How to Enable Local Menus in Ubuntu 14.04

Ubuntu 14.04 has recently been released and they now include a setting for enabling the local menus, allowing you to easily move the menu bar for each program to that program’s window rather than displaying the menu bar at the top of the screen.

We recently showed you how to disable the Global menu in Ubuntu 13.10. Now that Ubuntu 14.04 has a setting to do this, we will show you how to change this setting.

To enable the local menus, click the System Settings icon on the Unity bar.



On the System Settings dialog box, click the Appearance icon in the Personal section.



On the Appearance screen, click the Behavior tab. Under Show the menus for a window, click the In the window’s title bar option.



Click the X button in the upper-left corner to close the Settings dialog box.



The change is effective immediately. You do not need to log out or restart. The menu bar for each program is moved to the title bar of the respective program.



If you decide you want the Global menu back, simply change the setting to the In the menu bar option.

Note that, because the menu bar is on the title bar of each program, the menus disappear when the mouse is not on the title bar. Simply move the mouse over the title bar to access the menus.

source : http://www.howtogeek.com

How to Add a Taskbar to the Desktop in Ubuntu 14.04

If you’ve switched to Ubuntu from Windows, it may take some time to get used to the new and different interface. However, you can easily incorporate a familiar Windows feature, the Taskbar, into Ubuntu to make the transition easier.

A tool called Tint2 provides a bar at the bottom of the Ubuntu Desktop that resembles the Windows Taskbar. We will show you how to install it and make it start every time you log into Ubuntu.
NOTE: When we say to type something in this article and there are quotes around the text, DO NOT type the quotes, unless we specify otherwise.

Press Ctrl + Alt + T to open a Terminal window. To install Tint2, type the following line at the prompt and press Enter.

sudo apt-get install tint2

Type your password at the prompt and press Enter.



The progress of the installation displays and then a message displays saying how much disk space will be used. When asked if you want to continue, type a “y” and press Enter.



When the installation has finished, close the Terminal window by typing “exit” at the prompt and pressing Enter.



Click the Search button at the top of the Unity bar.



Start typing “startup applications” in the Search box. Items that match what you type start displaying below the Search box. When the Startup Applications tool displays, click the icon to open it.



On the Startup Applications Preferences window, click Add.



On the Add Startup Program dialog box, enter a name for the startup application. This name displays in the list on the Startup Applications Preferences window.

Type “tint2” in the Command edit box, enter a description in the Comment edit box, if desired, and click Add.



Tint2 is added as a startup program and will start every time you log into Ubuntu. Click Close to close the Startup Applications Preferences window.



Log out and log back in to make the Taskbar available on the desktop. You do not need to reboot the computer for this change to take effect.

Now, when you minimize a program, an icon for it displays on the Taskbar at the bottom of the screen, just like the Taskbar in Windows.



If you decide that you don’t want the Taskbar to display every time you log into Ubuntu, you can uncheck the Tint2 startup program on the Startup Applications Preferences window. You don’t need to delete it from the list.

source : http://www.howtogeek.com

How to Enable and Tweak Ubuntu’s Flashy Graphical Effects

Once upon a time, Linux desktops were full of wobbly windows, desktop cubes, and other over-the-top graphical effects. Ubuntu still includes the Compiz software that makes this possible, but it’s been toned down by default.

Ubuntu includes some basic graphical effects on its desktop, but provides no built-in option for enabling and tweaking more effects. All you need is a third-party tool to unlock the advanced features in Compiz.

This guide was written for Ubuntu 13.04, the latest version of Ubuntu at the time. Some of the steps or commands may be a bit different on other versions of Ubuntu.

Installing CCSM & More Plugins

To configure Compiz, we’ll need the CompizConfig Settings Manager, or CCSM. You’ll probably also want to install additional plug-ins for Compiz so you have more advanced effects to play with.
To install CCSM and the extra plug-ins, just open a Terminal window — you’ll find the Terminal application in Ubuntu’s Dash — and run the following commands:

sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager compiz-plugins-extra

Enter your password, type Y when prompted to confirm, and Ubuntu will automatically download and install the appropriate software.

Using CCSM

You can now open the CompizConfig Settings Manager application and use it to configure Compiz. Just open the dash and search for CCSM or Compiz to find and launch it.

CCSM warns us that it’s an advanced tool that we could use to break our Compiz configuration. If you do manage to break your Compiz desktop, you can fix it by resetting it to its default values — we’ll cover that later.

CCSM provides a long list of different plug-ins. You should leave “system” plug-ins like “Gnome compatibility,” “Copy to texture,” and “PNG” alone. The most interesting plug-ins for configuring desktop bling are found under the Desktop and Effects categories.



To enable a plug-in, just click the check-box to the left of it. To configure an enabled plug-in, click its name. Different plug-ins have a wide variety of different options — everything from different animations to customizable speeds and hotkeys, depending on the plug-in.

Enabling Wobbly Windows

Check the Wobbly Windows checkbox under Effects and you’ll be prompted to disable the Snapping Windows plug-in.



Enabling wobbly windows is that simple — your windows will now appear to wobble as you drag them, as if they were made of jello. It looks better animated.



If you wanted to configure this plug-in more, you could click the Wobbly Windows name and adjust a variety of settings, such as the key that makes windows snap to the edges of the screen when held — Shift by default — and even the friction value.

Using the Desktop Cube

The desktop cube requires Ubuntu’s workspaces to be enabled. First, open the Appearance tool from Ubuntu’s Dash and check the Enable Workspaces option.



To use the desktop cube, which uses an animated cube-rotation effect when you switch between virtual desktops, as if each of your virtual desktops is located on the side of a three-dimensional cube, enable the Rotate Cube checkbox. You’ll be prompted to enable the Desktop Cube plug-in and disable the Desktop Wall plug-in, which is used by default.



You’ll now need to click the General Options button in the General section.



Click over to the Desktop Size tab, set Horizontal Virtual Size to 4, Vertical Virtual Size to 1, and Number of Desktops to 4.



Your desktop cube should now be working. Use Ctrl+Alt+Left or Right to switch between cube faces, press Shift+Ctrl+Alt+Left or Right to move windows between cube faces, or hold down Ctrl+Alt and left-click drag to manually rotate around your cube.

Other Plugins

Some plugins are more practical than others. For example, the Water Effect plug-in allows you to hold Ctrl+Super (Super is the Windows key) and move your mouse to create a water-rippling effect that follows your mouse. It also allows you to press Shift+F9 to toggle a rain effect that makes your desktop appear as a pond rippling as raindrops fall on it.



You’ll find many other plug-ins in CCSM for everything from adding enhanced zoom functions for accessibility to painting fire on your screen for no other reason than to show off. Feel free to explore the available plug-ins and options.

Resetting Compiz to its Default Settings

When you’re done messing around — or if you managed to break something — you may want to go back to Ubuntu’s default Compiz settings.
To do so, press Ctrl+Alt+T to open a terminal window. This keyboard shortcut may even work if your desktop is somewhat broken.
Run the following command in the terminal window:

dconf reset -f /org/compiz/

Log out of your Ubuntu desktop, and then log back in — Compiz should be functioning just like it was after you installed Ubuntu.

source : http://www.howtogeek.com