📖Panel
The doors to almost all of elementary OS functions and features
The Panel (also known as Wingpanel) takes the very top of your screen and cannot be moved to anywhere else on the desktop. It includes Applications Menu on the left, Date and Time indicator in the center, and System Indicators on the right.
By default, the Panel is translucent and automatically changes its background and text color based on your desktop wallpaper to improve the Panel text readability. When the app window is maximized, the Panel background turns black.
You can make the Panel be always black by switching off the Panel translucency in the System Settings (Desktop --> Dock & Panel).
Apps Menu
Apps Menu is a powerful tool to not only search for and launch installed apps. With the search field in the menu, you can perform a variety of actions: from calculating quick math operations to finding specific system settings, and many more.
Open Apps Menu
Do any of the following:
In the top-left of your screen, click Applications by either primary or secondary mouse button.
On the keyboard, press ⌘+Space.
To change the keyboard shortcut for opening the Apps Menu, go to the System Settings and navigate to Keyboard --> Layout --> System.
Select Apps Menu View Mode
The Apps Menu has two view modes: grid and categorized list. You can switch between them by clicking the associated buttons in the top-left of the Apps Menu.
In the grid mode, you can navigate through your apps by scrolling with a mouse, swiping with two fingers on a touchpad, or by using the pager dots at the bottom of the menu.
In the categorized mode, you can navigate through your apps by clicking any of the associated categories and selecting an app in the list on the right.
Discover Extra Options
To use extra options of the Apps Menu, start typing in the search field which is automatically focused.
You can easily find any of your installed apps by name or by keyword. Searching also displays app actions and System Settings. For example, by searching (try those in bold) you can:
Shut Down or Restart your device
Go to the System Settings
Compose Message with Mail
Open a New Incognito Window in Web
Calculate quick math operations like 25 * 52
Take a Screenshot of the Current Window
Find specific system settings like Keyboard → Layout → Compose Key
Feel free to experiment with typing and discover new options and possibilities! 😉
Date & Time
The Date & Time indicator at the center of the Panel displays the current date and time.
The options available with the Date & Time indicator:
Click the Date & Time indicator to open the pop-up with a calendar and upcoming events. To open the full Calendar app, double-click a day or select an event.
View previous and following months by clicking the backward and forward arrow buttons respectively at the top of the pop-up. Click the button between the arrows to revert to the current date. The current date is also restored automatically next time you click the indicator.
Navigate directly to the extensive Date & Time settings by clicking the menu item at the bottom of the pop-up. There, you can set up the time format, time zone and details the Date & Time indicator should display.
System Indicators
The System Indicators on the right of the Panel are reserved for use by the system to communicate system-wide statuses, for example, network connections, battery charge, sound input and output, notifications, etc.
With the System Indicators, you can easily and quickly access top-requested system settings.
Interact with System Indicators:
Click an indicator to expose more information and related actions in pop-ups.
Hover an indicator with the mouse cursor to display quick information.
Use middle-click or three finger tap shortcut for indicator to perform quick actions. For example:
Sound: Mute
Bluetooth: Turn Bluetooth on or off
Power: Toggle percentage of battery remaining in the Panel
Notifications: Toggle Do Not Disturb mode
Session: Prompt to shut down
Click any indicator to open its menu and move your mouse cursor over the rest of the system indicators. Their pop-up menus will be displayed accordingly.
Study Indicators Functionality
The table below lists the functions and actions that can be performed with the System Indicators.
View the users logged in and out
Navigate to the Users Accounts settings
Lock the screen
Log out of the system
Enable the suspend mode
Shut down or reboot
Enable/disable the do-not-disturb option
View and clear notifications from apps individually
Clear all notifications at once
Navigate to the Notifications settings
Show the percentage of battery charge
Check up the battery charge indication
See apps using lots of power
Adjust the brightness level
Navigate to the Power settings
Turn on/off the detection of bluetooth devices
View and connect the paired bluetooth devices
Navigate to the Bluetooth settings
Turn on/off the airplane mode
View and enable/disable wired connection types (e.g. USB Ethernet) if applicable
Enable/disable VPN connections if you added any to the system
Enable and select Wi-Fi connection
Connect to a hidden network
Navigate to the Network settings
View open apps playing sound and manage their playback
Adjust the volume, or mute the playback
Select output/input sound devices if there are several of them
Adjust the microphone volume, or turn it off/on. When an app starts using the microphone, the mike icon is added to the Sound indicator
Navigate to the Sound settings
Displayed in the Panel and shows the active keyboard layout only if more than one layout are added to the system
Switch between keyboard layouts
Show the full keyboard layout in a separate window
Navigate to the Keyboard settings
Additional indications of CapsLock and NumLock are displayed if the option is enabled in the System Settings
Displayed in the Panel if only enabled in the System Settings
Turn on/off the nightlight mode
Adjust the color temperature
Navigate to the Nightlight settings
Displayed in the Panel if only enabled in the System Settings
Increase or decrease the system font size
Enable/disable Screen Reader (audio description of the screen elements)
Enable/disable Onscreen Keyboard (graphical keyboard on the screen)
Enable/disable Slow Keys (delay between key presses)
Enable/disable Bounce Keys (ignoring quickly repeated key presses)
Enable/disable Sticky Keys (using modifier keys sequentially)
Enable/disable Dwell Click (pressing keys on the cursor hovering)
Navigate to the Universal Access settings
The Panel does not provide a system tray for applications to be minimized and keep running in the background. Apps indicators are considered to be an anti-pattern, and are no longer supported in elementary OS.
For more info about backgrounding and system integration philosophy, refer to this post in the elementary OS blog.
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