Get classic Mint desktop in Gnome shell

[bimsebasse]

Due to the amount of people going into hissy fits over the new 12RC gnome shell interface I thought I owed the human race and the internet to at least try to in advance appease some of the rage bound to hit this place when the final release is out. The screenshot below is Gnome shell, with an application menu, clickable favourites icons in the panel, window tabs, system icons, calendar/clock and user menu - no top panel - proper old school. It can be achieved by enabling/installing a few extensions:
- Move clock extension
- Panel favourites extension
- Gnome-shell reflection extension (moves the top panel to the bottom)
- Applications menu extension (or the mint menu extension, but that makes the activities overview button appear to the right of the user name, the app menu extension kills it)
- Window list extension



It's not yet as flexible, customizable or stable as the good old gnome-panel desktop, but give it some time - it's still early days for gnome-shell and Gnome 3.

[KBD47]

It took just a minute to disable the bottom panel in MGSE and get a nicely working top panel in Mint 12. Using Gnome Classic it took about 5 minutes to remove the bottom bar, drop down the top bar, add a couple workspaces and windows buttons and move the clock. I think anyone except the most diehard Gnome 2 fan can find a nicely working desktop in Mint 12.
KBD47

MGSE
https://picasaweb.google.com/1146142721 ... directlink

Gnome Classic
https://picasaweb.google.com/1146142721 ... directlink

[carranty]

How do you go about enabling/disabling these extensions, I can't find them anywhere.

[panmuphle]

[quote="KBD47"]It took just a minute to disable the bottom panel in MGSE and get a nicely working top panel in Mint 12.

Hello KBD47,
How did you do that?

[vtts]

THIS should be the default look!

[TBABill]

Due to the amount of people going into hissy fits over the new 12RC gnome shell interface I thought I owed the human race and the internet to at least try to in advance appease some of the rage bound to hit this place when the final release is out. The screenshot below is Gnome shell, with an application menu, clickable favourites icons in the panel, window tabs, system icons, calendar/clock and user menu - no top panel - proper old school. It can be achieved by enabling/installing a few extensions:
- Move clock extension
- Panel favourites extension
- Gnome-shell reflection extension (moves the top panel to the bottom)
- Applications menu extension (or the mint menu extension, but that makes the activities overview button appear to the right of the user name, the app menu extension kills it)
- Window list extension



It's not yet as flexible, customizable or stable as the good old gnome-panel desktop, but give it some time - it's still early days for gnome-shell and Gnome 3.

Now THAT is what I'm talking about in a desktop! Sure, personal preference made that statement possible, but that's what Mint was built around...single panel to give you more real estate. The 2-panel default in Mint 12 makes Mint look like a knock-off of Gnome 2 from any distro that maintained the 2-panel look. So it seemed like a step backwards in beauty, regardless of functionality.

This almost looks like a merge of KDE and Gnome, but done RIGHT!

How about functionality? Did you have to create launchers or were you able to drag/drop from Nautilus? Just wondering how easy the setup is because installing Mint and changing to that setup appears simple, but I wonder if it takes a great deal of time? If the OP can post some "how to" info to get the desktop like this it'd be great...especially for those of us who have avoided Gnome Shell previously in its default configuration and without extensions.

Sincerely, thanks for posting this. It's the closest thing I've seen so far to indicate the Mint we enjoy so much is still possible aesthetically and this shows great promise for tweaking Gnome 3/Gnome Shell in the future as extensions continue to be developed.

[BlueSky77]

Thanks very much for posting this! Could you PLEASE provide step by step instructions as to how to accomplish this? I was able to eliminate the bottom panel in 12 RC but can't seem to move the top panel down to the bottom, or create the launchers, etc...

Most important... How do you install additional extensions? Is there a repository that you need to add? I know that if you go into "Advanced Settings" you can turn off or on your existing extensions, but just need some clarification on how to add new extensions.

I agree that this should be the default for Linux Mint 12 when the official release comes out.

Thanks again!

[bimsebasse]

How do you go about enabling/disabling these extensions, I can't find them anywhere.

Shell extensions are handled with Advanced Settings (aka Gnome Tweak Tool).

The Window List extension is installed and enabled by default in 12 RC.

Applications Menu, Move Clock and Panel Favourites extensions can be downloaded clicking on this link: http://intgat.tigress.co.uk/rmy/extensi ... -0.3.2.tgz

Open Nautilus as root ("gksu nautilus" command in terminal), extract the downloaded tgz folder, press CTRL+H to see the extracted ".local" folder. In it, navigate to /share/gnome-shell/extensions/ where there are six extension folders. Copy the three folders with move clock, panel favourites and application menu in their folder titles to /usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions/.

The remaining gnome-shell-reflection extension can be downloaded here: https://github.com/ahdiaz/gnome-shell-r ... /downloads

Extract and copy the included folder "gnome-shell-reflection@emergya.com" to your usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions/ directory same way as described above.

