Ten tricks make Ubuntu 16.04 more handy

Ten tricks make Ubuntu 16.04 more handy

Ubuntu 16.04 is a long-term supported version (LTS), which is a new version that Canonical promises to release for five years. That is to say, you can have this version run on your computer for five years!

In this way, it is particularly important to set up at the beginning. Make sure that your software is up-to-date, has installed common applications, and is easy to use.

It is not difficult to achieve these points. You only need to follow the correct direction. This article will provide such a direction.

1. download updates

You have installed Ubuntu. The first thing to do is to download the latest update.

Start the Ubuntu software in the dock bar. The Update tab displays any available updates.

Or you can search for Software Updater from Dash ). This application checks the Ubuntu software library to find the changed content. Click "Install now" to install the updates.

Click Details of updates to view the updates you want to download. You can deselect any application you want to skip.

You may need to restart to make some changes take effect.

2. Install the driver

Next, make sure everything is running in an orderly manner. Some vendors provide proprietary drivers to ensure that the hardware runs properly. Without a driver, your wireless or video card may not be able to run directly (take the wireless driver as an example, you also need an ethernet cable to access the Internet ).

Canonical provides the advantages of easy access to these drivers. You only need to start "Software & Updates" (Software and Updates) to find these drivers. You can select the Additional Drivers tab here. The additional proprietary driver will appear here.

Okay, you're done. This task is easier in Ubuntu than in some other Linux distributions.

3. Install the application

16.04 indicates that the Ubuntu Software Center no longer exists. Now, you can install the application from the Ubuntu software (renamed Gnome software. In addition to updates, you can also install the application here.

Ubuntu software groups applications by category, which makes it easy to find the applications you need. If you already know what application you are looking for, you just need to enter the name of the application in the search box.

Ubuntu software appears at the bottom of the dock. Click it to get the essential applications that are not pre-installed.

4. Add PPA

Some applications do not appear in Ubuntu software. This application may not meet the Canonical guidelines, or may not exist when Ubuntu 16.04 is released.

In any case, developers can use the personal package archive (PPA) to provide Ubuntu applications.

You only need to open "software and updates" and go to the "other software" tab to add these applications.

Click "add" here ". At this time, you can enter the address to the PPA you want to add.

Need further help? These applications are usually accompanied by their respective installation instructions. You can often copy and paste the code to a terminal. Make sure that you trust the source and understand the copied content. If the command runs improperly, the computer may be damaged.

5. Install the decoder

Many of your audio and video files cannot run directly. This is not so much a technical issue as a legal issue. Canonical does not have the permission to distribute codecs that are used to play most restricted formats as part of Ubuntu.

On the other hand, Canonical can be re-distributed after the decoder is installed.

This is quite complicated. We may need to write a whole article to discuss this issue.

The main points are as follows. In the United States, if you want to use a proprietary decoder, you must purchase a decoder package. You can also download Ubuntu Restricted Extras to get all the excellent codecs. This is not officially approved in the United States, but you are unlikely to be in trouble. As for other countries, the laws are different, depending on which country you live in.

6. Change the theme and wallpaper

I don't think the black panel is really ugly. However, the default appearance of Ubuntu is not eye-catching.

You can change the theme without installing any additional things. Go to system Settings> appearance. Here, you can change the default "Ambiance" topic to a brighter one.

You can also change the desktop background here. Ubuntu comes with a dozen options. You only need to click the + button to add more options.

7. Adjust the starter

Do you want a larger starter button? I think that sidebar occupies too much space? In any case, go back to system Settings> appearance to make changes. The default value is 48x48 pixels, but the slider can be increased or decreased.

You can move the starter from 16.04 to the bottom of the screen. It takes more time to execute this step. This step is achieved without installing any additional software and requires terminal support.

Enter the following command:

1. Gsettings set com. canonical. Unity. Launcher launcher-position Bottom

If you want to move the starter back to the screen, make the following minor changes:

1. Gsettings set com. canonical. Unity. Launcher launcher-position Left

8. Adjust the application menu

The Ubuntu Application menu is usually invisible. To display them, you can move the mouse pointer over the panel. This is easy, as long as you know where to find it.

However, this requires additional mouse movement. You only need to adjust the mouse pointer to see what options are available.

Users familiar With Keyboard Shortcuts can set menus to always be visible to avoid this problem. This option appears in system Settings> appearance. This time, you have to select the "behavior" tab.

You have several options. In addition to making the menu always show, you can also change its position. Switching them to the window bar rather than the panel is a good way to retain the old-fashioned features while having different appearances.

9. Configure Dash

Dash is the centralized center of Ubuntu Unity. The icons on the top of the starter can open the application, access the file, and load the online search results. This is an outstanding solution, or is it easy to use?

You can disable dislike. System Settings> Installation and privacy> files and applications allow you to control whether Ubuntu records your file usage and access it through Dash and other places.

Maybe you want more results to appear in Dash. Try to remove the Amazon search results. This is the default action in the past. Now you have to enable this feature in system Settings> Installation and privacy> search.

10. Download the Unity adjustment tool.

Want to adjust other aspects? What about other aspects? The Unity Tweak Tool is your one-stop Tool and can even be used to customize the smallest aspect of the Ubuntu Desktop. Change the icon. Specifies the trigger angle for displaying or hiding the window. If you have to worry about anything about Unity, You can fine-tune it here.

For example, system Settings> appearance provides an option to automatically hide the starter. The Unity adjustment tool allows you to change the animation during the animation.

Click the icon in the launcher to open the corresponding application. Click nothing again. What else can it do? If you use this release version from another operating system, you can click the second option to minimize the application. You can enable this behavior in Ubuntu by clicking Unity adjustment tool> Unity> starter> minimize.

Have you upgraded?

We recommend that you update Ubuntu to the latest version, but this is not mandatory. If you are using a running version, you can skip some versions. However, this article lists the 15 things you need to set up after installing Ubuntu 16.04 LTS.