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+Copyright © 2010–2016 by The Ubuntu Manual Team. Some rights reserved.
+c b a
+This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution–Share
+Alike 3.0 License. To view a copy of this license, see Appendix A, visit
+http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, or send a letter to Creative
+Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105,
+USA.
+Getting Started with Ubuntu 16.04 can be downloaded for free from http://
+ubuntu-manual.org/ or purchased from http://ubuntu-manual.org/buy/
+gswu1604/en_US. A printed copy of this book can be ordered for the price
+of printing and delivery. We permit and even encourage you to distribute a
+copy of this book to colleagues, friends, family, and anyone else who might
+be interested.
+http://ubuntu-manual.org
+Revision number: 125
+Revision date: 2016-05-03 22:38:45 +0200
+Contents
+Prologue
+5
+Welcome
+5
+Ubuntu Philosophy
+5
+A brief history of Ubuntu
+6
+Is Ubuntu right for you?
+7
+Contact details
+8
+About the team
+8
+Conventions used in this book
+8
+1
+Installation
+9
+Getting Ubuntu
+9
+Trying out Ubuntu
+10
+Installing Ubuntu—Getting started
+11
+Finishing Installation
+16
+2
+The Ubuntu Desktop
+19
+Understanding the Ubuntu desktop
+19
+Unity
+19
+The Launcher
+21
+The Dash
+21
+Workspaces
+24
+Managing windows
+24
+Unity’s keyboard shortcuts
+26
+Browsing files on your computer
+26
+Files file manager
+27
+Searching for files and folders on your computer
+29
+Customizing your desktop
+30
+Accessibility
+32
+Session options
+33
+Getting help
+34
+3
+Working with Ubuntu
+37
+All the applications you need
+37
+Getting online
+39
+Browsing the web
+46
+Reading and composing email
+55
+Using instant messaging
+59
+Microblogging
+64
+Viewing and editing photos
+65
+Watching videos and movies
+68
+Listening to audio and music
+69
+Burning cds and dvds
+73
+Working with documents, spreadsheets, and presentations
+77
+4
+Hardware
+79
+Using your devices
+79
+Hardware identification
+79
+Displays
+79
+4
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Connecting and using your printer
+81
+Sound
+82
+Using a webcam
+83
+Scanning text and images
+84
+Keyboard and mouse
+84
+Other devices
+85
+5
+Software Management
+87
+Software management in Ubuntu
+87
+Using Software Center
+88
+Managing additional software
+91
+Manual software installation
+94
+Updates and upgrades
+94
+6
+Advanced Topics
+97
+Ubuntu for advanced users
+97
+Introduction to the terminal
+97
+Ubuntu file system structure
+99
+Securing Ubuntu
+100
+Why Ubuntu is safe
+100
+Basic security concepts
+101
+Users and groups
+101
+System updates
+104
+Firewall
+104
+Encryption
+105
+Running Windows Programs on Ubuntu
+106
+7
+Troubleshooting
+111
+Resolving problems
+111
+Troubleshooting guide
+111
+Getting more help
+116
+8
+Learning More
+117
+What else can I do with Ubuntu?
+117
+Open source software
+117
+Distribution families
+117
+Choosing amongst Ubuntu and its derivatives
+118
+Finding additional help and support
+120
+The Ubuntu community
+121
+Contributing
+122
+A
+License
+123
+Creative Commons Attribution–ShareAlike 3.0 Legal Code
+123
+Creative Commons Notice
+129
+Glossary
+131
+Credits
+135
+Index
+137
+Prologue
+Welcome
+Welcome to Getting Started with Ubuntu, an introductory guide written to
+help new users get started with Ubuntu.
+Our goal is to cover the basics of Ubuntu (such as installation and work-
+ing with the desktop) as well as hardware and software management, work-
+ing with the command line, and security. We designed this guide to be
+simple to follow, with step-by-step instructions and plenty of screenshots,
+allowing you to discover the potential of your new Ubuntu system.
+Canonical releases new versions of Ubuntu every six months; every
+fourth release is a so-called long-term support (lts) version. Each Ubuntu
+release has a version number that consists of the year and month number
+of the release, and an alliterative code name using an adjective and an an-
+imal. Code names are in consecutive alphabetic order, allowing a quick
+determination of which release is newer. Ubuntu 16.04 (code-named Xenial
+Xerus) is considered a so-called lts version and is supported by Canon-
+ical with patches and upgrades for five years. The previous lts version
+is Ubuntu 14.04 (Trusty Tahr), and has support for five years (until April
+2019). Whenever a new LTS version of Ubuntu is released, we will incorpo-
+rate updates and changes into our guide, and make a new version available
+at http://www.ubuntu-manual.org.
+Getting Started with Ubuntu 16.04 is not intended to be a comprehensive
+Ubuntu instruction manual. It is a quick-start guide that will get you do-
+ing the things you need to do with your computer easily, without getting
+bogged down with technical details. With the help of this guide, it should
+not take long before new users get used to the Unity desktop environment.
+Unity includes the Launcher, the Dash, the hud, indicators, and an on-
+screen display notification system (osd). All these features will be explained
+in this guide.
+For more detailed information on any aspect of the Ubuntu desktop, see
+the “Ubuntu Desktop Guide,” which can be obtained in any of the following
+ways:
+‣ in the Dash, type help.
+‣ in the indicator area, click Session indicator ‣ Ubuntu Help.
+‣ go to https://help.ubuntu.com, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS ‣ Desktop HTML.
+There are also many excellent resources available on the Internet. For
+example, on https://help.ubuntu.com you will find documentation on in-
+stalling and using Ubuntu. At the Ubuntu Forums (http://ubuntuforums.org)
+and Ask Ubuntu (http://askubuntu.com), you will find answers to many
+Ubuntu-related questions.
+You can find more information about Ubuntu’s
+online and system documentation in Chapter 8:
+Learning More.
+If something isn’t covered in this manual, chances are you will find the
+information you are looking for in one of those locations. We will try our
+best to include links to more detailed help wherever we can.
+Ubuntu Philosophy
+The term “Ubuntu” is a traditional African concept originating from the
+Bantu languages of southern Africa. It can be described as a way of con-
+People sometimes wonder how to pronounce
+Ubuntu. Each u is pronounced the same as in
+the word put except for the last u which is
+pronounced the same as in the word due.
+6
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+necting with others—living in a global community where your actions
+affect all of humanity. Ubuntu is more than just an operating system: it is
+a community of people coming together voluntarily to collaborate on an
+international software project that aims to deliver the best possible user
+experience.
+The Ubuntu Promise
+‣ Ubuntu will always be free of charge, along with its regular enterprise
+releases and security updates.
+‣ Ubuntu comes with full commercial support from Canonical and hun-
+dreds of companies from across the world.
+‣ Ubuntu provides the best translations and accessibility features that the
+free software community has to offer.
+‣ Ubuntu’s core applications are all free and open source. We want you to
+use free and open source software, improve it, and pass it on.
+A brief history of Ubuntu
+Ubuntu was conceived in 2004 by Mark Shuttleworth, a successful South
+African entrepreneur, and his company Canonical. Shuttleworth recognized
+To learn more about Canonical, go to http://
+www.canonical.com.
+the power of Linux and open source, but was also aware of weaknesses that
+prevented mainstream use.
+Shuttleworth set out with clear intentions to address these weaknesses
+and create a system that was easy to use, completely free (see Chapter 8:
+Learning More for the complete definition of “free”), and could compete
+with other mainstream operating systems. With the Debian system as a
+base, Shuttleworth began to build Ubuntu. Using his own funds at first,
+Debian is the Linux operating system that
+Ubuntu is based upon. For more information
+visit http://www.debian.org/.
+installation cds were pressed and shipped worldwide at no cost to the
+recipients. Ubuntu spread quickly, its community grew rapidly, and soon
+Ubuntu became the most popular Linux distribution available.
+With more people working on the project than ever before, its core
+features and hardware support continue to improve, and Ubuntu has gained
+the attention of large organizations worldwide.
+While large organizations often find it useful to pay for support services,
+For information on Ubuntu Server Edition,
+and how you can use it in your company, visit
+http://www.ubuntu.com/server.
+Shuttleworth has promised that the Ubuntu desktop operating system
+will always be free. Ubuntu is installed on an estimated 2% of the world’s
+computers. This equates to tens of millions of users worldwide, and is
+growing each year. As there is no compulsory registration, the percentage
+of Ubuntu users should be treated as an estimate.
+What is Linux?
+Ubuntu is built on the foundation of Linux, which is a member of the Unix
+family. Unix is one of the oldest types of operating systems, and together
+with Linux has provided reliability and security for professional applica-
+tions for almost half a century. Many servers around the world that store
+data for popular websites (such as YouTube and Google) run some variant
+of Linux or Unix. The popular Android system for smartphones is a Linux
+variant; modern in-car computers usually run on Linux. Even OS X is based
+on Unix. The Linux kernel is best described as the core—almost the brain
+—of the Ubuntu operating system.
+The Linux kernel is the controller of the operating system; it is responsi-
+prologue
+7
+ble for allocating memory and processor time. It can also be thought of as
+the program which manages any and all applications on the computer itself.
+While modern graphical desktop environments have generally replaced
+early command line interfaces, the command line can still be a quick and
+efficient way of performing many tasks. See Chapter 6: Advanced Topics
+for more information, and Chapter 2: The Ubuntu Desktop to learn more
+about gnome and other desktop environments.
+Linux was designed from the ground up with security and hardware
+compatibility in mind, and is currently one of the most popular Unix-based
+operating systems. One of the benefits of Linux is that it is incredibly flex-
+ible and can be configured to run on almost any device—from the smallest
+micro-computers and cellphones to the largest super-computers. Unix was
+entirely command line-based until graphical user interfaces (guis) emerged
+in 1973 (in comparison, Apple came out with Mac os ten years later, and
+Microsoft released Windows 1.0 in 1985).
+The early guis were difficult to configure, clunky, and generally only
+used by seasoned computer programmers. In the past decade, however,
+graphical user interfaces have grown in usability, reliability, and appear-
+ance. Ubuntu is one of many different Linux distributions.
+To learn more about Linux distributions, see
+Chapter 8: Learning More.
+Is Ubuntu right for you?
+New users to Ubuntu may find that it takes some time to feel comfortable
+when trying a new operating system. You will no doubt notice many sim-
+ilarities to both Microsoft Windows and OS X as well as some differences.
+Users coming from OS X are more likely to notice similarities due to the fact
+that both OS X and Ubuntu originated from Unix. The Unity shell, which
+is the default in Ubuntu, is a completely new concept, which needs some
+exploring to get used to it. See Chapter 2: The Ubuntu Desktop for more
+information about the Unity shell.
+Before you decide whether or not Ubuntu is right for you, we suggest
+giving yourself some time to grow accustomed to the way things are done
+in Ubuntu. You should expect to find that some things are different from
+what you are used to. We also suggest taking the following into account:
+Ubuntu is community based. That is, Ubuntu is developed, written, and
+maintained by the community. Because of this, support is probably
+not available at your local computer store. Fortunately, the Ubuntu
+community is here to help. There are many articles, guides, and manuals
+available, as well as users on various Internet forums and Internet Relay
+Chat (irc) rooms that are willing to assist beginners. Additionally, near
+the end of this guide, we include a troubleshooting chapter: Chapter 7:
+Troubleshooting.
+Many applications designed for Microsoft Windows or OS X will not run on
+Ubuntu. For the vast majority of everyday computing tasks, you will
+find suitable alternative applications available in Ubuntu. However,
+many professional applications (such as the Adobe Creative Suite) are
+not developed to work with Ubuntu. If you rely on commercial software
+that is not compatible with Ubuntu, yet still want to give Ubuntu a try,
+you may want to consider dual-booting. Alternatively, some applications
+To learn more about dual-booting (running
+Ubuntu side-by-side with another operating
+system), see Chapter 1: Installation.
+developed for Windows will work in Ubuntu with a program called
+Wine. For more information on Wine, see Chapter 6: Advanced Topics.
+Many commercial games will not run on Ubuntu. If you are a heavy gamer,
+then Ubuntu may not be for you. Game developers usually design games
+8
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+for the largest market. Since Ubuntu’s market share is not as substantial
+as Microsoft’s Windows or Apple’s OS X, fewer game developers allocate
+resources towards making their games compatible with Linux. If you just
+See Chapter 5: Software Management to learn
+more about Ubuntu Software.
+enjoy a game every now and then, there are many high quality games
+that can be easily installed through the Ubuntu Software application.
+There are also a lot of games available at http://store.steampowered.com/
+browse/linux/.
+Contact details
+Many people have contributed their time to this project. If you notice any
+errors or think we have left something out, feel free to contact us. We do
+everything we can to make sure that this manual is up to date, informative,
+and professional. Our contact details are as follows:
+‣ Website: http://www.ubuntu-manual.org/
+‣ Reader feedback: feedback@ubuntu-manual.org
+‣ irc: #ubuntu-manual on irc.freenode.net
+‣ Bug Reports: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu-manual/+filebug
+‣ Mailing list: ubuntu-manual@lists.launchpad.net
+About the team
+Our project is an open-source, volunteer effort to create and maintain qual-
+ity documentation for Ubuntu and its derivatives.
+Want to help?
+We are always looking for talented people to work with, and due to the size
+of the project we are fortunate to be able to cater to a wide range of skill
+sets:
+‣ Authors and editors
+‣ Programmers (Python or T
+EX)
+‣ User interface designers
+‣ Icon and title page designers
+‣ Event organizers and ideas people
+‣ Testers
+‣ Web designers and developers
+‣ Translators and screenshotters
+‣ Bug reporters and triagers
+To find out how you can get started helping, please visit http://ubuntu-
+manual.org/getinvolved.
+Conventions used in this book
+The following typographic conventions are used in this book:
+‣ Button names, menu items, and other gui elements are set in boldfaced
+type.
+‣ Menu sequences are sometimes typeset as File ‣ Save As…, which means,
+“Choose the File menu, then choose the Save As….”
+‣ Monospaced type is used for text that you type into the computer, text
+that the computer outputs (as in a terminal), and keyboard shortcuts.
+1
+Installation
+Getting Ubuntu
+Before you can get started with Ubuntu, you will need to obtain a copy of
+Many companies (such as Dell and System76)
+sell computers with Ubuntu preinstalled. If
+you already have Ubuntu installed on your
+computer, feel free to skip to Chapter 2: The
+Ubuntu Desktop.
+the Ubuntu installation image for dvd or usb. Some options for doing this
+are outlined below.
+Minimum system requirements
+If you are unsure whether it will work on your computer, the Live dvd is a
+great way to test things out first. Below is a list of hardware specifications
+that your computer should meet as a minimum requirement.
+‣ 1 GHz x86 processor (Pentium 4 or better)
+‣ 1 gb of system memory (ram)
+‣ 8.6 gb of disk space (at least 15 gb is recommended)
+‣ Video support capable of 1024×768 resolution
+‣ Audio support (recommended, but not required)
+‣ An Internet connection (highly recommended, but not required)
+Downloading Ubuntu
+The easiest and most common method for getting Ubuntu is to download
+the Ubuntu dvd image directly from http://www.ubuntu.com/download.
+Choose how you will install Ubuntu:
+‣ Download and install
+‣ Try it from a dvd or usb stick
+Download and Install / Try it from a DVD or USB stick
+For the Download and install, or Try it from a dvd or usb stick options, select
+whether you require the 32-bit or 64-bit version (see the following section if
+you are unsure), then click “Start download.”
+32-bit versus 64-bit
+Ubuntu and its derivatives are available in two versions: 32-bit and 64-bit.
+This difference refers to the way computers process information. Comput-
+32-bit and 64-bit are types of processor
+architectures. Most new desktop computers
+have a 64-bit capable processor.
+ers capable of running 64-bit software are able to process more information
+than computers running 32-bit software; however, 64-bit systems require
+more memory in order to do this. Nevertheless, these computers gain per-
+formance enhancements by running 64-bit software.
+‣ If your computer has a 64-bit processor, install the 64-bit version.
+‣ If your computer is older, a netbook, or you do not know the type of
+processor in the computer, install the 32-bit version.
+If your computer has a 64-bit processor, select the “64-bit” option before
+you click “Start download.”
+10
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Downloading Ubuntu as a torrent
+When a new version of Ubuntu is released, the download servers can get
+Torrents are a way of sharing files and informa-
+tion around the Internet via peer-to-peer file
+sharing. A file with the .torrent extension is
+made available to users, which is then opened
+with a compatible program such as uTorrent,
+Deluge, or Transmission. These programs
+download parts of the file from other people all
+around the world.
+“clogged” as large numbers of people try to download Ubuntu at the same
+time. If you are familiar with using torrents, you can download the torrent
+file by clicking “Alternative downloads,” and then “BitTorrent download.”
+Downloading via torrent may improve your download speed, and will also
+help to spread Ubuntu to other users worldwide.
+Burning the DVD image
+Once your download is complete, you will be left with a file called ubuntu-
+While the 64-bit version of Ubuntu is referred
+to as the “AMD64” version, it will work on Intel,
+AMD, and other compatible 64-bit processors.
+16.04-desktop-i386.iso or similar (i386 here in the filename refers to the 32-bit
+version. If you downloaded the 64-bit version, the filename contains amd64
+instead). This file is a dvd image—a snapshot of the contents of a dvd—
+which you will need to burn to a dvd.
+Creating a bootable USB drive
+If your pc is able to boot from a usb stick, you may prefer to use a usb
+memory stick instead of burning a dvd. Scroll down on the download
+webpage to the “Easy ways to switch to Ubuntu” section and you will find
+a link to instructions on how to create a bootable usb stick in your current
+operating system. If you select this option, your installation will be running
+from the usb memory stick. In this case, references to Live dvd, will refer to
+the usb memory stick.
+Trying out Ubuntu
+The Ubuntu dvd and usb stick function not only as installation media, but
+also allow you to test Ubuntu without making any permanent changes to
+your computer by running the entire operating system from the dvd or usb
+stick.
+Your computer reads information from a dvd at a much slower speed
+In some cases, your computer will not recognize
+that the Ubuntu DVD or USB is present as it
+starts up and will start your existing operating
+system instead. To run Ubuntu from the Live
+DVD or USB, we want the computer to look
+for information from the Live DVD or USB
+first. Changing your boot priority is usually
+handled by BIOS settings; this is beyond the
+scope of this guide. If you need assistance with
+changing the boot priority, see your computer
+manufacturer’s documentation for more
+information.
+than it can read information off of a hard drive. Running Ubuntu from
+the Live dvd also occupies a large portion of your computer’s memory,
+which would usually be available for applications to access when Ubuntu is
+running from your hard drive. The Live dvd/usb experience will therefore
+feel slightly slower than it does when Ubuntu is actually installed on your
+computer. Running Ubuntu from the dvd/usb is a great way to test things
+out and allows you to try the default applications, browse the Internet, and
+get a general feel for the operating system. It’s also useful for checking that
+your computer hardware works properly in Ubuntu and that there are no
+major compatibility issues.
+To try out Ubuntu using the Live dvd/usb stick, insert the Ubuntu dvd
+into your dvd drive, or connect the usb drive and restart your computer.
+After your computer finds the Live dvd/usb stick, and a quick load-
+ing screen, you will be presented with the “Welcome” screen. Using your
+mouse, select your language from the list on the left, then click the button
+labelled Try Ubuntu. Ubuntu will then start up, running directly from the
+Live dvd/usb drive.
+Once Ubuntu is up and running, you will see the default desktop. We
+will talk more about how to actually use Ubuntu in Chapter 2: The Ubuntu
+Desktop, but for now, feel free to test things out. Open some applications,
+installation
+11
+Figure 1.1: The “Welcome” screen allows you to
+choose your language.
+change settings and generally explore—any changes you make will not be
+saved once you exit, so you don’t need to worry about accidentally breaking
+anything.
+When you are finished exploring, restart your computer by clicking
+Alternatively, you can also use your mouse to
+double-click the “Install Ubuntu 16.04” icon that
+is visible on the desktop when using the Live
+DVD. This will start the Ubuntu installer.
+the “Power” button in the top right corner of your screen (a circle with
+a line through the top) and then select Restart. Follow the prompts that
+appear on screen, including removing the Live dvd and pressing Enter
+when instructed, and then your computer will restart. As long as the Live
+dvd is no longer in the drive, your computer will return to its original state
+as though nothing ever happened!
+Installing Ubuntu—Getting started
+At least 8.6 gb of free space on your hard drive is required in order to install
+Clicking on the underlined “release notes” link
+will open a web page containing any important
+information regarding the current version of
+Ubuntu.
+Ubuntu. We recommend 15 gb or more. This will ensure that you will
+have plenty of room to install extra applications later on, as well as store
+your own documents, music, and photos. To get started, place the Ubuntu
+dvd in your dvd drive and restart your computer. Your computer should
+load Ubuntu from the dvd. When you first start from the dvd, you will
+be presented with a screen asking you whether you want to first try out
+Ubuntu or install it. Select the language you want to view the installer
+in and click on the Install Ubuntu button. This will start the installation
+process.
+If you have an Internet connection, the installer will ask you if you
+would like to “Download updates while installing Ubuntu.” We recommend
+you do so. The second option, “Install third-party software for graphics
+and Wi-Fi hardware, Flash, MP3, and other media” includes the Fluendo
+mp3 codec, and software required for some wireless hardware. If you are
+not connected to the Internet, the installer will help you set up a wireless
+connection.
+The “Preparing to install Ubuntu” screen will also let you know if you
+have enough disk space and if you are connected to a power source (in case
+you are installing Ubuntu on a laptop running on battery). Once you have
+selected your choices, click Continue.
+12
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Figure 1.2: Preparing to install.
+Internet connection
+If you are not connected to the Internet, the installer will ask you to choose
+a wireless network (if available).
+We recommend that you connect to the
+Internet during install, although updates and
+third-party software can be installed after
+installation completes.
+1. Select Connect to this network, and then select your network from the
+list.
+2. If the list does not appear immediately, wait until a triangle/arrow ap-
+pears next to the network adapter, and then click the arrow to see the
+available networks.
+3. In the Password field, enter the network wep or wpa key (if necessary).
+4. Click Connect to continue.
+Figure 1.3: Set up wireless.
+Allocate drive space
+The Ubuntu installer will automatically detect any existing operating sys-
+If you are installing on a new machine with no
+operating system, you will not get the first
+option. The upgrade option is only available if
+you are upgrading from a previous version of
+Ubuntu.
+tem installed on your machine, and present installation options suitable for
+your system. The options listed below depend on your specific system and
+may not all be available:
+‣ Install alongside other operating systems
+‣ Upgrade Ubuntu … to 16.04
+installation
+13
+‣ Erase … and install Ubuntu
+‣ Something else
+Install alongside other operating systems.
+For more complicated dual-booting setups, you will need to configure the parti-
+tions manually.
+Figure 1.4: Choose where you would like to
+install Ubuntu.
+Upgrade Ubuntu … to 16.04
+This option will keep all of your documents, music, pictures, and other
+personal files. Installed software will be kept when possible (not all of your
+currently installed software may be supported on the new version). System-
+wide settings will be cleared.
+Erase disk and install Ubuntu
+Use this option if you want to erase your entire disk. This will delete any
+existing operating systems that are installed on that disk, such as Microsoft
+Windows, and install Ubuntu in its place. This option is also useful if you
+have an empty hard drive, as Ubuntu will automatically create the neces-
+sary partitions for you.
+Formatting a partition will destroy any data currently on the partition.
+Be sure to back up any data you want to save before formatting. More
+information and detailed instructions on partitioning are available at:
+https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HowtoPartition.
+After you have chosen the installation type, click Continue, or Install
+Now.
+Confirm Partition choices and start install
+If you chose Something else, configure the partitions as you need. Once
+you are happy with the way the partitions are going to be set up, click the
+Install Now button at the bottom right to move on.
+To reduce the time required for installation, Ubuntu will continue the
+installation process in the background while you configure important user
+14
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+details—like your username, password, keyboard settings and default time-
+zone.
+Where are you?
+Figure 1.5: Tell Ubuntu your location.
+The next screen will display a world map. Using your mouse, click your
+geographic location on the map to tell Ubuntu where you are. Alternatively,
+you can type your location in the field below the map. This allows Ubuntu
+to configure your system clock and other location-based features. Click
+Continue when you are ready to move on.
+Keyboard layout
+Figure 1.6: Verify that your keyboard layout is
+correct.
+Next, you need to tell Ubuntu what kind of keyboard you are using.
+In most cases, you will find the suggested option satisfactory. If you are
+unsure which keyboard option to select, you can click the Detect Keyboard
+Layout button to have Ubuntu determine the correct choice by asking you
+to press a series of keys. You can also manually choose your keyboard
+layout from the list of options. If you like, enter text into the box at the
+bottom of the window to ensure you are happy with your selection, then
+click Continue.
+installation
+15
+Who are you?
+Ubuntu needs to know some information about you so it can set up the
+primary user account on your computer. When configured, your name will
+appear on the login screen as well as the user menu, which we discuss in
+Chapter 2: The Ubuntu Desktop.
+On this screen you will need to tell Ubuntu:
+‣ your name
+‣ what you want to call your computer
+‣ your desired username
+‣ your desired password
+‣ how you want Ubuntu to log you in
+Figure 1.7: Setup your user account.
+Enter your full name under Your name. The next text field is the name
+your computer uses, for terminals and networks. You can change this to
+what you want, or keep the predetermined name. Next is your username,
+the name that is used for the user menu, your home folder, and behind the
+scenes. You will see this is automatically filled in for you with your first
+name. Most people find it easiest to stick with this. However, it can be
+changed if you prefer.
+Next, choose a password and enter it into both password fields. When
+both passwords match, a strength rating will appear to the right that will
+show you whether your password is “short,” “weak,” “fair,” or “good.” You
+will be able to continue the installation process regardless of your password
+strength, but for security reasons it is best to choose a strong one. This is
+best achieved by having a password that is at least nine characters long,
+with a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as numbers
+and symbols. Avoid words that can be found in a dictionary and obvious
+passwords such as your birth date, spouse’s name, or the name of your pet.
+Login Options
+Finally, at the bottom of this screen you have two options regarding how
+you wish to log in to Ubuntu. You may also choose to have Ubuntu encrypt
+your home folder.
+‣ Log in automatically
+‣ Require my password to log in
+– Encrypt my home folder
+16
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Log in automatically
+Ubuntu will log in to your primary account automatically when you start
+up the computer so you won’t have to enter your username and password.
+This makes your login experience quicker and more convenient, but if
+privacy or security are important to you, we don’t recommend this option.
+Anyone who can physically access your computer will be able to turn it on
+and also access your files.
+Require my password to login
+This option is selected by default, as it will prevent unauthorized people
+from accessing your computer without knowing the password you cre-
+ated earlier. This is a good option for those who, for example, share their
+computer with other family members. Once the installation process has
+been completed, an additional login account can be created for each family
+member. Each person will then have their own login name and password,
+account preferences, Internet bookmarks, and personal storage space.
+Encrypt my home folder
+This option provides you with an added layer of security. Your home folder
+is where your personal files are stored. By selecting this option, Ubuntu
+will automatically enable encryption on your home folder, meaning that
+files and folders must be decrypted using your password before they can
+be accessed. Therefore if someone had physical access to your hard drive
+(for example, if your computer was stolen and the hard drive removed), they
+would not be able to see your files without knowing your password.
+If you choose this option, be careful not to enable automatic login at a later date.
+It will cause complications with your encrypted home folder, and will potentially
+lock you out of important files.
+Finishing Installation
+Ubuntu will now finish installing on your hard drive. As the installation
+progresses, a slideshow will give you an introduction to some of the default
+applications included with Ubuntu. These applications are covered in more
+detail in Chapter 3: Working with Ubuntu. The slideshow will also highlight
+the Ubuntu support options.
+After approximately twenty minutes, the installation will complete and
+you will be able to click Restart Now to restart your computer and start
+Ubuntu. The dvd will be ejected, so remove it from your dvd drive and
+press Enter to continue.
+Wait while your computer restarts, and you will then see the login win-
+dow (unless you selected automatic login).
+Login Screen
+After the installation has finished and your computer is restarted, you will
+be greeted by the login screen of Ubuntu. The login screen will present you
+with your username and you will have to enter the password to get past it.
+Click your username and enter your password. Once done, you may click
+the arrow or press Enter to get into the Ubuntu desktop. Ubuntu’s login
+installation
+17
+Figure 1.8: Ubuntu community support options.
+Where to get help for Ubuntu.
+Figure 1.9: You are now ready to restart your
+computer.
+screen supports multiple users and also supports custom backgrounds for
+each user. In fact, Ubuntu automatically will pick up your current desktop
+wallpaper and set it as your login background.
+The login screen allows you to update your keyboard language, volume
+intensity and enable/disable accessibility settings before you log in to your
+desktop. It also displays date/time and battery power for laptops. You can
+also shut down or restart your system from the login screen.
+Figure 1.10: Login Screen.
+2
+The Ubuntu Desktop
+Understanding the Ubuntu desktop
+Initially, you may notice many similarities between Ubuntu and other op-
+erating systems, such as Microsoft Windows or Apple OS X. This is because
+they are all based on the concept of a graphical user interface (gui)—i.e.,
+you use your mouse to navigate the desktop, open applications, move files,
+and perform most other tasks. In short, things are visually oriented. This
+chapter is designed to help you become familiar with various applications
+and menus in Ubuntu so that you become confident in using the Ubuntu
+gui.
+Figure 2.1: The Ubuntu 16.04 default desktop.
+Unity
+All gui-based operating systems use a desktop environment. Desktop envi-
+ronments contain many features, including (but not limited to):
+‣ The look and feel of the system
+‣ The organization of the desktop
+‣ How the user navigates the desktop
+Ubuntu uses Unity as the default desktop environment. The Unity desk-
+To read more about other variants of Ubuntu,
+refer to Chapter 8: Learning More.
+top is comprised of the desktop background and two bars—a horizontal
+one located at the top of your desktop called the menu bar and a vertically
+oriented bar at the far left called the Launcher.
+20
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+The desktop background
+Below the menu bar at the top of the screen is an image covering the entire
+desktop. This is the default desktop background, or wallpaper, belonging to
+the default Ubuntu 16.04 theme known as Ambiance. To learn more about
+customizing your desktop (including changing your desktop background),
+see the section on Customizing your desktop below.
+The menu bar
+The menu bar incorporates common functions used in Ubuntu. The icons on
+the far right of the menu bar are located in an area of the menu bar called
+the indicator area, or notification area. Each installation of Ubuntu may
+contain slightly different types and quantities of icons based on a number of
+factors, including the type of hardware and available on-board peripherals
+upon which the Ubuntu installation is based. Some programs add an icon
+to the indicator area automatically during installation. The most common
+indicators are:
+For more about:
+‣
+the Messaging indicator see Using instant
+messaging on page 59;
+‣
+the Network indicator see Getting online on
+page 39;
+‣
+the Session indicator see Session options on
+page 33.
+Network indicator (
+or
+) manages network connections, allowing you to
+connect quickly and easily to a wired or wireless network.
