GUI Fan Club – for a Terminal-free Ubuntu experience ! (Only if you want it…)

[dcstar]

galternatives - graphical setup tool for the alternatives system

This allows users a decent interface to view/change the various default applications in the system.

Also this will allow you set up to use the graphical interface (Gnome KDE, whatever you have) for any of those software installs that prompt you:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure debconf


BTW, great thread, something that all command line snobs should read to rid themselves of the seemingly "superiority complex" that some exhibit by always telling novice users to use the command line instead of a perfectly good (and usually far more appropriate) GUI alternative.

PS: I have been using the command line (in various forms) since 1976, and do know when it is appropriate and when it does more damage than good.

[Windwalker52]

I am going to try to include a screenshot of my current desktop which has my idea of eyecandy on it. I am glad I found this forum and thank you. Is it legal and ethical and safe to upload file attachments?
I started with a proprietary GUI that got consumed by DOS and 3.1 and then went heavily into DOS/3.1 before XP and finally migrated into Ubuntu 10.04 after trying Debian which has a lot of the flaws mentioned here.
Dockbars are good handy little tools and coming from XP I am used to icons.
I just wanted to say hello and thanks and offer my two cents. If I can get it to work with typing then just at the screenshot which is another good tool to have on hand.
Windwalker

[Windwalker52]

one more try

[edempco]

The first page of this thread is great - 1 thru X numbers of GUI items. Can there be a summary screen or link that gives all of the GUI suggestions on one page without having to read 6 pages of stuff?

I believe in GUI. It's more accurate. It can become a standard way of addressing installation difficulties for software. It is an easy way to add and remove software; doesn't leave connecting junk in the operating system (as much as using Terminal). It levels the "using" field for many users of this operating system. Could this be why there are two ways to add and remove programs? Synaptic and the software center (found as various names under Applications - this needs a standard name) are great ways to access and install software. To facilitate this idea, we need a GUI recap page every once in a while, in this thread, to help others that come here - maybe it should be a web page by itself with screen shots.

Additionally, there has got to be a way to get the word out and to discourage most people (maybe not all) that are offering help in forums from using Terminal commands. Some of these people seem to be using Terminal as a way of attempting to show their prowess in this operating system. Some Linux distributions only have Terminal (that's a pity). Ubuntu, on the other hand, was made to be a GUI. Should people who post is this thread refrain from using Terminal commands and instead, tell how to get the "whatever" by GUI methods? Since, Terminal can be so dangerous (as others have commented), should we attempt to encourage (in a stronger way) others to stay away from using it as much as possible? For instance (in a recent posting above), doesn't removing and reinstalling dpkg (using Synaptic) do the same thing as "sudo dpkg-reconfigure debconf" in terminal? ... it's certainly would be easier (not completely sure about this); especially if you can't put your fingers on the right keys or have an hand/eye coordination problem.

My main comment/question is ... how do we go from the great thing that was started here, to informing countless others of the benefit of GUI?

[2CV67]

The first page of this thread is great - 1 thru X numbers of GUI items. Can there be a summary screen or link that gives all of the GUI suggestions on one page without having to read 6 pages of stuff?

I do edit the original post, to include all the suggestions I can actually understand...

New GUI need:
Control over the frequency of the automatic disk checks on start-up.

As far as I can see, the only way to handle this at the moment is using tune2fs in terminal.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...0#post10252490

It would be great to have a clear GUI to allow setting disk checks for whenever is most convenient.
And maybe on shut-down, instead of start-up?

[2CV67]

New GUI need:

To Set the System-Wide Default Papersize.

The current method is to navigate to /etc/papersize & rewrite the contents with Admin priviledges & save.
Not that difficult when you know, but hard to find, or find again after a lapse.
The default setting probably depends on something you choose when initially installing Ubuntu, maybe Language?
Doesn't seem to be the more logical "Location", since I always end up with "Letter" here in France where A4 is the only option you will ever need.

Can't think how much time I have wasted trying to reset defaults in OpenOffice & LibreOffice, where I might have expected to be able to do it, only to find my good work over-ruled by some invisible hand.
The invisible hand is /etc/papersize.

To me, the logical place to find a GUI selection of Default Papersize would be in Printer Properties, becoming a Printer-wide, rather than system-wide default.

[2CV67]

I notice that some of the detail content in this thread is getting a bit out-of-date now.
Since I have dropped out of mainstream Unity & Gnome to play with Lubuntu, I am no longer in a position to keep track of GUI Tips & Needs for the popular desktops.
So I guess this thread may become somewhat frozen,unless anybody else wants to take over...

Thanks, everybody, for your contributions so far!

[mgmiller]

[QUOTE=2CV67;11670499]New GUI need:

To Set the System-Wide Default Papersize.

In both 10.04 with gnome 2.x and in 11.10 with unity, the default paper size is set the same way. In printer properties, printer options, General, page size. Whatever is set there will appear in /etc/papersize.

In 10.04/gnome 2.x Click through System > Administration > Printing to bring up the printer driver window. Right click the printer and select properties, printer options, General, page size

In 11.10/Unity, either hit the super key and type printing and click on the icon or in the upper right corner of the top panel, click the power icon and the first choice is system settings. Then click the printing icon. In both cases you will get the same window as 10.04 gave you and it's set the same way.

I often have to change the paper size the first time I use open/libre office also, but it works fine in every other printing application, browsers, etc. Open/Libre Office wants to default to A4 regardless of the default setting in the printer driver properties, but I need US letter. I make that change once, and I'm done.

[2CV67]

Thanks, mgmiller, for that advice.

I checked & it doesn't seem to work that way for me.

To avoid a long discussion in this thread & because the situation seems more complicated than I thought, I have started a new thread here on this subject:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...3#post11671423

[mastablasta]

i just saw this (take here form another thread & your sig). a good compendium. might be good to put it in a different form (with pics and all) and perhaps to the ubutnu wiki. i am also GUI fan. so i use Kubuntu which has this done better out of the box. Gnome has plenty of GUI but mostly they are sort of 3rd party. as the Gnome philosophy is not to overwhelm the user with various settings and options. i think this is a good aproach (it was well doen especially in GNome2).

KDE doesn't have that philosophy so it has many things implemented by defalut in it's GUI. various settings, customisations etc.