# Using the Main Menubar

This chapter describes how to use the GNOME Panel Menubar.

The panel menubar is your main point of access to GNOME. Use the Applications menu to launch applications, the Places to open locations on your computer or network, and the System to customize your system, get help with GNOME, and log out of GNOME or shut down your computer.

The following sections describe these three menus.

By default, the panel menubar is on the Top Edge Panel. But like any other panel object, you can move the menubar to another panel, or have more than one instance of the menubar in your panels. For more on this, see .

## Applications Menu

The Applications menu contains a hierarchy of submenus, from which you can start the applications that are installed on your system.

Each submenu correponds to a category. For example, in the Sound & Video submenu, you will find applications for playing CDs and recording sound.

To launch an application, perform the following steps:

1. Open the Applications menu by clicking on it.

2. Move the mouse down the menu to the category the application you want is in. Each submenu opens as your mouse passes over the category.

3. Click the menu item for the application.

When you install a new application, it is automatically added to the Applications menu in a suitable category. For example, if you install an instant messenger application, a VoIP application, or an FTP client, you will find it in the Internet submenu.

menus Applications menu

## Places Menu

The Places menu is a quick way to go to various locations on your computer and your local network. The Places menu allows you to open the following items:

- Your Home folderAdd link!

- The Desktop folder, which corresponds to the items displays in the desktop.

- The items in your Nautilus bookmarks. For more on this, see .

- Your computer, which shows all your drives.

- The Nautilus CD/DVD Creator. For more on this, see .

- The local network. For more on this, see .

The last three items on the menu perform actions rather than open locations.

- Connect to Server lets you choose a server on your network. For more on this, see .

- Search for Files lets you search for files on your computer. For more on this, see the Search for Files Manual.

- The Recent Documents submenu lists the documents you have recently opened. The last entry in the submenu clears the list.

Places menu

## System Menu

The System menu allows you to set your preferences for the GNOME Desktop, get help with using GNOME, and log out or shut down.

- The Control Center item contains preference tools to configure your computer. For more information on using these preference tools, see .

- The Help item launches the Help Browser.

- The About GNOME item has a brief introduction to GNOME, links to the GNOME website, and credits.

- The Lock Screen command starts your screensaver, and requires your password to return to the desktop. For more on this, see .

- Choose Log Out to log out of GNOME, or to switch user.

- Choose Shut Down to end your GNOME session and turn off your computer, or restart it.

For more on logging out and shutting down, see .

System Menu

## Customizing the Panel Menubar

You can modify the contents of the following menus:

- Applications menu

- System Preferences submenu

- System Administration submenu

To edit the items in these menus, right-click on the panel menubar, and choose Edit Menus. The Menu Layout window opens.

The Menu Layout window lists the menus in the left pane. Click on the expander arrows to show or hide submenus. Choose a menu in the left pane to see its items listed in the right pane.

To remove an item from a menu, deselect it in the list. The item can be added back to the menu by selecting it once again.

The System Administration Guide has more information on how GNOME implements menus and how administrators can customize them.

menus customizing
menus introduction
menus Menu Bar Menu Bar
Menu Bar introduction