+Text entry settings (
+) shows the current keyboard layout (such as En, Fr,
+Ku, and so on) and, if more than one keyboard layout is chosen, allows
+you to select a keyboard layout. The keyboard indicator menu contains
+the following menu items: Character Map, Keyboard Layout Chart, and
+Text Entry Settings.
+Messaging indicator (
+) incorporates your social applications. From here,
+among others, you can access instant messenger and email clients.
+Sound indicator (
+) provides an easy way to adjust the sound volume as
+well as access your music player and sound settings.
+Clock displays the current time and provides a link to your calendar and
+time and date settings.
+Session indicator (
+) is a link to the system settings, Ubuntu Help, and
+session options (like locking your computer, user/guest session, logging
+out of a session, restarting the computer, or shutting down completely).
+Figure 2.2: The indicators of the menu bar.
+Every application has a menuing system where different actions can be
+executed in an application (like File, Edit, View, etc.); the menuing system
+for an application is appropriately called the application menu. It is located
+Note that some older applications may still
+display their menu within the application
+window.
+in the left area of the menu bar. By default in Unity, the application menu
+isn’t on the title bar of the application as is commonly the case in other gui
+environments.
+Figure 2.3: To show an application’s menu, just
+move your mouse to the desktop’s menu bar (at
+the top of the screen).
+To show an application’s menu, just move your mouse to the desktop’s
+menu bar (at the top of the screen). While your mouse is positioned here,
+the active application’s menu options will appear in the desktop’s menu bar,
+allowing you to use the application’s menuing options. When clicking on
+the desktop, the desktop’s menu bar reappears. This capability in Unity to
+display the application’s menu only when needed is especially beneficial
+for netbook and laptop users with limited viewable screen space. You can
+disable this feature via Session Indicator ‣ System Settings ‣ Appearance.
+In the Behavior tab, under Show the menus for a window, select In the
+window’s title bar.
+the ubuntu desktop
+21
+The Launcher
+The vertical bar of icons on the left side of the desktop is called the Launcher.
+The Launcher provides easy access to applications, mounted devices, and
+the Trash. All running applications on your system will place an icon in the
+Launcher while the application is running. To change the Launcher icon
+size, go to Session Indicator ‣ System Settings ‣ Appearance, tab Look.
+Figure 2.4: The Ubuntu Launcher on the left
+with a sample of applications on it.
+The first icon at the top of the Launcher is the Dash, a component of
+Unity. We will explore the Dash in a later section of this chapter. By default,
+other applications appear in the Launcher, including the Files file manager,
+LibreOffice, Firefox, any mounted devices, and the Trash, which contains
+deleted folders and files, at the bottom of the Launcher.
+Holding the Super key, also known as the Windows key (Win key),
+located between the left Ctrl key and Alt key, will cause Ubuntu to super-
+impose a number onto the first ten applications in the Launcher and also
+display a screen full of useful shortcuts. You can launch an application with
+a number n on it by typing Super+n.
+If you open more applications than can be shown in the Launcher, the
+Launcher will “fold” the application icons at the bottom of the Launcher.
+Simply move your mouse to the bottom of the Launcher, and you’ll see
+the Launcher icons “slide” and the folded application icons unfold for easy
+access.
+Running applications
+To run an application from the Launcher (or cause an already-running
+application to appear), just click on the application’s icon.
+Applications that are currently running will have one or more triangles
+on the left side of the icon indicating the number of application windows
+open for this application. Running applications also have a back-lit icon on
+the Launcher.
+Some also refer to an application in the
+foreground as being in focus.
+Figure 2.5: The triangles on each side of the
+Firefox icon indicate Firefox is in the foreground
+and only one window is associated with Firefox
+at this time.
+The application in the foreground (i.e., the application that is on top of all
+other open application windows) is indicated by a single white triangle on
+the right side of its icon.
+You can also run an application through the Dash which will be explored
+in the upcoming The Dash section.
+Adding and removing applications from the Launcher
+There are two ways to add an application to the Launcher:
+‣ Open the Dash, find the application you wish to add to the Launcher, and
+drag its icon to the Launcher.
+‣ Run the application you want to add to the Launcher, right-click on the
+application’s icon on the Launcher, and select Lock to Launcher.
+To remove an application from the Launcher, right-click on the applica-
+tion’s icon, then select Unlock from Launcher.
+The Dash
+The Dash helps you quickly find applications and files on your computer.
+For more information about the Dash and its
+lenses, see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Unity.
+If you’ve used Windows in the past, you’ll find the Dash to be similar to
+the Windows Start menu or the Start Screen in Windows 8. OS X users will
+find the Dash similar to Launchpad in the dock. If you’ve used a previous
+22
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+version of Ubuntu or another gnome Linux distribution, the Dash serves
+as a replacement for the various gnome 2 menus. The Dash allows you
+to search for information both locally (installed applications, recent files,
+bookmarks, etc.) and remotely (Twitter, Google Docs, etc.).
+Figure 2.6: The Dash.
+To explore the Dash, click on the topmost icon on the Launcher; the icon
+contains the Ubuntu logo on it. After clicking the Dash icon, the desktop
+will be overlaid by a translucent window with a search bar on top as well as
+a grouping of recently accessed applications, files, and downloads. Ubuntu
+also includes results from popular web services. The search bar provides
+dynamic results as you enter your search terms.
+Lenses
+Lenses act as specialized search categories in the Dash: searching is accom-
+plished by utilizing one or more lenses, also known as scopes, and each lens
+is responsible for providing a category of search results through the Dash.
+The six lenses installed by default at the bottom are: Home lens (
+),
+Applications lens (
+), Files and Folders lens (
+), Videos lens (
+), Music
+lens (
+), and Photos lens (
+).
+Search for files and applications with the Dash
+The Dash is an extremely powerful tool allowing you to search your com-
+puter for applications and files.
+Find files/folders
+The Dash can help you find names of files or folders. Simply type a portion
+of the file or folder name. As you type, results will appear in the Dash. The
+Files and Folders lens will also assist in finding files or folders—showing
+you the most recently accessed files as well as the most recent downloads.
+You can use the filter results button in the top-right corner of the Dash to
+the ubuntu desktop
+23
+filter results by attributes such as file or folder modification times, file type
+(.odt, .pdf, .doc, .txt, etc.), or size.
+Find applications
+A standard Ubuntu installation comes with many applications. Users can
+additionally download thousands of applications from the Ubuntu Software
+application. As you collect an arsenal of awesome applications (and get
+The Ubuntu Software application and software
+management will be discussed in detail at
+Chapter 5: Software Management.
+a bonus point for alliteration!), it may become difficult to remember the
+name of a particular application; the Applications lens on the Dash can
+assist with this search. This lens will automatically categorize installed
+applications under “Recently used,” “Installed,” or “Dash plugins.” You can
+If you are new to the world of Ubuntu, be sure
+to read Chapter 3: Working with Ubuntu. It
+will provide you with assistance in choosing
+application(s) to suit your needs.
+also enter the name of an application (or a part of it) into the search bar in
+the Dash, and the names of applications matching your search criteria will
+appear. Even if you don’t remember the name of the application at all, type
+a keyword that is relevant to that application, and the Dash will find it. For
+example, type music, and the Dash will show you the default music player
+and any music player you’ve used.
+Figure 2.7: You can see the default results when
+you press the Applications lens.
+External search results
+In addition to searching your local computer for applications and files, the
+Dash can also search various online resources (e.g., Amazon.com). Results
+pertinent to your search criteria are returned to you in the Dash. The online
+search results within the Dash are turned off by default during installation.
+If you want external search results, go to System Settings ‣ Security &
+Privacy ‣ Search and set the “Include online search results” switch to the On
+position.
+24
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Workspaces
+Workspaces are also known as virtual desktops. These separate views of
+your desktop allow you to group applications together, and by doing so,
+help to reduce clutter and improve desktop navigation. For example, you
+can open all of your media applications in one workspace, your office suite
+in another, and your web browser in a third workspace. Ubuntu has four
+workspaces by default.
+The workspaces feature is not activated by default in Ubuntu. To activate
+workspaces, click on Session Indicator ‣ System Settings ‣ Appearance then
+click on the Behavior tab and click on the Enable workspaces box. When
+this box is checked, you’ll notice that another icon is added to the bottom of
+the Launcher that looks like a window pane. This is the workspace switcher.
+Switching between workspaces
+Figure 2.8: The workspace switcher on the
+Launcher.
+If you’ve activated the workspace switcher as described above, you can
+switch between workspaces by clicking on the workspace switcher icon
+located on the Launcher. This utility allows you to toggle through the
+workspaces (whether they contain open applications or not) and choose the
+one you want to use. You can also launch the workspace switcher by typing
+Super+s and choose a workspace by using the keyboard arrows followed by
+RET (the Return / Enter key).
+Managing windows
+When opening a program in Ubuntu (such as a web browser or a text editor
+—see Chapter 3: Working with Ubuntu for more information on using appli-
+cations)—a window will appear on your desktop. Simply stated, a window is
+the box that appears on your screen when you start a program. In Ubuntu,
+the top part of a window (the title bar) will have the name of the applica-
+tion to the left (most often, the title will be the same as the application’s
+name). A window will also have three buttons in the top-left corner. From
+left to right, these buttons represent close window, minimize window, and
+maximize window. Other window management options are available by
+right-clicking anywhere on the title bar.
+Closing, maximizing, restoring, and minimizing windows
+To close a window, click on the close button ( ) in the upper-left corner of
+the window—the first button on the left-hand side.
+Figure 2.9: This is the top bar of a window,
+named title bar. The close, minimize, and
+maximize buttons are in the top-left corner of
+the window.
+The button immediately to the right of the close button is the minimize
+button ( ), which hides the window from view and minimizes it to the
+Launcher. When an application is minimized to the Launcher, the left-side
+of the icon in the Launcher will display an additional triangle. Clicking the
+icon of the minimized application will restore the window to its original
+position.
+Finally, the right-most button is the maximize button (
+) which causes
+the application to completely fill the desktop space. If a window is maxi-
+mized, its top-left buttons and menu are automatically hidden from view.
+To make them appear, just move your mouse to the menu bar. Clicking the
+maximize button again will return the window to its original size.
+the ubuntu desktop
+25
+Moving and resizing windows
+To move a window around the workspace, place the mouse pointer over the
+window’s title bar, then click and drag the window while continuing to hold
+down the left mouse button. You can also move a window by holding the
+Alt key and then clicking and holding the left mouse button while pointing
+anywhere in the window and dragging the window to a new location. To
+resize a window, place the pointer on an edge or corner of the window so
+that the pointer turns into a larger, two-sided arrow (known as the resize
+icon). You can then click and drag to resize the window.
+Switching between open windows
+In Ubuntu, there are many ways to switch between open windows:
+‣ If the window is visible on your screen, click any portion of it to raise it
+above all other windows.
+‣ Use Alt+Tab to select the window you wish to work with. Hold down
+the Alt key, and keep pressing Tab until the window you’re looking
+for appears highlighted in the pop-up window. Then, release the Alt
+key, and the application highlighted in the pop-up will move to the
+foreground of your desktop.
+‣ Click on the corresponding icon on the Launcher by moving your mouse
+to the left side of the screen and right-clicking on the application’s icon.
+If the application has multiple windows open, double-click on the icon in
+order to select the desired window.
+Press Ctrl+Super+D to hide all windows and display the desktop; the same
+works to restore all windows.
+Moving a window to a different workspace
+To move a window to a different workspace, verify that the window isn’t
+maximized. If it is maximized, click on the right-most button on the left
+side of the title bar to restore it to its original size. Then right-click on the
+window’s title bar and select:
+You can also use Shift+Control+Alt in
+combination with the arrow keys to move a
+window to a different workspace.
+‣ Move to Workspace Left, to move the window to the left workspace
+‣ Move to Workspace Right, to move the window to the right workspace
+‣ Move to Workspace Down, to move the window to the bottom workspace
+‣ Move to Another Workspace, and then choose the workspace to where
+you wish to move the window.
+Note that the options available when moving windows to different
+workspaces depends on which workspace contains the window you are
+moving. If the window exists in the lower-right workspace, you will not see
+a Move to Workspace Down because there is no workspace available below
+the lower-right quadrant of a four quadrant workspace.
+Window always on the top or on visible workspace
+At times, you may want to force a window to always be in the foreground
+so that it can be seen or monitored while you work with other applications.
+For example, you may want to browse the web and, at the same time, view
+and answer an incoming instant message. To keep a window always in
+the foreground, right-click on the window’s title bar, then select Always
+On Top. This window will now be on the top of all windows opened in
+26
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+the current workspace. If you want to have a window always on the top
+regardless of the workspace, right-click on the window’s title bar, then
+select Always on Visible Workspace. This window will now be on top of all
+other windows across all workspaces.
+Unity’s keyboard shortcuts
+When you long-press the Super key (also known as the Win key) for a few
+seconds, Unity will display a list of useful keyboard shortcuts, some of
+which have been mentioned above.
+Figure 2.10: Common keyboard shortcuts as
+displayed by Unity.
+Browsing files on your computer
+There are two ways to locate files on your computer—search for them or
+access them directly from their directory. You can search for a file using
+the Dash or the Files file manager. You can also use the Dash or Files file
+manager to access commonly used directories (such as Documents, Music,
+Downloads) as well as the most recently accessed files.
+Your home directory
+The home directory is used to store all of your personal files (rather than
+The terms “directory” and “folder” are often
+used interchangeably.
+system files, such as applications).
+In Ubuntu, by default, the contents of your home directory are acces-
+sible for and can be read by other users who have an account on your
+PC.
+The name of your home directory matches your login name and is cre-
+ated when your user account is created. When opening your personal
+directory, you will see a collection of several directories, including Desk-
+top (which contains any files that are visible on the desktop), Documents,
+Downloads, Music, Pictures, Public, Templates, and Videos. These directo-
+ries are created automatically during the installation process. You can add
+more files and directories as needed.
+the ubuntu desktop
+27
+Files file manager
+Just as Microsoft Windows has Windows Explorer and OS X has Finder to
+browse files and directories, Ubuntu uses the Files file manager by default.
+The Files file manager window
+When you select the Files shortcut in the Launcher, click on a directory in
+the Dash, or double-click a directory on the desktop, Ubuntu will open the
+Files file manager. The default window contains the following features:
+Figure 2.11: Files file manager displaying your
+home directory.
+menu bar The menu bar is located at the top of the screen. The Files menu
+allows you to modify the layout of the browser, show, browse and re-
+move bookmarks, open a Help document, open a new window, connect
+to a server, or quit. Choosing Enter Location will open the Locations
+text field where you can enter any location directly.
+title bar The title bar shows the name of the currently selected directory. It
+also contains the Close, Minimize, and Maximize buttons.
+toolbar The toolbar displays your directory browsing history (using two
+arrow buttons), your location in the file system, a search button, and
+options for your current directory view.
+Figure 2.12: The toolbar of the Files application
+while browsing the directory /var/log/apt/, with
+the Search functionality activated.
+- On the upper left corner of the toolbar, there are two arrow icons.
+These are similar to the “Back” and “Forward” history functionality in
+web browsers. The Files application keeps track of where you are and
+allows you to backtrack if necessary. As such, the buttons Previous
+visited location and Next visited location allow you to navigate
+through your directory browsing history.
+- In the middle of the toolbar, you will see a representation of your
+current directory location.
+28
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+- Clicking on the Search icon opens a text field so you can search for a
+file or directory by name.
+- Clicking on the View items as a grid icon (the default setting) enables
+you to see the files and directories as icons. In this view, previews of
+photos and text files are also displayed.
+- Clicking on the View items as a list icon allows you to see a list
+of files and directories, along with their size, type, and date of last
+modification. You may customize what information is displayed by
+right-clicking on either Name, Size, Type, or Modified. This action
+will display a checklist of available options.
+left pane The left pane of the file browser has shortcuts to commonly used
+directories. You can also bookmark a directory through the menu bar
+by choosing Bookmarks ‣ Bookmark this Location. Once you have
+bookmarked the directory, it should appear in the left pane. Regardless
+of the directory you are currently browsing, the left pane will always
+contain the same directories.
+right pane The largest pane shows the files and directories within the
+directory you are currently browsing.
+To navigate to a directory in Files, click (or double-click) on its icon in
+the right pane, the left pane, or the toolbar.
+Opening files
+A file, in its simplest form, is data. Data can represent a text document,
+database information, or other media such as music or videos. To open a
+file, you can double-click on its icon. Ubuntu will try to find an appropriate
+application with which to open the selected file. In some cases, you may
+wish to open the file with a different application than the one Ubuntu se-
+lected. To select an application, right-click the icon and select one of the
+Open With options.
+Creating new directories
+To create a new directory from within the Files file manager, right-click
+in the blank area of the right pane and select New Folder from the pop-
+up menu (this action will also work on the desktop). Replace the default
+“Untitled Folder” title with your desired label (e.g., “Personal Finances”).
+You can also create a new directory by pressing Ctrl+Shift+N.
+Hidden files and directories
+If you wish to hide certain directories or files, place a dot (.) in front of the
+name (e.g., “.Personal Finances”). In some cases, it is impossible to hide files
+and directories without prefixing them with a dot.
+You can easily view hidden files by clicking View ‣ Show Hidden Files or
+by pressing Ctrl+H. Hiding files with a dot (.) is not a security measure—it is
+simply a way to help you organize your files.
+Copying and moving files and directories
+You can cut, copy, and paste files or directories in the Files file manager by
+right-clicking on the item and selecting the corresponding button from the
+pop-up menu. You can also use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, and
+Ctrl+V to cut, copy, and paste files and directories, respectively.
+the ubuntu desktop
+29
+Multiple files can be selected by left-clicking in an empty space (i.e.,
+not on a file or directory), holding the mouse button down, and dragging
+the cursor across the desired files or directories. This “click-drag” action is
+useful when you are selecting items that are grouped closely together. To
+select multiple files or directories that are not positioned next to each other,
+hold down the Ctrl key while clicking on each item individually. Once
+the desired files and/or directories are selected, right-click on any of the
+selected items to perform an action just like you would for a single item.
+When one or more items have been “copied,” navigate to the desired
+location, then right-click in an empty area of the window and select Paste
+to copy them to the new location. While the copy command can be used to
+make a duplicate of a file or directory in a new location, the cut command
+can be used to move files and directories. That is, a copy will be placed in a
+new location, and the original will be removed from its current location.
+Note that when you “cut” or “copy” a file or directory, nothing will
+happen until you “paste” it somewhere. Paste will only affect the most
+recent item(s) cut or copied.
+To move a file or directory, select the item to move, then click Edit ‣ Cut.
+Navigate to the desired location, then click Edit ‣ Paste. If you click on a
+file or directory, drag it, then hold down the Alt key and drop it to your
+destination directory, a menu will appear asking whether you want to copy,
+move, or link the item.
+As with the copy command above, you can also perform this action using
+the right-click menu, and it will work for multiple files or directories at
+once. An alternative way to move a file or directory is to click on the item,
+and then drag it to the new location.
+Using multiple tabs and multiple Files windows
+Opening multiple Files file manager windows can be useful for dragging
+files and directories between locations. You can also have multiple tabs to
+browse multiple locations at once.
+To open a second window when browsing a directory in Files, select
+File ‣ New Window or press Ctrl+N. This will open a new window, allowing
+you to drag files and/or directories between two locations. To open a new
+tab, click File ‣ New Tab or press Ctrl+T. A new row will appear above the
+space used for browsing your files containing two tabs—both will display
+the directory you were originally browsing. You can click these tabs to
+switch between them and click and drag files or directories between tabs
+the same as you would between windows.
+When dragging items between Files windows or tabs, a small symbol
+will appear over the mouse cursor to let you know which action will be
+performed when you release the mouse button. A plus sign (+) indicates
+you are about to copy the item, whereas a small arrow means the item will
+be moved. The default action will depend on the directories you are using.
+Searching for files and folders on your computer
+You can search for files and folders using the Dash or the Files file manager.
+Search for files and folders quickly by pressing
+Ctrl+F in Files and then typing what you want
+to find.
+Search using the Dash
+In the Dash, simply type your search terms in the search bar at the top of
+the Dash.
+30
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Alternatively, you may use the Applications or Files & Folders lenses;
+here you can use a filter to narrow down your search. Open the drop-down
+menu on the right side of the search bar. If you’ve selected Applications,
+you will be able to filter by application type. If you’ve chosen Files & Fold-
+ers, you can filter by a host of options, including Last modified, Type (e.g.,
+Documents), or Size. It is sufficient to type the first few letters of the file or
+folder for which you are searching.
+Search using Files file manager
+In Files file manager, click on the magnifying glass button or press Ctrl+F.
+This opens the search field where you can type the name of the file or folder
+you want to find.
+Customizing your desktop
+Figure 2.13: You can change most of your
+system’s settings here.
+Most customizations can be reached via the Session Indicator and then
+selecting System Settings to open the System Settings application window.
+The Dash, desktop appearance, themes, wallpapers, accessibility, and other
+configuration settings are available here. For more information see Session
+options.
+Appearance
+The Look tab
+In the Look tab you can change the background, window theme, and
+Launcher icon size to further modify the look and feel of your desktop.
+To begin, open Appearance by either right-clicking on your background
+and selecting Change Desktop Background or selecting Session Indicator ‣
+System Settings… ‣ Appearance. Select the Look tab.
+Theme
+The “Appearance” window will display the current selected back-
+ground wallpaper and theme. Themes control the appearance of your win-
+dows, buttons, scroll bars, panels, icons, and other parts of the desktop. The
+Ambiance theme is used by default, but there are other themes from which
+the ubuntu desktop
+31
+Figure 2.14: You can change the theme in the
+Look tab of the “Appearance” window.
+you can choose. Just click once on any of the listed themes to give a new
+theme a try. The theme will change your desktop appearance immediately.
+Desktop background
+To change the Background, either select Wallpapers,
+Pictures Folder, or Colors and Gradients from the drop-down list. When
+Wallpapers is selected, you will see Ubuntu’s default selection of back-
+grounds. To change the background, simply click the picture you would like
+to use. You’re not limited to this selection. To use one of your own pictures,
+click the + button and navigate to the image you would like to use. Then
+click the Open button, and the change will take effect immediately. This
+image will then be added to your list of available backgrounds. Selecting
+Pictures Folder opens your Pictures folder where you can choose a picture
+for the background. The Colors and Gradients button allows you to set
+the background to a solid or gradient color. Click on the Solid Color but-
+ton, then the Pick a Color to choose a solid color. The Vertical Gradient
+and Horizontal Gradient buttons bring up two Pick a Color buttons. Just
+choose any two colors you like and see if you have achieved the desired
+result.
+Launcher icon size
+At the bottom of the Look tab you find a slider to
+change the size of icons on the Launcher. You may choose from a range
+between 32 and 64 pixels.
+The Behavior tab
+In the behavior tab you find several options to change the behavior of your
+desktop.
+Auto-hide the Launcher
+Switch the Auto-hide the Launcher to either show
+the Launcher or reveal it when moving the pointer to the defined hot spot.
+When turned on, you can choose the reveal location—Left side or Top left
+corner—and the reveal sensitivity.
+Enable workspaces
+By default, workspaces are not enabled. You can enable
+workspaces by checking this option.
+32
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Add show desktop icon to the launcher
+Check this option if you want to
+show the desktop icon on the Launcher.
+Show the menus for a window
+Here you can choose if you want menus to
+show in the menu bar or in the window’s title bar.
+Menus visibility
+You can change the visibility of your application menus
+between two options. The first is Displayed on mouse hovering, which
+will show application menus when the mouse hovers over the application
+window. The second option is Always displayed, which allows application
+menus to always be displayed when possible.
+You can restore the behavior settings by clicking the Restore Behavior
+Settings button.
+Accessibility
+Ubuntu has built-in tools that make using the computer easier for people
+with disabilities. You can find these tools by opening the Dash and search-
+ing for “Universal Access,” or by selecting Session Indicator ‣ System Set-
+tings… ‣ Universal Access. Use the Seeing tab to manage the text size, the
+contrast of the interfaces, enable a zoom tool, a virtual keyboard, a screen
+reader, and so on. Selecting high-contrast themes and larger on-screen fonts
+can assist those with vision difficulties. You can activate “Visual Alerts”
+through the Hearing tab if you have hearing impairment. You can also
+adjust keyboard and mouse settings to suit your needs through the Typ-
+ing and Pointing and Clicking tabs, respectively. The Profiles tab will
+allow you to enable the Accessibility Profiles Indicator with which you may
+switch between the following profiles: Minor Motor Difficulties, Screen
+reader with speech, High Contrast, Braille, and On-screen Keyboard.
+Figure 2.15: Universal Access allows you to
+enable extra features to make it easier to use
+your computer.
+Once you have finished toggling the settings to your needs, you may
+need to log out of the computer and log back in for the changes to take
+effect.
+Screen reader (Orca)
+Orca is a useful tool for people who have difficulties with their vision. It
+comes preinstalled with Ubuntu and provides the “Screen Reader” function-
+ality in Universal Access.
+the ubuntu desktop
+33
+The screen reader can be activated by using one of the following meth-
+ods:
+‣ Using the keyboard shortcut ALT-Super-s (in that order), or
+‣ Using Session Indicator ‣ System Settings… ‣ Universal Access ‣ Screen
+Reader ‣ ON/OFF, or
+‣ Clicking on Dash and launching Orca.
+Session options
+When you have finished working on your computer, you can choose to log
+out, suspend, restart, or shut down through the Session Indicator on the far
+right side of the top panel.
+Logging out
+Logging out will leave the computer running but return the desktop to
+the login screen. This is useful for switching between users, such as when
+a different person wishes to log in to their account or if you are ever in-
+structed to “log out and back in again.” You can also log out by pressing
+Ctrl+Alt+Del. Before logging out, always verify that you have saved your
+work in any open application.
+Suspending
+To save energy, you can put your computer into suspend mode which will
+save the current opened applications to internal memory (RAM), power
+off most of the internal devices and hardware, and allow you to start back
+up more quickly. Unlike hibernation (which is not officially supported or
+enabled in Ubuntu/Unity since 14.04 but can be enabled through other
+means), while in a suspended state the computer will continue operating
+using minimal electricity. Note that if the power goes out during this state,
+unsaved changes will be lost and data loss may also occur. To put your
+computer in suspend mode, select Suspend from the “Session Indicator”.
+Rebooting
+To reboot your computer, select Shut Down… from the “Session Indicator,”
+then click the Restart icon.
+Shutting down
+To totally power down your computer, select Shut Down… from the “Ses-
+sion Indicator,” then click the Shut Down icon.
+Other options
+From the “Session Indicator”, select Lock/Switch Account… to either
+lock the screen of the current user or switch user accounts. You can lock
+your screen quickly by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+L. Locking
+your screen is recommended if you are away from your computer for any
+amount of time.
+34
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Getting help
+General Help
+Figure 2.16: The built-in system help, accessible
+via the keyboard shortcut F1, provides topic-
+based help for Ubuntu.
+Like with many other operating systems, Ubuntu has a built-in help
+reference called the Ubuntu Desktop Guide (Figure 2.16 on page 34). To
+access it, click on the Dash and type Help. Alternatively, you can press F1
+while on the desktop, or select Ubuntu Help from the Help menu in the
+menu bar. Many applications have their own help section which can be
+accessed by clicking the Help menu within the application window.
+Online Help
+If you can’t find an answer to your question in this manual or in the Ubuntu
+Desktop Guide, you can ask for assistance from other Ubuntu users using
+the Ubuntu Forums (http://ubuntuforums.org). To best assist you in solv-
+ing the issue, it is best to provide as much information as possible when
+submitting your query, such as:
+‣ System information (e.g. Ubuntu version, PC make and model)
+‣ The full text of any error messages you have encountered,
+‣ What you were doing at the time,
+‣ What were you trying to achieve / what you were expecting to happen…
+Many Ubuntu users open an account on the forums to receive help and
+in turn provide support to others as they gain more knowledge. Another
+useful resource is the Ubuntu Wiki (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/community),
+a website maintained by the Ubuntu community. You can additionally find
+the Official Ubuntu Documentation, prepared by Ubuntu developers, at
+https://help.ubuntu.com.
+Last but not least, one other helpful resource for online help and assis-
+tance is Ask Ubuntu (https://askubuntu.com/). Ask Ubuntu is provided by
+Stack Overflow and can be a helpful resource in addition to the previously-
+mentioned ones.
+the ubuntu desktop
+35
+Heads-Up Display help
+Figure 2.17: The HUD (Heads-Up Display) shows
+application-specific information and options
+based on your general input.
+The hud (Heads-Up Display) is a keyboard-friendly utility to help you
+find commands, features, and preferences embedded deep within the
+stacked menu structure of an application. Activate the hud by tapping
+the Alt key on the keyboard.
+For example, if you want to add music in Rhythmbox (the default music
+player in Ubuntu) you can open the application, press Alt, and begin typing
+add music. The options available in Rhythmbox will begin to appear as you
+type, meaning you usually do not have to type many characters to obtain
+useful results. You can use the Down/Up Arrow keys to navigate these results
+and press the Enter key to active the selected option. While the hud is
+primarily of use within applications, particularly those with deep menus
+such as LibreOffice or GIMP, it may also be used on the Unity desktop itself
+with no applications opened or given focus. With the hud, you can often
+easily perform within a few keystrokes something that would otherwise
+require navigating various menus and sub-menus.
+3
+Working with Ubuntu
+All the applications you need
+Because Ubuntu is a separate operating system, some applications that are
+available for other operating systems (such as FreeBSD, Windows, or OS X)
+may not be available for Ubuntu and vice versa. This is especially true for
+closed source (i.e., proprietary) software released by makers of closed source
+operating systems.
+If you are migrating from a Windows or Mac platform, some of the
+Most of the applications listed in this section
+can be installed via the Ubuntu Software
+application, are open source, and are freely
+available. Those followed by an asterisk (*) can
+be downloaded directly from their respective
+official websites.
+programs you were using have native Linux versions. For those that lack
+compatibility, there are well established free software alternatives that will
+cover your needs. This section will recommend some of these free software
+applications that are known to work well on Ubuntu.
+Office Suites
+In Ubuntu you may choose among many office suites. The most popular
+suite is LibreOffice (formerly OpenOffice). Included in the suite:
+‣ Writer: word processor
+‣ Calc: spreadsheet
+‣ Impress: presentation manager
+‣ Draw: drawing program
+‣ Base: database
+‣ Math: equation editor
+The LibreOffice Suite comes pre-installed with Ubuntu by default. Note
+that Base is not installed by default but can be installed through Ubuntu
+Software.
+Other office productivity applications that you might want to try out are
+KOffice, Gnome Office (for older Ubuntu versions), Gnumeric (spreadsheet
+application), Kexi (database application), and so on.
+Email Applications
+As with office suites, there are multiple options for email applications.
+One very popular email application is Mozilla Thunderbird, which is also
+available for Windows. Thunderbird is the default email application in
+Ubuntu. Other options include Evolution and KMail.
+Web Browsers
+The default web browser in Ubuntu is Firefox. Other browsers you may
+want to try out include Epiphany, Midori, Chromium, Opera*, and Google
+Chrome*.
+PDF Readers
+Evince is the default pdf reader in Ubuntu. Others include Okular and
+Adobe Reader*.
