Translations by phantandy

To use a "root" terminal, type "sudo -i" at the command line.

The terminal is often called the command prompt or the shell. In days gone by, this was the way the user interacted with the computer, however Linux users have found that the use of the shell can be quicker than a graphical method and still holds some merit today. Here you will learn how to use the terminal.

Change Directories: - cd (/directory/location)

The <application>cp</application> (CoPy) command will copy any files you specify. The <application>cp -r</application> command will copy any directories you specify.

For a more thorough introduction to the Linux command line, please read the <ulink url="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BasicCommands">command line introduction</ulink> on the Ubuntu wiki.

There are six consoles available. Each one is accessible with the shortcut keys <keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>F1</keycap></keycombo> to <keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>F6</keycap></keycombo>.

To add users or groups to your system, you can use the <application>Users And Groups</application> application located in <menuchoice><guimenu>System</guimenu><guimenuitem>Administration</guimenuitem><guimenuitem>Users and Groups</guimenuitem></menuchoice> .

There are a number of places from which you can obtain help with your Ubuntu desktop system, these include:

<ulink url="http://help.ubuntu.com">The Ubuntu Documentation Website</ulink> - this contains this guide, and other guides produced by the Ubuntu Documentation Team for Ubuntu and Kubuntu.

<ulink url="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UserDocumentation">The Ubuntu Wiki</ulink> - this contains many guides contributed by the community.

<ulink url="http://www.ubuntu.com/community/forums">Web Forums</ulink> - here you can ask questions on a forum and receive answers from the forum community.

<ulink url="http://lists.ubuntu.com">Mailing Lists</ulink> - here you can ask questions by email, and receive answers from the mailing list community.

For more information, visit the <ulink url="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HowToGetHelp">How to Get Help</ulink> wiki page.

Ubuntu comes with the <application>Alacarte Menu Editor</application>, so you can customize your menus and add entries for applications that don't automatically appear after they are installed.

Sometimes it can be useful to start a program manually, for example when the program does not have an entry in the menu. This is easy to do with the <application>Run Applications</application> dialogue.

Open the <application>Run Applications</application> dialogue by typing: <keycombo><keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>F2</keycap></keycombo>

Choose <menuchoice><guimenu>System</guimenu><guimenuitem>Preferences</guimenuitem><guimenuitem>Sessions</guimenuitem></menuchoice> .

Browser mode is the default setting on Ubuntu, but you may wish to change this:

View remote SSH, FTP, and SFTP servers using <application>Nautilus</application>

Make sure the <application>Nautilus</application><guilabel>Location Bar</guilabel> is open (see <xref linkend="nautilus-location-bar"/>).

In the <guilabel>Location Bar</guilabel>, enter the following:

For SSH, use: <screen><phrase>ssh</phrase>://username@ssh.server.com</screen>

For FTP, use: <screen>ftp://username@ftp.server.com</screen>

For SFTP, use: <screen><phrase>sftp</phrase>://username@sftp.server.com</screen>

Replace username with your username and replace everything after the @ symbol with the server's address. You will be prompted for a password if needed. If there is no username (anonymous) omit the username and the @ symbol.

Alternatively, to specify your password manually, change one of the above like so: <screen>ftp://username:password@ftp.server.com</screen>

Change the default "Open with" program for a file type

In <application>Nautilus</application>, right click on the file and choose <menuchoice><guimenu>Properties</guimenu></menuchoice> from the menu that appears. The <guilabel>Properties</guilabel> dialog opens.

Click on the <guibutton>Open With</guibutton> tab. A list of applications appears.

Select the default application you want for the file type. If the application is not on the list, use the <guibutton>Add</guibutton> button to add the application to the list.

To enable support for opening files with administrative privileges from the file manager, you need to add a <emphasis>Nautilus script</emphasis>:

Please note that opening files with administrative privileges constitutes a security risk. Always ensure that you are familiar with the file that you are opening.

Insert the following lines into the new file:

This section describes how to install extra fonts from the Ubuntu archives.

For <emphasis role="bold">international fonts</emphasis>, install the following packages from the <emphasis>Universe</emphasis> repository (see <xref linkend="add-applications"/>):

For <emphasis role="bold">Microsoft TrueType core fonts</emphasis>, install the <application>msttcorefonts</application> package from the <emphasis>Multiverse</emphasis> repository (see <xref linkend="add-applications"/>).

Run: <screen> sudo ln -fs /usr/bin/rar /usr/bin/unrar</screen>

To open a rar file, double click on it.

For more information, visit the <ulink url="http://www.gdesklets.org/">gDesklets website</ulink>

To enable it again, run the command:

Show the Computer, Home, and Trash desktop icons in GNOME