The fastest way to navigate in GNOME

Here is a tip about how to navigate in GNOME-the fast way.  While on the desktop (with no window focused), press the / key to open the Nautilus navigation bar.

To navigate to a specific location type the folders path in the bar.

Also, you can navigate to the special locations, using the paths as they are presented on killer tech tips:

burn:///
Opens the CD Writing Window.

computer:///

Shows Computer, lists the disk partitions

 

fonts:///
Lists the available fonts.

 

ftp:///

Connects you to the specified ftp address.

 

network:///
Lists network locations.

 

smb:///

Opens the Samba (file sharing) Window.

 

system-settings:///

Opens the System Settings Window.

 

themes:///
Lists the available GNOME themes.

If you know some others URI’s, please present them.

How to lock the screen in GNOME

I’m sure that many of you are used with the <Win>+<L> key combination in
windows, to lock the screen. In Ubuntu (the distro I use), the
corespondent shortcut is <CTRL>+<ALT>+<L>. But, in many other distros
there is no shortcut for this command. Here is what you can do to assign a shortcut for locking the screen. (In order to do that, you have to activate the Win key. Read “How to use the Win key in Linux” to find out how to do it.)
Open the gconf-editor by typing “gconf-editor” in the terminal.

nongeek@mma:~$ gconf-editor

Go to: apps>metacity>keybinding_commands

Read more>>

Top 15 shortcut keys in GNOME and Nautilus

Many users are not aware of the shortcuts that can be use in GNOME and it’s File Manager, Nautilus. Therefore, I made up this list with the most useful (in my opinion) hotkeys. Hope it helps:

 

Top 15 shortcut keys in Gnome and Nautilus:

 

Ctrl-N: open new window

Ctrl-Shift-N: create new folder

Ctrl-H: show hidden files

Alt-Home : jump to home folder

Alt-Enter : file / folder properties

F9 : toggle side-pane

Alt-F1 : launch applications menu

Alt-F2 : launch “run application” dialogue

Ctrl-Alt – Right/Left arrow : move to the next virtual desktop

Ctrl-Alt–Shift – Right/Left arrow : take current window to the next virtual desktopCtrl-Alt-D: minimize all windows, and gives focus to the desktop.

Alt-Tab: switch between windows. When you use these shortcut keys, a list of windows that you can select is displayed. Release the keys to select a window.

Ctrl-Alt-Tab: switch the focus between the panels and the desktop. When you use these shortcut keys, a list of items that you can select is displayed. Release the keys to select an item.

Ctrl-Alt-L: lock the screen (it works in Ubuntu-I don’t know about other distros)\

Ctrl-L: shortcut for opening locations-by default the path is the home folder*

A useful hint that I found on the excellent Fosswire blog:

/ : same as Ctrl-L but has the root (/) as default path*

 * both shortcuts can be used while you are on the desktop (no window active)

 

And a suggestion:

Ctrl-T : move to trash (in Nautilus)

This is a dangerous key combination because many of us are used to press these keys in order to open a new tab. Because we all delete items using the Delete key, I recommend to deactivate this shortcut key. To do that, go to System » Preferences »  Appearance » Interface. Select Editable menu shortcut keys and close the dialog box. Click on the Edit menu in the File Browser. Click the Empty Trash item (it has Ctrl-T as the keyboard shortcut) Press the Delete key to get rid of the shortcut.

You cand find all GNOME shortcut keys on: http://library.gnome.org/users/user-guide/latest/keyboard-skills.html.en

How to use the Window-keys in Linux (GNOME)

If in Windows you were used with the Win key combinations, perhaps you would like to use it in Linux too. Here is a short tutorial about how to activate the Win keys in Linux.

First we will set the Windows key behaviour.

Go to System>Preferences>Keyboard.

Go to the Layouts tab and press the Layout Options button.

Open the Alt/Win key option.

Select the “Super is mapped to the Win-keys” behaviour.

Close the windows.

Now, that we have set the key behaviour, let’s make some Windows like shortcuts.

Go to System>Preferences>Keyboard Shortcuts.

Go to Window Management section.

Search for “Hide all windows and focus desktop”. Click on it.

Now will change the default shortcut with the one we want. Press the <WIN><D> combination.

Close the window and test your new shortcut. It works?

Now you can use the Win-keys the same way as in Windows or create the combinations you like.

For a tutorial about locking the screen with <Win>L in other distros then Ubuntu read the “How to lock the screen in GNOME” article.

For a list of most used GNOME and Nautilus shortcuts read “Top 15 shortcut keys in gnome and  nautilus”