+38
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Multimedia Players
+For multimedia, Ubuntu users have a wide variety of options for high qual-
+ity players. While VLC is a perennial favorite among videophiles, the classic
+and user-friendly Totem is the default media player in Ubuntu. Other media
+players, most of which can be installed through Ubuntu Software, are: Me-
+dia Player, SMPlayer, Parole Media Player, mpv Media Player, Tomahawk,
+Internet DJ Console, KMPlayer, Banshee (an all-round media player), and
+Kaffeine (KDE).
+Music Players and Podcatchers
+There are several options for listening to music with Ubuntu: Rhythmbox
+(installed by default), Amarok, Audacity (also a sound editor), Miro (also
+a video player), VLC, and so on. These applications allow you to listen to
+music and to your favorite podcasts. Amarok is similar to Winamp. Miro
+may be of use especially to those who watch video podcasts and tv shows
+from the Internet. VLC is well known for its ability to play a very wide
+range of multimedia file formats.
+CD/DVD Burning
+There are several popular disk burning applications such as Gnome-baker,
+Brasero, SimpleBurn, cd burner, Xfburn, and K3b. These CD/DVD creation
+tools are powerful and offer user-friendly interfaces and numerous features.
+Photo Management
+You can view and manage your favorite photos with Shotwell, Ubuntu’s
+default photo manager, gThumb, Gwenview, or F-Spot, among others.
+Graphics Editors
+gimp is a very powerful graphics editor. You can create your own graphics,
+taper your photographs, and modify your pictures. Another useful Graphics
+Editor is Inkscape, which allows you to create and edit Scalable Vector
+Graphics images. Both gimp and Inkscape can be installed through Ubuntu
+Software.
+Instant Messaging
+You can use Pidgin, Empathy, or Kopete to communicate over most proto-
+cols including: aim, msn, Google Talk, irc, Jabber/xmpp, Facebook, Yahoo!,
+and icq. This means that you need only one application to communicate
+with all of your friends. Note that some of these clients have limited video
+support.
+VoIP Applications
+voip technologies allow you to talk to people over the Internet. The most
+popular application is Skype, which is available for Ubuntu. An open-source
+alternative, Ekiga, supports voice communication using the sip protocol.
+Skype uses a proprietary protocol and is thus incompatible.
+working with ubuntu
+39
+BitTorrent Clients
+There are a number of BitTorrent clients for Ubuntu: Transmission, Ubuntu’s
+default client, is simple and light-weight. Deluge, Vuze, and KTorrent offer
+many features and can satisfy the most advanced users.
+Getting online
+This section of the manual will help you to check your connection to the
+Internet and help you configure it where needed. Ubuntu can connect to the
+Internet using a wired, wireless, or dialup connection. Ubuntu also supports
+more advanced connection methods, which will be briefly discussed at the
+end of this section.
+A wired connection is when your computer connects to the Internet
+using an Ethernet cable. This is usually connected to a wall socket or a
+networking device—like a switch or a router.
+A wireless connection is when your computer connects to the Internet
+using a wireless radio network—usually known as Wi-Fi. Most routers now
+come with wireless capability, as do most laptops and netbooks. Because of
+this, Wi-Fi is the most common connection type for these types of devices.
+Wireless connectivity makes laptops and netbooks more portable when
+moving to different rooms of a house and while travelling.
+A dialup connection is when your computer uses a modem to connect to
+the Internet through a telephone line.
+NetworkManager
+Networking in Ubuntu is by default managed with the NetworkManager
+utility. NetworkManager allows you to turn network connections on or off,
+manage wired and wireless networks, and make other network connections,
+such as dialup, mobile broadband, and vpns.
+(a)
+(b)
+(c)
+Figure 3.1: The network connection states: (a)
+disconnected, (b) wired, and (c) wireless.
+You can access NetworkManager by using its icon found in the top panel.
+This icon may look different depending on your current connection state.
+Clicking this icon will reveal a list of available network connections. The
+current connections (if any) will have the word “disconnect” underneath.
+You can click on “disconnect” to manually disconnect from that network.
+This menu also allows you to view technical details about your current
+connection or edit all connection settings.
+Figure 3.2: Here you can see the currently active
+connection is “Wired connection 1.”
+In the image to the right, you will see a check mark next to “Enable Net-
+working.” Deselect “Enable Networking” to disable all network connections.
+Select “Enable Networking” to enable networking again. This can be very
+useful when you are required to turn off all wireless communications, like
+in an airplane.
+Establishing a wired connection
+If you are already online at this point as indicated by the NetworkManager
+icon in the top panel showing a connection, then you may have successfully
+connected during the Ubuntu setup process. You can also simply open a
+browser and see if you have access to the Internet. If so, you do not need to
+do anything for the rest of this section. If not, then continue reading.
+If you have an Ethernet cable running from a wall socket or networking
+device, such as a switch or router, then you will want to setup a wired
+connection in Ubuntu.
+40
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+In order to connect to the Internet with a wired connection, you need to
+know whether your network supports dhcp (Dynamic Host Configuration
+Protocol). dhcp is a way for your computer to automatically be configured
+to access your network and/or Internet connection. dhcp is usually auto-
+matically configured on your router. This is usually the quickest and easiest
+way of establishing a connection to the Internet. If you are unsure whether
+your router is setup to use dhcp, you may wish to contact your isp’s (In-
+ternet Service Provider) customer service line to check. If your router isn’t
+configured to use dhcp then they will also be able to tell you what configu-
+ration settings you need in order to get online. If you are connected to your
+office LAN, you should contact your network administrator.
+Automatic connections with DHCP
+Figure 3.3: This window displays your IP address
+and other connection information.
+If your network supports dhcp, then you may already be set up for on-
+line access. To check this, click on the NetworkManager icon. There should
+be an “Ethernet Network” heading in the menu. If either “Wired connec-
+tion 1” or “Auto Ethernet” appears directly underneath, then your machine
+is currently connected and probably setup for dhcp. If “Disconnected” ap-
+pears in gray underneath the wired network section, look below to see if an
+option labeled “Wired connection 1” appears in the list. If so, click on it to
+attempt to establish a wired connection.
+An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a unique
+number assigned to your machine so that your
+router can identify you on the network. Think
+of it like a phone number for your computer.
+Having this unique address allows the router
+to speak to your computer, and therefore
+send/receive data.
+If you are still not online after following these steps, you may need to try
+setting up your network connection manually using a static ip address. To
+check if you are online, look for the NetworkManager icon in the top panel.
+If the icon shows
+, then your computer was not successfully assigned
+connection information through dhcp. If the icon shows either
+or
+,
+then it is likely that your dhcp connection to the router was successful.
+To test your Internet connection, you may want to open the Firefox web
+browser to try loading a web page. More information on using Firefox can
+be found later in this chapter.
+Manual configuration with static address
+If your network does not support dhcp, then you need to know a few items
+of information before you can get online. If you do not know any of this
+information, then you call your isp.
+working with ubuntu
+41
+‣ An ip address—This is a unique address used for identifying your com-
+puter on the network. An ip address is always given in four numbered
+groups, separated by dots, for example, 192.168.100.10. When connect-
+ing using dhcp, this address will periodically change (hence, the name
+“dynamic”). However, if you have configured a static ip address, your ip
+address will never change.
+‣ A network mask—This tells your computer the size of the network to
+which it is being connected. It is formatted the same way as the ip ad-
+dress, but usually looks something like 255.255.255.0.
+‣ A gateway—This is the ip address of the device that your machine looks
+to for access to the Internet. Usually, this will be the router’s ip address.
+‣ dns server—This is the ip address of the dns (Domain Name Service)
+server. dns is what your computer uses to resolve ip addresses to domain
+names. For example http://www.ubuntu.com resolves to 91.189.94.156.
+This is the ip address of the Ubuntu website on the Internet. dns is
+used so you don’t have to remember ip addresses. Domain names (like
+ubuntu.com) are much easier to remember. You will need at least one
+dns server address but you can enter up to three addresses in case one
+server is unavailable. If you do not know your isp’s dns server addresses,
+Google has dns servers that anyone in the world can use for free. The
+addresses of these servers are: Primary—8.8.8.8 Secondary—8.8.4.4.
+To manually configure a wired connection, click on the NetworkManager
+icon and select Edit Connections. Make sure you are looking at the Wired
+tab inside the “Network Connections” window. The list may already have
+an entry, such as “Wired connection 1” or a similar name. If a connection is
+listed, select it and click the Edit button. If no connection is listed, click the
+Add button.
+If you are adding a connection, you need to provide a name for the
+connection. This will distinguish the connection being added from any
+other connections added in future. In the “Connection Name” field, choose a
+name such as “Wired Home.”
+Figure 3.4: In this window you can manually edit
+a connection.
+To setup the connection:
+1. Make sure that the Connect automatically option is selected under the
+connection name.
+2. Switch to the ipv4 Settings tab.
+3. Change the Method to “Manual.”
+4. Click on the Add button next to the empty list of addresses.
+5. Enter your ip address in the field below the Address header.
+42
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+6. Click to the right of the ip address, directly below the Netmask header
+and enter your network mask. If you are unsure, “255.255.255.0” is the
+most common.
+7. Click on the right of the network mask directly below the Gateway
+header and enter the address of your gateway.
+8. In the dns Servers field below, enter the address of your dns server(s).
+If you are entering more than one, separate them with commas—for
+example, “8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4”.
+9. Click Save to save your changes.
+A mac address is a hardware address for your computer’s network card. Entering
+this information is sometimes important when using a cable modem connection.
+If you know the mac address of your network card, this can be entered in the
+appropriate text field in the Wired tab of the editing window. To find the mac
+addresses for all installed networking devices, open a terminal window, and at
+the command line prompt, type ifconfig. This will display a lot of informa-
+tion about each of the network devices installed on the computer. The wired
+devices will begin with one of the four possible prefixes, and that prefix is en, for
+Ethernet devices. wl is for Wireless (or Wireless Lan), sl is for Serial Line IP (slip),
+and ww is for WWAN.
+When you have returned to the Network Connections screen, your
+newly added connection should now be listed. Click Close to return to the
+desktop. If your connection was configured correctly, the NetworkManager
+icon should have changed to show an active wired connection. To test if
+your connection is properly set up, simply open a web browser. If you can
+access the Internet, then you are connected!
+Wireless
+If your computer is equipped with a wireless (Wi-Fi) card and you have a
+wireless network nearby, you should be able to set up a wireless connection
+in Ubuntu.
+Connecting to a wireless network for the first time
+If your computer has a wireless network card, you can connect to a wireless
+network. Most laptops and netbooks have a built-in wireless networking
+card.
+Ubuntu is usually able to detect any wireless network in range of your
+computer. To see a list of wireless networks, click on the NetworkMan-
+ager icon. Under the “Wireless Networks” heading you should see a list of
+available wireless networks. Each network will be shown by its name and a
+signal meter to the left showing its relative signal strength. The signal meter
+looks like a set of bars similar to what is seen when viewing signal strength
+of a cell phone. Simply put, the more bars, the stronger the signal. To im-
+prove speed and reliability of your wireless connection, try moving closer to
+your router or wireless access point.
+A wireless network can be open to anyone, or it can be protected with
+a password. A small padlock will be displayed alongside the signal bar if
+any wireless networks within range are password-protected. You will need
+to know the correct password in order to connect to these secured wireless
+networks.
+To connect to a wireless network, select the desired network by clicking
+on its name within the list. This will be the name that was used during the
+working with ubuntu
+43
+installation of the wireless router or access point. Most isps provide pre-
+configured routers with a sticker on them detailing the current wireless
+network name and password. Most publicly accessible wireless networks
+will be easily identifiable by the name used for the wireless network—for
+example “Starbucks-Wireless.”
+If the network is unprotected (i.e., the signal meter does not show a pad-
+lock), a connection should be established within a few seconds—and with-
+out a password required. The NetworkManager icon in the top panel will
+animate as Ubuntu attempts to connect to the network. If the connection
+is successful, the icon will change to display a signal meter. An on-screen
+notification message will also appear informing you that the connection
+was successful.
+If the network is password-protected, Ubuntu will display a window
+called “Wi-Fi Network Authentication Required” as it tries to make a con-
+nection. This means that a valid password is required to make a connection.
+This is what the screen should look like:
+Figure 3.5: Enter your wireless network
+password.
+If you know the password, enter it in the Password field and then click
+on the Connect button. As you type the password, it will be obscured from
+view to prevent others from reading the password as you type it. To verify
+the characters you are entering for the password, you can view the pass-
+word by selecting the Show Password check box. Then, you can make the
+password obscure again by deselecting the Show password check box.
+Once the password is entered, click on the Connect button. The Network-
+Manager icon in the top panel will animate as Ubuntu attempts to connect
+to the network. If the connection is successful, the icon will change to dis-
+play a signal meter. An on-screen notification message will also appear
+informing you that the connection was successful.
+If you entered the password incorrectly, or if it doesn’t match the cor-
+rect password (for example if it has recently been changed and you have
+forgotten), NetworkManager will make another attempt to connect to the
+network, and the “Wi-Fi Network Authentication Required” window will
+re-appear so that you can re-type the password. You can hit the Cancel but-
+ton to abort the connection. If you do not know the correct password, you
+may need to call your isp’s customer support line or contact your network
+administrator.
+Once you have successfully established a wireless connection, Ubuntu
+will store these settings (including the password) to make it easier to con-
+nect to this same wireless network in the future. You may also be prompted
+to select a keyring password here. The keyring stores passwords in one
+place so you can access them all in the future by remembering just the
+keyring password.
+44
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Connecting to a saved wireless network
+Ubuntu will automatically try to connect to a wireless network in range
+if it has the settings saved. This works on both open and secure wireless
+networks.
+If you have numerous wireless networks in range that are saved on
+your computer, Ubuntu may choose to connect to one network while you
+may want to connect to another network. To remedy this action, click on
+the NetworkManager icon. A list of wireless networks will appear along
+with their signal meters. Simply click on the network to which you wish to
+connect, and Ubuntu will disconnect from the current network and attempt
+to connect to the one you have selected.
+If the network is secure and Ubuntu has the details for this network
+saved, Ubuntu will automatically connect. If the details for this network
+connection are not saved, are incorrect, or have changed, then you will be
+prompted to enter the network password again. If the network is open (no
+password required), all of this will happen automatically and the connection
+will be established.
+Connecting to a hidden wireless network
+In some environments, you may need to connect to a hidden wireless net-
+work. These hidden networks do not broadcast their names, and, therefore,
+their names will not appear in the list of available wireless networks even
+if they are in range. In order to connect to a hidden wireless network, you
+will need to get its name and security details from your network adminis-
+trator or isp.
+To connect to a hidden wireless network:
+1. Click on NetworkManager in the top panel.
+2. Select Connect to a hidden wireless network. Ubuntu will then open
+the “Connect to Hidden Wireless Network” window.
+3. In the Network name field, enter the name of the network. This is also
+known as the ssid (Service Set Identifier). You must enter the name ex-
+actly how it was given to you. For example, if the name is “Ubuntu-
+Wireless,” entering “ubuntu-wireless” will not work as the “U” and “W”
+are both uppercase in the correct name.
+4. In the Wireless security field, select one of the options. If the network
+is an open network, leave the field set to “None.” If you do not know the
+correct setting for the field, you will not be able to connect to the hidden
+network.
+5. Click the Connect button. If the network is secure, you will be prompted
+for the password. Provided you have entered all of the details correctly,
+the network should then connect, and you will receive an on-screen
+notification informing you that the connection was a success.
+As is the case with visible wireless networks, hidden wireless network
+settings will be saved once a connection is made, and the wireless network
+will then appear in the list of saved connections.
+Disabling and enabling your wireless card
+By default, wireless access is enabled if you have a wireless card installed in
+your computer. In certain environments (like on airplanes), you may need
+to temporarily disable your wireless card.
+working with ubuntu
+45
+To disable your wireless card, click on the NetworkManager icon and
+deselect the Enable Wireless option. Your wireless radio will now be turned
+off, and your computer will no longer search for wireless networks.
+To reactivate your wireless card, simply select the Enable Wireless op-
+tion. Ubuntu will then begin to search for wireless networks automatically.
+If you are in range of a saved network, you will automatically be connected.
+Many modern laptops also have a physical switch/button built into the
+chassis that provides a way to quickly enable/disable the wireless card.
+Changing an existing wireless network
+At times you may want to change the settings of a saved wireless network
+—for example, when the wireless password gets changed.
+To edit a saved wireless network connection:
+1. Click on the NetworkManager icon and select Edit Connections…
+2. A “Network Connections” window will open. Click on the Wireless tab.
+3. By default, saved networks are in chronological order with the most
+recently connected at the top. Find the network you want to edit, select
+it, and click on the Edit button.
+4. Ubuntu will now open a window called “Editing 〈connection name〉”,
+where 〈connection name〉is the name of the connection you are editing.
+This window will display a number of tabs.
+5. Above the tabs, there is a field called Connection name where you can
+change the name of the connection to give it a more recognizable name.
+6. If the Connect automatically option is not selected, Ubuntu will detect
+the wireless network but will not attempt a connection until it is se-
+lected from the NetworkManager menu. Select or deselect this option as
+needed.
+7. On the Wireless tab, you may need to edit the ssid field. A ssid is the
+wireless connection’s network name. If this field isn’t set correctly,
+Ubuntu will not be able to connect to the wireless network in question.
+8. Below the ssid is a Mode field. The “Infrastructure” mode means that
+you would be connecting to a wireless router or Access Point. The “ad-
+hoc” mode is for a computer-to-computer connection (where one com-
+puter shares another’s connection) and is often only used in advanced
+cases.
+9. On the Wireless Security tab, you can change the Security field. A
+selection of “None” means that you are using an open network that
+doesn’t require a password. Other selections in this tab may require
+additional information:
+wep 40/128-bit Key is an older security setting still in use by some older
+wireless devices. If your network uses this method of security, you
+will need to enter a key in the Key field that will appear when this
+mode is selected.
+wep 128-bit Passphrase is the same older security as above. However,
+instead of having a key, your network administrator should have
+provided you with a passphrase to connect to the network.
+wpa & wpa2 Personal is the most common security mode for wireless
+networking. Once you select this mode, you will need to enter a
+password in the Password field.
+If your network administrator requires leap, Dynamic wep or wpa &
+wpa2 Enterprise then you will need to have the administrator help
+you with those modes.
+46
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+10. In the ipv4 Settings tab, you can change the Method field from “Auto-
+matic (dhcp)” to “Manual” or one of the other methods. For setting up
+manual settings (also known as a static address), please see the section
+above on manual setup for wired network connections.
+11. When you finish making changes to the connection, click Apply to save
+your changes and close the window. You can click Cancel at any time to
+close the window without saving any changes.
+12. Finally, click Close on the “Network Connections” window to return to
+the desktop.
+After clicking Apply, any changes made to the network connection will
+take effect immediately.
+Connecting to a mobile broadband network
+If you have a mobile device capable of tethering, such as an Android tablet
+or phone, then you may be able to utilize the mobile network connection
+on your computer through the device. The steps to enable tethering on any
+device can vary widely, but once you have enabled tethering on the device
+and connected it to your computer (usually through usb) then it will show
+up on the list of available and current connections in the NetworkManager
+applet, located in the top panel. Be aware that doing this will send your
+network traffic over the carrier provider’s mobile network and data rates
+may apply (and add up quickly!). Many standard desktop applications do
+not yet either detect mobile connections and restrict bandwidth usage or
+allow you to change a setting in the application to have it do so.
+Other connection methods
+There are other ways to get connected with Ubuntu:
+‣ With NetworkManager, you can connect to digital subscriber line (dsl)
+networks, a method of connecting to the Internet through your phone
+line via a modem.
+‣ It is possible for NetworkManager to establish a virtual private network
+(vpn) connection. These are most commonly used to create a secure
+connection to a workplace network.
+The instructions for making connections using dsl, or creating and
+establishing vpn connections, are beyond the scope of this guide.
+Browsing the web
+Once you have connected to the Internet, you should be able to browse the
+web. Mozilla Firefox is the default application for this in Ubuntu.
+Starting Firefox
+There are several ways to start Firefox. By default Ubuntu has the Firefox
+icon within the Launcher (the vertical bar down the left side of the screen).
+Select this icon to open Firefox. Or, open the Dash (the top-most icon in the
+Launcher) and search for firefox using the search box. If your keyboard
+has a “www” button, you can press that button to start Firefox.
+working with ubuntu
+47
+Figure 3.6: The default Ubuntu home page for
+the Firefox web browser.
+Navigating web pages
+Viewing your homepage
+When you start Firefox, you will see your home page. By default, this is the
+Ubuntu Start Page.
+To quickly go to your home page, press Alt+Home on your keyboard or
+press on the home icon in Firefox.
+Navigating to another page
+To navigate to a new web page, you need to enter its Internet address (also
+URL stands for uniform resource locator, which
+tells the computer how to find something on
+the Internet—such as a document, web page or
+an email address. WWW stands for World Wide
+Web, which means the web pages by which
+most people interact with the Internet.
+known as a url) into the Location Bar. urls normally begin with “http://”
+followed by one or more names that identify the address. One example
+is “http://www.ubuntu.com/.” (Normally, you can omit the “http://” part.
+Firefox will fill it in for you.)
+Figure 3.7: You can enter a web address or
+search the Internet by typing in the location bar.
+To navigate:
+1. Double-click in the Location Bar, or press Ctrl+L, to highlight the url
+that is already there.
+2. Enter the url of the page you want to visit. The url you type replaces
+any text already in the Location Bar.
+3. Press Enter.
+If you don’t know the url that you need, type a search term into the
+Search Bar to the right of the Location bar. Your preferred search engine
+—Google by default—will return a list of websites for you to choose from.
+(You can also enter your query directly into the Location Bar).
+48
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Selecting a link
+Most web pages contain links that you can select. These are known as
+“hyperlinks.” A hyperlink can let you move to another page, download a
+document, change the content of the page, and more.
+To select a link:
+1. Move the mouse pointer until it changes to a pointing finger. This hap-
+pens whenever the pointer is over a link. Most links are underlined text,
+but buttons and pictures on a web page can also be links.
+2. Click the link once. While Firefox locates the link’s page, status mes-
+sages will appear at the bottom of the window.
+Retracing your steps
+If you want to visit a page you have viewed before, there are several ways
+To go backwards and forwards you can also use
+Alt+Left and Alt+Right respectively.
+to do so.
+‣ To go back or forward one page, press the Back or Forward button by
+the left side of the Location Bar.
+‣ To go back or forward more than one page, click-and-hold on the re-
+spective button. You will see a list of pages you have recently visited. To
+return to a page, select it from the list.
+‣ To see a list of any urls you have entered into the Location Bar, press
+the down arrow at the right end of the Location Bar. Choose a page from
+the list.
+‣ To choose from pages you have visited during the current session, open
+the History menu and choose from the list in the lower section of the
+menu.
+‣ To choose from pages you have visited over the past few months, open
+the History ‣ Show All History (or press Ctrl+Shift+H). Firefox opens a
+“Library” window showing a list of folders, the first of which is “History.”
+Select a suitable sub-folder, or enter a search term in the search bar (at
+the top right), to find pages you have viewed before. Double-click a
+result to open the page.
+Stopping and reloading
+If a page is loading too slowly or you no longer wish to view a page, press
+The Reload button is at the right end of the
+Location Bar.
+Esc to cancel it. To reload the current page if it might have changed since
+you loaded it, press on the Reload button or press Ctrl+R.
+Opening new windows
+At times, you may want to have more than one browser window open. This
+may help you to organize your browsing session better, or to separate web
+pages that you are viewing for different reasons.
+There are four ways to create a new window:
+‣ On the top bar, select File ‣ New Window.
+‣ Press Ctrl+N.
+‣ Right-click on Firefox’s icon on the Launcher and select Open New
+Window.
+‣ Click on Firefox’s icon on the Launcher using your middle mouse button.
+Once a new window has opened, you can use it exactly the same as
+the first window—including navigation and opening tabs. You can open
+multiple windows.
+working with ubuntu
+49
+Opening a link in a new window
+Sometimes, you may want to click a link to navigate to another web page,
+but do not want the original to close. To do this, you can open the link in its
+own independent window.
+There are two ways to open a link in its own window:
+‣ Right-click a link and select Open Link in New Window.
+‣ Press-and-hold the Shift key while clicking a link.
+Tabbed browsing
+An alternative to opening new windows is to use Tabbed Browsing instead.
+Tabbed browsing lets you open several web pages within a single Firefox
+A new tab is independent of other tabs in the
+same way that new windows are independent
+of other windows. You can even mix-and-match
+—for example, one window may contain tabs
+for your emails, while another window has tabs
+for your work.
+window, each independent of the other. This frees space on your desktop
+as you do not have to open a separate window for each new web page. You
+can open, close, and reload web pages in one place without having to switch
+to another window.
+You can alternate quickly between different tabs by using the keyboard
+shortcut Ctrl+Tab.
+Opening a new blank tab
+There are three ways to create a new blank tab:
+‣ Click on the Open new tab button (a green plus-sign) on the right side of
+the last tab.
+‣ On the top bar, open File ‣ New Tab.
+‣ Press Ctrl+T.
+When you create a new tab, it contains a blank page with the Location
+Bar focused. Type a web address (url) or other search term to open a web-
+site in the new tab.
+Opening a link in its own tab
+Sometimes, you may want to click a link to navigate to another web page,
+but do not want the original to close. To do this, you can open the link in its
+own tab.
+There are several ways to open a link in its own tab.
+A tab always opens “in the background”—in
+other words, the focus remains on the original
+tab. The last method (Ctrl+Shift) is an
+exception; it focuses the new tab immediately.
+‣ Right-click a link and select Open Link in New Tab.
+‣ Press-and-hold the Ctrl key while clicking a link.
+‣ Click the link using either the middle mouse button or both left and right
+mouse buttons simultaneously.
+‣ Drag the link to a blank space on the tab bar or onto the Open new tab
+button.
+‣ Press-and-hold Ctrl+Shift while clicking a link.
+Closing a tab
+Once you have finished viewing a web page in a tab, you have various ways
+to close it:
+‣ Click on the Close button on the right side of the tab.
+‣ Click the tab with the middle mouse button or the mouse wheel.
+‣ Press Ctrl+W.
+‣ Right-click the tab and select Close Tab.
+50
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Restoring a closed tab
+Sometimes, you may close the wrong tab by accident, or want to bring back
+a tab that you have recently closed. Bring back a tab in one of the following
+two ways:
+‣ Press Ctrl+Shift+T to re-open the most recently closed tab.
+‣ Select History ‣ Recently Closed Tabs, and choose the name of the tab to
+restore.
+Changing the tab order
+Move a tab to a different location on the tab bar by dragging it to a new
+location using your mouse. While you are dragging the tab, Firefox displays
+a small indicator to show the tab’s new location.
+Moving a tab between windows
+You can move a tab into a new Firefox window or, if one is already open,
+into a different Firefox window.
+Drag a tab away from the tab bar, and it will open into a new window.
+Drag it from the tab bar into the tab bar of another open Firefox window,
+and it will move there instead.
+Searching
+You can search the web from within Firefox without first visiting the home
+page of the search engine. By default, Firefox will search the web using the
+Google search engine.
+Searching the web
+To search the web in Firefox, type a few words into the Firefox search Bar.
+For example, if you want to find information about Ubuntu:
+1. Move your cursor to the Search Bar using your mouse or press Ctrl+K.
+2. Type the phrase Ubuntu. Your typing replaces any text currently in the
+Search Bar.
+3. Press the magnifying glass or Enter to search.
+Search results from Google for “Ubuntu” will appear in the Firefox win-
+dow.
+Selecting search engines
+Figure 3.8: These are the other search engines
+you can use—by default—from the Firefox
+search bar.
+If you do not want to use Google as your search engine in the Search Bar,
+you can change the search engine that Firefox uses.
+To change your preferred search engine, press the search logo (at the
+left of your Search Bar—Google by default) and choose the search engine of
+your choice. Some search engines, such as Bing, Google and Yahoo, search
+the whole web; others, such as Amazon and Wikipedia, search only specific
+sites.
+Searching the web for words selected in a web page
+Sometimes, you may want to search for a phrase that you see on a web
+page. You can copy and paste the phrase into the Search Bar, but there is a
+quicker way.
+working with ubuntu
+51
+1. Highlight the word or phrase in a web page using your left mouse but-
+ton.
+2. Right-click the highlighted text and select Search [Search Engine] for
+[your selected words].
+Firefox passes the highlighted text to the search engine, and opens a new
+tab with the results.
+Searching within a page
+Figure 3.9: You can search within web pages
+using the Find Toolbar.
+You may want to look for specific text within the web page you are
+viewing. To find text within the current page in Firefox:
+1. Choose Edit ‣ Find or press Ctrl+F to open the Find Toolbar at the
+bottom of Firefox.
+2. Enter your search query into the Find field in the Find Toolbar. The
+search automatically begins as soon as you type something into the field.
+3. Once some text has been matched on the web page, you can:
+‣ Click on Next to find text in the page that is below the current cursor
+position.
+‣ Click on Previous to find text that is above the current cursor posi-
+tion.
+‣ Click on Highlight all to highlight all occurrences of your search
+words in the current page.
+‣ Select the Match case option to limit the search to text that has the
+same capitalization as your search words.
+To quickly find the same word or phrase again, press F3.
+You can skip opening the Find Toolbar altogether.
+1. Turn on the relevant Accessibility option with Edit ‣ Preferences ‣
+Advanced ‣ General ‣ Accessibility ‣ Search for text when I start typ-
+ing ‣ Close.
+2. Now, provided your cursor is not within a text field, when you start
+typing, it will automatically start searching for text.
+Viewing web pages full screen
+To display more web content on the screen, you can use Full Screen mode.
+Full Screen mode hides everything but the main content. To enable Full
+Screen mode, choose View ‣ Full Screen or press F11. While in full-screen
+mode, move your mouse to the top of the screen to reveal the url and
+search bars.
+Press F11 to return to normal mode.
+Copying and saving pages
+With Firefox, you can copy part of a page so that you can paste it elsewhere,
+or save the page or part of a page as a file on your computer.
+52
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Copying part of a page
+To copy text, links or images from a page:
+1. Highlight the text and images with your mouse.
+2. Right-click the highlighted text and select Copy, or press Ctrl+C.
+To copy just a single image, it is not necessary to highlight it. Just right-
+click the image and select Copy.
+You can paste the results into another application, such as LibreOffice.
+Copying a link
+To copy a text or image link (url) from a page:
+1. Position the pointer over the text, link or image. Your mouse pointer
+changes to a pointing finger.
+2. Right-click the link or image to open a pop-up menu.
+3. Select Copy Link Location.
+You can paste the link into other applications or into Firefox’s Location
+Bar.
+Saving all or part of a page
+To save an entire page in Firefox:
+1. Choose File ‣ Save Page As from the top bar, or press Ctrl+S. Firefox
+opens the “Save As” window.
+2. Choose a location for the saved page.
+3. Type a file name for the page.
+4. Press Save.
+To save an image from a page:
+1. Position the mouse pointer over the image.
