UPDATE: For Ubuntu 22.04 and Ubuntu 24.04, there’s now a graphical tool to do the job, see this tutorial for details.
This simple tutorial shows how to easily change the login screen background wallpaper or solid color in Ubuntu 20.04 Gnome desktop.
There’s no setting option to change GDM3 login screen background unless hacking on the the style sheet file, though it was fairly straightforward to edit the content in Ubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 19.10.
In Ubuntu 20.04, you have to extract the css file from current theme’s .gresource file, then edit the content and recompile to create the new .gresource file, and finally set it as default.
Change Login screen background via script:
Thankfully, there are a few scripts in Github to make things simple. And here’s the one that works on Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 20.10, and Ubuntu 21.04.
1.) First open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T key combination and run command to install the required libraries:
sudo apt install wget libglib2.0-dev-bin
2.) Then download the script via wget command line downloader:
3.) After downloaded the script, add executable permission to the file by running command:
chmod +x change-gdm-background
4.) And finally run command to set your photo image as login background:
sudo ./change-gdm-background /PATH/TO/IMAGE
Besides typing the path to image manually, you can type “sudo ./change-gdm-background” in terminal, then hit space bar to input a blank space, and finally drag & drop the image from file manager to terminal window.
Type user password (no visual feedback) when it asks and hit Enter. IMPORTANT: After successfully changed the login screen background, it asks whether to restart GDM to apply changes. Answer yes will log out current session, so it’s important to backup your work before hitting enter!
3.(Optional) To restore changes, run command:
sudo ./change-gdm-background --restore
Save the script for future use:
If you like the script and want to keep it for user later, run command to copy it to /usr/local/bin directory:
sudo cp change-gdm-background /usr/local/bin
After that, you can run the script any time in terminal window via:
The default Gnome desktop lacks an option to disconnect current wifi connection. For those who want the function in Ubuntu 20.04, a gnome shell extension is available to do the job.
Kid3 audio tag editor released new version 3.8.3 today. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 19.10, Ubuntu 18.04, and Ubuntu 16.04.
Kid3 3.8.3 comes with new keyboard shortcuts to navigate between the file and tag sections, 2 new scripts to apply English title capitalization to tags and transliterate ID3v1 tags to ASCII.
Other changes include:
Korean and Swedish translations.
Dark mode and custom themes improvements.
Support dragging multiple header rows in import table
Rename read-only files
Handbook updates and many bug-fixes.
How to Install Kid3 3.8.3 in Ubuntu:
The official Kid3 PPA has been updated with the new packages for all current Ubuntu releases, Linux Mint and derivatives.
1. Open terminal either from application launcher or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ufleisch/kid3
Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.
2. If an old version was installed, upgrade Kid3 using Software Updater:
or run commands one by one in terminal to install or upgrade to the latest tag editor:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install kid3-qt
You may replace kid3-qt with kid3 in the code for KDE integration, or with kid3-cli for the command-line interface
Uninstall
To remove the PPA repository, either open Software & Updates -> Other Software tab, or run command:
Inkscape, open-source vector graphics editor, released new major version 1.0 a few days ago. Native Ubuntu .deb package now is available to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.10, and Ubuntu 20.04.
Besides the Snap and Flatpak (both runs in sandbox) packages, the official Inkscape PPA now contains the 1.0 packages for Ubuntu 18.04 and higher.
1. Open terminal either by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard or by searching for ‘terminal’ from system application menu. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:inkscape.dev/stable
Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter.
2. Then upgrade inkscape from an old version via Software Updater:
or run command in terminal to check updates and install the editor:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install inkscape
Uninstall:
To remove the PPA repository, open Software & Updates and navigate to Other Software tab.
To remove Inkscape, either use Synaptic package manager or run command in terminal:
The lock screen background option is removed in the settings of Ubuntu 20.04 Gnome desktop. And now it uses blurred desktop wallpaper as the background of lock screen.
