuntu Gnome

When I used Unity, I remember seeing the setting for the Sticky Edges in Settings -> Displays, but I can't find that option in Gnome. Where can I turn on/off Sticky Edges in Gnome?
Pedro Gordo
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10 answers

How can I disable the Universal Access Settings icon?

In Gnome 3 on the top right corner I have this universal access icon with all these options which I am not intending to use in the meanwhile. How can I disable/hide the useless for me icon there?
topless
  • 7,365
14
votes
1 answer

How to create an Ask Ubuntu search button in gnome-shell?

On the overview in gnome-shell, there are two search buttons for Google and Wikipedia. Is it possible to create a similar button for Ask Ubuntu?
jokerdino
  • 41,320
14
votes
2 answers

How can I add a custom launcher to favourites in Gnome Shell?

How can I add a custom launcher to favourites in gnome 3.8. I would like to put a laucher for wow
Rose-Marie Paradis
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14
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3 answers

GNOME 3, maximize, un-maximize window

I used to be able to use ALT+F9, ALT+10... how can I restore this on GNOME3, ubuntu 12.04?
Robottinosino
  • 1,231
13
votes
2 answers

How to remove GNOME completely?

I want make my installed Ubuntu as light as possible to launch only on 256MB RAM machine (VirtualBox)? So I'm thinking about removing GNOME and related components completely. How can I do that? This link does not help…
Mohammad Ali Akbari
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13
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3 answers

Can the Gnome 3.6 notification area be shrinked?

I find the GNOME Shell 3.6 changes to the message tray irritating. Is there a way to switch the message tray to the old model or to at least shrink the items and stop it from pushing the entire desktop when being summoned?
Vagrant232
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How to open new window instead of already open window in gnome

When I have e.g. Firefox open and I press the Super key, type 'firefox' my existing window is shown. Can I change this to open a new window, instead of the already opened? Thanks.
LEDfan
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Can I add a personal launcher to favourite toolbox in GNOME Shell?

I've installed Ubuntu 11.10. Is it possible to add a personal launcher to favorite toolbox in GNOME Shell 3.2? I've installed Firefox from pre-compiled binaries and Longman dictionary but cannot manage to add launcher to favorites.
Luigi
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