+2. Right-click the image and select Save Image As. Firefox opens the “Save
+Image” window.
+3. Choose a location for the saved image.
+4. Enter a file name for the image.
+5. Press Save.
+Changing your home page
+Firefox shows the home page when it opens. By default, this is the Ubuntu
+Start Page. You can change your default home page to a new one, or even to
+several new ones.
+To change your home page:
+1. Navigate to the page that you would like to become your new home
+page. If you want Firefox to open more than one tab when it starts, open
+a new tab and navigate to the extra page as many times as you would
+like.
+The home page can also be set by entering the
+addresses that should be open in the Home
+Page, with a pipe (“|”) separating pages to be
+opened in separate tabs.
+2. Choose Edit ‣ Preferences ‣ General ‣ Startup ‣ Use Current Pages ‣
+Close.
+working with ubuntu
+53
+Figure 3.10: Change Firefox settings in this tab.
+Download settings
+In Edit ‣ Preferences ‣ General ‣ Downloads, you can tell Firefox where to
+The Downloads folder in the Library lists files
+downloaded in the past. It can be used to open
+or re-download files.
+place downloaded files, and whether or not to ask where each time.
+Bookmarks
+When browsing the web you may want to come back to certain web pages
+again without having to remember the url. To do this, you bookmark each
+page. These bookmarks are saved in the web browser, and you can use them
+to re-open to those web pages.
+Bookmarking a page
+After navigating to a web page you can save its location by bookmarking it.
+There are two ways to bookmark a page:
+‣ From the top bar, choose Bookmarks ‣ Bookmark This Page, or press
+Ctrl+D. A window opens, allowing you to provide a descriptive name for
+the bookmark and a location (within the browser’s bookmarks) to save it.
+Press Done to save.
+‣ Press the star on the right-hand side in the Location Bar. It turns blue.
+This saves the page in the Unsorted Bookmarks folder.
+Navigating to a bookmarked page
+To navigate to a bookmarked page, open the Bookmarks menu from the top
+bar, and choose your bookmark. Firefox opens the bookmark in the current
+tab.
+You can reveal the bookmarks, including the Unsorted Bookmarks, in a sidebar
+on the left of the browser window. Select View ‣ Sidebar ‣ Bookmarks, or press
+Ctrl+B. Repeat, or press the close button at its top, to hide the sidebar.
+54
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Deleting or editing a bookmark
+To delete or edit a bookmark, do one of the following:
+‣ If you are viewing the page already, the star in the Location Bar will
+be blue. Press it. Firefox opens a small pop-up window, where you can
+either Remove Bookmark or edit the bookmark.
+‣ Select Bookmarks ‣ Show All Bookmarks or press Shift+Ctrl+O. In
+the window that opens, you can navigate to bookmarks. Select the one
+you would like to change. To delete, right-click and choose Delete or
+press Delete on your keyboard. To edit, change the details shown at the
+bottom of the window.
+History
+Whenever you are browsing the web, Firefox saves your browsing history.
+This allows you to come back to a web page that you have recently visited
+without needing to remember or bookmark the page’s url.
+To see your most recent history, open the History menu from the top
+bar. The menu displays several of the most recent web pages that you have
+viewed. Choose one of the pages to return to it.
+To view the complete history, either:
+‣ Select View ‣ Sidebar ‣ History or press Ctrl+H to view the history in
+a sidebar; this replaces the bookmarks sidebar if it is open. (Repeat, or
+press the close button at its top, to hide the sidebar.)
+‣ Select History ‣ Show All History or press Shift+Ctrl+H to view the
+history in a pop-up window.
+Your browsing history is categorized as “Today,” “Yesterday,” “Last 7
+days,” “This month,” the previous five months by name, and finally “Older
+than 6 months.” If the history for a category does not exist, that category
+will not be listed. Select one of the date categories in the sidebar to expand
+it and reveal the pages that you visited during that time. Once you find the
+page you want, select it to re-display it.
+You can also search for a page by its title or url. Enter a few letters
+from one or more words or, optionally, the url in the Search field at the
+top of the history sidebar. The sidebar displays a list of web pages matching
+your search words. Select the page you want. (You can even do this in the
+Location Bar, saving you from having to open the History sidebar or pop-up
+window.)
+Clearing private data
+Firefox stores all its data only on your computer. Nevertheless, if you share
+your computer, you may at times want to delete all private data.
+Select History ‣ Clear Recent History… or press Shift+Ctrl+Delete.
+Choose your Time range to clear, and under Details which items to clear,
+and press Clear Now.
+Preventing Firefox from recording private data
+You can start a “private browsing” session during which Firefox will not
+record anything permanently. This lasts until you disable private browsing
+or restart Firefox.
+working with ubuntu
+55
+Choose File ‣ New Private Window or press Shift+Ctrl+P. As long
+as you remain in this mode, Firefox will not record browsing, download,
+form or search history, or cookies, nor will it cache files. However, if you
+bookmark anything or download files, these will be retained.
+To end private browsing, just close the private browsing window by
+clicking on its close button or pressing Shift+Ctrl+W, or restart Firefox.
+Using a different web browser
+Figure 3.11: The Default Applications where you
+can change your preferred browser.
+If you choose to install a different web browser on your computer,
+you may want to use it as the default browser when you click links from
+emails, instant messages, and other places. Canonical supports Firefox and
+Chromium (Google’s open-source version of Chrome), but there are several
+others that you can install.
+To change your preferred web browser, open Session Indicator from the
+top panel on the far right-hand side, and open System Settings… ‣ Details ‣
+Default Applications. Choose your preferred web browser from the drop-
+down menu Web.
+Reading and composing email
+Introduction to Thunderbird
+Thunderbird is an email client developed by Mozilla and is easy to setup and
+use. It is free, fast, and comes packed full of useful features. Even if you are
+new to Ubuntu and Thunderbird, you will be up and running in no time,
+checking your email and staying in touch with friends and family.
+Setting up Thunderbird
+In the top right corner of the Ubuntu desktop you will see an envelope
+icon in the notification area. This is the messaging menu. From here, you
+can launch Thunderbird by clicking Set up Mail. Alternatively, you can
+click the Ubuntu button in the top left corner of the screen at the top of the
+Launcher to bring up the Dash and type thunderbird into the search box.
+Once Thunderbird opens, you will be greeted by a pop-up box prompting
+you to setup your email account.
+Before a valid email account is set up in Thunderbird, the first screen to
+appear will be an introductory message from Mozilla inviting you to set
+up an email account through a local service provider in your area. For the
+56
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Figure 3.12: Setting up Thunderbird
+purposes of these instructions, we will assume you already have an email
+address, so you can click on the button in the lower right corner of the
+screen that says Skip this and use my existing email.
+On the next screen titled Mail Account Setup, enter your name in the
+first text box, your email address in the second text box (for example, user-
+name@domain.com), and your email password in the third text box.
+Once completed, click the Continue button. Thunderbird will auto-
+If Thunderbird fails to create the account,
+you may need to configure it manually, using
+the parameters that were sent to you by your
+email address provider and your ISP. If you
+are still unable to set up your account, you
+can get help from community members at
+http://ubuntuforums.org.
+matically set up your email account for you. When Thunderbird finishes
+detecting your email settings, click Create Account and Thunderbird will do
+the rest. You can also set Thunderbird as your default news and rss reader
+by checking the boxes in the pop-up box that appear after you click Create
+Account. If you don’t want to see this message box every time you start
+Thunderbird, simply deselect Always perform this check when starting
+Thunderbird. You are now ready to start using Thunderbird.
+Around the Thunderbird workspace
+Now that you have your email account set up, let’s get to know the Thun-
+derbird workspace. Thunderbird is designed to be very user-friendly and
+easy to navigate. When you open the application, you will see the main
+workspace with your email folders (all folders pane) on the left. On the
+right of the screen, you will see two panes. The top-right pane displays a
+list of your received email, and the bottom-right pane displays the current
+email you are viewing. The size of these panes can be easily resized to suit
+your viewing environment. To resize the panes, simply left-click and hold
+the dividing bar that separates two panes and drag it to the desired position.
+The All Folders pane is where you can see your mail folders. This pane can
+also include:
+Inbox Where your email is stored and accessed
+Email address folder You will see one of these folders for each of the ac-
+counts you have setup
+Drafts Where your draft emails are stored
+Sent mail Where the emails you have sent are stored
+Spam This is where suspected spam email is stored so you can check them
+to make sure you haven’t lost any important emails
+Trash This is where messages you’ve deleted are stored so you can double
+check to make sure you haven’t accidentally deleted an important email
+(also one of the local folders)
+Important This is where emails you have marked as important are stored
+Starred This is where emails you have marked with a star are stored
+working with ubuntu
+57
+Personal This is where emails you have marked as personal are stored
+Receipts You can move important receipts to this folder.
+Travel You can use this folder to store travel emails such as flight times and
+bookings
+Work You can store work emails in this folder to keep them separate from
+your personal email
+Outbox Where the emails you are in the process of sending are stored (also
+one of the local folders)
+Across the top of the Thunderbird workspace, you will see at least four
+control buttons, Get Mail, Write, Address Book, and Tag. These are used to
+get your mail, write your mail, access your address book, and tag your email
+messages.
+At the top-right of the All Folders pane, you will see a set of quick filter
+buttons, Unread, Starred, Contact, Tags, and Attachment. You can use
+these buttons to filter your email messages so that you only see your unread
+mail, your favorite mail (starred), mail from people in your address book,
+mail you have tagged, and mail that includes attachments.
+If you are accustomed to a more traditional desktop and you have Thun-
+derbird maximized to full screen, you might be wondering where the menus
+are located. They are still there, and if you want to access them, move your
+mouse to the top of the screen and you will see the familiar menus: File,
+Edit, View, Go, Message, Tools, and Help.
+At the top of the pane that displays your email, you can see six action
+buttons, Reply, Reply All, Forward, Archive, Junk, and Delete. You will
+find these very useful for quickly replying to email, forwarding your email
+to another person, archiving (backing up) your email, marking an email as
+junk mail, and quickly deleting an email. To the left of these quick action
+buttons, you will see information about the email you are viewing that
+includes the sender’s name, the subject of the email, the reply address, and
+the recipient of the email.
+Using your address book
+At the top of the main workspace, you will see the Address Book button.
+Click this button to access your address book. The address book opens in a
+new window. From here, you can easily organize your contacts. At the top
+of the address book window, you will see five buttons, New Contact, New
+List, Properties, Write, and Delete. They function in the following ways:
+New Contact This button allows you to add a new contact and add as much
+detail as you wish to save, including name, nickname, address, email,
+additional email, screen name, work number, home number, fax, pager
+and mobile/cell number.
+New List This button allows you to add lists for your contacts such as
+family, friends, acquaintances, etc.
+Properties This button allows you to rename your address book name. The
+default name is personal address book, but you can change the name as
+you see fit.
+Write This button allows you to quickly send an email to a selected contact
+without needing to go back to the main Thunderbird workspace. Simply
+select a contact from your contacts list and click the Write button to
+send them an email.
+Delete This button allows you to quickly delete a contact from your address
+58
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+book. Just select the contact you want to delete and press Delete to
+remove the contact from your address book.
+Checking and reading messages
+Thunderbird will automatically check your email account for new mes-
+sages every ten minutes, but if you need to manually check for new mes-
+sages at any time, left-click the Get Mail button in the top left corner of
+the workspace. Thunderbird will then check your email account for new
+messages and download them.
+As they are downloaded, you will see the new email appear in the mes-
+sage pane on the right side of the workspace. When you click on one of
+your emails, it will appear in the pane below your email list. If you want to
+view your email in a full window, double-left-click your chosen email, and
+Thunderbird will display the email in a full window in its own tab.
+At the top of the open email, you will see information about the email
+Remote content represent parts of an email
+that may be hosted elsewhere. Remote content
+might consist of video or audio, but most
+often is graphics or HTML content. For security
+purposes, Thunderbird will ask you if you wish
+to view this remote content.
+and the five quick action buttons, Reply, Forward, Archive, Junk and
+Delete as previously discussed. If an email has remote content, you will
+see a message asking if you want to display the email or not.
+You may want to sort out your emails from time to time; this is easily
+done with Thunderbird. When you have an email selected and you want
+to tag the email, simply click the Tag button and a drop-down list will be
+displayed. In this drop-down list, you have the options to Remove All Tags
+or Mark as…, Important, Work, Personal, To Do, Later. You can also create
+a New Tag more suited to your own personal requirements.
+Composing Messages
+To compose a new email message, click the Write button in the top left of
+the workspace. This will bring up a new window where you can compose
+your new email. In the To: field, enter the email address of the destination
+—the contact to whom you are sending this email. If there is more than one
+contact to whom you are writing, separate multiple recipients with commas.
+If a contact that you are addressing is in your address book, you can
+address them by name. Start typing the name of the contact; Thunderbird
+will display the list of mailing contacts below your text. Once you see the
+contact you intend to address, click on their email address or use the down
+arrow key and then press Enter to select the address.
+If you would like to carbon-copy (Cc) some contacts, click the To: field
+and select Cc:. Contacts who are listed on the To: and Cc: lines will receive
+the email, and will see the rest of the contacts to whom an email was sent.
+If you would like to send an email to some contacts without disclosing to
+whom your email was sent, you can send a blind carbon-copy, or Bcc. To
+enable Bcc, select Bcc: by clicking the To: field and selecting Bcc:. Any
+contacts entered in the Bcc: field will receive the message, but none of the
+recipients will see the names or emails of contacts on the Bcc: line.
+Instead of typing the email addresses or names of the contacts you are
+addressing in the message, you can select the contacts from your address
+book. Start typing a few letters from your contact’s first or last name in the
+To: field to filter the list to only show mailing contacts. Once you identify
+the contact you would like to address, click on their name in the list. If
+you’ve added the contact in error, delete their address and enter the correct
+address.
+You may enter a subject for your email in the Subject field. Messages
+working with ubuntu
+59
+should have a subject to help the recipient identify the general contents of
+the email while glancing at their message list. Enter the contents of your
+If you do not include a subject in your email,
+Thunderbird will warn you about this omission.
+message in the big text field below the subject. There is no practical limit on
+the amount of text you can include in your message.
+By default, Thunderbird will auto-detect the correct format for your
+email but you can change this by clicking Options then mouse over De-
+livery Format and select your preferred option from the list. You have a
+choice of Auto-Detect, Plain Text Only, Rich Text (HTML) Only, and Plain and
+Rich (HTML) Text.
+When you have finished composing your email, click on the Send button
+on the window’s toolbar. Your message will be placed in the Outbox, and
+will be sent to your desired recipient.
+Attaching files
+At times, you may want to send files to your contacts. To send files, you
+will need to attach them to your email message. To attach a file to an email
+You can attach quite a few different file types
+to emails, but be careful about the size of the
+attachments! If they are too big, some email
+systems will reject the email you are sending,
+and your recipient will never receive it!
+you are composing, click on the Attach button. When the new window
+opens, select the file you want to send and click Open. The file you selected
+will then be attached to the email when you click send.
+Replying to Messages
+In addition to composing new messages, you may want to reply to messages
+that you receive. There are three types of email replies:
+Reply or Reply to Sender sends your reply only to the sender of the message
+to whom you are replying.
+Reply to All sends your reply to the sender of the message as well as any
+address in To: or Cc: lines.
+Forward allows you to send the message, with any additional comments
+you may add, to some other contacts.
+To use any of these methods, click on the message to which you want
+to reply and then click the Reply, Reply to All, or Forward button on the
+message toolbar. Thunderbird will open the reply window. This window
+should look much like the window for composing new messages, but the
+To:, Cc:, Subject:, and main message content fields should be filled in from
+the message to which you are replying. Edit the To:, Cc:, Bcc:, Subject: or
+main body as you see fit. When your reply is finished, click on the Send
+button on the toolbar. Your message will be placed in the Outbox and will
+be sent.
+Using instant messaging
+To communicate with people online in real time, you will first need to
+install an instant messaging application such as Empathy, which lets you
+connect to many instant messaging networks (such as Google Talk, Salut,
+Jabber, Yahoo!, and aim). To install Empathy, open the Dash, search for
+Terminal and hit Enter or click on the icon labeled “Terminal”. Once inside
+the terminal, type sudo apt install empathy and hit Enter.
+Running Empathy for the first time
+Figure 3.13: This is the icon that Empathy
+displays in the launcher.
+To run Empathy for the first time, you need to start it from the Dash (see
+The Dash) by searching for Empathy and hitting Enter. Altenately, you can
+60
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+click on its icon, shown in 3.13. After Empathy launches, you should see a
+window similar to that in figure 3.14. At this time, Empathy does not know
+about any of your instant messaging accounts.
+Figure 3.14: You should see a window like this
+the first time you open Empathy.
+Adding accounts
+You must have existing chat accounts that are compatible with Empathy. If you
+do not have an existing account, you will need to create one before continuing.
+Be aware that when you Add or Remove
+accounts using the Online Accounts manager
+you will be adding or removing those accounts
+to or from all the applications that they
+integrate with, not just Empathy.
+On the first run, the Online Accounts manager will appear, allowing you
+to add accounts to be used with Empathy. You can return to this dialog at
+any time by navigating to Empathy ‣ Accounts. You should see a dialog
+similar to that in figure 3.15.
+Figure 3.15: Add your existing chat accounts
+for use in Empathy using the Online Accounts
+manager.
+Click Add account… on the left-hand side of the window if it is not
+already selected. At the top of the window, where it says Show accounts that
+integrate with:, select Empathy from the drop-down menu. Now click on
+the name of the chat service with which you have an account. Shown in
+figure 3.16, we have selected a Google account. You must now enter your
+login credentials and authorize Ubuntu to access your account.
+When you have authorized Ubuntu to access your account, you are
+shown all the applications that integrate with the account, including Em-
+pathy. All the applications have an ON/OFF button to control their inte-
+gration with the account. Make sure the ON/OFF button is set to ON for
+working with ubuntu
+61
+Figure 3.16: You must enter your account
+credentials and authorize Ubuntu to use your
+account.
+Empathy. There is also an Options button for you to edit details used by
+Empathy. The details shown are specific to each application. After adding
+your accounts, you can now use Empathy to chat with all of your friends,
+right from your Ubuntu desktop!
+Communicating with contacts
+Text
+To communicate with a contact, select the contact in Empathy’s main win-
+dow and double-click their name. Empathy should open a new window
+where you can type messages to your contact and see a record of previously
+exchanged messages.
+Figure 3.17: Chatting with friends in Empathy.
+To send a message to the contact, enter your message in the text field
+below the conversation history. When you have typed your message press
+the Enter key to send the message to your contact. When the person you
+are chatting with is typing to you, a small keyboard icon will appear next to
+their name in the chat window.
+If you are communicating with more than one person, then all of the
+conversations will be shown either in tabs in your Empathy window or in
+62
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+separate windows, depending on the option you have chosen in the menu
+item Empathy ‣ Preferences.
+Audio and Video Calling
+You also can use Empathy to chat with your friends using audio and video.
+To start an audio or video call, right click on the contact name, then select
+Audio Call or Video Call, as shown in figure 3.18. This will notify the
+person you are trying to call, and they will be asked if they would like to
+answer the call.
+Figure 3.18: Right-clicking a contact exposes
+many ways to communicate.
+If the person you are calling accepts your call request, you will be con-
+nected, and you can begin talking. If the person you are calling cannot see
+or hear you, your webcam or microphone may not be properly configured;
+see the sections on Sound and Using a webcam, respectively. You can end
+the call by clicking on the red telephone button in the chat window.
+Sending and receiving files
+Sending a file
+When you are in a conversation with a contact and you would like to send
+them a file, right-click the contact in the contact list—as in figure 3.18—
+and select Send File. Empathy should open the “Select file” window. Find
+the file you wish to send, and click on the Send button. A “File Transfers”
+window will open showing the file and its transfer progress. When the file
+transfer is complete, you can close the “File Transfers” window.
+Changing your status
+You can use your status to show your contacts how busy you are or what
+you are doing. Your contacts see your status next to your name when they
+chat with you. You can use the standard statuses, which are:
+‣ Available
+‣ Busy
+‣ Away
+‣ Invisible
+‣ Offline
+Two of these statuses have additional functionality. The Invisible status
+lets you see which of your contacts are online, but does not allow them to
+see that you are online. The Offline status logs you out entirely; you will
+not be able to see which of your contacts are online, nor can they see you or
+chat with you.
+Figure 3.19: Change your Empathy status
+from the drop-down list at the top of the main
+window.
+You can change your status from the drop-down list at the top of the
+main Empathy window, as shown in figure 3.19. This same drop-down list
+lets you set a custom status by choosing “Custom Message…” next to the
+icon that matches your status. Enter what you would like your status to say,
+and click on the green check mark.
+Desktop Sharing
+Desktop sharing is a very nice feature available with Ubuntu. It can be used
+for a lot of purposes, like troubleshooting, online meetings, or just showing
+off your cool desktop to your friend. It is very easy to get remote desktop
+sharing working between two Ubuntu machines.
+working with ubuntu
+63
+To share your screen, you will first have to set up Desktop Sharing. Open
+the Desktop Sharing application from the Dash (see The Dash). Next, select
+Allow other users to view your desktop; you may want to deselect Allow
+other users to control your desktop.
+After you have Desktop Sharing configured, open Empathy. To begin
+sharing your desktop, right-click on the contact you wish to share your
+desktop with, and select Share my desktop.
+It should be noted that the other user will obviously be able to see the
+information displayed on your screen. Please be sure to keep this in mind
+if you have documents or files that are of a private nature open on your
+desktop.
+Changing account settings
+If you need to add more accounts after the initial launch of Empathy, open
+the Empathy menu on the menu bar, then select Accounts. Empathy will
+then display the Online Accounts manager window.
+Editing an account
+You might need to edit the details of an account. Select the account you
+want to change on the left side of the Online Accounts window then click
+the Options button for Empathy. The Online Accounts manager should
+show the current information for the account. Once you have made your
+changes, click Done.
+Removing an account from Empathy
+To stop an account from showing in Empathy, select the account on the
+left hand side of the Online Accounts manager window. Then click on the
+ON/OFF button for Empathy and set it to OFF.
+Editing contacts
+Adding a contact
+To add a contact open Empathy ‣ Contacts ‣ Add contacts.. from the menu
+bar. Empathy opens the “New Contact” window.
+In the Account drop-down list, choose the account you want to add
+contacts for. When creating a contact you must select the service that
+matches the service your contact is using.
+After choosing the account you wish to add the contact to, enter their
+login id, their username, their screen name, or their email address in the
+Identifier text field. Next, in the Alias text field, enter the name you want to
+see in your contact list. Click Add to add the contact to your list of contacts.
+Removing a contact
+Right click on the contact that you want to remove, then select Remove.
+This will open the “Removing contact” window. Click on the Delete button
+to confirm that you want to remove this contact, or click Cancel to keep the
+contact.
+64
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Microblogging
+There is no longer a default microblogging client included within the core
+of Ubuntu/Unity, and so you will need to first install an appropriate applica-
+tion for whatever service you intend to use.
+Corebird is a modern GTK+ based Twitter client that, while not installed
+by default, is available in the default repositories.
+Install Corebird with sudo apt install corebird in a terminal. When
+you first start Corebird, it will give you a chance to request a token from
+Twitter in your web browser. This token will log you in to your Twitter
+account in Corebird.
+Figure 3.20: Corebird is a modern GTK+ client
+for Twitter
+Choqok, from an ancient Persian word for Sparrow, is a well-maintained
+and fully-featured client for Twitter.com, Pump.io (Formerly known as
+Identi.ca), and OpenDesktop.org services. It uses the Qt toolkit, is a part
+of the KDE Project, and also has ties to the Ubuntu community project
+Kubuntu.
+Figure 3.21: Choqok is a powerful microblog-
+ging client for Twitter.com, Pump.io, and
+OpenDesktop.org services.
+Install Choqok with sudo apt install choqok in a terminal. The startup
+wizard will authorize the client to utilize your Twitter account via a gen-
+working with ubuntu
+65
+erated token you will retrieve in your web browser, which by default in
+Ubuntu is Mozilla Firefox.
+Viewing and editing photos
+Shotwell Photo Manager is the default photo application in Ubuntu. This
+application allows you to view, tag, edit, and share photos. To start Shotwell
+Photo Manager, click on the Dash near the top-left of the screen, then select
+the Shotwell Photo Manager icon labeled View Photos. If you do not see
+Shotwell Photo Manager, simply type Shotwell in the search bar at the top
+of the Dash and then select the Shotwell Photo Manager application.
+Figure 3.22: Manage your photo collection,
+enhance your photos while keeping the original,
+and share your memories online using Shotwell
+Photo Manager.
+Importing Photos
+When you launch Shotwell Photo Manager for the first time, you will be
+greeted with the “Welcome!” window which provides instructions on how
+to import photos. Click OK. You can now import photos by dragging photos
+into the Shotwell Photo Manager window or by connecting your camera or
+external storage device to the computer.
+From a digital camera
+Connect your camera to the computer using the
+data cable, and power on your camera. If your camera is properly detected,
+you will see a new window prompting you to launch an application. Select
+Shotwell Photo Manager in the drop-down menu, then click OK. Your
+camera will be listed in the Shotwell Photo Manager sidebar. Select your
+camera in the sidebar. You will see a preview of the contents stored in the
+camera’s memory. Select individual photos by pressing and holding Ctrl
+and clicking on each photo you want to import, and then click Import
+Selected on the bottom bar of the window. Or, you can choose to import all
+photos by clicking Import All.
+From your computer
+You can import photos into Shotwell Photo Manager
+by dragging photos from the file browser into the Shotwell Photo Manager
+66
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+window. Alternatively, you can click File ‣ Import From Folder, then select
+the folder containing the photos you want to import.
+From external hard drive, usb flash drive, or cd/dvd
+Importing photos
+from external storage is similar to importing from your computer. Your
+external storage device may also appear under the Camera label on the
+Shotwell Photo Manager sidebar. Follow the instructions for importing from
+a camera or computer.
+Choosing where Shotwell Photo Manager saves photos
+The default location for the Shotwell Photo Manager Library is your Pic-
+tures folder in your home directory. When importing pictures using the
+“Import” window, you will be given the option to copy the files to your
+Library or keep the files in place.
+If you have your photos stored on your computer, the option Import in
+Place will be suitable. This will prevent photos from being duplicated. If
+you are importing photos from an external source, such as a portable hard
+drive, usb flash drive, or cd/dvd, you should select Copy into Library so
+the photos are copied to your computer—otherwise the photos won’t appear
+when you remove the external source.
+Viewing photos
+Choose Library or any collection in the sidebar to display photos from
+your selection. Use the slider on the bottom bar to adjust the size of the
+thumbnails. To view a full-window image, double-click an individual photo.
+In the full-window view, you can navigate through the collection using
+the backward and forward arrows, zoom in on the image using the slider,
+pan by clicking and dragging the image, and exit the full-window view by
+double-clicking the image.
+To view the collection in full-screen mode, press F11 or go to View ‣
+Fullscreen. You can navigate through the collection using the toolbar by
+moving your mouse to the bottom of the screen. To view a slideshow pre-
+sentation of the collection, press F5 or go to View ‣ Slideshow. Press the Esc
+key to exit the Fullscreen or Slideshow views.
+Organizing photos
+Shotwell Photo Manager makes finding photos of the same type easier by
+using tags. You can apply as many tags to a photo as you like. To apply tags
+to photos, first select the photos. Then right-click on the photos and select
+Add Tags. Enter the tags you want into the text field, separated by commas.
+If you are adding new tags, these will appear in the side bar on the right
+under the Tags label.
+Editing images
+You may want to edit some of the photos you import into Shotwell Photo
+Manager. For example, you may want to remove something at the edge,
+adjust the color, reduce the red-eye effect, or straighten the image. To edit a
+photo, double-click on the photo you want to edit, and then click on one of
+the following buttons:
+working with ubuntu
+67
+Rotate
+Click Rotate to rotate the image 90° clockwise. You can click the button
+more than once and it will rotate the image clockwise in 90° intervals.
+Crop
+Click Crop to change the framing of the photo. The image will darken and a
+selection will appear. Adjust the selection to your desired crop by dragging
+a corner or side. If you want to choose a specific aspect ratio, use the drop-
+down menu to select one of the preset ratios or enter your own custom
+ratio. A pivot button is provided to change your selection from landscape to
+portrait and vice versa. Once you are happy with the selection, click OK to
+apply the crop or Cancel to discard it.
+Red-eye reduction
+If you have taken a photo and the flash has caused the subject to have
+red eyes, you can fix this problem in Shotwell Photo Manager using the
+following process.
+1. Click the Red-eye button. A circle will appear.
+2. Drag this circle over one of the subjects eyes and then use the slider to
+adjust the circle size.
+3. When the circle is over the eye, click Apply to fix the red eye.
+You will need to repeat this for each individual eye. Use caution when
+adjusting the size of the circle. A circle too large that covers the skin may
+cause discoloration when applying the red-eye reduction.
+Adjust
+Clicking Adjust will bring up a window that lets you edit a few things:
+Level Similar to contrast.
+Exposure How bright the image is.
+Saturation How colorful the image is.
+Tint The overall color.
+Temperature Whether the image is warm (more yellow) or cool (more blue).
+Shadows How dark the shadows are.
+To change these values, drag the sliders until you are satisfied with the
+image. Click OK to apply the changes, Reset to undo the changes and start
+over, or Cancel to discard the changes.
+Auto-adjustment with Enhance
+Click Enhance to let Shotwell Photo Manager automatically adjust the
+color, levels, exposure, contrast, and temperature to create a more pleasing
+image.
+Reverting an edited photo to the original
+When you edit a photo in Shotwell Photo Manager, your original image re-
+mains untouched. You can undo all of the changes and revert to the original
+version by right-clicking on the photo, then selecting Revert to Original.
+This option is only available for edited photos.
+68
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Sharing your photos
+You can easily share your photos on the web using Shotwell Photo Man-
+agers’s Publish feature. Select the photos you want to share, then go to the
+top menu and click File ‣ Publish. A new window will appear asking where
+the photos are to be published. Choose Facebook, Flickr, or Picasa Web Al-
+bums in the upper right-hand drop-down menu. Some services may require
+you to authorize Shotwell Photo Manager before allowing the application to
+publish photos. Follow the instructions in the window, select your desired
+options, and click Publish to upload your images to the web.
+Further information
+We’ve only just touched on the features of Shotwell Photo Manager. To
+get more help, select Help ‣ Contents. This will load the online manual,
+where you can get more detailed instructions on how to use Shotwell Photo
+Manager effectively.
+Watching videos and movies
+To watch videos and dvds in Ubuntu, you can use the Videos application.
+To start Videos, click on the Dash, then search for “Videos” and select it.
+This will open the “Videos” window.
+Figure 3.23: The “Videos” (commonly called
+“Totem”) application plays videos as well as
+music.
+Codecs
+Watching most commercial dvds and some video files may require you
+DRM, or Digital Restrictions Management, is the
+practice of imposing technological restrictions
+that control what users can do with digital
+media. When a program is designed to prevent
+you from copying or sharing a song, reading an
+ebook on another device, or playing a single-
+player game without an Internet connection,
+you are being restricted by DRM.