Still want to change the lock screen wallpaper? There is a Gnome Shell extension can do the job.
1.) Open terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run command to make sure gir1.2-clutter-1.0 library is installed:
Click on the toggle and confirm on the next pop-up to install the extension.
Don’t see the toggle? Do following steps, then refresh the web page.
Click the link text “click here to install browser extension” and follow the pop-ups to install the browser extension:
Then open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T and run command:
sudo apt install chrome-gnome-shell
3.) Launch either Extensions utility or Gnome Tweaks > Extensions (install it via Ubuntu Software), go to the extension settings page, and finally set a picture for lock screen background.
Looking for Linux drives of Canon printers and multifunction devices? Here’s easy way to install the ScanGear MP2, Cnijfilter2, and UFRII drivers in Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 22.04, and Ubuntu 20.04 via PPA.
Thanks to Thierry Ordissimo, the guy maintains an Ubuntu PPA that contains official Canon drivers for Linux.
The most recent version added G6000, G6080, TS5300, TS5380, TS6300, TS6380, TS7330, TS8300, TS8380, TS8330, XK60, TS6330, TS3300, and E3300 series support in ScanGear MP2 driver. And E3300, G5000, G5080, G6000, G6080, GM2000, GM2080, TR703, TS3300, TS5300, TS5380, TS6300, TS6330, TS6380, TS700, TS708, TS7330, TR8300, TS8330, TS8380, XK60 support in the IJ print driver.
And a large list of devices were added support in the UFRII driver, they include:
Type your password (no asterisk feedback) for sudo prompt and hit Enter to continue.
2.) To install the ScanGear MP driver, run command:
sudo apt install scangearmp2
To install IJ printer driver, run command:
sudo apt install cnijfilter2
3.)To install UFRII or LIPSLX printer driver for Canon LBP/iR printers, install one of following packages for your devices via apt command:
cnrdrvcups-lipslx
cnrdrvcups-ufr2-uk
cnrdrvcups-ufr2-us
There are also a list of PPD (PostScript Printer Description) files available in the PPA, either install one via apt command or use Synaptic to search for your printer.
Mozilla Firefox 76 was released today with improved online account protections and Zoom support.
Firefox 76 features Lockwise password manager improvements, including protection to saved passwords in “Logins and Passwords” page, display vulnerable password alert and website breach alert, and automatically generate secure, complex passwords to more sites.
Other changes include:
Picture-in-picture: double-click to go full-screen, again to reduce the video size.
Audio Worklets support: allow audio processing like VR and gaming, join Zoom calls without additional downloads
WebRender now available by default on modern Intel laptops with a small screen for Windows.
And various security fixes. See release note for more.
Download / Install Firefox 76 in Ubuntu:
If you prefer upgrading the pre-installed Firefox package, v76 package will be available in a few days for all current Ubuntu releases. At that time, upgrade Firefox via Software Updater (Update Manager):
And Firefox snap and flatpak packages, both run in sandbox, are now updated for Ubuntu 18.04 and higher.
This quick tutorial shows how to install the latest LMMS music creation tool 1.2.1 in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.10.
LMMS 1.2.1 has been made into Ubuntu 20.04 main repositories. There are also official .appimage package and flatpak package (runs in sandbox) available for most Linux desktop.
For those prefer installing LMMS 1.2.1 native .deb via apt-get, I’ve uploaded the Ubuntu 20.04 package backports into the unofficial PPA for Ubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 19.10.
1.) Open terminal either by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard, or by searching for ‘terminal’ from your system application menu. When it opens, run command:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/lmms
Type user password (no asterisk feedback) for sudo prompt and hit Enter to continue adding the PPA.
2.) Then run command to refresh system package cache and install LMMS:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install lmms
Uninstall:
To remove lmms, run command:
sudo apt remove --autoremove lmms
And remove the PPA either via Software & Updates -> Other Software or by running command:
