How to navigate in the newest version (ie: find the terminal)?

**perlgoodies** · June 2nd, 2011

Question: I just installed the latest/greatest version of Ubuntu two days ago. I've only used Ubunto for a few months and the version I have on my other computer has a menu bar on top of the screen where I could quickly find the terminal and other apps easily.

On the new version there is a side bar instead and now there isn't the top menu I was just getting familiar with. So how do I go about navigating to find apps now? In particular I use the Terminal a lot but it doesn't seem so intuitive now on how to get around.

Background: I've been an IT guy for all my life and I've always used Windows. A few months ago I was bored and decided to install my first-ever DIFFERENT operating system and everyone said "try ubuntu!". So I did. As much as I've sworn by Windows all my life I managed to remove every flavor of it I still had and now have two Ubuntu boxes. I'm still new and it's hard to find everything that used to be "right there" in Windows but the smoothness, the speed, the everything just feels much better than any Windows OS I've used.

**coffeecat** · June 2nd, 2011

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

Either... press the Windows/super key or click on the Ubuntu logo top-left and the dash opens. Either browse one of the icons there or start typing your app (term...) in the search and you will be offered choices to click on.

Or... There are two nondescript grey icons at the bottom of the stack of icons in the launcher. Hover your mouse over them. With one you get "Applications". If you left-click you get a more garish version of the above. If you right-click, you get a menu of application categories. Fairly easy to find what you want from that. Once you've opened a terminal, say, simply right-click on its icon in the launcher and tick "Keep in launcher" if that is what you want.

Two links for you.

Basic:

http://omgubuntu.co.uk/natty/

More advanced:

http://castrojo.tumblr.com/post/4795...guide-to-unity

Good luck with. Unity gets better the more you use it!

**frankbooth** · June 2nd, 2011

By clicking the Ubuntu logo above the launcher you'll get a dash where you can search/browse applications.

There is also a "lens" further down on the launcher which lets you browse applications.

11.04 introduced Unity, the new default desktop environment for Ubuntu.
Here's a video showing off some of it's cool features:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkFv5jwbNq8

If you prefer the way Ubuntu used to look like before 11.04 you can select 'Classic Desktop' on the login screen.

**perlgoodies** · June 2nd, 2011

Originally Posted by coffeecat

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

Either... press the Windows/super key or click on the Ubuntu logo top-left and the dash opens. Either browse one of the icons there or start typing your app (term...) in the search and you will be offered choices to click on.

Or... There are two nondescript grey icons at the bottom of the stack of icons in the launcher. Hover your mouse over them. With one you get "Applications". If you left-click you get a more garish version of the above. If you right-click, you get a menu of application categories. Fairly easy to find what you want from that. Once you've opened a terminal, say, simply right-click on its icon in the launcher and tick "Keep in launcher" if that is what you want.

Two links for you.

Basic:

http://omgubuntu.co.uk/natty/

More advanced:

http://castrojo.tumblr.com/post/4795...guide-to-unity

Good luck with. Unity gets better the more you use it!

Amazing! Thank you very much!

I right-clicked the Applications menu and found the display I've been missing. I like the category view of the applications (ie: clicking OFFICE to find all the office-related applications). You just made my day a lot easier! Thank you!

**perlgoodies** · June 2nd, 2011

Originally Posted by frankbooth

By clicking the Ubuntu logo above the launcher you'll get a dash where you can search/browse applications.

There is also a "lens" further down on the launcher which lets you browse applications.

11.04 introduced Unity, the new default desktop environment for Ubuntu.
Here's a video showing off some of it's cool features:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkFv5jwbNq8

If you prefer the way Ubuntu used to look like before 11.04 you can select 'Classic Desktop' on the login screen.

Thank you for the information on the CLASSIC DESKTOP. I just tried it and I feel all warm and fuzzy now

I won't be using it unless I have to- I want to learn the new ways of navigation but it's awesome I can just flip back to the old style if ever I need to.

Thank you!