+to install additional software. You will need “codecs” for Ubuntu to de-
+code proprietary music and video files as well as for music and video files
+encumbered by drm. You will need “unscrambling software” to access com-
+mercial dvds encrypted by drm.
+Legal Notice: Patent and copyright laws differ depending on which country you
+are in. Please obtain legal advice if you are unsure whether a particular patent or
+restriction applies to a media format you wish to use in your country.
+To install these additional codecs, open the Terminal either through
+the Dash or the Launcher. When the “Terminal” window opens, use apt to
+install the following packages via sudo apt install:
+‣ ubuntu-restricted-extras
+working with ubuntu
+69
+‣ libdvdread4
+‣ libdvdnav4
+Double-click each item above and then click the Install button. This
+may open an “Authenticate” window. If so, enter your administrative pass-
+word, then click Authenticate to start the installation process. The ubuntu-
+restricted-extras meta-package includes most if not all restricted codecs as
+well as the Adobe Flash Player npapi plugin and Microsoft corefonts.
+Playing videos from file
+Open the Movie menu in the Videos application, then select Open Local
+Video… or Open Web Video… which will open the “Add Videos” or “Add
+Web Video” window, respectively. Find the file or files that you want to play
+and click on the Add button. The video or videos will now be available for
+viewing in the Videos tab, along with any other videos already located in an
+indexed folder such as your Videos folder in your user home directory.
+Playing a DVD
+When you insert a dvd in the computer, Ubuntu should open the “You have
+just inserted a Video dvd. Choose what application to launch.” window.
+Make sure that Videos is chosen in the drop-down list and then click OK.
+The “Movie Player” window will open and the movie will begin. You can
+also choose to always perform the action you just specified when another
+Video dvd is inserted.
+If the “Videos” window is already open, then open the Videos tab, and
+select the dvd title that should now appear in the list as a tile.
+Listening to audio and music
+Ubuntu comes with the Rhythmbox Music Player for listening to your mu-
+sic, streaming Internet radio and managing playlists and podcasts. Rhythm-
+box (Figure 3.24) can also help you find and purchase music, along with
+managing subscriptions to your favorite rss feeds.
+Starting Rhythmbox
+There are several ways to start Rhythmbox.
+‣ Open the Dash, type Rhythmbox or Music and click on the Rhythmbox
+Music Player icon.
+‣ Ubuntu comes with an indicator menu in the top bar for sound-related
+applications and devices (
+). After you’ve opened Rhythmbox the first
+time, a link to start Rhythmbox and basic controls will be placed under
+this indicator.
+If you close Rhythmbox by pressing Alt+F4, or CTRL+W, or clicking the
+red close button (
+), it will disappear from view but continue to play in the
+background. You can still control music playback or reopen the application
+from the sound indicator (
+), as shown in Figure 3.25.
+Playing music
+To play music, you can either double-click on your music file or, alterna-
+tively, import your music into your library. To do the latter, choose File ‣
+70
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Figure 3.24: Rhythmbox Music Player
+Figure 3.25: Rhythmbox controls as displayed
+under the sound indicator. The applica-
+tion is currently playing Hexenritt, from
+Humperdinck’s opera Hänsel Und Gretel.
+Add Music… or press Ctrl+O on your keyboard to import a folder contain-
+ing audio files. You can use the dropdown box to select the folder where
+your music resides or click the Other… option to find an alternate folder.
+The Rhythmbox toolbar contains most of the controls that you will use
+for browsing and playing your music. If you want to play a song, double-
+click a track; or click it and press the Play button on the toolbar, choose
+Control ‣ Play from the menu bar, or press Ctrl+Space. When a song is
+playing, the Play button will become a Pause button. Use this button, Con-
+trol ‣ Play, or Ctrl+Space to toggle between playing and pausing the track.
+Next and Previous buttons are next to the Play/Pause button. Click on
+these buttons to play the next and previous songs in your library or playlist.
+Rhythmbox also has options to toggle repeat mode (Repeat, Control ‣
+Repeat or Ctrl+R) and shuffle mode (Shuffle, Control ‣ Shuffle or Ctrl+U).
+Playing Audio CDs
+When you insert an audio cd in the computer, Ubuntu should open the
+“You have just inserted an Audio cd. Choose what application to launch.”
+window. Make sure that Rhythmbox is chosen in the drop-down list and
+then click OK. The “Rhythmbox” window will open. You can also choose
+to always perform the action you just specified when another Video dvd is
+inserted.
+To play your cd once in Rhythmbox you can use the audio controls in
+working with ubuntu
+71
+the Rhythmbox toolbar. Adding the music to your library, or ”Ripping” the
+audio, is covered below and available in this same window.
+Importing (“Ripping”) Audio CDs
+Begin by inserting a cd. Rhythmbox will automatically detect it and add it
+to the side menu. If you have an active Internet connection, Rhythmbox will
+try to find the album details via the web. Click the cd. Uncheck any tracks
+you don’t want imported. Press the Extract button, located at the upper-left
+corner of the right panel. Rhythmbox will begin importing the cd. As it
+finishes each track, it will appear in your Music Library.
+Listening to streaming audio
+Rhythmbox is pre-configured to enable you to stream audio from various
+Streaming audio stations are “radio stations”
+that broadcast over the Internet. Some of these
+are real radio stations that also stream over the
+Internet, and others broadcast only over the
+Internet.
+sources. These include Internet broadcast stations (Radio from the Side
+Pane), Last.fm and Libre.fm. To listen to an Internet radio station, click on
+the Radio icon in the Side Pane for a list of pre-configured stations. You can
+filter by genre in the middle pane. To add a new radio station, select Add
+and enter the radio station url.
+You can browse a selected list of radio stations
+at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_
+Internet_stations or you can use your browser
+to search for “Internet radio stations.”
+Connect digital audio players
+Rhythmbox can connect with many popular digital media players. Con-
+nected players will appear in the Devices list. Features will vary depending
+on the player (and often the player’s popularity), but common tasks like
+transferring songs and playlists should be supported. If your device isn’t
+shown on the Devices list, try searching for it by clicking on the + button ‣
+Check for New Devices in the bottom-left corner.
+Figure 3.26: Rhythmbox connected to an
+Android device
+Listen to shared music
+If you are on the same network as other Rhythmbox users (or most other
+DAAP stands for “Digital Audio Access Proto-
+col,” and is a method designed by Apple to let
+software share media across a network.
+music player software), you can share your music and listen to their shared
+72
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+music. To do this, click File ‣ Connect to DAAP Share… Then enter the
+ip address and the port number. Click OK. Clicking a shared library will
+enable you to browse and play songs from other computers.
+Manage podcasts
+Rhythmbox can manage all of your favorite podcasts. Select Podcasts from
+the Side Pane to view all added podcasts. The toolbar will display additional
+options to Browse, View All, Add and Update. Choose Add on the toolbar
+and enter the url of the podcasts to save it to Rhythmbox. You can also
+search for podcasts to find here to add to Rhythmbox. Podcasts will be
+automatically downloaded at regular intervals or you can manually update
+feeds. Select an episode and click Play. You can also delete episodes.
+Rhythmbox preferences
+The default configuration of Rhythmbox may not be exactly what you want.
+Choose Edit ‣ Preferences to alter the application settings. The Preferences
+tool is broken into four main areas: general, playback, music, and Podcasts.
+General includes how you want Rhythmbox to display artist and track
+information. You can adjust the columns visible in your library and how
+the toolbar icons are displayed.
+Playback options allow you to enable crossfading and the duration of the
+fade between tracks.
+Music includes where you would like to place your music files and the
+library structure for new tracks added to Rhythmbox. You can also set
+your preferred audio format.
+Podcasts designates where podcasts are stored on your computer along
+with the ability to change how often podcast information is updated.
+Plugins
+Rhythmbox supports a wide array of plugins, which add functionality
+to Rhythmbox. Many of the plugins provide basic audio playback, and
+you may check a few more boxes, for example, to access Soundcloud or to
+provide a consistent playback volume (ReplayGain). To view or change the
+activated plugins, use the global menu bar (Tools ‣ Plugins).
+Managing your music
+Rhythmbox supports creating playlists. Playlists can be either static lists
+of songs to be played in order or smart playlists based on filter criteria.
+Playlists do not contain the actual songs, but only provide references to
+them. Thus, if you remove a song from a playlist (right-click on the song ‣
+Remove from Playlist), the song will remain in your library and on your
+hard drive.
+To create a playlist, choose File ‣ Playlist ‣ New Playlist… or + button ‣
+New Playlist in the bottom-left corner, or press Ctrl+N. It appears in the
+sidebar as “New Playlist.” Select the new playlist in the sidebar on the left
+and then press F2 to give the new playlist a name of your choosing. Drag
+songs from your library to the new playlist in the side pane or right-click on
+songs and select Add to Playlist and pick the playlist.
+Automatic Playlists are created in a similar way. Choose File ‣ Playlist ‣
+New Automatic Playlist… or + button ‣ New Automatic Playlist in the
+working with ubuntu
+73
+bottom-left corner. Define the filter criteria. You can add multiple filter
+rules and select a name. Save. You can update any playlist (including the
+predefined ones) by first selecting it on the sidebar and then selecting the
+Playlist button and selecting Edit….
+Rhythmbox supports song ratings. Right-click a song in your library ‣
+Properties ‣ Details and click on the number of stars. To remove a rating,
+select zero stars. Other song information such as Title, Artist and Album
+can be changed. Right-click a song in your library ‣ Properties ‣ Basic.
+To remove a song, right-click ‣ Remove. To delete a song from your hard
+drive entirely, right-click ‣ Move to the Rubbish Bin. If you ever want to
+move a song, highlight the song (or group of songs) from your library and
+drag it to a folder or to your desktop. This will make a copy of the audio file
+in the new location.
+Audio codecs
+Different audio files (mp3, wav, aac, ogg, etc.) require unique tools to de-
+code them and play the contents. These tools are called codecs. Rhythmbox
+attempts to detect any missing codecs on your system so you can play all of
+your audio files. If a codec is missing, it automatically tries to find the codec
+online and guides you through its installation.
+Rhythmbox support
+Rhythmbox is used by many users throughout the world. There are a vari-
+ety of support resources available in many languages.
+‣ Help ‣ Contents or F1 for the main help.
+‣ Help ‣ Get Help Online to ask questions and report bugs.
+‣ The Rhythmbox website at http://www.rhythmbox.org/.
+‣ The Multimedia & Video category of Ubuntu Forums at http://ubuntuforums.
+org/forumdisplay.php?f=334.
+Burning CDs and DVDs
+To create a cd or dvd, you will need to first install a burning application
+such as Brasero (The GNOME default) or K3b (A powerful utility built
+with the Qt toolkit). For the purposes of the Manual we will install and
+use Brasero. To do this, click the Ubuntu Software icon on the launcher,
+located to the left by default but it may also be on the bottom of the screen.
+Once Ubuntu Software opens search for Brasero using the top search bar
+in the “Ubuntu Software” window. Press ”Install” and enter your password.
+Ubuntu Software will now create an icon for Brasero on your launcher.
+Click on this icon. This opens the Brasero Disc Burner application. The
+burning options (Figure 3.27) appearing within Brasero are explained below.
+74
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+If you only need to burn a disc image such as an ISO file, you can do this from
+the Files application’s context menu when you right-click on a disk image file.
+After right-clicking the ISO file in Files, select ”Open With ‣ Disk Image Writer”.
+At this point, do not select one of your hard disks in the window that appears
+unless you are certain you intend to wipe that device! Select a destination (such
+as your optical drive with blank media inserted) and click ”Start Restoring…”.
+This uses the GNOME Disks component/utility, which is included within the base
+Ubuntu/Unity system. A burning application such as Brasero or K3b is only nec-
+essary if you plan on creating your own disc images, or ”projects”, or if you prefer
+greater control over the burning process.
+Figure 3.27: Brasero burns music, video, data
+DVDs and CDs.
+Getting Started
+Before you can use Brasero, you need to Create a new project. There are
+three types of media projects available: Audio Project, Data Project, and
+Video Project. There are also two utility projects available: Disc Copy and
+Burn Image. Make your selection based on your requirements.
+At this current time, Brasero does not support
+Blu-Ray.
+The following options apply for all projects except Disc Copy and Burn Image.
+Adding files to a project
+To add files to the list, click the + button. This button will open the “Select
+Files” window. Navigate to the file you want to add, click the desired file,
+then click the Add button. Repeat this process for each file until all desired
+files have been added.
+Removing files
+If you want to remove a file from the project, click the file in the list and
+click on the - button. To remove all the files in the list click on the Broom
+shaped button.
+working with ubuntu
+75
+Saving a project
+To save an unfinished project, choose Project ‣ Save. The “Save Current
+Project” window will be opened. Choose where you would like to save the
+project. In the Name: text field, enter a name for the project. Click the Save
+button, and your unfinished project will be saved. When saving a project,
+you are only saving the parameters of the project; you’ve burned nothing to
+the disc at this time.
+Burning the disc
+When you click the Burn… button, you will see the “Properties of …” win-
+dow.
+You can specify the burning speed in the Burning speed drop-down. It is
+safest to choose the slowest speed to prevent a corrupted CD / DVD disc.
+To burn your project directly to the disc, select the Burn the image
+directly without saving it to disc option. With this option selected, no
+image file is created, and no files are saved to the hard disk. All data is
+saved to the blank cd or dvd. Note that Brasero only burns information
+onto standard CDs and DVDs; Brasero does not burn data onto Blu-Ray
+DVDs at this time.
+The Simulate before burning option is useful if you encounter problems
+burning discs. Selecting this option allows you to simulate the disc burning
+process without actually writing data to a disc—a wasteful process if your
+computer isn’t writing data correctly. If the simulation is successful, Brasero
+will burn the disc after a ten second pause. During those ten seconds, you
+have the option to cancel the burning process.
+Blanking a disk
+Some CDs and DVDs have an rw marking on them. rw simply indicates
+the disc is Re-Writable, meaning the current data on the disc can be com-
+pletely erased and new data can be written to it. To erase a disc, open the
+Tools menu, then select Blank. The “Disc Blanking” window will be open.
+In the Select a disc drop-down choose the disc that you would like to erase.
+You can enable the Fast blank option if you would like to shorten the
+amount of time to perform the blanking process. However, selecting this
+option will not fully remove the files; if you have any sensitive data on your
+disc, it would be best not to enable the Fast blank option.
+Once the disc is erased (blank), you will see The disc was successfully
+blanked. Click the Close button to finish.
+Audio project
+If you record your own music, then you may want to transfer this music
+onto an audio cd so your friends and family can listen. You can start an
+audio project by clicking Project ‣ New Project ‣ New Audio Project.
+When burning a music cd, it is important to remember that commercial
+music cds usually contains a two-second gap between the songs. To ensure
+your music has this same gap between songs, click the file and then click
+the pause button.
+You can slice files into parts by clicking the Knife button. This opens a
+“Split Track” window. The Method drop-down gives you four options; each
+option lets you split the track in a different way. Once you have split the
+track, click OK.
+76
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+In the drop-down list at the bottom of the main “Brasero” window, make
+sure that you have selected the disc where you want to burn the files. Then
+click the Burn button.
+Data project
+If you want to, for instance, make a back up of your documents or photos,
+it would be best to make a data project. You can start a data project by
+clicking Project ‣ New Project ‣ New Data Project.
+If you want to add a folder, click the Folder picture, then enter the name
+of the folder.
+In the drop-down list at the bottom of the main “Brasero” window, be
+sure to select the disc where you want to burn the files. Then click the Burn
+button.
+Video project
+If you want to, for instance, make a dvd of your family videos, it would be
+best to make a video project.
+You can start a video project by clicking Project ‣ New Project ‣ New
+Video Project.
+In the drop-down list at the bottom of the main “Brasero” window, be
+sure to select the disc where you want to burn the files. Then click the Burn
+button.
+Disc copy
+You can make a copy of an existing disc by clicking Project ‣ New Project ‣
+Disc copy. This opens the “Copy cd/dvd” window.
+If you have only one drive, you will need to first make a disc image and
+then burn it to a blank disc. If you have two cd/dvd drives, you can copy a
+disc from one to the other directly, assuming that the source disc is in one
+drive and the destination disc (the blank media) is in the other drive.
+In the Select disc to copy drop-down choose the disc to copy. In the
+Select a disc to write to drop-down either choose image file or the disc that
+you want to copy to.
+Disc image
+You can make an image file of your data as well. An “image,” in this context,
+is a single-file representation of the contents of the disk. The file usually has
+an .iso or .img extension. An image file is similar to a set of zipped files.
+Change where the image file is saved by clicking Burn…. This shows the
+“Location for Image File”. You can edit the name of the file in the Name:
+text field.
+The default location to save the image file is your home folder, but you
+can change the location by clicking the + button next to Browse for other
+folders. Once you have chosen where you want to save the photo or image,
+click Close.
+Returning to the “Copy cd/dvd” window, click Create Image. Brasero
+will open the “Creating Image” window and will display the job progress.
+When the process is complete, click Close.
+working with ubuntu
+77
+Burn image
+“Burning” an image to a disc should not be confused with copying an image file
+to a disc. When burnt, the contents of the image file are copied over to the disc,
+rather than the image file itself.
+To burn an image, that is, to transfer the contents inside an image file
+to a blank disc, open the Project ‣ New Project ‣ Burn Image. Brasero will
+open the “Image Burning Setup” window. Click on the Click here to select
+a disc image drop-down and the “Select Disc Image” window will appear.
+Navigate your way to the image you wish to burn, click on it, and then click
+Open.
+In the Select a disc to write to drop-down menu, click on the disc to
+which you’d like to write, then click Create Image.
+Working with documents, spreadsheets, and presentations
+LibreOffice Suite is the default office suite when working with documents,
+spreadsheets, and slide presentations.
+Working with documents
+If you need to work with documents, you can use the LibreOffice Word Pro-
+The LibreOffice Word Processor is known as
+LibreOffice Writer. LibreOffice Spreadsheet is
+known as Calc, and LibreOffice Presentation is
+known as Impress.
+cessor. Writer has all the features you need from a modern, full-featured
+word processing and desktop publishing tool including a built-in PDF cre-
+ator. It also has the ability to save documents in several common formats,
+such as “.doc” or “.txt” files. It’s simple enough for a quick memo, and yet
+powerful enough to create complete books with contents, diagrams, in-
+dexes, and more. You’re free to concentrate on your message, while Writer
+will make it look great. To start the word processor, open the Dash and
+search for LibreOffice Writer. Then select LibreOffice Writer.
+Working with spreadsheets
+If you need to work with spreadsheets, you can use LibreOffice Spreadsheet
+(Calc). Calc is the spreadsheet program you’ve always needed. Newcomers
+find it intuitive and easy to learn. Professional data miners and number
+crunchers will appreciate the comprehensive range of advanced func-
+tions. To start the spreadsheet application, open the Dash and search for
+LibreOffice Calc. Then select LibreOffice Calc.
+Working with presentations
+If you need to work with slides for a presentation, you can use LibreOffice
+Impress. Impress is a truly outstanding tool for creating effective multi-
+media presentations. Your presentations can be enhanced with 2D and 3D
+clip art, special effects and transition styles, animations, and high-impact
+drawings. To start the presentation application, open the Dash and search
+for LibreOffice Impress. Then select LibreOffice Impress.
+Getting more help
+Each of these applications come with a comprehensive set of help screens.
+If you are looking for more assistance with these applications, press the F1
+key after starting the application.
+4
+Hardware
+Using your devices
+Ubuntu supports a wide range of hardware, and support for new hardware
+improves with every release.
+Hardware identification
+There are various ways to identify your hardware in Ubuntu. The easiest
+would be to install an application from the Ubuntu Software application,
+called Sysinfo.
+Firstly, open the “Ubuntu Software” application, then use the search box
+at the top of the window to search for sysinfo. Select the Application, click
+Install. Enter your password when prompted, to install the application.
+To run the application, search for Sysinfo at the Dash search bar. Click
+on the program once you find it. The Sysinfo program will open a window
+that displays information about the hardware in your system.
+Displays
+Hardware drivers
+A driver is a piece of software which tells your computer how to communi-
+cate with a piece of hardware. Every component in a computer requires a
+driver to function, whether it’s the printer, dvd player, hard disk, or graph-
+ics card.
+The majority of graphics cards are manufactured by three well-known
+Your graphics card is the component in your
+computer which outputs to the display.
+Whether you are watching videos on YouTube,
+viewing DVDs, or simply enjoying the smooth
+transition effects when you maximize/minimize
+your windows, your graphics device is doing the
+hard work behind the scenes.
+companies: Intel, amd/ati, and nvidia Corp. You can find your video card
+manufacturer by referring to your computer’s manual, by looking for the
+specifications of your computer’s model on the Internet, by opening an
+application such as Sysinfo, or by using the command lspci in a terminal.
+The Ubuntu Software application houses a number of applications that can
+tell you detailed system information. SysInfo, see the previous section,
+is one such program that you can use to find relevant information about
+your System devices. Ubuntu comes with support for graphics devices
+manufactured by the above companies, and many others, out of the box.
+That means you don’t have to find and install any drivers yourself, Ubuntu
+takes care of it all.
+Keeping in line with Ubuntu’s philosophy, the drivers that are used by
+default for powering graphics devices are open source. This means that the
+drivers can be modified by the Ubuntu developers and problems with them
+can be fixed. However, in some cases a proprietary driver (restricted driver)
+provided by the company may provide better performance or features that
+are not present in the open source driver. In other cases, your particular
+device may not be supported by any open source drivers yet. In those
+scenarios, you may want to install the restricted driver provided by the
+manufacturer.
+For both philosophical and practical reasons, Ubuntu does not install
+restricted drivers by default but allows the user to make an informed choice.
+Remember that restricted drivers, unlike the open source drivers for your
+80
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+device, are not maintained by Ubuntu. Problems caused by those drivers
+will be resolved only when the manufacturer wishes to address them. To
+see if restricted drivers are available for your system, go to System Settings,
+then open Software and Updates and go to the Additional Drivers tab. If
+a driver is provided by the company for your particular device, it will be
+listed there. You can choose the proprietary driver for your graphics card,
+then click on the Apply Changes button to enable the driver. This process
+requires an active Internet connection and it will ask for your password.
+Once installation is complete you may have to reboot your computer to
+finish activating the driver.
+The Ubuntu developers prefer open source drivers because they allow
+Another useful resource is the official online
+documentation (http://help.ubuntu.com), which
+contains detailed information about various
+graphics drivers and known problems. This
+same documentation can be found by searching
+for Help in the Dash search bar or by pressing
+F1 on your keyboard.
+any problem to be identified and fixed by anyone with knowledge within
+the community. Ubuntu development is extremely fast and it is likely that
+your device will be supported by open source drivers. You can use the
+Ubuntu Live dvd to check your device’s compatibility with Ubuntu before
+installing, or go online to the Ubuntu forums or to http://www.askubuntu.
+com to ask about your particular device.
+Setting up your screen resolution
+One of the most common display related tasks is setting the correct screen
+resolution for your desktop monitor or laptop.
+Ubuntu correctly identifies your native screen resolution by itself and
+Displays are made up of thousands of tiny
+pixels. Each pixel displays a different color,
+and when combined they all display the image
+that you see. The native screen resolution is a
+measure of the amount of actual pixels on your
+display.
+sets it for you. However, due to a wide variety of devices available, some-
+times it can’t properly identify your resolution.
+To set or check your screen resolution, go to System Settings ‣ Displays.
+The “Displays” window automatically detects the type of display and shows
+your display’s name and size. The screen resolution and refresh rate is set
+to the recommended value by Ubuntu. If the recommended settings are
+not to your liking, you can change them here. For example, to change the
+resolution click on the triangle in the Resolution drop-down and choose
+the resolution you want. Ubuntu 16.04 now includes HiDPI settings in the
+System Settings Display module. You can now scale menu and title bars
+according to your viewing needs.
+Adding an extra display
+Sometimes, you may want to add more than one display device to your
+desktop, or you may want to add an external monitor to your laptop. Doing
+this is quite simple. Whether it’s an extra monitor, lcd tv, or a projector,
+Ubuntu can handle it all. Ubuntu supports the addition of multiple displays
+by default, which is as easy as plug and play.
+Ubuntu recognizes almost all the latest monitors, tvs and projectors
+by default. Sometimes it may happen that your additional display is not
+detected when you connect it to the machine. To resolve this, go to Sys-
+tem Settings ‣ Displays and click on Detect Displays. This will detect the
+monitors connected to the machine. This menu can also be found from the
+Power Off menu on the top panel. You can also search for Displays at the
+Dash search bar.
+Now, there are two modes which you can enable for your displays. One
+option is to spread your desktop across two or more monitors. This is par-
+ticularly useful if you are working on multiple projects and need to keep
+an eye on each of them at the same time. You can configure the screen to
+be on any side of your primary screen i.e. to your right, your left or on the
+hardware
+81
+top (particularly nice if you are working on a large screen i.e. a big monitor
+or a TV connected to your 12-13 inch laptop); just move the screen on the
+Displays settings to the side of your choice.
+The second option is to mirror the desktop onto each of the displays.
+This is useful when you are using a laptop to display something on a larger
+screen e.g. projector. To enable this option just check the box beside Mir-
+ror displays and click Apply to save the settings. You will get a pop-up
+notification asking if you want to keep the current setting or revert to the
+previous setting. Click to keep the current setting. Starting from Ubuntu
+12.04, you can also select whether you want the Unity Launcher in both the
+displays or only in the primary display. Ubuntu 16.04 LTS inherited better
+multi-monitor support for higher resolutions introduced in Ubuntu 13.04.
+Connecting and using your printer
+Ubuntu supports most new printers. You can add, remove, and change
+printer properties by navigating to System Settings ‣ Printers. You can also
+search for Printers from the Dash search bar. Opening Printers will display
+the “Printers-localhost” window.
+When you want to add a printer, you will need to make sure that it is
+switched on, and plugged into your computer with a usb cable or connected
+to your network.
+Adding a local printer
+If you have a printer that is connected to your computer with a usb cable
+then this is termed a local printer. You can add a printer by clicking on the
+Add Printer button.
+In the left hand pane of the “New Printer” window any printers that you
+can install will be listed. Select the printer that you would like to install and
+click Forward.
+You can now specify the printer name, description and location. Each of
+If your printer can automatically do double
+sided printing, it will probably have a duplexer.
+Please refer to the instructions that came with
+the printer if you are unsure. If you do have a
+duplexer, make sure the Duplexer Installed
+option is checked and then click the Forward
+button.
+these should remind you of that particular printer so that you can choose
+the right one to use when printing. Finally, click Apply.
+Adding a network printer
+Make sure that your printer is connected to your network either with an
+Ethernet cable or via wireless, and that it is turned on. You can add a printer
+by opening Printers, and then clicking the Add button. The “New Printer”
+window will open. Click on the small triangle next to Network Printer.
+If your printer is found automatically it will appear under Network
+Printer. Click the printer name and then click Forward. In the text fields
+you can now specify the printer name, description and location. Each of
+these should remind you of that particular printer so that you can choose
+the right one to use when printing. Finally click Apply.
+You can also add your network printer by entering the ip address of the
+The default printer is the one that is automat-
+ically selected when you print a file. To set a
+printer as default, right-click the printer that
+you want to set as default and then click Set As
+Default.
+printer. Select “Find Network Printer,” enter the ip address of the printer
+in the box that reads Host: and press the Find button. Ubuntu will find the
+printer and add it. Most printers are detected by Ubuntu automatically. If
+Ubuntu cannot detect the printer automatically, it will ask you to enter the
+make and model number of the printer.
+82
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Changing printer options
+Printer options allow you to change the printing quality, paper size and
+media type. They can be changed by right-clicking a printer and choosing
+Properties. The “Printer Properties” window will show; in the left pane,
+select Printer Options.
+You can now specify settings by changing the drop-down entries. Some
+of the options that you might see are explained.
+Media size
+This is the size of the paper that you put into your printer tray.
+Media source
+This is the tray that the paper comes from.
+Color Model
+This is very useful if you want to print in Grayscale to save on ink, or to
+print in Color, or Inverted Grayscale.
+Media type
+Depending on the printer you can change between:
+‣ Plain Paper
+‣ Automatic
+‣ Photo Paper
+‣ Transparency Film
+‣ cd or dvd Media
+Print quality
+This specifies how much ink is used when printing, Fast Draft using the
+least ink and High-Resolution Photo using the most ink.
+Sound
+Ubuntu usually detects the audio hardware automatically during installa-
+tion. Audio in Ubuntu is provided by a sound server named PulseAudio.
+The audio preferences are easily configurable with the help of a very easy to
+use gui which comes preinstalled with Ubuntu.
+Volume indicator and sound preferences
+A volume icon is present on the top panel which provides quick access to a
+number of audio related functions. When you click on the volume icon you
+are greeted with four options: A mute option at the very top, a slider but-
+ton which you can move horizontally to increase/decrease volume, another
+slider button to increase/decrease the volume of the microphone, a shortcut
+to the default music player, Rhythmbox, and an option for accessing the
+Sound Settings. Selecting Sound Settings… opens up another window, which
+provides access to options for changing input and output hardware prefer-
+ences for speakers, microphones and headphones. It also provides options
+for setting the volume level for each application. Sound Settings can also be
+found from System Settings…. It is known as Sound.
+hardware
+83
+Output
+The Output tab will have a list of all the sound cards available
+By default, the volume in Ubuntu is set to
+maximum during installation.
+in your system. Usually there is only one listed; however, if you have a
+graphics card which supports hdmi audio, it will also show up in the list.
+The Output tab is used for configuring the output of audio. You can in-
+If you change your sound output device, it will
+remain as default.
+crease/decrease and mute/unmute output volume and select your preferred
+output device. If you have more than one output device, it will be listed in
+the section which reads “Choose a device for sound output.” The default
+output hardware, which is automatically detected by Ubuntu during instal-
+lation will be selected. This section also allows you to change the balance
+of sound on the left and right speakers of your desktop/laptop. A new op-
+tion introduced in Ubuntu 14.04 LTS will allow you to increase the output
+volume past 100. You need to check the box ”Allow louder than 100%”.
+Input
+The second tab is for configuring audio Input. You will be able to
+A microphone is used for making audio/video
+calls which are supported by applications like
+Skype or Empathy. It can also be used for sound
+recording.
+You should note that by default in any Ubuntu
+installation, the input sound for mic is either
+very low or muted. You will have to manually
+increase the volume or unmute the input to
+enable your microphone to record sound or use
+it during audio/video calls.
+use this section when you have an in-built microphone in your system or
+if you’ve plugged in an external microphone. You can also add a Bluetooth
+headset to your input devices which can serve as a microphone. You can
+increase/decrease and mute/unmute input volume from this tab. If there is
+more than one input device, you will see them listed in the white box which
+reads Choose a device for sound input. If you run VoIP applications such as
+Skype, you will find the microphone slider just below the volume slider in
+the top panel sound menu during a voice or video call.
+Sound Effects
+The third tab is Sound Effects. You can enable, disable, or
+change the existing sound theme from this section. You can also change the
+alert sounds for different events.
