Rotating desktops, separate wallpapers?

[Dngrsone]

I am trying out Mint 14 with Cinnamon, moving from Ubuntu 12.04.

What I would like to be able to do is ctrl+alt+[right-arrow] my way through all my desktops, like when using rotating cube in compiz... I suppose I could push compiz into the Mint installation, but that kind of defeats the purpose of going to Gnome 3 and the Cinnamon interface, no?

I know there is a hack to put separate wallpapers on each desktop, again by using compiz, but is there a way to do so in Gnome 3?

So far, I like the tool-bar, it being similar to the one I used in Ubuntu 10.04, though there is a lack of documentation on CInnamon, and so far I see very little in the way of customizability-- where are the options files?

Since I am playing one and twenty questions here, is there a way for Nemo to show hidden files?

Thank you for your consideration.

[zerozero]

hi
welcome to the forum

I suppose I could push compiz into the Mint installation

please don't, not with cinnamon anyway: cinnamon and compiz are incompatible.

where are the options files?

open cinnamon settings; to edit the panel you need to put it in edit mode; you have a set of applets already installed (some not activated) and more applets here http://cinnamon-spices.linuxmint.com/applets (and extensions also http://cinnamon-spices.linuxmint.com/extensions)

s there a way for Nemo to show hidden files?

same as nautilus: view > show hidden files or ctrl + h

What I would like to be able to do is ctrl+alt+[right-arrow] my way through all my desktops

cinnamon settings > keyboard > keyboard shortcurts > workspace management (there's some already there, set others)

[Dngrsone]

Thanks, zerozero! I will take a look-see at what can be done with Cinnamon...

What I would like to be able to do is ctrl+alt+[right arrow] to the last desktop, then do it again to get to desktop 1... is there a tool for that?

[Dngrsone]

Well, I must admit, I haven't been playing much with Mint lately... I still can't seem to find a way to replicate the rotating cube effect I like without stepping backwards.

I flirted with KDE for a little while... hated it twelve years ago and still don't like it. Bottom line, I couldn't wrestle it into something I could work comfortably in.

So, does anyone have any suggestions for me? Do I quit CInnamon and go back to Gnome and compiz? I might as well stay with Ubuntu for all that, no?

[Ginsu543]

What I would like to be able to do is ctrl+alt+[right arrow] to the last desktop, then do it again to get to desktop 1... is there a tool for that?

I don't know about Mint 14 Cinnamon, but this is possible with Mint 15 Cinnamon out of the box. All you have to do is launch System Settings --> Workspaces, and click on the "Allow cycling through workspaces" setting. See if you have a similar setting in Mint 14, but if not, Mint 15 definitely does.

As far as the rotating cube is concerned, do you really *need* this? If so, the only way to get it right now in Mint is through MATE + Compiz. I used to love that rotating cube as well, but I decided it was worth sacrificing it for the benefit of moving to newer technology offered by Cinnamon and Gnome 3. Nothing wrong with staying with Gnome2/MATE; it was just my preference to do so. Once I made the switch, I quickly got used to the Expo and workspace switching by Ctrl+Alt+-->. It's not as much "eye-candy" as the rotating cube effect is, but in terms of workflow efficiency, it works just as well.

I've been really impressed with Mint 15 and Cinnamon 1.8.8. It's been rock solid and very responsive on my machine, and I really like the improvements the Mint team has made to Cinnamon since the last incarnation I used of it in Mint 13.

[Spearmint2]

I flirted with KDE for a little while... hated it twelve years ago and still don't like it. Bottom line, I couldn't wrestle it into something I could work comfortably in.

I'm curious what your objections to KDE are? Too Windows like? Some other reason?

[Dngrsone]

Thanks, Ginsu, I will download Mint 15 and take it for a whirl. The cube itself is not that critical; like you said, it's eye-candy, but being able to flip through using ctrl+alt+[right arrow] has become a instinctual for me, to the point where is really bugs me when I am in a differnet environment and that action doesn't provide me with a fresh desktop. Even worse, on my laptop, when forced to resort to Win 7, those key combinations cause my screen to change orientation, which can be disconcerting, to say the least.



