Chapter 3. Getting Acquainted with Cinnamon

By now, you should have a fully functional installation of Linux Mint ready to do your bidding. Whether you have already installed the distribution or you are running it from live media, Linux Mint is at your command. Right out of the box, you can browse the web, create and manage files, listen to music, watch movies, and even connect to and administer other machines. In the default installation, Mint includes everything you need to be productive. In this chapter, we'll explore the most popular Mint desktop environment (Cinnamon) and how to use and customize it.

In this chapter, we will discuss the following topics:

• What is Cinnamon?

• Logging in to Cinnamon

• Launching programs

• Task management

• Workspaces

• Notifications

• Creating launchers

• Bundled applications

• File management with Nemo

• Configuring Cinnamon settings

• Changing the default search engine in Firefox

• Changing the themes of the desktop

Getting familiar with Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a desktop environment. This is the term that the Linux community uses to describe a user interface thrown on top of the Linux kernel. With Linux, you don't actually need a desktop environment. In the case of Linux servers, it's not uncommon to see them with no user interface at all; instead, the administrator would rely on shell commands to configure and interact with a system. In fact, it's even possible to perform all the basic desktop functions (such as modifying files, listening to music, and browsing the web) using shell commands. These commands call programs that can run without a user interface. However, when using Linux on your desktop or laptop, installing a desktop environment makes things much simpler. Most distributions (such as Mint) include a desktop environment in the default installation. Nowadays, Linux desktop environments have become so efficient that terminal commands are no longer a necessity; you can operate your computer with...

Logging in to Cinnamon

When your Linux Mint computer has completed the start-up procedure, the first thing you'll see is the MDM (Mint Display Manager), which will allow you to log in to the system by providing the username and password that you created during the installation.

If you choose the option for automatic login during installation or if you are running Mint from live media (such as a USB stick or DVD), the MDM screen will be bypassed and you'll immediately be logged in to Cinnamon. If this is the case, feel free to move on to the next section and come back to this one if you need a run through of how the MDM functions.

Note

At first, the only user account you'll be able to log in with is the one that you created during installation. In Chapter 8, Managing Users and Permissions, the process of creating additional users will be explained.

When the MDM first appears, you will be shown a list of users on the left-hand side, and you will have an opportunity to type in your user name and...

Launching programs

Once you're logged in to Cinnamon, you're able to launch applications and start working. On the bottom-left side of the Cinnamon desktop, you'll see Menu, titled appropriately enough, next to an icon that looks like a gear. Clicking on this will launch Cinnamon's application menu, as shown in the following screenshot:

Note

If you have a Windows logo key on your keyboard, you can press this key to immediately launch the application menu without having to use your mouse.

The application menu in Cinnamon is not a simple menu; it's full of features designed to make it easy to find the items that you want. For example, if you already know the name of the application that you want to launch, you can start typing its name in the search box at the top of the window. This will narrow down a list of applications as you type. In addition, the Recent Files section will store the files that you've been working on lately, so you can get right back to work. Similarly, Places stores the...

Monitoring tasks

Managing running programs in Cinnamon is very similar to other user environments. Just like Mac OSX and Windows, there is a close, maximize, and minimize icon on the edge of the window border. On the bottom of the screen is a panel that shows a list of running applications as well as the date/time and messages from individual applications.

You may notice a few standalone icons on the left-hand side, next to the Menu icon. These are pinned applications similar to the quick-launch area of the Microsoft Windows taskbar. Here, you can store launchers for your favorite applications. By default, there is a Show Desktop button and program icons for Firefox, launching a Terminal, and opening Nemo. If you'd like to remove any of these, simply right-click on them and you'll have the option to do so. To add new pinned applications, right-click on the desired application within the application menu and click on Add to panel.

The typical use case of the Cinnamon desktop consists of a user...

Utilizing workspaces

So, what do you do when you have too many applications open? One of the most popular elements of most Linux desktops is the concept of workspaces. When your screen becomes full of applications, it can become hard to manage. Thankfully, you can separate applications into different workspaces, which are essentially additional Cinnamon screens that you can work with.

By default, Cinnamon has two workspaces available. To see this concept in action, simply move your mouse to the upper-left corner of your screen. This activates Expo Mode, which allows you to view and switch between your workspaces. At first, you should see two workspaces. The first is the one that you've been using all along; however, you'll also see a blank Cinnamon interface ready for your use. If you click on the second (blank) interface, you're brought into an entirely different workspace that is a blank slate. You can then launch applications inside this second workspace. These applications are not shown...

Notifications

At various times, you'll see several notifications while you use Mint. For example, you may see notifications such as updates are available to be installed, removable media has been inserted, how much battery power is remaining, or a wireless network has become available. Whenever an event occurs, the Cinnamon desktop will immediately display a notification in order to let you know.

Cinnamon will notify you in one of two places when a noteworthy event occurs. For example, you may see a notification bubble on the top-right corner of the screen when a wireless network becomes available or your machine is disconnected from a connection. If you miss a notification, don't worry. Each time a notification appears, it is stored in the panel for viewing later, underneath an icon that looks like a speech balloon, which is shown as follows:

Removable media notifications are handled a bit differently. If you insert media, such as a flash drive or DVD, a notification will not appear on screen...