+Applications
+The Applications tab is for changing the volume for running
+applications. This comes in handy if you have multiple audio applications
+running, for example, if you have Rhythmbox, Totem Movie Player and a
+web-based video playing at the same time. In this situation, you will be able
+to increase/decrease, mute/unmute volume for each application from this
+tab.
+More functionality
+The icon can control various aspects of the system, application volume
+and music players like Rhythmbox, Banshee, Clementine and Spotify. The
+volume indicator icon can now be easily referred to as the sound menu,
+given the diverse functionality of the icon. Media controls available include
+You can start and control the default music
+player, Rhythmbox, by simply left clicking on
+the sound menu and selecting Rhythmbox from
+the list. Clicking the play button also starts the
+player.
+play/pause, previous track, and next track. You can also switch between
+different playlists from the Choose Playlist option. If the current playing
+song has album art, it will show up beside the name of the current track,
+otherwise you will see only the details of the song. It displays the track
+name, the artist name and the album name of the current track.
+Using a webcam
+Webcams often come built into laptops and netbooks. Some desktops, such
+as Apple iMacs, have webcams built into their displays. If you purchase a
+webcam because your computer doesn’t have its own, it will most likely
+have a usb connection. To use a usb webcam, plug it into any empty usb
+port of your desktop.
+84
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Almost all new webcams are detected by Ubuntu automatically. You can
+There are several applications which are useful
+if you have a webcam. Cheese can capture
+pictures with your webcam and VLC media
+player can capture video from your webcam.
+You can install these from the Ubuntu Software
+application.
+configure webcams for individual applications such as Skype and Empathy
+from the application’s setup menu. For webcams which do not work right
+away with Ubuntu, visit https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Webcam for help.
+Scanning text and images
+Scanning a document or an image is very simple in Ubuntu. Scanning is
+handled by the application Simple Scan. Most of the time, Ubuntu will
+simply detect your scanner and you should just be able to use it. To scan a
+document, follow these steps:
+1. Place what you want to scan on the scanner.
+2. Click to open the Dash and enter scan.
+3. Click on Simple Scan.
+4. Click to choose between Text or Photo from Document ‣ Scan ‣ Text.
+5. Click Scan.
+6. Click the Paper Icon to add another page.
+7. Click Save to save.
+You can save the scanned documents and pictures in jpeg. You can also
+save in pdf format to enable opening in Acrobat Reader. To do that, add the
+extension .pdf at the end of the filename.
+Troubleshooting your scanner
+If your scanner is not detected, Ubuntu may give you a “No scanners de-
+tected” message when trying to scan. There may be a reason why Ubuntu
+cannot find your scanner.
+‣ Simply unplug the scanner and plug it back in. If it is a newer usb scan-
+ner, it is likely that it will just work.
+‣ The driver for your scanner is not being automatically loaded. Restart
+your system. It might help!
+‣ Try restarting the scanner service. Open a terminal from the Dash and
+type in sudo /etc/init.d/saned restart
+‣ Your scanner is not supported in Ubuntu. The most common type
+of scanner not supported is old parallel port or Lexmark All-in-One
+printer/scanner/faxes.
+‣ sane project listing of supported scanners. The sane (Scanner Access
+Now Easy) project provides most of the back-ends to the scanning soft-
+ware on Ubuntu.
+‣ Check https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupportComponentsScanners
+to find out which scanners work with Ubuntu.
+Keyboard and mouse
+The keyboard and mouse are essential input devices for a large number
+of computer users today. There are many different makes and models of
+keyboards and mice, including lots of keyboards with support for different
+languages.
+In this section we will look at the different settings for your keyboard
+and mouse. This will be of great use to international users.
+hardware
+85
+Keyboard
+The keyboard is likely to be one of the main ways that you interact with
+your computer. Unfortunately not all keyboards are uniform in design;
+they can differ by country, by language or appearance. In Ubuntu 16.04, the
+default language set for the keyboard now appears as an applet menu right
+next to the Network Manager icon. Clicking on the keyboard applet menu
+will show you what is the default language set for the keyboard and also
+enable you to access three options: 1. Character Map 2. Keyboard Layout
+3. Text Entry Settings….
+Figure 4.1: Keyboard applet menu.
+Mouse and Touchpad
+A mouse is another mode of input and goes hand in hand with the key-
+board. Ubuntu supports all types of plug and play mice, including touch-
+pads and trackballs. If you are planning to use a mouse with your laptop,
+just plug it in and Ubuntu will recognize it instantly.
+There is a settings menu under System Settings ‣ Mouse and Touch-
+pad where you can change the mouse settings such as double-click speed,
+pointer speed and left handed or right handed clicks. If you are using touch-
+pad on your laptop/netbook you can also increase the sensitivity of your
+touchpad. You can also enable horizontal, edge scrolling and two finger
+scrolling on your laptop/netbook.
+Multitouch and gesture support
+Ubuntu has full support for multitouch gestures. This means that anyone
+with a touch-enabled device or interface can use the multitouch features.
+Once triggered, resizing and moving windows in touch-friendly devices can
+be done using three fingered tap on an application window.
+Ubuntu also supports two-finger scrolling similar to OS X laptops and
+desktops. This setting can be enabled from System Setting ‣ Mouse and
+Touchpad ‣ Touchpad. Select “Two-finger scrolling” from the Scrolling
+options. You can also search for Mouse and Touchpad from the Dash search
+bar and enable the option. Please note that enabling two finger scrolling
+will disable edge scrolling.
+Other devices
+USB
+usb ports are available as standard on almost all computers available now.
+They are used to connect a multitude of devices to your computer. These
+could include portable hard drives, flash drives, removable cd/dvd/Blu-ray
+drives, printers, scanners and mobile phones.
+When connected, flash drives and portable hard drives are automatically
+detected—the file manager will open and display the contents of the drive.
+You can then use the drives for copying data to and from the computer.
+All new cameras, camcorders and mobile phone sd cards are automati-
+cally detected by Ubuntu. These sd cards have different types of data, so a
+window will appear with a drop-down menu to choose between video, au-
+dio import and the file manager—you can choose your desired action from
+this menu.
+86
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Firewire
+Firewire is a connection on some computers that allows you to transfer data
+Firewire is officially known as IEEE 1394. It
+is also known as the Sony i.LINK and Texas
+Instruments Lynx.
+from devices. This port is generally used by camcorders and digital cameras.
+If you want to import video from your camcorder you can do so by
+connecting your camcorder to the Firewire port. You will need to install a
+To find out more about Kino, visit http://www.
+kinodv.org/.
+program called Kino which is available in Ubuntu Software.
+Bluetooth
+Bluetooth is a wireless technology that is widely used by different types of
+devices to connect to each other. It is common to see a mouse or a keyboard
+that supports Bluetooth. You can also find gps devices, mobile phones,
+headsets, music players and many other devices that can connect to your
+desktops or laptop and let you transfer data, listen to music, or play games
+as an example.
+If your computer has Bluetooth support then you should be able to see
+a Bluetooth icon on the top panel, usually on the left side of the volume
+icon. If you click on the Bluetooth icon it will open a drop down menu with
+choices to Turn on/off Bluetooth, to Turn on/off visibility of the device,
+setup access to a Bluetooth device and also access Bluetooth settings.
+Figure 4.2: The Bluetooth applet menu.
+The Bluetooth preferences can also be accessed from System Settings ‣
+Bluetooth. If you want to connect (pair) a new device—for example, to
+have a mobile phone send pictures or videos to your computer—click on the
+Bluetooth icon on the top panel and select Setup new device….
+Ubuntu will open a window for new device setup. When you click For-
+ward, Ubuntu will show you how many Bluetooth devices are present near
+your computer. The list of available devices might take a minute or so to
+appear on the screen as your system scans for these devices. Each device
+will be displayed as soon as it is found by Ubuntu. Once a device you’d like
+to connect with appears in the list, click on it. Then, choose a pin number
+by selecting PIN options.
+Three predefined pin numbers are available, but you can also create a
+When you pair two Bluetooth devices, you are
+letting each device trust the other one. After
+you pair two devices, they will automatically
+connect to each other in the future without
+requiring a PIN.
+custom pin. You will need to enter this pin on the device you will be pairing
+with Ubuntu.
+Once the device has been paired, Ubuntu will open the “Setup com-
+pleted” window. In Ubuntu, your computer is hidden by default for security
+reasons. This means that your Ubuntu system can search other Bluetooth
+devices, but others cannot find your Ubuntu system when they perform a
+search on their own computer. If you would like to let another device find
+your computer, you will have to explicitly allow your computer to be found.
+To allow your computer to be found by other bluetooth devices, turn ’on’
+the “Visibility of yourcomputername” from System Settings ‣ Bluetooth. You
+can also click on the Bluetooth icon and click on Visible to turn on visibility
+which will make your computer discoverable.
+You can also add a fancy name for your Bluetooth-enabled Ubuntu sys-
+tem by changing the text under Friendly Name.
+Another feature present in the Bluetooth icon menu is “Send files to
+Android devices need to be paired at all times,
+even while transferring files.
+device.” Use this option to send a file to a mobile phone without pairing
+with the computer.
+5
+Software Management
+Software management in Ubuntu
+Installing software in Ubuntu extends the functionality and usability of this
+operating system. This chapter describes the way Ubuntu manages software
+installation and how it keeps all software current.
+Package management system
+Ubuntu and various other Linux variants use a collection of software tools
+called a package management system, or package manager. A package man-
+ager is a collection of tools that make installing, deleting, upgrading, and
+configuring software easy. A package management system has a database
+of software called a repository where individual software is arranged into
+a collection called a package. These packages, apart from the software,
+contain important information about the software itself, such as the soft-
+ware’s name, description, version, name of the vendor, and a list of various
+dependencies upon which the software relies for proper installation.
+Most other operating systems require a user to purchase commercial
+software (online or through a physical store) or search the Internet for
+a free alternative (if one is available). The correct installation file must
+then be verified for integrity, downloaded, and located on the computer,
+followed by the user proceeding through a number of installation prompts
+and options. A package management system removes the user interaction
+from these steps and automates most, if not all, of the installation process.
+Ubuntu comes with a package management system called Advanced
+Packaging Tool or apt.
+As discussed in Chapter 3: Working with Ubuntu, Ubuntu offers a wide
+range of applications for your daily work. Ubuntu comes with a basic set
+of applications for common tasks, like surfing the Internet, checking email,
+listening to music, and organizing photos and videos. At times, you may
+need an extra level of specialization. For example, you may want to retouch
+your photos, run software for your business, or play new games. In each of
+these cases, you can search for an application, install it, and use it—usually
+with no extra cost.
+Figure 5.1: Software Center icon
+By default, Ubuntu provides a centralized point with two different ways
+to browse the repositories for searching, installing, and removing software.
+‣ The Ubuntu Software application
+‣ Command line apt-get
+Ubuntu Software makes searching, installing, and/or removing appli-
+cations easy and convenient; it is most often the application management
+system used by both beginning and expert Ubuntu users. We highly recom-
+mend Ubuntu Software for searching, installing, and removing applications,
+although you can still use the command-line application apt-get or install
+and use the advanced application Synaptic Package Manager. Since soft-
+ware in Ubuntu is delivered in the form of packages, software installation
+becomes a one-click, one-step process when using the Ubuntu Software
+application.
+88
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Using Software Center
+There are numerous ways to install software on an operating system. In
+Ubuntu, the quickest and easiest way to find and install new applications
+is through Ubuntu Software. Ubuntu Software is your very own store-
+In Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu Software Center is
+replaced by GNOME Software which has been
+renamed as Ubuntu Software. Ubuntu Software
+Center can still be installed optionally via
+Ubuntu Software.
+front and gives you instant access to thousands of great applications. Some
+of these applications are free to download whereas others are available
+commercially. Each application within Ubuntu Software comes with ratings
+and reviews making it easier for you to decide which of the applications
+you want to install.
+To start Ubuntu Software, click on its icon in the Launcher, or click on
+the Dash and search for Ubuntu Software.
+Figure 5.2: You can install and remove appli-
+cations from your computer using Ubuntu
+Software.
+Ubuntu Software can be used to install applications available in the of-
+ficial Ubuntu repositories. The Ubuntu Software window has four sections
+—Featured Application, Editor’s Picks, Recommended Applications and
+Categories. Clicking on a category will take you to a list of related applica-
+tions. For example, the Internet category contains the Firefox web browser
+application.
+At the top of the window there are three buttons. Click the All button
+to go to Ubuntu Software’s main page, click the Installed button to see a
+list of software already installed on your computer, or click Updates to see
+available updates.
+Find your application
+If you are looking for an application, you may already know its specific
+name (for example, vlc Media Player). Just type the name of the applica-
+tion in the search box at the top of the window and Ubuntu Software will
+show the application in the main window. Or you may just have a general
+category in mind (for example, the Audio category includes a number of
+different software applications, such as audio editors and music players).
+To help you find the right application, you can browse the Ubuntu Soft-
+ware catalog by clicking on the category reflecting the type of software you
+software management
+89
+seek. When you select a category, you will be shown a list of applications.
+Most categories have sub-categories—for example, the Games category has
+sub-categories such as Simulation, Action, Adventure, Card Games. To go
+to a sub-category, select one in the left pane; Ubuntu Software will show all
+available applications in this category in the main window.
+Figure 5.3: Searching for an application in
+Ubuntu Software.
+Installing software
+Once you have found an application you would like to try, installing it is
+just one click away.
+To install software:
+1. Click the Install button.
+2. After clicking Install, enter your password into the authentication win-
+dow. This is the same password you use to log in to your account. You
+are required to enter your password whenever installing or removing
+software in order to prevent someone without administrator access from
+making unauthorized changes to your computer. If you receive an Au-
+thentication Failure message after typing in your password, check that
+you typed it correctly and try again.
+3. Wait until the package is finished installing. During the installation
+of programs, you will see an animated icon of the application in the
+Launcher. This animated icon shows the Progress of the installation. If
+you like, you can go back to the main browsing window and choose
+additional software packages to be installed by following the steps above.
+Once Ubuntu Software has finished installing an application, it is ready
+to be used. You can start the newly installed application by going to the
+Dash and typing the name of the application in the search bar.
+Removing software
+Removing applications is very similar to installing software. First, find the
+installed software in Ubuntu Software. You can click on the Installed button
+90
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Figure 5.4: Here, clicking on “Install” will
+download and install the package “Stellarium.”
+to see all installed software listed in alphabetic order. Scroll down to the
+application you wish to remove, then click on the Remove button. Before
+actually removing the application, you get a dialog asking you if you are
+sure you want to remove it. In this dialog you see two buttons, Cancel and
+Remove. This way you can decide whether you really want to remove the
+application, or cancel the action.
+Figure 5.5: Here, clicking on “Remove” will
+remove the package “SuperTuxKart.”
+To remove software:
+1. Click the Remove button to the right of the application you want to
+remove.
+2. Enter your password into the authentication window. Similar to in-
+stalling software, removing software requires your password to help
+software management
+91
+protect your computer against unauthorized changes. After confirming
+the remove action, the package will be removed.
+Removing a package will also update your menus accordingly.
+Software Recommendations
+On its main page Ubuntu Software shows recommended software in The
+“Recommended” section. The content of this section changes regularly.
+Figure 5.6: Software Recommendations.
+Managing additional software
+Although Ubuntu Software provides a large library of applications from
+which to choose, you may be interested in a particular application not avail-
+able in these repositories. It is important to understand alternative methods
+for accessing and installing software in Ubuntu, such as downloading an
+installation file manually from the Internet, or adding extra repositories.
+First, we will look at how to manage your repositories through Software &
+Updates.
+Software Sources
+Ubuntu Software lists only those applications that are available in your
+enabled repositories. Repositories can be added or removed through the
+Software & Updates application. To open Software & Updates, simply open
+System Settings and click on Software & Updates in the System section.
+Figure 5.7: The Software & Updates program
+enables you to add, remove and manage
+package repositories.
+Managing the official repositories
+When you open Software & Updates, you will see the Ubuntu Software tab
+where the first four options are enabled by default.
+Canonical-supported free and open-source software (main) This repository
+contains all the open-source packages maintained by Canonical.
+92
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Community-maintained free and open-source software (universe) This reposi-
+tory contains all the open-source packages developed and maintained by
+the Ubuntu community.
+Proprietary drivers for devices (restricted) This repository contains propri-
+etary drivers which may be required to utilize the full capabilities of
+some of your devices or hardware.
+Figure 5.8: Drivers can be installed or removed
+via the Additional Drivers application.
+Software restricted by copyright or legal issues (multiverse) This repository
+contains software possibly protected from use in some states or countries
+by copyright or licensing laws. By using this repository, you assume
+responsibility for the usage of any packages that you install.
+Source code This repository contains the source code used to build software
+packages from some of the other repositories. Building applications from
+source is an advanced process for creating packages, and usually only
+concerns developers. The Source code option should not be selected
+unless you have experience with building applications from source.
+Selecting the best software server
+To distribute applications and software, Ubuntu grants permission to many
+servers all across the world to act as official mirrors to host an exact copy of
+all the files contained in the official Ubuntu repositories.
+When selecting a server, you may want to consider the following:
+Distance to server. This will affect the speed you can achieve with the file
+server—the closer the server to your location, the faster the potential
+connection.
+Internet Service Provider. Some Internet service providers offer low-cost or
+unlimited free downloads from their own servers.
+Quality of server. Some servers may only offer downloads at a capped
+speed, limiting the rate at which you can install and update software on
+your computer.
+Ubuntu will automatically choose an appropriate server while installing.
+It is recommended these settings not be changed unless your physical loca-
+tion significantly changes or if you feel a higher speed should be achieved
+by your Internet connection. The guide below will help in choosing an
+optimal server.
+Ubuntu provides a tool for selecting the server that provides the fastest
+connection with your computer.
+1. Click the dropdown box next to “Download from:” in the Software &
+Updates window.
+software management
+93
+Figure 5.9: You can use automatic selection or
+choose a server manually.
+2. Select “Other…” from the list.
+3. In the “Choose a Download Server” window, click the Select Best Server
+button in the upper-right. Your computer will now attempt a connection
+with all the available servers, then select the one with the fastest speed.
+If you are happy with the automatic selection, click Choose Server to
+return to the Software & Updates window.
+If you are not happy with the automatic selection or prefer not to use
+the tool, the fastest server is often the closest server to you geographically.
+In this case, simply choose “Other” then find the nearest location to your
+location. When you are happy with the selection, click Choose Server to
+return to the Software & Updates window.
+If you do not have a working Internet connection, updates and programs
+can be installed from the installation media itself by inserting your media
+and clicking the box under “Installable from cd-rom/dvd.” Once this box is
+checked, the media within the cd-rom/dvd drive will function as an online
+repository, and the software on the media will be installable from Ubuntu
+Software.
+Adding more software repositories
+Ubuntu makes it easy to add additional third-party repositories to your list
+of software sources. The most common repositories added to Ubuntu are
+called ppas. A ppa is a Personal Package Archive. These are online reposito-
+ries used to host the latest versions of software packages, digital projects,
+and other applications. ppas allow you to install software packages that are
+not available in the official repositories. ppas also allow you to automati-
+cally be notified whenever updates for these packages are available.
+If you know the web address of a ppa’s Launchpad site, adding it to your
+list of software sources is relatively simple. To do so, you will need to use
+the Other Software tab in the “Software & Updates” window.
+On the Launchpad site for a ppa, you will see a heading to the left called
+“Adding this PPA to your system.” Underneath will be a short paragraph
+containing a unique url in the form of ppa:test-ppa/example. Highlight this
+url by selecting it with your mouse, then right-click and select Copy.
+Return to the “Software & Updates” window, and in the Other Software
+tab, click Add… at the bottom. A new window will appear, and you will
+see the words “Apt line:” followed by a text field. Right-click on the empty
+space in this text field and select Paste. You should see appear the url you
+copied from the ppa’s Launchpad site earlier. Click Add Source to return
+to the “Software & Updates” window. You will see a new entry has been
+added to the list of sources in this window with a selected check box in
+front (meaning it is enabled).
+94
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Figure 5.10: This is an example of the Launch-
+pad page for the Sublime Text PPA. Sublime
+Text is an application that is not available in
+the official Ubuntu repositories. However,
+by adding this PPA to your list of software
+sources, it will be easy to install and update
+this application through the Ubuntu Software
+application.
+If you click Close in the bottom right corner of this window, a message
+will appear informing you that “The information about available software
+is out-of-date.” This is because you have just added a new repository to
+Ubuntu, and it now needs to connect to that repository and download a list
+of the packages it provides. Click Reload, and wait while Ubuntu refreshes
+all of your enabled repositories (including this new one you just added).
+When it has finished, the window will close automatically.
+Congratulations, you have just added a ppa to your list of software
+sources. You can now open Ubuntu Software and install applications from
+this ppa in the same way you previously installed applications from the
+default Ubuntu repositories.
+Manual software installation
+Although Ubuntu has extensive software available, you may want to man-
+ually install a software package not available in the repositories. If no ppa
+exists for the software, you will need to install it manually. Before you
+choose to do so, make sure you trust the package and its maintainer.
+Packages in Ubuntu have a .deb extension. Double-clicking a package
+will open an overview page in Ubuntu Software which will give you more
+information about that package.
+The overview provides technical information about that package, a
+website link (if applicable), and the option to install. Clicking Install will
+install the package just like any other installation in Ubuntu Software.
+Updates and upgrades
+Ubuntu also allows you to decide how to manage package updates through
+the Updates tab in the Software & Updates window.
+software management
+95
+Figure 5.11: Installing .deb files manually using
+Ubuntu Software.
+Ubuntu updates
+In this section, you are able to specify the kinds of updates you wish to
+install on your system. The type of update usually depends upon your
+preferences with regards to system stability versus having access to the
+latest developments.
+Figure 5.12: You can update installed software
+by using the Software Updater application in
+Ubuntu.
+Important security updates (xenial-security) These updates are highly rec-
+ommended to ensure your system remains as secure as possible. These
+updates are enabled by default.
+Recommended updates (xenial-updates) These updates are not as important
+in keeping your system secure. Rather, updates listed in this section will
+keep your software updated with the most recent bug fixes or minor
+updates that have been tested and approved. This option is also enabled
+by default.
+Unsupported updates (xenial-backports) These are updates that have not
+yet been fully tested and reviewed by Canonical. Some bugs may occur
+when using these updates, and so this option is also not enabled by
+default.
+96
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+An additional option “Pre-released updates (xenial-proposed)” has been moved
+to a separate tab Developer Options. This option is for those who would rather
+remain up-to-date with the very latest releases of applications at the risk of in-
+stalling an update that has unresolved bugs or conflicts. Note that it is possible
+you will encounter problems with these updated applications, therefore, this
+option is not enabled by default.
+Automatic updates
+The middle section of this window allows you to customize how your sys-
+tem manages updates, such as the frequency with which it checks for new
+packages, as well as whether it should install important updates right away
+(without asking for your permission), download them only, or just notify
+you about them.
+Release upgrade
+At the bottom of the Updates tab in the Software & Updates window, you
+will see a dropdown box labeled Notify me of a new Ubuntu version:. This
+option allows you to tell Ubuntu how you would like to handle release
+updates. This dropdown box contains the following options for notification:
+Never Choose this option if you would rather not be notified about any
+new Ubuntu releases.
+For any new version Choose this option if you always want to have the
+latest Ubuntu release, regardless of whether it is a long-term support
+release or not. This option is recommended for normal home users.
+For long-term support versions Choose this option if you need a release
+that will be more stable and have support for a longer time. If you use
+Ubuntu for business purposes, you may want to consider selecting this
+option.
+Canonical will release a new version of the Ubuntu operating system ev-
+ery six months. Almost every release is a normal release. However, every
+fourth release—or every 2 years—Canonical releases a long-term support
+(lts) version of the operating system. Long-term support releases are
+intended to be the most stable releases available and are supported for a
+longer period of time. Ubuntu 16.04 is an LTS release. Ubuntu 16.10 will
+be a normal release.
+6
+Advanced Topics
+Ubuntu for advanced users
+To this point, we’ve provided detailed instructions on getting the most from
+Ubuntu’s basic features. In this chapter, we’ll detail some of Ubuntu’s more
+advanced features—like the terminal, a powerful utility that can help you
+accomplish tasks without the need for a graphical user interface (gui). We’ll
+also discuss some advanced security measures you can implement to make
+your computer even safer.
+This chapter has been written with advanced users in mind. If you’re
+new to Ubuntu, don’t feel as though you’ll need to master these topics to
+get the most out of your new software (you can easily skip to the next chap-
+ter without any adverse impact to your experience with Ubuntu). However,
+if you’re looking to expand your knowledge of Ubuntu, we encourage you
+to keep reading.
+Introduction to the terminal
+Throughout this manual, we have focused primarily on the GUI. In order
+to fully realize the power of Ubuntu, you will need to learn how to use the
+terminal.
+What is the terminal?
+Most operating systems, including Ubuntu, have two types of user inter-
+faces. The first is a GUI. This is the desktop, windows, menus, and toolbars
+you click to get things done. The second, much older type of interface is the
+command-line interface (cli).
+The terminal is Ubuntu’s CLI. It is a method of controlling some aspects
+of Ubuntu using only commands that you type on the keyboard.
+Why would I want to use the terminal?
+You can perform most day-to-day activities without ever needing to open
+the terminal. However, the terminal is a powerful and invaluable tool that
+can be used to perform many useful tasks you might not be able to accom-
+plish with a GUI. For example:
+‣ Troubleshooting any difficulties that may arise when using Ubuntu
+sometimes requires you to use the terminal.
+‣ A command-line interface is sometimes a faster way to accomplish a
+task. For example, it is often easier to perform operations on many files
+concurrently using the terminal.
+‣ Learning the command-line interface is the first step towards more
+advanced troubleshooting, system administration, and software develop-
+ment skills. If you are interested in becoming a developer or an advanced
+Ubuntu user, knowledge of the command-line is essential.
+98
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Opening the terminal
+You can open the terminal by clicking Dash then searching for word “term”.
+You’ll see an application named terminal. Click on this application to open
+a terminal. Alternatively, you can open the terminal by hitting Ctrl+Alt+T
+simultaneously.
+The terminal gives you access to what is called a shell. When you type
+a command in the terminal, the shell interprets this command, resulting in
+the desired action. Different types of shells accept slightly different com-
+mands. The most popular is called “bash,” and is the default shell in Ubuntu.
+When the terminal window opens, it will be largely blank with the excep-
+tion of some text at the top left of the screen, followed by a blinking block,
+known as a cursor. This text is your prompt—it displays, by default, your
+login name and your computer’s name, followed by the current directory.
+The tilde (~) means that the current directory is your home directory. Fi-
+nally, the blinking block is called the cursor—this marks where text will be
+entered as you type.
+To test a terminal command, type pwd and press Enter. The terminal
+should display /home/yourusername. This text is called the “output.” You
+have just used the pwd (print working directory) command, which outputs
+(displays) the current directory.
+Figure 6.1: The default terminal window allows
+you to run hundreds of useful commands.
+All commands in the terminal follow the same approach: Type a com-
+mand, possibly followed by some parameters, and press Enter to perform
+the specified action. Parameters (also called switches) are extra segments
+of text, usually added at the end of a command, that change how the com-
+mand itself is interpreted. These usually take the form of -h or --help, for
+example. In fact, --help can be added to most commands to display a short
+description of the command, as well as a list of any other parameters that
+can be used with that command.
+Often, some type of output will be displayed confirming the action was
+completed successfully, although this can depend on the command being
+executed. For example, using the cd command to change your current direc-
+tory (see above) will change the prompt but will not display any output.
+The rest of this chapter covers some very common uses of the termi-
+nal. Throughout the second part of this manual, we will continue to refer
+to the command line, particularly when discussing steps involved in trou-
+bleshooting as well as when describing more advanced management of your
+computer.
+advanced topics
+99
+Ubuntu file system structure
+Ubuntu uses the Linux file system, which is based on a series of folders
+in the root directory. These folders contain important system files that
+cannot be modified unless you are running as the root user or use sudo. This
+restriction exists for both security and safety reasons; computer viruses will
+not be able to change the core system files, and ordinary users should not
+be able to accidentally damage anything vital.
+Figure 6.2: Some of the most important
+directories in the root file system.
+We begin our discussion of the Ubuntu file system structure at the top
+—also known as the root directory—as denoted by /. The root directory
+contains all other directories and files on your system. Below the root
+directory are the following essential directories:
+/bin and /sbin Many essential system applications (equivalent to C:\Windows).
+/etc System-wide configuration files.
+/home Each user will have a subdirectory to store personal files (for
+example, /home/yourusername) which is equivalent to C:\Users or
+C:\Documents and Settings in Microsoft Windows.
+/lib Library files, similar to .dll files on Windows.
+/media Removable media (cd-roms and usb drives) will be mounted in this
+directory.
+/root This contains the root user’s files (not to be confused with the root
+directory).
+/usr Pronounced “user,” it contains most program files (not to be con-
+fused with each user’s home directory). This is equivalent to C:\Program
+Files in Microsoft Windows.
+/var/log Contains log files written by many applications.
+Every directory has a path. The path is a directory’s full name—it de-
+scribes a way to navigate the directory from anywhere in the system.
+For example, the directory /home/yourusername/Desktop contains all the
+files that are on your Ubuntu desktop. It can be broken down into a handful
+of key pieces:
+‣ /—indicates that the path starts at the root directory
+‣ home/—from the root directory, the path goes into the home directory
+‣ yourusername/—from the home directory, the path goes into the you-
+rusername directory
+‣ Desktop—from the yourusername directory, the path ends up in the
+Desktop directory
+100
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Every directory in Ubuntu has a complete path that starts with the / (the
+root directory) and ends in the directory’s own name.
+Directories and files that begin with a period are hidden. These are
+usually only visible with a special command or by selecting a specific op-
+tion. In the Files file manager, you can show hidden files and directories
+by selecting the Show Hidden Files option in the View menu. Hidden files
+can also be shown by simply pressing Ctrl+H in the Files file manager. If
+you are using the terminal, then you would type ls -a and press Enter
+to see the hidden files and directories. There are many hidden directo-
+ries in your home folder used to store program preferences. For example,
+/home/yourusername/.thunderbird stores preferences used by the Thun-
+derbird mail application.
+Mounting and unmounting removable devices
+Any time you add storage media to your computer—an internal or external
+hard drive, a usb flash drive, a cd-rom—it needs to be mounted before it is
+accessible. Mounting a device means to associate a directory name with the
+device, allowing you to navigate to the directory to access the device’s files.
+When a device, such as a usb flash drive or a media player, is mounted in
+Ubuntu, a folder is automatically created for it in the media/yourusername
+directory, and you are given the appropriate permissions to be able to read
+and write to the device.
+Most file managers will automatically add a shortcut to the mounted
+device in the side bar of your home folder or as a shortcut directly on the
+desktop so that the device is easily accessible. You shouldn’t have to physi-
+cally navigate to the media directory in Ubuntu unless you choose to do so
+from the command line.
+When you’ve finished using a device, you can unmount it. Unmounting a
+device disassociates the device from its directory, allowing you to eject it. If
+you disconnect or remove a storage device before unmounting it, you may
+lose data.
