GNOME Configuration

You can configure different parts of your GNOME interface using tools called capplets. Think of capplets as modules or plug-ins that can be added to enable you to configure various applications. Capplets exist for the core set of GNOME applications, as well as for other applications for which developers may have written capplets. On Red Hat, you can access capplets from the Preferences menu in the Main menu. You can also select capplets by choosing Preferences in the Red Hat Start Here window. This menu (or Preferences window) will display entries for each category of capplets supported by the control center. Selecting one will open a window labeled Preferences displaying icons for individual capplets. Double-clicking a particular icon will open its capplet window. You can have several open at once.

Your GNOME system provides several desktop capplets you can use to configure your desktop, such as Background, Screensaver, and Theme Selector. You use the Background capplet to select a background color or image, the Screensaver capplet to select the screensaver images and wait time, and the Theme Selector capplet to choose a theme.

The File Types and Programs capplet enables you to specify Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) type entries for your system, associating given MIME types with certain applications. Notice that basic MIME type entries are already present. You can edit an entry and change its associated application.

For the sound configuration, the Sound capplet lets you select sound files to play for events in different GNOME applications. For your keyboard, you can set the repeat sensitivity and click sound with the Keyboard capplet. You can configure mouse buttons for your right or left hand, and adjust the mouse motion.

GNOME sets up several configuration files and directories in your home directory. The .gnome and .gnome2 directories hold configuration files for different desktop components, such as nautilus for the file manager, panel for the panels, and gmenu for the main menu; .gtkrc holds configuration directives for the GTK+ widgets. The .gnome-desktop directory holds all the items you placed on your desktop.