Creating launchers

Some users may desire to have their favorite applications available on the desktop in the form of shortcut icons. The Cinnamon interface features two ways of creating launchers. These allow you to create icons to launch applications or commands.

The easiest way to create a launcher is to find the application in the application menu and right-click on it. One of the options that appears in this menu is Add to desktop, which will create the icon for you. Then, you can drag the icons to arrange them as you like.

Additionally, you can also create a launcher manually. This is useful if you cannot find the application in the menu or you'd like to create a custom icon different from the one available in the menu; to do so, right-click on an empty portion of the desktop and click on Create Launcher. A window will appear with some fields for you to fill out in order to create a launcher. However, since you'll need to know the command used to launch the application, this may be a...

Bundled applications

Although most of the applications bundled with Mint are not specific to Cinnamon, they are discussed here as each compliments the environment by providing a basic functionality. As discussed earlier, Mint includes just about everything you'll need to be productive immediately. Whether you want to browse the Web, check your e-mail, or watch movies, you're covered. In this section, we'll go through some of the noteworthy applications included out of the box. In Chapter 6, Installing and Removing Software, we'll run through the process of installing new applications, so you will get a chance to install some additional applications, discussed as follows, that will make your experience even more complete.

• Firefox: The default web browser in Mint is Mozilla Firefox, which is a great choice because it is cross platform (it's essentially the same Firefox that you can download for use with Windows and Mac OSX) and recognized in the industry. The main difference in Mint's version...

File management with Nemo

Every operating system has its method of managing saved files and browsing the filesystem; in Windows, it's File Explorer; in Mac OSX, Finder is used for this purpose; and in the case of Linux, there are many file managers. Each desktop environment has its own file management application. For example, the Xfce environment uses Thunar, KDE ships with Dolphin, GNOME features Files, and Cinnamon includes Nemo. There are others; however, we have a choice with Linux. In fact, it's not uncommon to see Linux users mix file managers or even install one that is completely separate, such as Krusader or Midnight Commander.

Nemo, Cinnamon's preference for file management, is a very capable file manager. With it, you can complete any task you'd normally perform in any other file manager. Copying, moving, renaming, and deleting files and folders is a breeze. In addition, you can browse network locations within Nemo as well. The following screenshot shows the Nemo file manager...

Configuring the settings of Cinnamon

Cinnamon is highly configurable; it's very easy to make it your own. You can customize everything from the theme all the way to power events such as choosing what happens when you close your lid (if you're using a laptop). Just about everything is customizable, thus making your installation of Mint truly your own. To get started with customizing your installation, open the System Settings application. You'll find it in the application menu under System Tools. By default, Mint has System Settings pinned on the left-hand side of the application menu for easy access. The following screenshot shows the Cinnamon System Settings application:

By default, not all categories are shown as System Settings will open in normal mode the first time you open it. In order to be able to access the complete array of settings, it's recommended that you switch to an advanced mode right away. To do so, click on the Switch to Advanced Mode link on the lower-left side of the...

Changing the default search engine in Firefox

In the preceding section, it was mentioned that the version of Firefox included with Mint differs from the others in the way that the search engine settings are configured. In this section, we'll walk you through the process.

Note

If you are already satisfied with Mint's default search engine (Yahoo), then there is no need for you to complete this activity. Feel free to skip it if you wish.

So, why does Mint use Yahoo as its default search engine? The main reason is revenue. Maintaining and developing a Linux distribution is a very expensive job. A lot of bandwidth is regularly consumed not only by those who are downloading the ISO image itself but also by the many updates that are released and regularly downloaded by its users. Yahoo shares revenue, which its users generate while searching online, with Linux Mint. This is one of the ways that Mint generates funding to keep itself going.

The process of changing the default search engine in Firefox...

Changing themes

One of the greatest aspects of Cinnamon is how customizable it is. Nearly every aspect of the environment can be changed, including (but not limited to) the colors of applications, desktop wallpaper, and even the theme of the Cinnamon interface itself.

To start customizing your environment, use the following steps:

1. Open System Settings and locate the Themes section in the first row.

2. A new menu will appear with three tabs: Installed, Get More Online, and Other Settings.

3. The Installed tab shows which Cinnamon themes are currently installed. If you've never customized themes before, you'll only have the two default themes listed (the following two screenshots). There is a green check mark next to the currently active theme.

4. Feel free to switch to the Cinnamon theme to see the changes right away. The colors of the panel as well as the application menu will change. Make note of the fact that the color of application windows (such as Nemo) did not change.

5. In the next tab, Get more online...

Summary

In this jam-packed chapter, the Cinnamon desktop environment was covered in depth. First, we explored what Cinnamon is and how it fits in with other desktop environments such as GNOME and KDE. Next, we discussed logging in to the environment and how to launch applications. We also covered task management, switching between workspaces, and notifications. In addition, some of the bundled applications were listed, Nemo was featured, and then we configured the Cinnamon settings and themes.

In the following chapter, we'll get started with executing shell commands in the terminal to boost your knowledge even further. We'll cover how to access the Linux shell, manage files without a GUI, navigate the filesystem, and more!