+Securing Ubuntu
+Now that you know a bit more about using the command line, we can use it
+to make your computer more secure. The following sections discuss various
+security concepts, along with procedures for keeping your Ubuntu running
+smoothly, safely, and securely.
+Why Ubuntu is safe
+Ubuntu is secure by default for a number of reasons:
+‣ Ubuntu clearly distinguishes between normal users and administrative
+users.
+‣ Software for Ubuntu is kept in a secure online repository containing no
+false or malicious software.
+‣ Open-source software like Ubuntu allows security flaws to be easily
+detected.
+‣ Security patches for open-source software like Ubuntu are often released
+quickly.
+‣ Many viruses designed to primarily target Windows-based systems do
+not affect Ubuntu systems.
+advanced topics
+101
+Just because Ubuntu implements strong security model by default doesn’t
+mean the user can “throw caution to the wind.” Care should always be
+taken when downloading files, opening email, and browsing the Internet.
+Using a good antivirus program is warranted as well.
+Basic security concepts
+The following sections discuss basic security concepts—like file permissions,
+passwords, and user accounts. Understanding these concepts will help you
+in securing your computer.
+Permissions
+In Ubuntu, files and folders can be set up so that only specific users can
+view, modify, or run them. For instance, you might wish to share an impor-
+tant file with other users, but do not want those users to be able to edit the
+file. Ubuntu controls access to files on your computer through a system of
+“permissions.” Permissions are settings configured to control exactly how
+files on your computer are accessed and used.
+To learn more about modifying permissions, visit https://help.ubuntu.
+com/community/FilePermissions.
+Passwords
+You should use a strong password to increase the security of your computer.
+Your password should not contain names, common words, or common
+phrases. By default, the minimum length of a password in Ubuntu is four
+characters. We recommend a password with more than the minimum num-
+ber of characters. A password with a minimum of eight characters which
+includes both upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols is consid-
+ered strong.
+Locking the screen
+When you leave your computer unattended, you may want to lock the
+screen. Locking your screen prevents another user from using your com-
+puter until your password is entered. To lock the screen:
+‣ Click the session menu icon in the right corner of the top panel, then
+select Lock/Switch Account…, or
+‣ Press Ctrl+Alt+L to lock the screen. This keyboard shortcut can be
+changed by going to Session Indicator ‣ System Settings… ‣ Keyboard ‣
+Shortcuts and then selecting System from the list in the left column and
+clicking on Lock Screen in the right column.
+Users and groups
+User accounts
+When Ubuntu is installed, it is automatically configured for use by a single
+user. If more than one person will use the computer, each person should
+have his or her own user account. This way, each user can have separate
+settings, documents, and other files. If necessary, you can also protect files
+from being viewed or modified by users without administrative privileges.
+102
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Like most operating systems, Ubuntu allows you to create separate user
+accounts for each person. Ubuntu also supports user groups, which allows
+you to administer permissions for multiple users at the same time.
+Every user in Ubuntu is a member of at least one group. At a bare min-
+imum, the user of the computer has permissions in a group with the same
+name as the user. A user can also be a member of additional groups. You
+can configure some files and folders to be accessible only by a user and a
+group. By default, a user’s files are only accessible by that user, and system
+files are only accessible by the root user.
+Figure 6.3: Add, remove and change the user
+accounts.
+Managing users
+If the account you are using is an administrator account, you can manage
+users and groups using the Users and Groups administration application.
+To find this application, click Session Indicator ‣ System Settings… ‣ User
+Accounts. Then click the Unlock button and enter your password to unlock
+the user settings. Next, select the user that you want to modify from the list.
+Then click on the element that you want to change.
+Adding a user
+Click the + button underneath the list of the current user
+accounts. A window will appear with three fields. The Account Type field
+contains a list of user account types. Take care in determining what type
+of account to assign a user. An Administrator has full access to all areas
+of Ubuntu, whereas the Standard account type is more limited. The Full
+Name field contains a friendly display name. The Username field is for the
+actual username. As you enter the user’s full name, the Username field
+will automatically fill with a lowercase, no space version of the user’s full
+name. If you prefer to use a different username for this user, highlight
+the existing username and type in the username of your choice. Once all
+fields are filled in, click Add. The new user will be added to the list of user
+accounts. New accounts are disabled by default. To enable an account, click
+the Account disabled field next to the Password label. A new window will
+appear allowing you to set the password for the new user.
+At the top of the new window is a dropdown menu next to the label
+Action. By default, the “set a password now” option will be automatically
+selected. You may also choose “log in without a password”, however, this
+is not advised as the account will be available to anyone. The final option,
+“enable this account” is available once a password has been set. Using this
+option allows an administrator to enable or disable an account without
+losing the password.
+advanced topics
+103
+Ubuntu provides a way to create a secure password by clicking the gears
+button located inside of the New password field. A random sequence of
+numbers, letters, and symbols will be entered into this field. You can also
+simply enter a password of your choosing by entering it into the New
+password field. Then, re-enter this same password into the space next to
+Confirm password.
+Ubuntu enforces the password policies on this screen, so pay attention to the
+status information located between the New password and Confirm password
+fields for information about the password you’re setting. If there are problems
+with the password, Ubuntu will tell you what is wrong with the password and
+will prevent you from entering the same password into the Confirm password
+field until the new password meets the requirements.
+Modifying a user
+Click on the name of a user in the list of users, then click
+on the text entry next to any of the following options:
+‣ Account type:
+‣ Language:
+‣ Password:
+‣ Automatic Login:
+You may also change the username by clicking on the username at the top
+and entering a new name.
+Deleting a user
+Select a user from the list and click -. Ubuntu will deacti-
+vate the user’s account, and you can choose whether to remove the user’s
+home folder or leave it in place. If a user is removed and the user’s files re-
+main, the only user who can access the files are the root user—also known
+as the superuser—or anyone associated with the file’s group.
+Managing groups
+Group management is accomplished through the command line (Terminal)
+or by adding third-party applications (the latter is beyond the scope of this
+manual). You will find more information in the section below titled “Using
+the command line”.
+Adding a group
+To add a group, type sudo addgroup groupname and press
+Enter, replacing groupname with the name of the group you wish to add.
+For example, sudo addgroup ubuntuusers will add the group ubuntuusers
+to the list of groups.
+Modifying a group
+To alter the users in an existing group, type sudo
+adduser username groupname to add a user, or sudo deluser username
+groupname to remove a user, and press Enter, replacing username and
+groupname in these commands with the actual user and group name with
+which you’re working.
+Deleting a group
+To delete a group, type sudo delgroup groupname and
+press Enter, replacing groupname with the name of the group you wish to
+delete.
+104
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Applying groups to files and folders
+To change the group associated with a file or folder, open the Files file man-
+ager and navigate to the appropriate file or folder. Then, either select the
+menu Files and choose Properties, or right-click on the file or folder and
+select Properties. In the Properties dialog window, click on the Permissions
+tab and select the desired group from the Groups drop-down list. Then
+close the window.
+Using the command line
+You can also modify user and group settings via the command line, but
+we recommend you use the graphical method above unless you have a
+good reason to use the command line. For more information on using the
+command line to modify users and groups, see the Ubuntu Server Guide at
+https://help.ubuntu.com/13.04/serverguide/user-management.html.
+System updates
+Good security happens with an up-to-date system. Ubuntu provides free
+software and security updates. You should apply these updates regularly.
+See Updates and upgrades to learn how to update your Ubuntu computer
+with the latest security updates and patches.
+Trusting third party sources
+Normally, you will add applications to your computer via Ubuntu Software
+which downloads software from the Ubuntu repositories as described in
+Chapter 5: Software Management. However, it is occasionally necessary
+to add software from other sources. For example, you may need to do this
+when an application is not available in the Ubuntu repositories or when
+you need a version of software newer than what is currently in the Ubuntu
+repositories.
+Additional repositories are available from sites such as http://www.
+getdeb.net and Launchpad ppas which can be added as described in Soft-
+ware Sources. You can download the deb packages for some applications
+from their respective project sites on the Internet. Alternatively, you can
+build applications from their source code.
+Using only recognized sources, such as a project’s site, ppa or various
+community repositories (such as http://www.getdeb.net), is more secure
+than downloading applications from an arbitrary (and perhaps less rep-
+utable) source. When using a third party source, consider its trustworthi-
+ness, and be sure you know exactly what you’re installing on your com-
+puter.
+Firewall
+A firewall is an application that protects your computer against unautho-
+rized access by people on the Internet or your local network. Firewalls
+block connections to your computer from unknown sources. This helps
+prevent security breaches.
+Uncomplicated Firewall (ufw) is the standard firewall configuration pro-
+gram in Ubuntu. It runs from the command line, but a program called Gufw
+allows you to use it with a graphical user interface gui. See Chapter 5:
+Software Management to learn more about installing the Gufw package.
+advanced topics
+105
+Once Gufw is installed, start Gufw by clicking Dash ‣ Applications ‣
+Firewall configuration. To enable the firewall, select the Enable option. By
+default, all incoming connections are denied. This setting should be suitable
+for most users.
+If you are running server software on your Ubuntu system (such as a
+web server, or an ftp server), then you will need to open the ports these
+services use. If you have no need to run any server applications or services,
+you will likely not need to open any additional ports.
+To open a port click on the Add button. For most purposes, the Precon-
+figured tab is sufficient. Select Allow from the first box and then select the
+program or service required.
+The Simple tab can be used to allow access on a single port, and the
+Advanced tab can be used to allow access on a range of ports.
+Encryption
+You may wish to protect your sensitive personal data—for instance, finan-
+cial records—by encrypting it. Encrypting a file or folder essentially “locks”
+that file or folder by encoding it with an algorithm that keeps it scrambled
+until it is properly decoded with a password. Encrypting your personal data
+ensures that no one can open your personal folders or read your private
+data without your authorization through the use of a private key.
+Ubuntu includes a number of tools to encrypt files and folders. This
+chapter will discuss two of them. For further information on using en-
+cryption with either single files or email, see Ubuntu Community Help
+documents at https://help.ubuntu.com/community.
+Home folder
+When installing Ubuntu, it is possible to encrypt a user’s home folder. See
+Chapter 1: Installation for more on encrypting the home folder.
+Private folder
+If you have not chosen to encrypt a user’s entire home folder, it is possible
+to encrypt a single folder—called Private—in a user’s home folder. To do
+this, follow these steps:
+1. In the terminal, install the ecryptfs-utils software package using the
+command sudo apt install ecryptfs-utils.
+2. Use the terminal to run ecryptfs-setup-private to set up the private
+folder.
+3. Enter your account’s password when prompted.
+4. Either choose a mount passphrase or generate one.
+5. Record both passphrases in a safe location. These are required if you ever
+have to recover your data manually.
+6. Log out and log back in to mount the encrypted folder.
+After the Private folder has been set up, any files or folders in it will
+automatically be encrypted.
+If you need to recover your encrypted files manually see https://help.
+ubuntu.com/community/EncryptedPrivateDirectory.
+106
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Running Windows Programs on Ubuntu
+As many Windows users will know, some programs that you can use on a
+Windows system cease to work on Ubuntu. For example, LibreOffice works
+on both Windows and Ubuntu systems, but Microsoft Office works only on a
+Windows system. Since many Windows users who use Ubuntu want all of
+their Windows programs back, many programmers have worked together to
+create Wine. Wine is an acronym for “Wine Is Not an Emulator”.
+This section will discuss what Wine is, and how to use it on your Ubuntu
+installation. For recent information about Wine, please visit the official
+Wine website at http://www.winehq.org.
+What is Wine?
+Wine is a background application that allows Linux and OS X users to
+install and run Windows programs on their system. While not every Win-
+dows program is compatible with Wine, many programs seem to be com-
+pletely compatible with Wine while running on Linux or OS X. For example,
+Microsoft Office may not be compatible without installing additional com-
+ponents (such as Microsoft.NET Framework 4.0). The current stable version
+of Wine is 1.8.2, and the most recent development version is 1.9.8.
+Installing Wine
+To install Wine Version 1.8.2, follow the following steps:
+If you have a previous version of Wine installed, uninstall Wine before continuing
+using the command, sudo apt remove --purge wine1.* winetricks && sudo
+apt-get autoremove
+1. Open the terminal and type: sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ubuntu-
+wine/ppa. This will install the Official Wine ppa.
+2. After the terminal has finished installing the Wine ppa, type: sudo apt
+update. This will update the ppa list.
+3. Once the terminal has finished refreshing the ppa list, type: sudo apt
+install -y wine1.8 winetricks. This will install Wine 1.8.2 and Winet-
+ricks. Winetricks is a software center for Wine, and is, in most cases,
+optional.
+Figure 6.4: The Terminal showing the installa-
+tion of the Wine PPA.
+During the installation of Wine and Winetricks, you will have to ac-
+cept the Microsoft End User License Agreement and the Microsoft Core
+advanced topics
+107
+Fonts License Agreement so that the Microsoft fonts and native files can be
+installed.
+Figure 6.5: The Microsoft Core Fonts EULA
+dialog opened in the Terminal.
+When accepting the Microsoft Core Fonts License Agreement, the Ok
+button is not highlighted. To highlight and accept the Microsoft EULA,
+press the Tab key and then the Enter key. The Microsoft End User License
+Agreement will be shown after you accept the Microsoft Core Fonts EULA.
+By default, the No button is highlighted. To highlight the Yes button and
+accept the Microsoft EULA, press the Tab key and then the Enter key.
+Figure 6.6: The Microsoft Core Fonts EULA
+dialog opened in the Terminal.
+Please Note: It is recommended to reboot your system after installing
+Wine and Winetricks, although this is not always required.
+Configuring Wine
+Wine 1.8.2 contains many features that will change the look and feel of the
+Windows applications you are trying to run. For example, you can change
+the theme of the Windows interface, and what version of Windows you
+would like to run (from Windows 2.0 to Windows 8).
+To change these settings, open the Dash and search for Configure Wine.
+Then, open the application. You may see a dialog asking you to install the
+packages Mono and Wine Gecko. You can either press the Install button, or
+go to the Wine website for details.
+Application Tab
+In the Application tab, you can change the way Wine
+runs applications. Some Windows programs work only for specific versions
+of Windows. This feature allows you to change the version of Windows
+Wine will run as for a specific application, or for all of them to run under
+one version.
+108
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Figure 6.7: The Wine configuration open to the
+Application Tab.
+Libraries Tab
+In the Libraries tab, you can change core Windows files,
+to suit your needs. Many Windows programs install dll files, or Dynamic
+Link Libraries. These files contain all of the information needed for an
+application to work on a Windows system. Many dll files are needed for
+a Windows system to run, and are different between versions of Windows.
+In this feature, you may edit or replace existing dll files. This allows you to
+change the Windows System files, to suit you needs.
+These files should not be edited. These are core files needed for Wine to run
+correctly. Only edit these files if you have to.
+Graphics Tab
+In the Graphics tab, you can change the look and feel of
+how Wine runs. You can make Wine emulate a Virtual Desktop (this feature
+opens a new window that will contain any Windows application that is
+currently running while this option is in effect), how the applications look,
+and what resolution to run the application in.
+Desktop Integration Tab
+In the Desktop Integration tab, you can change
+the way buttons, menus, and other elements appear in an application. Each
+version of Windows has brought its own unique visual style for its ap-
+plications. In this feature, you can install and change the applied theme.
+In this tab, you can also change major file folders. For example, while
+using Ubuntu, your picture folder is located at /home/user/Pictures/
+but in Windows, your picture folder is located at C:\Documents and Set-
+tings\User\My Documents\My Pictures\ or C:\Users\User\My Pictures\.
+This feature allows you tell Wine where your folders are, for quick refer-
+ence.
+Drives Tab
+In the Drives tab, you can manage the connected drives that
+Wine will be able to access. Unlike Ubuntu, Windows applies a Drive Letter
+to each drive. This letter identifies the drive. For example, on every Win-
+dows system, the C: drive is the core drive. It contains all of the needed files
+for the operating system to work. The C: drive is the equivalent to root (File
+System, or / ) in Ubuntu. This feature allows you to change the drive letters
+for any drive, or add a drive letter for a specific folder in your file system, or
+for a cd drive.
+advanced topics
+109
+Audio Tab
+In the Audio tab, you can change the audio settings. This fea-
+ture allows you to change the audio source that Wine will use for Windows
+applications (speakers, microphones, etc.).
+About Tab
+In the About tab, you can see the current Wine version you
+have installed, including Wine’s note to all users. This feature also allows
+you to add a Name and Company Name to the Windows information. Ap-
+plications use this information to identify you by name.
+Microsoft .NET Framework and Wine
+Microsoft has created many programs that are needed to run commonly
+used applications, Microsoft .NET Framework being the most common. .NET
+Framework is needed to run most of the newer applications created by
+Microsoft, and by other companies as well. Wine is not fully supported by
+all versions of .NET, but is compatible with most versions. Here is a list of
+.NET versions, and their compatibility with Wine:
+‣ .NET Framework 1.0
+‣ .NET Framework 1.1
+‣ .NET Framework 2.0
+‣ .NET Framework 3.0
+‣ .NET Framework 3.5
+‣ .NET Framework 4.0
+‣ .NET Framework 4.5*
+* This framework has known issues running
+under Wine and is, in most cases, installable and
+stable enough to use for most applications.
+‣ .NET Framework 4.5.1**
+** This framework has not been tested using a
+current version of Wine running on Ubuntu, so it
+is unknown if it will be compatible or not. Use at
+your own risk.
+‣ .NET Framework 4.5.2**
+For more compatibility information about installing and running Mi-
+crosoft .NET Framework using Wine, go to: http://appdb.winehq.org/
+objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=2586.
+7
+Troubleshooting
+Resolving problems
+Sometimes things may not work as they should. Luckily, problems encoun-
+tered while working with Ubuntu are often easily fixed. This chapter is
+meant as a guide for resolving basic problems users may encounter while
+using Ubuntu. If you need any additional help beyond what is provided
+in this chapter, take a look at other support options that are discussed in
+Finding additional help and support later in this book.
+Troubleshooting guide
+The key to effective troubleshooting is to work slowly, complete all of the
+troubleshooting steps, and to document the changes you made to the utility
+or application you are using. This way, you will be able to undo your work,
+or give fellow users the information about your previous attempts—the
+latter is particularly helpful in cases when you look to the community of
+Ubuntu users for support.
+Ubuntu fails to start after I’ve installed Windows
+Occasionally you may install Ubuntu and then decide to install Microsoft
+Windows as a second operating system running side-by-side with Ubuntu.
+This is supported in Ubuntu, but you might also find after installing Win-
+dows that you will no longer be able to start Ubuntu.
+When you first turn on your computer, a “bootloader” is responsible for
+initiating the start of an operating system, such as Ubuntu or Windows.
+A bootloader is the initial software that loads
+the operating system when the computer is
+powered up.
+When you installed Ubuntu, you automatically installed an advanced
+bootloader called grub. grub allows you to choose between the various
+operating systems installed on your computer, such as Ubuntu, Windows,
+Solaris, or OS X. If Windows is installed after Ubuntu, the Windows instal-
+lation removed grub and replaced the bootloader with it’s own. As a result,
+you can no longer choose an operating system to use. You can restore grub
+and regain the ability to choose your operating system by following the
+steps below, using the same dvd you used to install Ubuntu.
+First, insert your Ubuntu dvd into your computer and then restart the
+computer, making sure to instruct your computer to boot from the dvd
+drive and not the hard drive (see Chapter 1: Installation). Next, choose your
+language (e.g., English) and select Try Ubuntu. Once Ubuntu starts, click
+on the top-most icon in the Launcher (the Dash icon). Then, search for
+Terminal using the search box. Then, select Terminal in the search results
+(or press Ctrl+Alt+T). A window should open with a blinking prompt line.
+Enter the following, and press the Enter key:
+$ sudo fdisk -l
+Disk /dev/hda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
+255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders
+Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
+Device Boot
+Start
+End
+Blocks
+Id
+System
+112
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+/dev/sda1
+1
+1224
+64228+
+83
+Linux
+/dev/sda2
+*
+1225
+2440
+9767520
+a5
+Windows
+/dev/sda3
+2441
+14593
+97618972+
+5
+Extended
+/dev/sda4
+14532
+14593
+498015
+82
+Linux swap
+Partition table entries are not in disk order
+This output shows that your system (Linux, on which Ubuntu is based)
+The device (/dev/sda1, /dev/sda2, etc.) we
+are looking for is identified by the word “Linux”
+in the System column. Modify the instructions
+below if necessary, replacing /dev/sda1 with
+the name of your Linux device.
+is installed on device /dev/sda1, but as indicated by the asterisk in the
+Boot column, your computer is booting to /dev/sda2 (where Windows is
+located). We need to fix this by telling the computer to boot to the Linux
+device instead.
+To do this, create a place to connect your existing Ubuntu installation
+with your temporary troubleshooting session:
+$ sudo mkdir /mnt/root
+Next, link your Ubuntu installation and this new folder:
+$ sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/root
+If you’ve done this correctly, then you should see the following:
+$ ls /mnt/root
+bin dev home lib mnt root srv usr
+boot etc initrd lib64 opt sbin sys var
+cdrom initrd.img media proc selinux tmp vmlinuz
+Now, you can reinstall grub:
+$ sudo grub-install --root-directory=/mnt/root /dev/sda
+Installation finished. No error reported.
+This is the contents of the device map /boot/grub/device.map.
+Check if this is correct or not. If any of the lines is incorrect,
+fix it and re-run the script grub-install.
+(hd0) /dev/sda
+Next you’ll want to unmount the hard drive. This ensures that the drive
+won’t become corrupted when you reboot:
+$ sudo umount /mnt/root
+Finally, remove the Ubuntu disc from your dvd-rom drive, reboot your
+computer, and then start enjoying your Ubuntu operating system once
+again.
+This guide may not work for all Ubuntu users due to differences in the
+various system configuration. Still, this is the recommended and most
+successful method for restoring the grub bootloader. If you are following
+this guide and if it does not restore grub on your computer, then try the
+other troubleshooting methods at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/
+RecoveringUbuntuAfterInstallingWindows.
+I forgot my password
+If you forgot your password in Ubuntu, you will need to reset it using the
+“Recovery mode.”
+To start the Recovery mode, shut down your computer and then start
+again. As the computer starts up, press Shift. Select the Recovery mode
+option using the arrow keys on your keyboard. Recovery mode should be
+under the heading Advanced Options in the list.
+Wait until Ubuntu starts up—this may take a few minutes. Once booted,
+you will not be able to see a normal login screen. Instead, you will be pre-
+sented with the Recovery Menu. Select root using the arrow keys and press
+Enter.
+You will now be at a terminal prompt:
+troubleshooting
+113
+Figure 7.1: This is the grub screen in which you
+can choose recovery mode.
+root@ubuntu:~#
+To reset your password, enter:
+# passwd username
+Replace “username” above with your username, after which Ubuntu will
+prompt you for a new password. Enter your desired password, press the
+Enter key, and then re-type your password again, pressing Enter again
+when done. (Ubuntu asks for your password twice to make sure you did
+not make a mistake while typing). Once you have restored your password,
+return to the normal system environment by entering:
+# init 2
+Login as usual and continue enjoying Ubuntu.
+I accidentally deleted some files that I need
+If you’ve deleted a file by accident, you may be able to recover it from
+Ubuntu’s Trash folder. This is a special folder where Ubuntu stores deleted
+files before they are permanently removed from your computer.
+To access the Trash folder click on the trash icon at the bottom of the
+Unity Launcher.
+If you want to restore deleted items from the Trash:
+1. Open Trash
+2. Click on each item you want to restore to select it. Press and hold Ctrl
+to select multiple items.
+3. Click Restore to move the deleted items back to their original locations.
+How do I clean Ubuntu?
+Ubuntu’s software packaging system accumulates unused packages and
+temporary files through regular updates and use. These temporary files, also
+called caches, contain files from all of the installed packages. Over time, this
+cache can grow quite large. Cleaning out the cache allows you to reclaim
+space on your computer’s hard drive for storing your documents, music,
+photographs, or other files.
+To clear the cache, you can either use the clean, or the autoclean option
+for the command-line program apt-get.
+To run clean, open Terminal and enter:
+The clean command will remove every
+single cached item, while the autoclean
+command only removes cached items that can
+no longer be downloaded (these items are
+often unnecessary).
+$ sudo apt-get clean
+114
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Packages can also become unused over time. If a package was installed
+to assist with running another program—and that program was subse-
+quently removed—you no longer need the supporting package. You can
+remove it with apt-get autoremove.
+Load Terminal and enter:
+$ sudo apt-get autoremove
+I can’t play certain audio or video files
+Many of the formats used to deliver rich media content are proprietary,
+meaning they are not free to use, modify, or distribute with an open-source
+operating system like Ubuntu. Therefore, Ubuntu does not include the ca-
+pability to use these formats by default; however, users can easily configure
+Ubuntu to use these proprietary formats. For more information about the
+differences between open source and proprietary software, see Chapter 8:
+Learning More.
+If you find yourself in need of a proprietary format, you can install the
+required files from the Terminal. This is covered in the Codecs portion of
+Chapter 3. Ensure that you have the Universe and Multiverse repositories
+enabled before continuing. See the Software Sources section to learn how to
+enable these repositories.
+One program that can play many of these formats is vlc. It can be in-
+stalled from the Terminal or Ubuntu Software. Once Ubuntu has success-
+fully installed this software, your rich media content should work properly.
+How can I change my screen resolution?
+The image on every monitor is composed of millions of little colored dots
+called pixels. Changing the number of pixels displayed on your monitor is
+called “changing the resolution.” Increasing the resolution will make the
+displayed images sharper, but will also tend to make them smaller. The
+opposite is true when screen resolution is decreased. Most monitors have
+a “native resolution,” which is a resolution that most closely matches the
+number of pixels in the monitor. Your display will usually be sharpest when
+your operating system uses a resolution that matches your display’s native
+resolution.
+The Ubuntu configuration utility Displays allows users to change the
+resolution. Open it by clicking on the session indicator and then on Dis-
+plays…. The resolution can be changed using the drop-down list within
+the program. Picking options higher up on the list (for example, those with
+larger numbers) will increase the resolution.
+You can experiment with various resolutions by clicking Apply at the
+bottom of the window until you find one that is comfortable. Typically,
+the highest resolution will be the native resolution. Selecting a resolution
+and clicking Apply will temporarily change the screen resolution to the
+selected value, and a dialog box will also be displayed for 30 seconds. This
+dialog box allows you to revert to the previous resolution setting or keep
+the new resolution setting. If you’ve not accepted the new resolution and/or
+30 seconds have passed, the dialog box will disappear and the display’s
+resolution will return to its previous setting.
+This feature was implemented to prevent someone from being locked out
+of the computer by a resolution that distorts the monitor output and makes
+it unusable. When you have finished setting the screen resolution, click
+Close.
+troubleshooting
+115
+Figure 7.2: You can change your display
+settings.
+Figure 7.3: You can revert back to your old
+settings if you need to.
+Ubuntu is not working properly on my Apple MacBook or MacBook Pro
+When installed on notebook computers from Apple—such as the MacBook
+or MacBook Pro—Ubuntu does not always enable all of the computer’s
+built-in components, including the iSight camera and the Airport wireless
+Internet adapter. Luckily, the Ubuntu community offers documentation
+on fixing these and other problems. If you are having trouble installing or
+using Ubuntu on your Apple notebook computer, please follow the instruc-
+tions at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacBook. You can select the
+appropriate guide after identifying your computer’s model number.
+Ubuntu is not working properly on my Asus EeePC
+When installed on netbook computers from Asus—such as the EeePC—
+Ubuntu does not always enable all of the computer’s built-in components,
+including the keyboard shortcut keys and the wireless Internet adapter.
+The Ubuntu community offers documentation on enabling these com-
+ponents and fixing other problems. If you are having trouble installing
+or using Ubuntu on your Asus EeePC, please follow the instructions at
+https://help.ubuntu.com/community/EeePC. This documentation page con-
+tains information pertaining specifically to EeePC netbooks.
+To enable many of the features and Function Keys, a quick fix is to add
+“acpi_osi=Linux” to your grub configuration. From the Terminal
+$ gksudo gedit /etc/default/grub
+and very carefully change the line
+GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
+to
+GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash acpi_osi=Linux"
+Save and close the file. Then, from the terminal:
+$ sudo update-grub
+After the command finishes, and you restart the computer, you will be able
+to use the Fn keys normally.
+116
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+My hardware is not working properly
+Ubuntu occasionally has difficulty running on certain computers, usually
+when hardware manufacturers use non-standard or proprietary compo-
+nents. The Ubuntu community offers documentation to help you trou-
+bleshoot many common issues in this situation, including problems with
+wireless cards, scanners, mice, and printers. You can find the complete
+hardware troubleshooting guide on Ubuntu’s support wiki, accessible at
+https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupport. If your hardware problems
+persist, please see Getting more help for more troubleshooting options or
+information on obtaining support or assistance from an Ubuntu user.
+Getting more help
+This guide does not cover every possible workflow, task, issue, or problem
+in Ubuntu. If you require assistance beyond the information in the manual,
+you can find a variety of support opportunities online.
+More details about many support options available to you can be found
+at Finding additional help and support later in this book.
+8
+Learning More
+What else can I do with Ubuntu?
+At this point, you should now be able to use Ubuntu for most daily activ-
+ities—such as browsing the web, sending email, and creating documents.
+Now, you may be interested in learning about other versions of Ubuntu
+that may integrate into your digital lifestyle. In this chapter, we’ll introduce
+additional versions of Ubuntu designed and specialized for certain tasks.
+We’ll also provide resources for answering any remaining questions as well
+as direct you to how you can get involved in the worldwide community
+of Ubuntu users. First, we’ll discuss the technologies that make Ubuntu a
+powerful collection of software and a progressive operating system.
+Open source software
+Ubuntu is open source software (OSS). OSS differs from proprietary soft-
+ware. Proprietary software is defined as software whose source code is
+not freely available for modification or distribution by anyone but the
+rightsholder. Microsoft Windows and Adobe Photoshop are examples of
+proprietary software.
+Unlike proprietary software applications, the software included with
+Ubuntu is specifically licensed to promote sharing and collaboration. The
+legal rules governing Ubuntu’s production and distribution ensure that
+anyone can obtain, run, or share it for any purpose. Users can modify open
+source software to suit their individual needs, to share it, to improve it, or to
+translate it into other languages—provided they release the source code for
+these modifications so others can do the same. In fact, the terms of many
+open source licensing agreements actually make it illegal not to do so. This
+understanding helps explain why Ubuntu is called open source software.
+For more information regarding Ubuntu’s software licensing standards, see
+http://www.ubuntu.com/project/about-ubuntu/licensing.
+Because OSS is developed by large communities of programmers located
+throughout the world, it benefits from both rapid development cycles and
+speedy security releases when bugs are identified in the software. In other
+words, OSS is updated, enhanced, and made more secure every day as
+programmers all over the world continue to improve it.
+In addition to these technical advantages, OSS also has economic bene-
+fits. While users must adhere to the terms of an OSS licensing agreement
+when installing and using Ubuntu, they needn’t pay to obtain this license.
+While not all OSS is free of monetary costs, a vast majority of OSS is avail-
+able for free.