That done, log out and in of your session, launch Advanced Settings, toggle the new extensions on under "Shell extensions". To get it to look and work as in the screenshot, the by default enabled "Menu extension" and "Bottom panel extension" need to be turned off.

[bimsebasse]

How about functionality? Did you have to create launchers or were you able to drag/drop from Nautilus? Just wondering how easy the setup is because installing Mint and changing to that setup appears simple, but I wonder if it takes a great deal of time? If the OP can post some "how to" info to get the desktop like this it'd be great...especially for those of us who have avoided Gnome Shell previously in its default configuration and without extensions.

The panel favourite icons cannot be manipulated directly, they merely mirror the favourites in the left bar in the Gnome Shell overview (the dash that comes up clicking the infinity symbol button), so if you want to add, delete or reorder icon launchers, you add, delete or reorder the icons in the overview favoruites bar, and the panel icons will reflect that. Not as dead easy as before but manageable. The setup takes me 3-4 minutes but probably a bit longer if you're not used to tinkering with the shell at all. Doubt it will be long before installing and handling extensions is fully automated (e.g. choosing from a list on a website and clicking to install), but right now it's bit of a jungle and requires some moving folders around.

I'm not gonna lie and say this will make you completely forget the old gnome-panel or work as glitch-free, but I'm guessing it won't be too long before gnome-shell is as flexible and customizable as what it replaced and you can have pretty much whatever setup you want through easily installed extensions.

[KBD47]

How do you go about enabling/disabling these extensions, I can't find them anywhere.

Under advanced settings you can disable the bottom panel in MGSE.

[TBABill]

I will certainly be giving this a shot! It's got the look and after installing I can see if it has a feel I can grow comfortable with. I'm using Unity right now so it's obvious I can adapt to about anything!! haha Thank you for posting the steps necessary to add the extensions and change the configuration around!!

[Bruce McL]

Well done!

I have no doubt that Linux Mint will take up many of these additions and incorporate them into MGSE. A few notes:

There was an update to MGSE yesterday. I think that the move calendar extension may not be needed now.

If you want to use the mint menu for applications but don't like the "lazy s" icon on the right side of the bar, go into Advanced Settings and switch the shell theme to default. The bar will turn black and the lazy s will turn into a dash, which is less distracting.

You could also go into the Mint-Z theme, note the names of the two lazy s graphics files and comment out references to them in the css files. That should work. The Mint-Z shell theme files are located at /user/share/themes/Mint-Z/gnome-shell/

[bimsebasse]

Well done!

I have no doubt that Linux Mint will take up many of these additions and incorporate them into MGSE. A few notes:

There was an update to MGSE yesterday. I think that the move calendar extension may not be needed now.

If you want to use the mint menu for applications but don't like the "lazy s" icon on the right side of the bar, go into Advanced Settings and switch the shell theme to default. The bar will turn black and the lazy s will turn into a dash, which is less distracting.

You could also go into the Mint-Z theme, note the names of the two lazy s graphics files and comment out references to them in the css files. That should work. The Mint-Z shell theme files are located at /user/share/themes/Mint-Z/gnome-shell/

It's no doubt way too late for the Mint devs to use a setup like this with all the testing and tweaking they have to do over again, but users wishing something as close as possible to the classic look at least have options. By default MGSE have calendar right-justified but in the setup laid out, you have to add the move clock extension - without it the clock is in the middle and quickly gets in the way of window tabs. I also thought the overview button would just be out of place on a classic looking setup, infinity symbol or not, and you can still press the windows key to launch the overview, so there's no great need for it (can't remember if hot corner worked, should have tried that).

[Bruce McL]

It's no doubt way too late for the Mint devs to use a setup like this with all the testing and tweaking they have to do over again, but users wishing something as close as possible to the classic look at least have options. By default MGSE have calendar right-justified but in the setup laid out, you have to add the move clock extension - without it the clock is in the middle and quickly gets in the way of window tabs. I also thought the overview button would just be out of place on a classic looking setup, infinity symbol or not, and you can still press the windows key to launch the overview, so there's no great need for it (can't remember if hot corner worked, should have tried that).

Thanks for your thoughtful comments. A few more notes:

That's interesting about the calendar in the middle. I haven't seen that. Perhaps the Mint menu extension moves the calendar to the right.

I did not test the hot spot in the upper left corner either. The reflections extension is supposed to turn it off, but until it's tested, who knows?

I agree that Linux Mint probably won't adopt these as the default. As you say: testing, modifying, and incorporating these extensions is a non-trivial task. Still, there are options. They could be supplied and turned off. They could be (cleaned up a bit and) put in an official linux mint repository somewhere. Either option still involves a fair amount of work.

People are passionate about their desktops. It may be worthwhile for LM to have a solution they can point to and say, "these extensions will do what you want. They are reasonably safe, but don't expect a lot of support on them."

