When the GNOME Control Center first starts,
it will look like Figure 4-1.
The GNOME Control Center is divided into
two panels. On the left, you'll find categories, and on the right,
(the main panel), you will see the corresponding elements that you can
modify in each category. The categories may be collapsed when you
first open the control center. Click on the + to
expand the categories.
 | Preview Your Changes |
|---|
| | Not sure you'll be happy with your selections? Click on the
Try button to see what your desktop will look
like with your changes. If you don't like it, just click on the
Revert button to return to your original
settings.
|
To change your desktop's background, click on the
Background category. You'll see your current
desktop background in the preview screen of the main panel.
In the Color section of the
Background screen, you can determine whether your
desktop has a solid or gradient (blended colors) background.
For a solid background, click on the drop-down menu and choose
Solid. Click on Primary
Color and the Pick A Color palette
appears. Choose a color by clicking on it in the color palette. You
can move the slider bars on the right side of the right side of the
screen to make choices and adjustments as well. Once you find a color
you like, click on OK.
If you choose Horizontal or Vertical
Gradient from the drop-down menu, you'll want to choose a
Primary and Secondary Color.
If you want something a little more expressive, try adding wallpaper
to your desktop.
By default, there are no wallpaper choices available when you click on
the drop-down menu under Wallpaper. Click on
Browse and choose the directory that contains
saved wallpaper images to view your wallpaper options. Select one of
these files and click on OK, or just double-click on the file name, to
add the file to the drop-down menu.
You can arrange the wallpaper on your desktop in the following ways:
Tiled — The image is repeated across
the desktop.
Centered — The image is centered on the
desktop, surrounded by your chosen background color or gradient.
Scaled (keep aspect) — The image is
scaled to fit as much of the screen as possible without
distorting the image.
Scaled — The image is stretched to fit the
entire screen.
Embossed Logo — The background image is
the default Red Hat logo.
You can deselect the option to Use GNOME to set
background if you would prefer to set the background in
another way (such as through your window manager's configuration
program).
You can change the look and feel of your workspace with themes. The
appearance of your panel, text boxes, buttons, and other visual
elements will be coordinated with the theme you select.
To change your current theme, click on the Theme
Selector in the category panel.
The right panel is divided into sections which allow you to select a
new theme, preview its effect, and modify the default font that theme
will use (see Figure 4-2).
If you select the Auto Preview option, you
will be able to preview what the theme will look like in the
Preview section. If the option is not selected,
you can still preview the theme by clicking on the
Preview button.
| More Themes Are Available |
|---|
| | If you do not see a theme you like, you can find more themes at
http://gtk.themes.org, a
repository for themes. To install a theme, download a theme from the
website, then select the Install new theme
button. In the dialog which opens, scroll to the name of the file
you downloaded (which will probably be in your login directory,
named something like
New_theme.tar.gz).
Left-click on the file name, then click the
OK button. Your new theme will appear in the
Available Themes section.
|
In the User Font section, click on the option to
Use custom font, then click on the activated font
box to open a new dialog which will let you select a different font on
such items as the menu and Tasklist.
