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When we installed Linux Mint on our computer’s hard drive and booted into our new operating system, in contrast to what we are used to in Windows, we found the Linux desktop to be very stark. One reason for this is the rather plain, black wallpaper that is used by default. Another reason is the lack of desktop icons for installed applications. However, it is a simple matter to rectify both of these issues since Linux is extremely configurable.
To give the desktop an entirely different look, open the settings menu and select Backgrounds (Start > System Settings > Backgrounds). The images under the Linux Mint tab are mostly rather plain, black or green, geometric patterns. However, the Wilma tab contains a number of colourful images (Figure 1). Select one of these, such as Body of Water by Meiying Ng, and the desktop is immediately filled with an ethereal, blue image of mountains and water. Note also that the Pictures tab allows you to upload your own images for use as wallpaper. Similarly, icons that can be used to launch applications can easily be added to the desktop and the panel (the equivalent of the Windows taskbar). For example, I frequently use LibreOffice Writer and Calc so, rather than calling these up for the Linux menu, I establish icons on the desktop for the two programs. To do this, I launch the main menu and select the Office category which displays a list of the individual office applications that are installed. Right-clicking on LibreOffice Writer displays a context menu (Figure 2). This provides two particularly useful options: Add to desktop and Add to panel.
As the names indicate, these options place a program’s icon either on the desktop or the panel. The choice of which option to adopt is the user’s preference. Personally. I place icons on the panel for applications, such as my web browser and E-mail client, that I use very frequently. In contrast, icons for programs that are not used quite so much, such as Writer and Calc, are placed on the desktop. The only real difference is that an icon on the panel launches the associated program with a single click of the mouse while a desktop icon requires double clicking.
By default, placing icons on the desktop locates these icons in a vertical column along the left side of the display. The reason for this is that the desktop layout is initially set for auto-arrange and icons are placed on a predefined grid. To disable this feature, and allow placing individual icons in locations that we prefer, we can right-click on the desktop, select Customize, and toggle the Auto-arrange setting to off. Desktop icons can now be dragged and dropped into any desired location on the display, thus allowing similar applications to be grouped (Figure 3).
Another useful desktop setting can be accessed by launching the main menu, navigating to System Settings > Desktop > Desktop Icons, and activating the settings for Computer, Home, and Trash. Unlike Windows, Linux does not use drive letters for disks and disk partitions, rather these items have labels (e.g. DataDisk) and mount points (e.g. /media/DataDisk). Individual disks and partitions are effectively folders within the entire Linux file system. The Computer icon provides access, through the file manager, to the whole file system should this be required. Similarly, activating the Home icon displays the current user’s home folder where sub-folders such as Documents, Pictures, and Downloads are located. Since specific files can often be saved by default in one of these folders, Home provides easy access to the folder contents.
Like Windows, files that are deleted in Linux are generally not instantly removed from the file system but, instead, are moved to the Trash folder. Deleted files in this folder can be easily recovered should this prove necessary. The Trash folder can be accessed through the file manager and, for example, emptied to recover free disk space. However, having this folder readily available by selecting the on-screen Trash icon is much more convenient.
Using the above-noted methods, the Linux desktop can be customized to adopt a look-and-feel that is very similar to that to which we are accustomed in Windows. To make our Linux experience even more Windows-like, and especially for those of us who are used to having Microsoft Office available, our next foray into the customization of our new OS will be to see how to install Windows programs so that they run under Linux.