Working with shortcuts in Linux (Ubuntu)

Hamish Taylor
Monday, 14 July 2008 19:19

Opinion and Analysis

By default there are a couple of small icons in the panel area. This is roughly equivalent to the "Quick Launch" area to the right of the Windows Start menu. These are small icons that are often the most used programs and are placed there for easy access.

So how do we add to those icons with our favourite applications? Personally, I add icons for Mozilla Thunderbird, a shortcut to the terminal (command line) and the calculator. It is really quite easy to do.

In the actual menu system, find the application you want to add to the panel, right-click on it, and select "Add this launcher to panel". Done!

However, you might want to move it around. In the panel area, right-click on the icon and select "Move". Drag it to where you want it, then click again to anchor it. You can also elect to "Lock to panel" which locks the position. For some of the icons to move, you'll need to untick that "Lock to panel" to move them around.

So there we have it: an introduction to working with shortcuts in Linux! As always feel free to leave feedback and comments. I do appreciate them all.