Spearmint, KDE has changed so much over the past decade... when I first tried it, it was too... alien, I guess the word is. I was a Windows user, and a Command-Line jockey-- I used several mainframe OSes for work and such, and KDE was far from intuitive for me. While the fact that you could get the basic menu in several different ways, it felt awkward, and I couldn't find certain things without a fair time searching.

Now, it is immensely more complex. There are lots of powerful things one can do with KDE, I acknowledge that, but it still feels alien to me. I can't find a command-line interface. In the Gnome variants, it's easily accessible under Terminal.

You can have different desktops in KDE, which is something I really wish I could get in Unity, Gnome, or CInnamon. But you can also have different workspaces, which is also a nice feature, it seems, if only I could get a handle on how to properly implement them. But... why both multiple desktops and multiple workspaces? Should it not be one or the other?


Bottom line is, I am very used to Ubuntu's Unity environment right now, but it is changing in ways I don't appreciate. I miss the flexibility we had with Gnome 2, I want different workspaces like you can get in KDE, and I have neither the time nor programming chops to build something that does all that for myself. It is frustrating because by nature, I am a mechanic, and I've spent quite a bit of time hacking little changes into things to accomplish my own wants and needs, but this is more than changing the appearance of a few windows, making a more natural (God no, not the white!) color scheme, or implementing a local weblog. I am looking for a Frankenstein's monster of an OS that does everything good without sacrifices...

[Spearmint2]

I am looking for a Frankenstein's monster of an OS that does everything good without sacrifices...

thanks for the answer. KDE's "complexity" is actually what attracts me and I balance it at times with Mint's simplicity. As for that Frankenstein monster, have you ever considered Zorin.

[Dngrsone]

You might be gratified to know, Spearmint, that I was talked into giving KDE another try...

So now I have Mint 15 Cinnamon with KDE-desktop-Full installed on that, and using Plasma desktop as my primary DE. I have my four different wallpapers, now, but not my hotkeys, yet (haven't got around to programming them), but the scroll wheel function works fine to switch.

There are interesting little quirks when it comes to using G-stuff in the KDE environment (theming and such), but I am working around that.

Also, I just added xfce into the mix so I can use the Thunar file manager (mass renaming FTW), so I am truly building one heck of a Frankenstein's monster here.

[Spearmint2]

Sounds like fun. I've been busy elsehwhere lately. I wish someone would work on a flash substitute program or good flash player plugin for firefox. I'm beginning to dislike flash as much as I did realplayer, but it doesn't seem flash will meet the same fate, so Linux needs to get something better going on it.

[Dngrsone]

I have had better results using Chrome when it comes comes to using Flash.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

[gold_finger]

Sounds like fun. I've been busy elsehwhere lately. I wish someone would work on a flash substitute program or good flash player plugin for firefox. I'm beginning to dislike flash as much as I did realplayer, but it doesn't seem flash will meet the same fate, so Linux needs to get something better going on it.

Couldn't agree more!

Flash seems to be causing more and more problems as time goes on. For Firefox, this add-on works fairly well at eliminating the need for flashplayer, but only works on youtube videos:
YouTube Flash to HTML5
If you have seen it, try it out. Disable flash extension and enable this plugin when on youtube. Reverse that if accessing videos elsewhere. (Not really a great overall solution, but it's something at least.)

[Dngrsone]

For teh record, to rotate thebCube in Plasma using Ctrl+Alt+(arrow key):

System Settings, Shortcuts, Global Keyboard Shortcuts

KDE Component: KWin

'Switch Window to the Left'
'Switch Window to the Right'


You will get an error because Ctrl+Alt+Left is used in Juk as a default setting. If you don't use Juk, you will never miss it.