[linuxviolin]

It's not yet as flexible, customizable or stable as the good old gnome-panel desktop, but give it some time - it's still early days for gnome-shell and Gnome 3.

And to have something about correct and usable, you need to do a lot of work, use several extensions etc just because the base product is a such crap that you must try to improve it...

[KBD47]

It's not yet as flexible, customizable or stable as the good old gnome-panel desktop, but give it some time - it's still early days for gnome-shell and Gnome 3.

And to have something about correct and usable, you need to do a lot of work, use several extensions etc just because the base product is a such crap that you must try to improve it...

I say let's give Clem and his team time to get out the final release, then we will know exactly what the situation is, and then everyone can complain

[Tnt533]

Awesome stuff, bimsebasse!

I do, however, have some issues. The gnome shell reflection extension moves the top panel down but also moves the bottom notification panel to the top. This would be fine if it stayed auto-hidden but when I use the notification extension to put my systray icons on the newly moved bottom panel, the stock notification panel stays visible and auto-hides on mouse over and appears again after moving the pointer. I could just refrain from using the notifications extension but I'm hoping someone knows a work around so I can move everything to the bottom panel.

Also the menu extension opens from the bottom panel but in a downward direction making it inaccessible. The cardapio extension works but opens from the top making it annoying because it's not under the mouse for quick access.

Did you experience any of these issues and / or know of any workarounds?

Thanks for your post.

Edit: That pesky notification panel is now unusable either way. The only way I can access my notification icons now is with the extension turned on. There really should be a way to kill that panel... Driving me nutz!

Edit 2: Disabling the reflection extension returns normal functionality to the notification bar while it's on the bottom. I guess I can live with the main panel being on top for now. I may contact the author of the extension.

Edit 3: Looks like it was the noally extension that was causing the weird behavior with the notification bar. After disabling it, it's only one icon after all, the bar now properly auto-hides with the tray icons being on the main panel.

Also the issue with the menu opening off screen corrected itself after about 3 restarts of the shell.

No more edits, I promise.

[KBD47]

So is there an easy way to get rid of those hot corners in MGSE? I'm having flashbacks of that Unity bar jumping out at me every time I get the cursor too deep in those corners.

[esteban1uy]

So is there an easy way to get rid of those hot corners in MGSE? I'm having flashbacks of that Unity bar jumping out at me every time I get the cursor too deep in those corners.

Well, after some experiments I found something pretty interesting (how to send the "hot corner" to bottom right, and how to get the notifications and message tray popping up from bottom).

EDITED (I updated the procedure, take a look at THIS post)

I love the times when you can play with a RC. It's so much fun!!!

PS: Sorry for my English, I only speak Spanish.

[bimsebasse]

I do, however, have some issues. The gnome shell reflection extension moves the top panel down but also moves the bottom notification panel to the top. This would be fine if it stayed auto-hidden but when I use the notification extension to put my systray icons on the newly moved bottom panel, the stock notification panel stays visible and auto-hides on mouse over and appears again after moving the pointer. I could just refrain from using the notifications extension but I'm hoping someone knows a work around so I can move everything to the bottom panel.

Also the menu extension opens from the bottom panel but in a downward direction making it inaccessible. The cardapio extension works but opens from the top making it annoying because it's not under the mouse for quick access.

Did you experience any of these issues and / or know of any workarounds?

Thanks for your post.

Edit: That pesky notification panel is now unusable either way. The only way I can access my notification icons now is with the extension turned on. There really should be a way to kill that panel... Driving me nutz!

Edit 2: Disabling the reflection extension returns normal functionality to the notification bar while it's on the bottom. I guess I can live with the main panel being on top for now. I may contact the author of the extension.

Edit 3: Looks like it was the noally extension that was causing the weird behavior with the notification bar. After disabling it, it's only one icon after all, the bar now properly auto-hides with the tray icons being on the main panel.

Also the issue with the menu opening off screen corrected itself after about 3 restarts of the shell.

No more edits, I promise.

Hi Tnt, I didn't have menus opening downwards, no, both the standard application menu extension and mint menu extension opened normally. It wasn't notceably more glitchy/laggy than the near vanilla setup I run and prefer myself, but it certainly does give you the impression of being fragile. Notification panel (at top in a reflected setup) also worked normally, but ideally, in a classic shell setup, all notifications would be sent to the panel. I'll try to work on that.

---

If you're interested (and if anyone reading is interested), it could be cool to have a working classic shell ready when the final release is out for people who are just not having the current MGSE setup no matter how much effort the devs have put into easing the transition from Gnome 2 to 3, and just wish the shell to be as exact a classic replica as possible.

What we need.
1. Mint Menu instead of other app menus. It needs to suppress/hide the overview button same way the standard app menu does.
2. All notification icons opening in the panel system tray.
3. The setup being no more glitchy and laggy than vanilla gnome shell.