+To learn more about open source software, see the Open Source Initia-
+tive’s open source definition, available at http://www.opensource.org/docs/
+definition.php.
+Distribution families
+Ubuntu is one of several popular operating systems based on Linux. These
+Linux-based operating systems—called Linux “distributions”—may look
+118
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+different from Ubuntu at first glance, but they share similar characteristics
+because of their common roots.
+Linux distributions can be divided into two broad families: the Debian
+family and the Red Hat family. Each family is named for a distribution on
+which subsequent distributions are based. For example, “Debian” refers to
+both the name of a Linux distribution as well as the family of distributions
+derived from Debian. Ubuntu is part of this family. When describing rela-
+tionships between various open source projects, software developers often
+use the metaphor of tributaries connecting to a common body of water.
+For this reason, you may hear someone say that Ubuntu is located “down-
+stream” from Debian, because alterations to the Debian family ”flow” into
+new versions of Ubuntu. Additionally, improvements to Ubuntu usually
+trickle “upstream”—back to Debian and its family members as the Debian
+family benefits from the work of the Ubuntu community. Other distribu-
+tions in the Debian family include Linux Mint, Xandros, and CrunchBang
+Linux. Distributions in the Red Hat family include Fedora and Mandriva.
+The most significant difference between Debian-based and Red Hat-
+based distributions is the system each uses for installing and updating
+software. These systems are called Package management systems. Package
+management systems are the means by which users can install, remove,
+and organize software installed on computers with open source operating
+systems like Ubuntu. Debian software packages are deb files, while Red Hat
+software packages are rpm files. The two systems are generally incompati-
+ble. For more information about package management, review the chapter
+on Chapter 5: Software Management.
+You will also find specialized Linux distributions for certain tasks. Next,
+we’ll describe these versions of Ubuntu and explain the uses for which each
+has been developed.
+Choosing amongst Ubuntu and its derivatives
+Just as Ubuntu is based on Debian, several distributions are subsequently
+based on Ubuntu. Each differs with respect to the software included as part
+of the distribution. Some are developed for general use, while others are
+designed for accomplishing a more narrow set of tasks.
+Alternative interfaces
+Ubuntu features a graphical user interface (gui) based on the open source
+unity7 desktop. Previous versions of Ubuntu used the gnome desktop.
+As we explained in Chapter 2: The Ubuntu Desktop, a “user interface” is
+a collection of software elements—icons, colors, windows, themes, and
+menus—that determine how someone may interact with a computer. Some
+people prefer using alternatives to gnome, so they have created Ubuntu
+distributions featuring different user interfaces. These include:
+‣ Kubuntu, which uses the kde graphical environment
+‣ Lubuntu, which uses the lxde graphical environment
+‣ Xubuntu, which uses the xfce graphical environment
+Additionally, each of these distributions may contain default applications
+different from those featured in Ubuntu. For instance, the default music
+player in Ubuntu is Rhythmbox. In Lubuntu, the default music player is
+Audacious, and in Kubuntu, the default is Amarok. Be sure to investigate
+learning more
+119
+these differences if you are considering installing an Ubuntu distribution
+with an alternative desktop environment.
+For more information about these and other derivative distributions, see
+http://www.ubuntu.com/project/derivatives.
+Task-specific distributions
+Other Ubuntu distributions have been created to accomplish specific tasks
+or run in specialized environments and settings.
+Ubuntu Server Edition
+The Ubuntu Server Edition is an operating system optimized to perform
+multi-user tasks. Such tasks may include file sharing, website, or email
+hosting. If you are planning to use a computer to perform these types of
+tasks, you may wish to use this specialized server distribution in conjunc-
+tion with server hardware. While it is possible to run a server-type envi-
+ronment using only the desktop version of Ubuntu, it is not advised as the
+Server Edition is better optimized for the multi-user environment.
+This manual does not explain the process of running a secure web server
+or performing other tasks with Ubuntu Server Edition. For details on using
+Ubuntu Server Edition, refer to the manual at http://www.ubuntu.com/
+business/server/overview.
+Edubuntu
+Edubuntu is an Ubuntu derivative customized for use in schools and other
+educational institutions. Edubuntu contains software similar to that offered
+in Ubuntu but also features additional applications like a collaborative text
+editor and educational games.
+For additional information regarding Edubuntu, visit http://www.
+edubuntu.org/
+Ubuntu Studio
+The derivative of Ubuntu called Ubuntu Studio is designed specifically for
+people who use computers to create and edit multimedia projects. Ubuntu
+Studio features applications to help users manipulate images, compose
+music, and edit video. While users can install these applications on comput-
+ers running the desktop version of Ubuntu, Ubuntu Studio makes them all
+available immediately upon installation.
+If you would like to learn more about Ubuntu Studio (or obtain a copy
+for yourself), visit http://ubuntustudio.org/.
+Mythbuntu
+Mythbuntu allows users to turn their computers into entertainment sys-
+tems. Mythbuntu helps users organize and view various types of multime-
+dia content such as movies, television shows, and video podcasts. Users
+with tv tuners in their computers can also use Mythbuntu to record live
+video and television shows.
+To learn more about Mythbuntu, visit http://www.mythbuntu.org/.
+120
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+Finding additional help and support
+This guide cannot possibly contain everything you’ll ever need to know
+about Ubuntu. We encourage you to take advantage of Ubuntu’s vast com-
+munity when seeking further information, troubleshooting technical issues,
+or asking questions about your computer.
+It’s important to note that the Internet is full of third-party resources
+as well as individuals who post information on blogs and forums. While
+these resources can often seem like great resources, some could be mis-
+leading or outdated. It’s always best to verify information from third-party
+sources before taking their advice. When possible, rely on official Ubuntu
+documentation for assistance with Ubuntu.
+Now, let’s discuss a few of the available resources to learn more about
+Ubuntu and other Linux distributions.
+Live chat
+If you are familiar with Internet Relay Chat (irc), you can use chat clients
+such as XChat or Pidgin to join the channel #ubuntu on irc.freenode.net. In
+this channel, hundreds of volunteer users can answer your questions or of-
+fer technical support in real time. To learn more about using Internet Relay
+Chat to seek help with Ubuntu, visit https://help.ubuntu.com/community/
+InternetRelayChat.
+LoCo teams
+The Ubuntu community contains dozens of local user groups called “LoCo
+teams.” Distributed throughout the world, these teams offer support and
+advice, answer questions, and promote Ubuntu in their communities by
+hosting regular events. To locate or contact the LoCo team nearest you,
+visit http://loco.ubuntu.com/.
+Books and Magazines
+Many books have been written about Ubuntu, and professional magazines
+often feature news and information related to Ubuntu. You will frequently
+find these resources at your local bookstore or newsstand. If you know the
+name of a book or magazine, e.g. this manual or Full Circle Magazine, you
+can search for it on the Internet.
+Official Ubuntu Documentation
+The Ubuntu Documentation Team maintains a series of official wiki pages
+designed to assist both new and experienced users wishing to learn more
+about Ubuntu. The Ubuntu community endorses these documents, which
+serve as a reliable first point of reference for users seeking online help. You
+can access these resources at http://help.ubuntu.com. To get to the built-in
+Ubuntu Desktop Guide, type help in the Dash.
+The Ubuntu Forums
+The Ubuntu Forums are the official forums of the Ubuntu community. Mil-
+lions of Ubuntu users use them daily to seek help and support from one
+another. You can create an Ubuntu Forums account in minutes. To create
+learning more
+121
+an account and learn more about Ubuntu from community members, visit
+http://ubuntuforums.org.
+Launchpad Answers
+Launchpad, an open source code repository and user community, provides a
+question and answer service that allows anyone to ask questions about any
+Ubuntu-related topic. Signing up for a Launchpad account takes just a few
+seconds. You can ask a question by visiting Launchpad at https://answers.
+launchpad.net/ubuntu.
+Ask Ubuntu
+Ask Ubuntu is a free, community-driven website for Ubuntu users and
+developers. Like the Ubuntu Forums, it allows users to post questions for
+other members of the Ubuntu community to answer. But Ask Ubuntu also
+allows visitors to “vote” on the answers users provide, so the most useful or
+helpful responses get featured more prominently on the site. Ask Ubuntu is
+part of the Stack Exchange network of websites and is one of the best free
+Ubuntu support resources available. Visit http://www.askubuntu.com to get
+started.
+Search Engines
+Because Ubuntu is a popular open source operating system, many users
+have written about it online. Therefore, using search engines to locate
+answers to your questions about Ubuntu is often an effective means of
+acquiring help. When using search engines to answer questions about
+Ubuntu, ensure that your search queries are as specific as possible. In other
+words, a search for “Unity interface” will return results that are less useful
+than those associated with the query “how to use Ubuntu Unity interface”
+or “how to customize Ubuntu Unity interface.”
+Community support
+If you’ve exhausted all these resources and still can’t find answers to your
+questions, visit Community Support at http://www.ubuntu.com/support/
+community.
+The Ubuntu community
+Ubuntu is the flagship product created by a global community of passionate
+users who want to help others adopt, use, understand, and even modify or
+enhance Ubuntu. By choosing to install and run Ubuntu, you’ve become
+part of this community. As you learn more about Ubuntu, you may wish
+to collaborate with others as you promote Ubuntu to new users, to share
+Ubuntu advice, or to answer other users’ questions. In this section, we’ll
+discuss a few community projects that can connect you to other Ubuntu
+users.
+Full Circle Magazine
+Full Circle Magazine is “the independent magazine for the Ubuntu Linux
+community.” Released every month, Full Circle Magazine contains reviews
+of new software (including games) for Ubuntu, step-by-step tutorials for
+122
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+projects you can accomplish with Ubuntu, editorials discussing important
+issues in the Ubuntu community, and Ubuntu tips from other users. Full
+Circle Magazine is released in many different formats and is always free.
+You can download current and back issues of Full Circle Magazine at http://
+fullcirclemagazine.org/.
+The Ubuntu UK Podcast
+Produced by members of the UK’s Ubuntu LoCo team, this bi-weekly online
+audio broadcast (or “podcast”) features lively discussion about Ubuntu and
+often includes interviews with Ubuntu community members who work to
+improve Ubuntu. Episodes are available at http://ubuntupodcast.org/.
+OMG! Ubuntu!
+OMG! Ubuntu! is a weblog that aims to inform the Ubuntu community
+about Ubuntu news, events, announcements, and updates in a timely fash-
+ion. It also allows Ubuntu users to discuss ways they can promote or share
+Ubuntu. You can read this blog or subscribe to it at http://www.omgubuntu.
+co.uk/.
+Contributing
+Contributing to Ubuntu
+As we mentioned earlier in this chapter, Ubuntu is a community-maintained
+operating system. You can help make Ubuntu better in a number of ways.
+The community consists of thousands of individuals and teams. If you
+would like to contribute to Ubuntu, please visit https://wiki.ubuntu.com/
+ContributeToUbuntu.
+You can also participate in the Ubuntu community by contributing to
+this manual. You might choose to write new content for it, edit its chapters
+so they are easier for new Ubuntu users to understand and use, or translate
+it in your own language. Or maybe taking screenshots is your passion!
+Regardless of your talent or ability, if you have a passion to contribute to
+the Ubuntu community in a meaningful way, then the Ubuntu Manual
+Project invites you to join! To get involved in the Ubuntu Manual Project,
+visit http://ubuntu-manual.org/getinvolved.
+A
+License
+Creative Commons Attribution–ShareAlike 3.0 Legal Code
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+creative commons public license (“ccpl” or “license”). the work is
+protected by copyright and/or other applicable law. any use of the
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+by exercising any rights to the work provided here, you accept
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+you the rights contained here in consideration of your acceptance
+of such terms and conditions.
+1. Definitions
+(a) “Adaptation” means a work based upon the Work, or upon the Work
+and other pre-existing works, such as a translation, adaptation,
+derivative work, arrangement of music or other alterations of a lit-
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+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
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+circus performer to the extent it is not otherwise considered a literary
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+(i) “You” means an individual or entity exercising rights under this Li-
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+respect to the Work, or who has received express permission from
+the Licensor to exercise rights under this License despite a previous
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+(j) “Publicly Perform” means to perform public recitations of the Work
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+of fixation and reproducing fixations of the Work, including storage
+of a protected performance or phonogram in digital form or other
+electronic medium.
+license
+125
+2. Fair Dealing Rights. Nothing in this License is intended to reduce, limit,
+or restrict any uses free from copyright or rights arising from limitations
+or exceptions that are provided for in connection with the copyright
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+3. License Grant. Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, Licen-
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+rights in the Work as stated below:
+(a) to Reproduce the Work, to incorporate the Work into one or more
+Collections, and to Reproduce the Work as incorporated in the Collec-
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+4. Restrictions. The license granted in Section 3 above is expressly made
+subject to and limited by the following restrictions:
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+terms of this License. You must include a copy of, or the Uniform
+Resource Identifier (URI) for, this License with every copy of the Work
+You Distribute or Publicly Perform. You may not offer or impose
+any terms on the Work that restrict the terms of this License or the
+ability of the recipient of the Work to exercise the rights granted to
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+126
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+You Distribute or Publicly Perform. When You Distribute or Publicly
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+measures on the Work that restrict the ability of a recipient of the
+Work from You to exercise the rights granted to that recipient under
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+must, to the extent practicable, remove from the Collection any credit
+as required by Section 4(c), as requested. If You create an Adaptation,
+upon notice from any Licensor You must, to the extent practicable,
+remove from the Adaptation any credit as required by Section 4(c), as
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+(b) You may Distribute or Publicly Perform an Adaptation only under the
+terms of: (i) this License; (ii) a later version of this License with the
+same License Elements as this License; (iii) a Creative Commons juris-
+diction license (either this or a later license version) that contains the
+same License Elements as this License (e.g., Attribution-ShareAlike
+3.0 US)); (iv) a Creative Commons Compatible License. If you license
+the Adaptation under one of the licenses mentioned in (iv), you must
+comply with the terms of that license. If you license the Adaptation
+under the terms of any of the licenses mentioned in (i), (ii) or (iii) (the
+“Applicable License”), you must comply with the terms of the Ap-
+plicable License generally and the following provisions: (I) You must
+include a copy of, or the URI for, the Applicable License with every
+copy of each Adaptation You Distribute or Publicly Perform; (II) You
+may not offer or impose any terms on the Adaptation that restrict
+the terms of the Applicable License or the ability of the recipient of
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+technological measures on the Adaptation that restrict the ability of a
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+4(b) applies to the Adaptation as incorporated in a Collection, but this
+does not require the Collection apart from the Adaptation itself to be
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+Ssection 3(b), in the case of an Adaptation, a credit identifying the
+license
+127
+use of the Work in the Adaptation (e.g., “French translation of the
+Work by Original Author,” or “Screenplay based on original Work
+by Original Author”). The credit required by this Section 4(c) may be
+implemented in any reasonable manner; provided, however, that in
+the case of a Adaptation or Collection, at a minimum such credit will
+appear, if a credit for all contributing authors of the Adaptation or
+Collection appears, then as part of these credits and in a manner at
+least as prominent as the credits for the other contributing authors.
+For the avoidance of doubt, You may only use the credit required by
+this Section for the purpose of attribution in the manner set out above
+and, by exercising Your rights under this License, You may not im-
+plicitly or explicitly assert or imply any connection with, sponsorship
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+Parties, as appropriate, of You or Your use of the Work, without the
+separate, express prior written permission of the Original Author,
+Licensor and/or Attribution Parties.
+(d) Except as otherwise agreed in writing by the Licensor or as may be
+otherwise permitted by applicable law, if You Reproduce, Distribute
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+udicial to the Original Author’s honor or reputation. Licensor agrees
+that in those jurisdictions (e.g. Japan), in which any exercise of the
+right granted in Section 3(b) of this License (the right to make Adap-
+tations) would be deemed to be a distortion, mutilation, modification
+or other derogatory action prejudicial to the Original Author’s honor
+and reputation, the Licensor will waive or not assert, as appropriate,
+this Section, to the fullest extent permitted by the applicable national
+law, to enable You to reasonably exercise Your right under Section
+3(b) of this License (right to make Adaptations) but not otherwise.
+5. Representations, Warranties and Disclaimer
+unless otherwise mutually agreed to by the parties in writing,
+licensor offers the work as-is and makes no representations
+or warranties of any kind concerning the work, express, im-
+plied, statutory or otherwise, including, without limitation,
+warranties of title, merchantibility, fitness for a particular
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+fects, accuracy, or the presence of absence of errors, whether or
+not discoverable. some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion
+of implied warranties, so such exclusion may not apply to you.
+6. Limitation on Liability. except to the extent reqired by applica-
+ble law, in no event will licensor be liable to you on any legal
+theory for any special, incidental, conseqential, punitive or
+exemplary damages arising out of this license or the use of the
+work, even if licensor has been advised of the possibility of such
+damages.
+7. Termination
+(a) This License and the rights granted hereunder will terminate automat-
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+under this License, however, will not have their licenses terminated
+provided such individuals or entities remain in full compliance with
+128
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+is required to be, granted under the terms of this License), and this
+License will continue in full force and effect unless terminated as
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+offers to the recipient a license to the original Work on the same
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+right Treaty of 1996, the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty
+of 1996 and the Universal Copyright Convention (as revised on July
+24, 1971). These rights and subject matter take effect in the relevant
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+suite of rights granted under applicable copyright law includes addi-
+tional rights not granted under this License, such additional rights are
+deemed to be included in the License; this License is not intended to
+restrict the license of any rights under applicable law.
+license
+129
+Creative Commons Notice
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+whatsoever in connection with the Work. Creative Commons will not be
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+including without limitation any general, special, incidental or consequen-
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+on its website or otherwise made available upon request from time to time.
+For the avoidance of doubt, this trademark restriction does not form part of
+the License.
+Creative Commons may be contacted at http://creativecommons.org/.
+Glossary
+Access Point A device that allows for a wireless connection to a local net-
+work using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.
+applet A small program that runs in a panel. Applets provide useful func-
+tions such as starting a program, viewing the time, or accessing the main
+menu of an application.
+Canonical Canonical, the financial backer of Ubuntu, provides support for
+the core Ubuntu system. It has over 500 staff members worldwide who
+ensure that the foundation of the operating system is stable, as well as
+checking all the work submitted by volunteer contributors. To learn
+more about Canonical, go to http://www.canonical.com.
+cli cli or command-line interface is another name for the terminal.
+desktop environment A generic term to describe a gui interface for humans
+to interact with computers. There are many desktop environments such
+as Unity, gnome, kde, xfce and lxde, to name a few.
+dhcp dhcp stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, it is used by a
+dhcp server to assign computers on a network an ip address automati-
+cally.
+dialup connection A dialup connection is when your computer uses a mo-
+dem to connect to an isp through your telephone line.
+distribution A distribution is a collection of software that is already com-
+piled and configured ready to be installed. Ubuntu is an example of a
+distribution.
+dual-booting Dual-booting is the process of being able to choose one of
+two different operating systems currently installed on a computer from
+the boot menu. Once selected, your computer will boot into whichever
+operating system you chose at the boot menu. The term dual-booting is
+often used generically, and may refer to booting among more than two
+operating systems.
+encryption Encryption is a security measure, it prevents others from access-
+ing and viewing the contents of your files and/or hard drives, the files
+must first be decrypted with your password.
+Ethernet port An Ethernet port is what an Ethernet cable is plugged into
+when you are using a wired connection.
+gui The gui (which stands for Graphical User Interface) is a type of user in-
+terface that allows humans to interact with the computer using graphics
+and images rather than just text.
+isp isp stands for Internet Service Provider, an isp is a company that provides
+you with your Internet connection.
+Live dvd A Live dvd allows you to try out an operating system before you
+actually install it, this is useful for testing your hardware, diagnosing
+problems and recovering your system.
+lts lts stands for long-term support and is a type of Ubuntu release that is
+officially supported for far longer than the standard releases.
+132
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+maximize When you maximize an application in Ubuntu it will fill the
+whole desktop, excluding the panels.
+minimize When you minimize an open application, the window will no
+longer be shown. If you click on a minimized application’s icon in the
+Launcher, it will be restored to its normal state and allow you to interact
+with it.
+notification area The notification area is an applet on the panel that pro-
+vides you with all sorts of information such as volume control, the cur-
+rent song playing in Rhythmbox, your Internet connection status and
+email status.
+output The output of a command is any text it displays on the next line
+after typing a command and pressing enter, e.g., if you type pwd into a
+terminal and press Enter, the directory name it displays on the next line
+is the output.
+package Packages contain software in a ready-to-install format. Most of
+the time you can use Ubuntu Software instead of manually installing
+packages. Packages have a .deb extension in Ubuntu.
+panel A panel is a bar that sits on the edge of your screen. It contains ap-
+plets which provide useful functions such as running programs, viewing
+the time, or accessing the main menu.
+parameter Parameters are special options that you can use with other
+commands in the terminal to make that command behave differently, this
+can make a lot of commands far more useful.
+ppa A personal package archive (ppa) is a custom software repository that
+typically contains either packages that aren’t available in the primary
+Ubuntu repositories or newer versions of packages that are available in
+the primary repositories.
+prompt The prompt displays some useful information about your computer.
+It can be customized to display in different colors, display the time, date,
+and current directory or almost anything else you like.
+proprietary Software made by companies that don’t release their source
+code under an open source license.
+router A router is a specially designed computer that, using its software
+and hardware, routes information from the Internet to a network. It is
+also sometimes called a gateway.
+server A server is a computer that runs a specialized operating system and
+provides services to computers that connect to it and make a request.
+shell The terminal gives access to the shell, when you type a command into
+the terminal and press enter the shell takes that command and performs
+the relevant action.
+Synaptic Package Manager Synaptic Package Manager is a tool that, instead
+of listing applications (like Ubuntu Software) lists individual packages
+that can then be installed, removed and fixed.
+terminal The terminal is Ubuntu’s text-based interface. It is a method of
+controlling the operating system using only commands entered via the
+keyboard as opposed to using a gui like Unity.
+Ubuntu Software Ubuntu Software is where you can easily manage soft-
+glossary
+133
+ware installation and removal as well as the ability to manage software
+installed via Personal Package Archives.
+usb Universal Serial Bus is a standard interface specification for connecting
+peripheral hardware devices to computers. usb devices range from
+external hard drives to scanners and printers.
+wired connection A wired connection is when your computer is physically
+connected to a router or Ethernet port with a cable. This is the most
+common method of connecting to the Internet and local network for
+desktop computers.
+wireless connection A network connection that uses a wireless signal to
+communicate with either a router, access point, or computer.
+Credits
+This manual wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts and contribu-
+tions from the following people:
+Team leads
+Kevin Godby—Lead T
+EXnician
+Hannie Dumoleyn—Editors Coordinator & Translation Maintainer
+Sylvie Gallet—Screenshots
+Thorsten Wilms—Designer
+Authors, Editors & Reviewers
+Pravin Dhayfule
+Hannie Dumoleyn
+Sylvie Gallet
+Kevin Godby
+Eric Marsh
+Miles Robinson
+Tiffany Tisler
+Translation editors
+Fran Diéguez (Galician)
+Hannie Dumoleyn (Dutch)
+Sylvie Gallet (French)
+Aleksey Kabanov (Russian)
+Xuacu Saturio (Asturian)
+Daniel Schury (German)
+Susah Sebut (Malay)
+Jose Luis Tirado (Spanish)
+Chris Woollard (British English)
+John Xygonakis (Greek)
+Andrej Znidarsic (Slovenian)
+Past contributors
+Bryan Behrenshausen (Author)
+Senthil Velan Bhooplan (Author)
+Mario Burgos (Author/Editor)
+John Cave (Author)
+Edmond Condillac (Editor)
+Jim Connett (Author/Editor/Coordinator)
+Thomas Corwin (Author/Editor)
+Sayantan Das (Author/Editor)
+Che Dean (Author)
+Patrick Dickey (Author)
+Mehmet Atif Ergun (Author/Editor)
+Rick Fosburgh (Editor-in-Chief)
+Herat Gandhi Amrish (Author)
+Benjamin Humphrey (Project Founder)
+Mehmet Kani (Author/Editor)
+Sam Klein (Author)
+Will Kromer (Author)
+Paddy Landau (Author/Editor)
+Simon Lewis (Author)
+Andrew Montag (Editor)
+Ryan Macnish (Author)
+Mez Pahlan (Author)
+Vibhav Pant (Editor)
+Brian Peredo (Author)
+Joel Pickett (Author)
+David Pires (Editor)
+Eric Ponvelle (Author)
+Tony Pursell (Author/Editor)
+Kev Quirk (Author)
+Scott Stainton (Editor)
+Kartik Sulakhe (Author)
+Tom Swartz (Author)
+David Wales (Author)
+Chris Woollard (Editor)
+Index
+32-bit versus 64-bit, 9
+accessibility, 32
+screen reader, 32
+alternative interfaces, 118–119
+Apple, see MacBook
+applications
+adding and removing, 21
+presentation, see LibreOffice
+running, 21
+searching, 23
+spreadsheet, see LibreOffice
+word processor, see LibreOffice
+audio, see sound and music
+audio, playing, see Rhythmbox
+Bluetooth, 86
+booting
+troubleshooting, 111
+camera, importing photos, 65
+Canonical, 6
+cds and dvds
+blanking, 75
+burning, 73–77
+codecs, 68
+copying, 76
+playing, 69, 70
+ripping, 71
+Choqok, 64–65
+codecs
+audio, 73
+video, 68
+command line, see terminal
+Corebird, 64
+Dash, 21
+Debian, 6, see also Linux
+derivatives, 118
+desktop
+background, 20
+customization, 30
+appearance, 30
+background, 31
+theme, 30
+menu bar, 20
+sharing, 62
+disk, see cds and dvds
+display
+adding secondary, 80–81
+changing resolution, 80
+troubleshooting, 114
+drivers, 79–80
+DRM, 68
+dual-booting, 13
+dvds and cds, see cds and dvds
+Edubuntu, 119
+EeePC
+troubleshooting, 115
+email, see Thunderbird
+Empathy, 59–63
+add accounts, 59
+chatting, 61–62
+desktop sharing, 62
+setup, 59
+encryption, see security
+file system structure, 99–100
+Files, 27
+multiple tabs, 29
+multiple windows, 29
+window, 27
+files
+browsing, 26
+opening files, 28
+recovering, 113
+files and folders
+copying, 28
+creating, 28
+displaying hidden, 28
+moving, 28
+searching, 29–30
+Firefox, 46–55
+firewall
+installing, 104
+using, 104
+FireWire, see ieee 1394
+gestures, 85
+groups, see also users
+adding, 103
+deleting, 103
+files and folders, 104
+managing, 103
+modifying, 103
+hardware
+troubleshooting, 116
+help
+Ask Ubuntu, 121
+documentation, 120
+forums, 120
+Full Circle Magazine, 121
+general help, 34
+heads-up display (hud), 35
+Launchpad Answers, 121
+live chat, 120
+online, 34
+home folder, 26
+ieee 1394, 86
+instant messaging, see Empathy
+Internet
+browsing, 46–55
+connecting, 39–46
+wireless, 42
+Internet radio, 71
+kernel, 6
+keyboard, 85
+Launcher, 21
+running applications, 21
+LibreOffice, 77
+Linux, 6–7
+Linux distributions, 117–118
+Live dvd, see Ubuntu Live dvd
+locking the screen, 33
+logging out, 33
+login options, 15–16
+Mac OS X, see MacBook
+MacBook
+troubleshooting, 115
+microblogging, see Choqok, see Corebird
+monitor, see display
+mounting devices, 100
+mouse, 85
+Movie Player, 68
+multitouch, 85
+music, see Rhythmbox
+Mythbuntu, 119
+NetworkManager, 39
+open-source software, 117
+OS X, see MacBook
+password, see security
+photos, see also Shotwell
+editing, 66
+importing, 65
+viewing, 65
+podcasts, 72
+presentation application, 77
+printer, 81, 82
+add via usb, 81
+adding via network, 81
+138
+getting started with ubuntu 16.04
+rebooting, 33
+ReplayGain, 72
+Rhythmbox, 69–73
+Internet radio, 71
+playing music, 69
+podcasts, 72
+scanner, 84
+troubleshooting, 84
+screen, see display
+security
+encryption, 105
+introduction, 100–101
+passwords, 101
+permissions, 101
+resetting passwords, 112
+screen locking, 101
+system updates, 104
+Shotwell, 65–68
+shutting down, 33
+Shuttleworth, Mark, 6
+slide show, see LibreOffice
+software
+adding repository, 93–94
+email, 37
+finding applications, 88–89
+installing, 89
+managing, 91
+manual installation, 94
+movie players, 38
+multimedia players, 38
+music players, 38
+office suites, 37
+pdf reader, 37
+podcast readers, 38
+presentation, 37
+recommendations, 91
+removing, 89–91
+repositories, 91
+servers, 92–93
+spreadsheet, 37
+video players, 38
+web browser, 37
+word processor, 37
+Software Center, 88
+sound
+input, 83
+output, 83
+recording, 83
+troubleshooting, 114
+volume, 82
+sound effects, 83
+spreadsheet, 77
+start up, see boot
+suspending the computer, 33
+system requirements, 9
+terminal
+about, 97
+using, 98
+Thunderbird, 55–59
+setup, 55
+torrent
+Ubuntu image, 10
+touchpad, 85
+Twitter, see Choqok, see Corebird
+Ubuntu
+bootable usb drive, 10
+definition of, 5
+downloading, 9
+history of, 6
+installing, 11–16
+philosophy of, 5–6
+Ubuntu Live dvd, 10–11
+Ubuntu Promise, 6
+Ubuntu Server Edition, 119
+Ubuntu Studio, 119
+Unity, 19
+Unix, 6, 7
+unmounting devices, 100
+updates
+about, 95–96
+automatic, 96
+release updates, 96
+usb, 85
+users, see also groups
+adding, 102
+creating during installation, 15–16
+deleting, 103
+managing, 102
+modifying, 103
+video
+troubleshooting, 114
+videos
+codecs, 68
+playing, 68
+volume, see sound
+webcam, 83
+Wi-Fi, 42
+windows, 24
+closing, 24
+force on top, 25
+minimizing, 24
+moving, 25
+moving between, 25
+resizing, 25
+restoring, 24
+switching, 25
+word processor, 77
+workspaces, 24
+colophon
+This book was typeset with XƎL
+AT
+EX.
+The book design is based on the Tufte-L
+AT
+EX document classes available at http://
+code.google.com/p/tufte-latex/.
+The text face is Linux Libertine, designed by Philipp H. Poll. It is an open font
+available at http://linuxlibertine.sf.net/.
+The captions and margin notes are set in Ubuntu, a font commissioned by Canonical
+and designed by Dalton Maag. It is freely available for download at http://font.
+ubuntu.com/.
+The terminal text and keystrokes are set in DejaVu Sans Mono (available at http://
+dejavu-fonts.org/), originally developed by Bitstream, Inc. as Bitstream Vera.
+The cover and title page pictograms contain shapes taken from the Humanity icon
+set, available at https://launchpad.net/humanity.
+The title page and cover were designed using Inkscape, available at http://inkscape.
+org/.