The ability to customize the desktop of a Linux system is one of the incentives for using open source software – be it Unity [1] in Ubuntu, Xfce [2], or the Gnome Desktop [3]. As a user, you can select which interface you want to use and change numerous settings within it.

The following tutorial looks at your options in Ubuntu 16.04 (although I also touch upon configurations for earlier versions) and at settings for the Unity desktop. Additional tools that integrate seamlessly into the system help you customize the desktop.

The settings, of course, also apply to other distributions. Using the additional tools, you can customize almost all the graphical settings of the desktop, integrating additional themes, launchers for programs, and more. In many cases, utilities help you to improve your experience.

Keyboard & Language

Often the first step after the installation of most systems – including Ubuntu – is to select the correct language. If your choice of language is not enabled on the system, you can change the language in the system settings.

To do so on Ubuntu, press the button with the gear icon at the top. Launch the language settings via System Settings | Language Support . In this window, you will see the installed language packs. After you have selected, for example, Spanish as a language, the Unity desktop should come up with the new language support after a reboot.

It is important for your choice to be at the top of the list, you then enable the setting by pressing Apply Globally . Clicking on Text Input lets you customize the keyboard layout, if needed. After pressing the plus sign, you can select the desired language and variant. Unity then displays the keyboard layout in the toolbar above.

If you only use one language on the system, this reminder is typically not necessary. You can hide the reminder by right-clicking the icon and accessing the settings from the context menu. If you disable the option Show current input source in the upper menu bar , the unnecessary icon disappears.

In the context of setting up the keyboard, you can define your own keyboard shortcuts, if necessary, that you then use to automatically launch specific programs. Ubuntu groups the settings for this under the System Settings | Keyboard menu and Keyboard Shortcuts | My Keyboard Shortcuts tab.

Pressing the plus sign lets you add new shortcuts while the existing shortcuts are visible in the window. You can remove shortcuts by pressing the minus sign. For example, to access the system monitor via a keyboard shortcut, you need the gnome-system-monitor command. After clicking on the area next to Disabled , you can enter a new shortcut key.

Search, Resolution, and More

If you're running version 15.10, one annoying thing – especially when using Unity in Ubuntu – is the online search within the context of a Dash search. After entering a text, the function does not just search the local computer, existing documents, and installed programs; it also searches many sources on the Internet, including Wikipedia and Amazon. Fortunately, this action is disabled by default in 16.04.

And, you can easily adjust this behavior in other versions via the button with the gear icon in the top right toolbar: If you go to System Settings | Security and privacy , you will see the Search tab option called Also process online search results . If you disable this, the Dash search in Unity only shows you the results from the local machine.

Many users are also annoyed by the fact that Ubuntu activates the screen saver after some time and then requires a password to return to the desktop. If no other user has access to your own personal computer, the option doesn't make any sense. Of course, you can still use the screen saver if desired.

To adjust this to your preference, you will find the setting after typing lock and running the tool Brightness and Lock tool. After disabling the lock option along with the Require password to wake the computer from standby option, you no longer need to enter a password. In the same dialog, you can control if and when the monitor is switched off.

You define the display resolution in the system settings, and you will need the option Screen and Display Devices for this. Display Devices takes you to the display resolutions and the Starter configuration, whereas Screen lets you modify the wallpaper, symbols in the starter bar, and other settings. You can also launch this dialog by selecting Change the desktop background in the context menu of the desktop.

Installing Unity 8

After installing Ubuntu 16.04, at first you will see only the standard Unity interface. In most cases, version 7 is used. The easiest way to determine the installed version is to pop up a terminal and type the command apt policy unity (or apt-cache policy unity if you are using 15.10 or earlier). If your system is still using version 7, you can upgrade to the new version 8.

The new version is still under development, so you will want to use it only for testing purposes. To install the new version on Ubuntu, run the following two commands in a terminal for 16.04:

sudo apt update && sudo apt dist-upgrade
sudo apt install unity8-desktop-session-mir

Or, type the following:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
sudo apt-get install unity8-desktop-session-mir

for 15.10 or earlier.

This command tells Ubuntu to update all the packages and install Unity 8. If the update was successful, and the installation worked, a new entry should appear in the desktop selection menu when you login after a reboot (Figure 1). Unity 7 will still be in the list.

Figure 1: After the installation, Unity 8 appears as a selection option in the login dialog.

After rebooting, you can check – by typing apt-cache policy unity again – whether the desired desktop launched. This update can even be launched via the Software Center on 15.10; however, the terminal-based approach is quicker.

