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Archives For November 30, 1999

Enable Top Panel Auto-Hide in Ubuntu 20.04 [Ubuntu 22.04 Update]

Last updated: April 23, 2022

Gnome’s top bar can auto-hide itself like the left dock panel does via a Gnome Shell extension.

In Ubuntu 18.04, you can enable the feature by installing the gnome shell extension easily from Ubuntu Software.

In Ubuntu 20.04, it’s still easy to install the hide top bar extension, though the Software utility does not longer handle the extension packages.

For Ubuntu 22.04 user, please scroll down and see the update section.

1.) Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. Then run the apt command to install the extension:

sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-autohidetopbar

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) for sudo prompt and hit Enter.

2.) Once installed, restart Gnome Shell by pressing Alt+F2 and type r in the pop-up “Run a Command” box and hit Enter.

3.) Finally open either Extensions or Gnome Tweaks (both available to install in Software), and enable “Hide Top Bar” extension.

That’s it. Enjoy!

Update for Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

The extension works for Ubuntu 22.04 with GNOME 42, though it’s not available in system repository anymore.

Firstly, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run the command below to install required packages first:

sudo apt install chrome-gnome-shell gnome-shell-extension-prefs

Next, go to the link page below, install browser extension if prompt and turn on the slider icon to install the extension:

Install Auto-Hide Topbar

NOTE: The pre-installed Firefox (Snap) does not support installing Gnome Extensions! Use another browser or install Firefox as classic Deb.

It will work immediately after you installed it. To manage its behavior, search for and open “Extensions” app and click the related “Settings” button.

App to Manage your extensions

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How to Install Conky Manager 2 in Ubuntu 20.04 | Ubuntu 22.04

Last updated: July 30, 2022

This simple tutorial shows how to install Conky Manager 2, the graphical front-end for Conky system monitor, in Ubuntu 20.04 and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

Conky is a light-weight system monitor for Linux Xorg, that displays CPU, GPU, and disk usage, network speed, weather, date and time and other information on desktop as widget.

And Conky Manager is a graphical tool that manages Conky config files. It provides options to start/stop, browse and edit Conky themes installed on the system.

The software was originally developed by by teejee2008 (Tony George), but not been updated for quite a few years. And Conky Manager 2 takes the job to make it work on recent Linux systems with updated Conky versions support.

Install Conky Manager 2 Ubuntu via PPA:

For those still using conky widget to monitor CPU/RAM, network usage, and weather information, I’ve create an unofficial PPA contains the most recent packages for Ubuntu 22.04 and Ubuntu 20.04, with both 64-bit and arm64/armhf OS types support.

1.) First, open terminal by either pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard, or searching from ‘Activities’ overview screen. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/conkymanager2

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) for sudo prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2.) Then install Conky Manager2 and conky as dependency library via command:

sudo apt install conky-manager2

NOTE: Linux Mint needs to manually update cache via sudo apt update command first.

Start and use Conky Manager 2:

Once installed, search for and launch Conky Manager app from the activities overview screen (or from start menu depends on your DE).

The app comes with some default themes, though may not well configured for your desktop. Tick or un-tick any item in the list will start or stop conky with that theme, though you may also use the tool bar buttons.

And, you can use the “spanner” icon to config theme options, including screen location, size, background transparency. Advanced users may also click on the ‘pencil‘ icon to edit it via configuration file.

There are also tons of Conky themes on the web. You can download one, and install it easily by clicking the second folder icon (with a little emblem).

Uninstall Conky, Conky Manager:

For any reason, you can easily remove the Ubuntu PPA by running the command below in terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/conkymanager2

If you want to remove Conky as well as Conky manager run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove conky conky-manager2
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Magnus – A Simple Screen Magnifier for Ubuntu

Last updated: July 31, 2020

Looking for a desktop magnifier? Besides enabling the built-in screen magnifier, there are a few third-party applications can do the job.

Magnus is a very simple desktop magnifier written in Python 3. It shows the area around the mouse pointer in a separate window magnified two, three, four, or five times. Useful for users who need magnification, whether to help with eyesight or for accurate graphical design or detail work.

How to Install Magnus in Ubuntu:

Magnus is available as Snap package, it can be directly installed from Ubuntu Software.

