The Gnome Fallback mode in Gnome 3.0.0 displaying the GNOME Panel. |
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| Developer(s) | GNOME |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 3.2.2 (16 November 2011)[1] [±] |
| Preview release | 3.3.3 (23 December 2011)[2] [±] |
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Platform | GNOME |
| Type | Desktop environment |
| License | GNU Lesser General Public License |
| Website | Developer website |
GNOME Panel is a highly configurable launcher and taskbar for GNOME. It forms a core part of the GNOME desktop.
It has been replaced in GNOME 3.x by default with GNOME Shell, which only works with the Mutter window manager. GNOME Panel serves as Fallback Mode when Mutter can not be executed, although it can still be activated if a user still wishes to use it as their default desktop.[3]
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By default, GNOME usually contains two panels (one on the top, and one to its opposite on the bottom) spanning the width of the screen.
The top panel usually contains navigation menus labeled "Applications" and "Places" in that order, as the "System" menu from GNOME 2.x has been replaced by a control panel in GNOME 3.x. These menus hold links to common applications and areas of the file system, respectively.
A user menu placed on the opposite side of the screen, which has been available since GNOME 2.14 but has become more prominent in GNOME 3.x, holds access to account and system settings as well as options to log out, switch user, and shutdown the computer.[4]
The top panel usually contains a clock/calendar and a notification area, which can double as a sort of dock, as well. The bottom panel is commonly empty by default (other than a set of buttons to navigate between desktops) due to its use in the navigation between windows (windows minimize to the bottom panel by default).
These panels can be populated with other completely customizable menus and buttons, including new menus, search boxes, and icons, with the icons in particular (called launchers) performing functions similar to the quick-launch feature found in the Microsoft Windows taskbar. In GNOME 2.x this was accomplished by right clicking on an applet and selecting options from a menu, in GNOME 3.x you must press the Alt key while right clicking to attain the same functionality.[5]
Other applications can also be attached to the panels, and the panels are highly reconfigurable: anything on these panels can be moved, removed, or configured in other ways. For example, a migrating Microsoft Windows user might move the menus usually positioned in the top panel into a 'start' menu on the bottom panel as well as moving the notification area into the place normally positioned by the Windows notification area, then remove the top panel altogether, to interact with GNOME panel similarly to the MS taskbar.
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