Tour of Unity in Ubuntu 13.10

The default desktop environment for Ubuntu 13.10 is the Unity Desktop. Unity is know for being a simple and basic but yet good looking desktop environment. Unity is what you will log into when you enter your username and password in Ubuntu 13.10. This article will show you around the basics of the Unity Desktop Environment in Ubuntu 13.10.

Once you have logged in to Ubuntu 13.10, you will be taken to the Unity desktop environment. In the top right corner you will see a small icon that looks like a gear. If you click on this icon you will have the options to shut down, restart, suspend, and logout. You also have the ability to switch user accounts and view your system settings.

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Next to the system gear icon is the time. If you click on the time I small calendar will open up as shown below.

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Beside the calendar icon, you will find the sound indicator. If you click on the sound indicator icon you will be able to adjust your system volume as shown below.

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You also find the network indicator icon, which will allow you to connect to wireless networks if applicable and other networking tasks.

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On the left you will find a bar which is called the launcher. This is similar to the Windows quick launcher. Here you will be able to click on the icons of programs to open them. You can right click on icons and unlock them from the launcher. You can also open a program and right-click on the icon to lock it to the launcher. On the bottom of the launcher you will find a trashcan which works similar to the recycle bin in Windows.

On the top of the launcher you will find an icon that has the Ubuntu logo. Clicking on this icon will open up the Dash as shown below.

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At the bottom of the Dash, you’ll find seven small icons that are called lenses. As you click on each icon it will narrow down your search results based on the type of lens you have selected.

The first icon is the home lens. It will show you everything in your search. The next icon is the applications lens. It will narrow down your search to only applications. The next lens is the documents lens. It will narrow down your search to only files and documents. The next 3 icons are the videos, music, and photos lenses. The last icon is the social network messages lens.

Screenshots of each lens is shown below.

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If you go back to the desktop and click on the icon in the launcher that looks like a file cabinet you will be taken to your home folder. Your home folder is similar to your user folder in Windows. In your home folder you will find your downloads, music, pictures, and more. A screenshot of the home folder is shown below.

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When you have an application open, in order to close the application you will have to click on the little red icon with the next on the far top left of the application. If you want to minimize the application then you will click on the middle icon and if you want to maximize the application then you will click on the icon to the far right that looks like a box.

The last thing to go over in this tour is the program menus. When you have an application open the panel at the top that has the icons on the right will also have the menus such as file and edit located in it. An example of this is shown below.

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This concludes the end of the tour of Unity in Ubuntu 13.10. If you have any questions or comments don’t hesitate to leave a comment below. Also, if you found this article helpful please like and share so that other people can find it more easily.