For Ubuntu 20.04 and higher, the software is also available in the main apt repository. Simple open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to install it:

sudo apt install magnus

For Ubuntu 18.04, you need to add the PPA repository by running command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:flexiondotorg/magnus && sudo apt update

Then run the previous apt install command to install it.

Once installed, launch magnus from system application launcher and enjoy!

Uninstall Magnus:

To remove the software PPA if added, run command in terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:flexiondotorg/magnus

To remove Magnus, simply run command:

sudo apt remove magnus
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Quick Tip: Display Battery Percentage in Ubuntu 20.04 Top Panel

Last updated: July 30, 2020

gnome shell

This quick tip shows how to display the battery percentage in the top panel system tray area in Ubuntu 20.04 with the default Gnome desktop.

Single command to show battery percentage:

For those familiar with Linux commands, this can be done via a single command.

Press Ctrl+Alt+T to open terminal, copy the command (Ctrl+C) and paste (Ctrl+Shift+V) into terminal and hit run:

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface show-battery-percentage true

Using graphical tool: Gnome Tweaks

Search for and install Gnome Tweaks from Ubuntu Software.

or install Gnome Tweaks by running command in terminal:

sudo apt install gnome-tweaks

Once installed, launch the tool and navigate to Top Bar in the left pane, and finally toggle on “Battery Percentage”.

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Kodi Media Center 18.8 Released [Ubuntu PPA]

Last updated: July 29, 2020

Kodi Media Center 18.8 was released today with various fixes. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and Ubuntu 20.04.

Kodi 18.8 is likely to be the final release in the 18.x “Leia” series. Release highlights include:

  • Fixes a severe security issue in gnutls (Linux)
  • Other significant library/compatibility updates
  • Gets client/server on MariaDB 10.5.4 working for Android
  • Fixes video database access for Ubuntu 20.4 (search and other filtering failed)
  • Fixes subtitle handling from archives
  • Fixes CDDB access
  • Makes minor improvements to logging and memory reporting/display
  • Fixes EDLs where skip points are at the very start of a file
  • Contains code improvements to fix specific events, e.g. race conditions in the EPG or “pause” on end of streams on Android
  • Enables alpha blending for the video player (Windows)
  • Better handles specific exceptions (Android, mostly)

How to Install Kodi 18.8 in Ubuntu:

Kodi Team PPA has made the new release packages for all current Ubuntu releases and derivatives.

1. Open terminal either from application menu or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:team-xbmc/ppa

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. Then either upgrading Kodi from an existing version via Software Updater:

upgrade Kodi

or refresh system package cache and install Kodi 18.8 via commands:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install kodi

Uninstall:

To remove the Kodi PPA repository, simply open Software & Updates -> Other Software.

To remove Kodi, run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove kodi kodi-data kodi-bin

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Opera 70 Released with Improved Search in Tabs

Last updated: July 29, 2020

opera web browser

Opera web browser 70 was released a day ago improvements to existing features and tools.

Opera 70 release highlights include:

  • The history and bookmark panels now has wider search field.
  • Search in Tabs feature now include recently-closed tabs section.
  • Search in Tabs now searches both title and content of open pages.
  • More Workspace icons

How to Install Opera 70 in Ubuntu:

Snap Package:

The Opera team offers official snap package (runs in sandbox), available to install directly from Ubuntu Software:

Deb package:

Also the native Ubuntu .deb package is available for downloading at the link below:

Download Opera for Linux

Grab the .deb package, and double-click to install it.

You may also add the official apt repository via following steps to receive future software updates.

1. Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to add the opera repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://deb.opera.com/opera-stable/ stable non-free" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/opera.list'

2. Get the key:

wget -O - http://deb.opera.com/archive.key | sudo apt-key add -

Finally either install Opera via following command or upgrade the browser via Software Updater:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install opera-stable

Uninstall:

For the Opera snap package, simply remove it from Ubuntu Software.

For the Opera apt repository, launch Software & Updates and navigate to Other Software tab.