You can uninstall Unity 8 using the Software Center on 15.10 or from a terminal. The command for removing all the packages for Unity 8 is:

sudo apt uninstall --purge unity8-desktop-session-mir

or

sudo apt-get uninstall --purge unity8-desktop-session-mir

If you run your Ubuntu system as a virtual server, for example, with Oracle's VirtualBox or VMware Workstation/Player, it makes sense to back up the virtual machine with a snapshot before installing Unity 8. If the upgrade does cause any problems, you may no longer have a working installation.

More Effects

The Compizconfig-Settings-Manager tool lets you optimally configure Unity to reflect your requirements (Figure 2). For example, the tool offers you animations when maximizing or minimizing windows and many other optional settings. After the install, you will find CompizConfig-Settings-Manager in the Dash search on Ubuntu (first icon on the left) by typing Compiz .

Figure 2: Compizconfig-Settings-Manager lets you configure Ubuntu to suit your preferences.

A warning indicating the potential risks appears on launching. Many options are available in the program, all of them grouped into various submenus. Numerous options are already enabled after installing the program.

Unchecking the boxes tells the program to disable the selected effects. The interface is largely self-explanatory. Along with gizmos for the desktop and some neat effects, the software also offers also help and improvements for barrier-free use of Ubuntu. Keyboard shortcuts let you zoom certain areas of the desktop, for example.

The Settings menu item has functions that let you export and import parameters as needed. This advantage lets you quickly and easily take your selected settings with you, if you are using the tool on multiple computers.

If you have experimented too much, and the GUI is no longer functional, you have the option of resetting everything. To do so, use the following command in a terminal:

gsettings reset -recursively org.compiz

This makes sense in combination with the import/export feature. The backed-up data lets you reproduce a desired state at any time. If something doesn't work, simply reset the settings and import your backup profile, which will still work.

Unity Tweak Tool

Together with the Settings Manager for Compiz , the Unity Tweak Tool offers comprehensive options for customizing the Unity desktop to suit your own requirements. The Tweak Tool is installed in a terminal with the following command:

sudo apt-get install unity-tweak-tool

After installation, the tool turns up in the Dash search. Unity Tweak provides numerous options for customizing the desktop, organized in various tabs (Figure 3). If you want to fully customize the Unity interface, there is virtually no alternative to the Tweak tool.

Figure 3: The Unity Tweak Tool lets you customize the Unity interface to suit your requirements.

For each area, there are parameters, for example, for configuring windows, fonts, icons, mouse pointers, and much more. The tool is one of the most popular tools for quick and easy desktop customization. Among other things, you can define the transparency of menu bars or manage the themes installed on your computer.

Also note that the launcher can now be moved to the bottom of the screen in Ubuntu 16.04.

New Themes for Ubuntu

In addition to settings for the graphical interface, of course, you can also completely download and integrate new themes in Ubuntu. Examples of this include the Numix-gtk theme [4], which you can install using the commands in Listing 1.

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:numix/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install numix-icon-theme numix-icon-theme-circle numix-gtk-theme

To enable the themes, you can again turn to the Unity Tweak Tool. Once you have installed the themes, call the Tweak Tool and find the menu item Themes with the appropriate entries for the theme files installed on your computer.

After installing the Numix themes, the program displays the new options. It also shows you the other themes installed in Ubuntu. To find more settings for themes, try a "Theme configuration" Dash search.

Flexible Taskbar

Installing Docky [5] gives Ubuntu another quick launch area for programs (Figure 4). The tool docks by default at the bottom of the screen and provides links for various applications much like the Dock in Mac OS X. You can use the Docky icon's context menu in the toolbar to access the settings for the helper. This is where you adapt it to suit your needs.

Figure 4: Docky gives you quick access to frequently used programs.

To integrate other programs go to the Settings menu, Docklets tab. Select one of the programs and click on the button with the plus sign to tell Docky to add the new program to its bar. You can also remove previously integrated programs at this point.

Classical Start Menu

Most desktops offer a traditional menu for launching programs. In Unity, you have the bar on the left and searches in the Dash but no classical Start menu. However, you can integrate this easily using the ClassicMenu Indicator (Figure 5). The menu lists all the installed programs.

Figure 5: ClassicMenu Indicator lists all the installed programs.

To install, again pop up a terminal. In the first step, you need to install the PPA for the ClassicMenu Indicator (Listing 2). Once the source is known, you can update the information for the available packages and install the software with the two other commands.

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:diesch/testing
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install classicmenu-indicator

After installing ClassicMenu Indicator , a new icon for the Start menu is available in the toolbar at the top right. You can use it to launch the programs installed on the computer. The tool does not replace the Starter or Docky, but it provides another option.

Conclusions

If you use Linux, you want full control over the look and feel of your desktop. With just a few clicks, you can set the main features and configure the interface to fit to your preferences. The tools tested here are intuitive enough for simple changes; however, depending on what you set out to achieve, your mileage may vary.