Is it possible to switch

[NyteRukh]

is it possible to switch from the unity desktop to the gnome desktop

[deadflowr]

Sure, if you log out and choose the gnome desktop session at the login screen.

Are you thinking of a different way?

[NyteRukh]

i wasnt sure if i had to install gnome desktop and then uninstall unity....thanks for the quick answer :p

[buzzingrobot]

You will need to install Gnome before it is offered as a choice. The Ubuntu Gnome wiki (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuGNOME/Installation) has some suggestions under the "Final Install -- Cross-grading from Ubuntu to Ubuntu Gnome" heading on that page. I'd avoid the suggestions to remove/purge various pieces of Unity unless you are certain you won't be using it again.

[deadflowr]

i wasnt sure if i had to install gnome desktop and then uninstall unity....thanks for the quick answer :p

You can install as many desktops as you want.
Most people don't because too many desktops will add too many extra unneeded/unwanted stuff, like extra file managers, or text editors. Mind you it won't hurt you to do so, it just adds bloat.
Luckily though, for you gnome and unity share a large chunk of the same apps. And as such they tend to be more in line with each other than say, unity and xfce, which will both install any number of different apps, which their particular developers have found work best with their systems design.

Oh, and +1 to the post above this.
You can tell if you have another desktop install on Ubuntu because in the login screen if you have more than one you will see an Ubuntu icon in the username/password window, in the top right corner of said window. You simply click on that icon to choose which desktop you want to run.
Hope it helps.

[NyteRukh]

a big thanks for the replies

[grahammechanical]

May I ask a question? What exactly do you mean by the "Gnome desktop?" Do you mean the look that Ubuntu used to have before Unity became the user interface? If that is what you are looking for then installing Gnome 3 shell (the Gnome Desktop) will not give it to you. Instead look in the software centre for gnome flashback and install Gnome Session Manager - Gnome flashback session. That will give you two extra login options - Gnome Flashback (Compiz) and Gnome Flashback (Metacity). Either will give you that old Gnome 2 panel look.

Regards.

[deadflowr]

I haven't run utopic, yet. But it seems that there is now a ubuntu-gnome-desktop metapackage for trusty, and I assume there is also one for utopic.
Of course this only installs the gnome desktop used in ubuntugnome, which I believe is gnome shell, and also the gnome-shell externsion heavy gnome classic, which is not the gnome-flashback session but rather a classic lookalike built upon the gnome shell with a bunch of extensions.