openSUSE Documentation
openSUSE 10.3 GNOME Quick Start / 3. Customizing Your Desktop
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3. Customizing Your Desktop

You can easily add, delete, and create shortcut icons on your desktop. You can also change icon properties and the desktop background to suit your needs.

3.1. Modifying Desktop Panels

The bottom panel can be customized to meet your individual needs, and additional panels can be configured to further personalize your desktop.

To add a new panel, right-click the bottom panel and select New Panel. To delete a panel, right-click the panel and select Delete This Panel. openSUSE requires that at least one panel be left on the desktop.

3.2. Adding and Removing Panel Icons

  1. Right-click a blank space on the panel and select Add to Panel.

  2. Browse to the desired program and double-click it to add it to the panel.

  3. To remove a program icon from a panel, right-click the icon and select Remove From Panel.

3.3. Adding Program Icons to Your Desktop

  1. Click Computer.

  2. Browse to the desired program.

  3. Click and drag the icon to the desktop and position it as desired.

To delete an icon from your desktop, simply click the program icon and press the Delete key on your keyboard.

3.4. Changing the Desktop Background

  1. Right-click the background.

  2. Select Change Desktop Background.

  3. To select wallpaper from the preprogrammed images, browse to and select the desired image. After you select it, the background changes automatically.

  4. To add an image, click Add, browse to the desired image, then click Open.

  5. To display a colored background, select No Wallpaper at the top of the list; then, from Colors, select the fill pattern and the desired colors.

  6. Click Close.

3.5. Using the GNOME Control Center

In addition to letting you change individual desktop elements, GNOME lets you extensively personalize your desktop. You can find more settings to adjust the overall appearance and behavior of your desktop in the GNOME Control Center. There, you can also change fonts, keyboard and mouse configurations, regional and language settings, parameters for your Internet and network usage, and more.

To start the Control Center, click Computer+Control Center on the right of the main menu.

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