Linux in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition

The Panel

The GNOME panel can contain several different types of objects. The most obvious are the buttons for the menu and application launchers. You also can use a button to open a drawer , which is a subpanel containing additional launchers. There are a few special types of buttons used for logging out of the session and locking the screen. Finally, small programs called applets can be run on the panel. The Workspace Switcher, the Window List, and the clock are examples of panel applets.

As with many other things in GNOME, you can find settings for the panel by looking in the Panel menu under the GNOME menu, or by right-clicking on the panel itself. In both cases, there are options to add new launchers or applets to the panel; to adjust the style, size, and display of the panel; or to create new panels on the desktop. The menu panel does not have a properties dialog, as it is preconfigured. If you wish, you can remove it or replace it with an edge panel that is more to your liking.

Additional Panels

You can create more than one panel on your desktop. This is useful if you have different sets of applications used for specific but common tasks. For example, if you do a lot of work on graphics, you can dedicate a panel to launch your favorite graphics tools. To create a new panel, right-click on the default panel and select Add New Panel, or, from the GNOME menu, select Panel → Add New Panel. There are five different types of panels available from the submenu:

Edge panel

The style ...