To remove traditional opera package, either use your system package manager or run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --autoremove opera-stable
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Mozilla Firefox 79.0 Released with Various Security Fixes

Last updated: July 28, 2020

Mozilla Firefox web browser 79.0 was released a few hours ago with new features and various security fixes.

Firefox 79.0 release highlights include:

  • WebRender for more Windows users with Intel and AMD GPUs
  • More Pocket recommendations for users in Germany.
  • Various security fixes.
  • Several crashes while using a screen reader were fixed

How to Install Firefox 79 in Ubuntu:

Firefox 79 will be made into official Ubuntu security / updates repositories for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and Ubuntu 20.04 in a few days!

At that time, you can upgrade Firefox via Software Updater (Update Manager) utility:

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How to Set up Hot Corners in Ubuntu 20.04 Gnome Shell

Last updated: February 11, 2022

gnome shell

This simple tutorial shows how to enable and set up hot corners features in Ubuntu 20.04 with the default Gnome desktop.

With hot corners enabled, when you move the mouse cursor and hit one of the screen corners, it performs a predefined action (e.g., show desktop, open application launcher, launch a software, and run custom command).

The default Gnome desktop only supports top-left corner opening Activities overview, though it’s not enabled by default. You can however set up more actions for the 4 corners via a Gnome Shell extension.

NOTE: Skip the first 2 steps if you’re not first time installing a Gnome Shell extension.

1.) Open terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard, then run command:

sudo apt install chrome-gnome-shell

2.) Go to extensions.gnome.org, and click the link to install the browser integration.

3.) Click the link to go to custom hot corner extension page, then toggle on and click install the extension.

Once installed, select hot corner actions via extension setting either by Extensions utility or Gnome Tweaks tool.

Tip: To enable ‘show desktop’ function, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal and run command to install the wmctrl package (Thanks to @Peter Huang):

sudo apt install wmctrl
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How to Find Local / Public IP Address in Ubuntu 20.04

Last updated: July 27, 2020

This is a step by step beginner guide shows how to check local network IP and public IP in both IP4 and IPv6 via either graphical interface or Linux commands in Ubuntu 20.04.

1. Find IP address via System Settings:

For the default Gnome desktop, you can check the wireless network IP address via:

  • Open Settings and navigate to Wi-Fi in left pane.
  • Click on the gear icon after the connected wifi network.
  • In the pop-up it shows the detailed information including your IP address.

To check the wired network IP address, do:

  • Open Settings and navigate to Network in left pane.
  • Click on the gear icon under connected wired network.
  • In the pop-up it shows the detailed information including your IP address.

2. Check Local IP address via ifconfig command:

While wired network name is usually eth0, eth1, eno1, wireless network name is usually wlan0, wlan1, wlo1, …

For other desktops or Ubuntu server without an UI, you can run ifconfig command to find your IP.

ifconfig

If the command does not exit, run command to install it: sudo apt install net-tools

3. Check Local IP address via ip command:

There’s another command looks more straightforward. Simply run:

ip address

4. Check Your Public IP address:

You can search your public ip via Google or other web search engine. If you don’t have a web browser or you’re on Ubuntu server, following commands will tell the public IP.

ifconfig will tell the public IP if you are not behind a router.

Or you can run command in console:

curl https://ipinfo.io/ip

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[Quick Tip] How to Remove Left Dock Panel in Ubuntu 20.04

Last updated: July 26, 2020

gnome shell

This simple tutorial shows how to remove the left panel (dock launcher) in Ubuntu 20.04 Gnome desktop.

The left panel in Ubuntu 20.04 Gnome desktop is called Ubuntu Dock, a fork of Dash-to-dock extension. Via System Settings, you can change its position (left, right, bottom), icon size, and toggle auto-hide function.

With dconf editor, you can do more settings, e.g., shorten the panel so it looks like Mac OS style dock launcher, show trash icon, and move “Show Applications” to top (or left).

If you intend to remove this dock launcher in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, it can be done easily by doing following steps.

1. Search for and open Extensions utility from system application launcher.

2. When the tool opens, scroll download and toggle off “Ubuntu Dock” extension.

That’s it!

Note: if you don’t see Extensions in ‘Show Applications’ app launcher, either search for and install Extensions in Ubuntu Software, or run command in terminal:

sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-prefs
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