KandZ – Tuts

We like to help…!

Gnome HowTo 9 🐧 Basic Navigation Part 2

9. Basic Navigation Part 2

🧭 1. How-To Create and Manage Workspaces in GNOME 48

✅ Steps:

  1. Open Overview: Press the Super key.
  2. Create: Drag any window to the right side of the workspace strip at the top. GNOME will always keep one empty workspace ready for you.
  3. Delete: Simply close or move all windows out of a workspace; it will disappear on its own.
  4. Manage Settings: Go to Settings > Multitasking to switch from “Dynamic” to a “Fixed” number of workspaces.

🧭 2. How-To Move Applications Between Workspaces

✅ Steps:

  1. Open the Activities Overview (Super).
  2. Drag and drop an open window from one workspace to another.
  3. Or while focused on a window:
    • Press Super + Shift + PgUp/PgDn to move it to adjacent workspaces.
  4. Right-click on the title bar of any window → select “Move to Workspace” → choose your desired workspace.

🧭 3. How-To Switch Between Workspaces

✅ Steps:

  1. Touchpad (Smoothest): Swipe left or right with three fingers to slide between workspaces instantly.
  2. Keyboard Shortcuts:
    1. Super + PgUp / PgDn: The default way to move left/right.
    2. Super + 1, 2, 3…: Jump directly to a specific workspace.
  3. Activities Overview: Press Super and click a workspace thumbnail at the top of the screen.

🧭 4. How-To Customize Workspace Behavior

✅ Steps:

  1. Go to Settings > Multitasking.
  2. Choose between:
    • Dynamic: Automatically adds new workspaces when needed.
    • Fixed: Manually manage how many workspaces exist.
  3. Set the number of workspaces you want visible at once under “Number of Workspaces”.

🧭 5. How-To Minimize All Windows Quickly

✅ Steps:

  1. Press Super + M to minimize all open windows.
  2. Alternatively, press Super + D to show desktop and hide all windows.

💡 Tip: You can reverse this by pressing the same key combination again or using the window controls.

🧭 6. How-To Launch Applications Using Keyboard Shortcuts

✅ Steps:

  1. Press Super to open the Activities Overview.
  2. App Grid: Press Super + A to see all installed apps. Use arrow keys to navigate and Enter to open.
  3. The Dock (Dash): Press Super + 1, 2, 3… to launch apps pinned to your favorites bar (from left to right).

🧭 7. How-To Access Grid View of All Applications

✅ Steps:

  1. Press Super + A in GNOME 48 to open the Applications view.
  2. This shows a grid layout of all installed applications.
  3. You can also access this from the Activities Overview by clicking on the “Applications” tab.

🧭 8. How-To Lock Your Screen Using Keyboard Shortcut

✅ Steps:

  1. Press Super + L to instantly lock your screen.
  2. This is useful for security or taking a quick break.

🧭 9. How-To Use Alt+Tab to Switch Between Open Windows

✅ Steps:

  1. Press and hold Alt and repeatedly press Tab to cycle through open windows.
  2. Release both keys when you reach the desired window.
  3. Use Shift + Tab to go backward in the cycle.

🧭 10. How-To Double-Click Title Bar to Maximize/Restore Window

✅ Steps:

  1. Click the title bar of any open window once to focus it.
  2. Double-click the title bar to maximize or restore the window.
  3. This is a default behavior in GNOME 48.

🧭 11. How-To Close a Window Using Keyboard Shortcut

✅ Steps:

  1. Press Alt + F4 while focused on a window to close it.
  2. Alternatively, click the close button (X) at the top-right corner of the window.

🧭 12. How-To See Thumbnails of All Open Windows for a Specific App

✅ Steps:

  1. Activities Overview: Press the Super key.
  2. The Dock (Dash): Right-click any app icon in the dock to see a list of its open windows.
  3. App Icon Click: Simply click the icon of an already-running app in the dock; GNOME will automatically zoom into a workspace view showing only that app’s windows.
  4. Keyboard Toggle: Press Alt + Tab to find the app, then press the Down Arrow or Alt + ` to expand its specific windows.

🧭 13. How-To Jump Directly to Workspace Number 3

✅ Steps:

  1. If Super + Number is currently launching apps from your Dock (Dash) instead of switching workspaces:
  2. Open Settings > Keyboard.
  3. Select View and Customize Shortcuts.
  4. Navigate to Navigation.
  5. Ensure “Switch to workspace 1, 2, 3…” are mapped to your preferred keys.

🧭 14. How-To Add or Remove Workspaces via GNOME Settings

✅ Steps:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go to Workspaces > Behavior.
  3. Toggle between “Dynamic” and “Fixed”.
  4. Adjust the number of workspaces shown at once if needed.

🧭 15. How-To Customize Keyboard Shortcuts in GNOME

✅ Steps:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Navigate to Keyboard > View and Customize Shortcuts.
  3. Find the shortcut you want to change, click it, and press the new key combination.
  4. Confirm changes by clicking outside or pressing Enter.

🧭 16. How-To Install Extensions to Improve Navigation (e.g., Workspace Grid)

✅ Steps:

  1. Visit extensions.gnome.org.
  2. Search for “Workspace Grid” or other navigation-related extensions.
  3. Click the switch toggle to enable the extension.
  4. Some extensions may require restarting GNOME Shell (Alt + F2, then type r and press Enter).

🧭 17. How-To Add Quick Access Tools to Panel (Navigation Enhancements)

✅ Steps:

  1. Install Extension Manager: Open your terminal and run sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-manager (Ubuntu) or sudo dnf install extension-manager (Fedora).
  2. Search for Tools: Open the Extension Manager app, click the Browse tab, and search for:
    1. Dash to Panel: Merges the dock and top bar into a single Windows-style taskbar.
    2. Workspace Indicator: Adds a clickable number or icons to the panel to switch workspaces.
    3. Window List: Adds a classic bar at the bottom showing all open windows.
  3. Enable: Click Install. The tool will appear on your panel immediately.
  4. Configure: Click the Gear icon next to the extension in the “Installed” tab to customize its position and behavior.

🧭 18. How-To Use Super + Page Up/Down to Navigate Workspaces Vertically

✅ Steps:

  1. Install Extension Manager.
  2. Search for and install “V-Shell”.
  3. In the extension settings, set Workspace Orientation to Vertical.

Leave a Reply