Exploring the JDS Linux Desktop

Chapter 3. Toward JDS Proficiency

In this chapter, you learn how to:

• Master the Nautilus browser, which provides convenient access to files and applications

• Do some customizations that can put some conveniences at your fingertips

• Set up printers, if they are not recognized automatically by JDS when it is installed

The first section of this chapter, Section 3.1, offers you some background that can help you handle situations that are just a bit out of the ordinary, such as when you’ve forgotten where some application placed a file, or when someone sends you a file that you don’t know how to handle. The material we present in this section is not critical for your immediate use. If something confuses you later, the background in the section may help.

Role of the Operating System

Regardless of the operating system you use, you need to know where things exist in the system, what they mean, and how to use them. If you switch to JDS from another desktop system, you won’t find everything in the same place. For example, Games has its own extended menu, unlike Windows, where it is often placed under Accessories. When you look for the Word Count in the Word Processor, you can find it under File → Properties, instead of Tools → Word Count.

But different systems have much deeper differences that can puzzle you until you are aware of them. For example, consider how different systems handle characters in filenames and folders:

• On Windows and the Macintosh, the case of letters does not matter. Mydoc