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KDE Plasma 5.17 Released! How to Install it in (K)Ubuntu 19.10

Last updated: October 16, 2019

KDE Plasma 5.16

KDE Plasma desktop 5.17 was released yesterday. Now you can install it in (K)Ubuntu 19.10 via KUbuntu Backports PPA.

Plasma 5.17 release highlights:

  • Night Color for X11.
  • Fractional scaling support on Wayland.
  • Faster startup performance.
  • New panel in System Settings for configuring Thunderbolt devices
  • Improved widget resizing, settings panels, and many other small feature additions.
  • For more details, see the release note.

How to Install Plasma 5.17 in (K)Ubuntu 19.10:

Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or by searching for ‘terminal’ from application menu. When it opens, do:

1. Add Kubuntu Backports PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports

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

2. Install Plasma 5.17 in Kubuntu 19.10:

Either install all system update via Update Manager, or run command in terminal:

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3. For non-Kubuntu user:

Run command to install Plasma desktop:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install plasma-desktop

or install full KDE desktop environment via command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install kubuntu-desktop

Uninstall:

You can purge the Kubuntu Backports PPA, which also downgrade Plasma desktop to the stock version (5.16.5) in Ubuntu 19.10 repository.

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports
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How to Enable Fractional Scaling in Ubuntu 19.10 Eoan

Last updated: October 15, 2019

This quick tutorial shows how to enable the fractional scaling in Ubuntu 19.10 for both default X and wayland sessions.

The Display settings only offer two scaling values (100% and 200%) by default. For HiDPI displays, you may want fractional scaling values, like 125% or 150%, and here’s how to do the job.

1.) Open Ubuntu Software, search for and install dconf editor.

2.) Launch dconf editor and navigate to org -> gnome -> mutter.

There find out and click to go to settings for ‘experimental-features‘. Then do:

  • Turn off ‘Use default value‘.
  • Set Custom value to [‘x11-randr-fractional-scaling’] for default X session.
  • For wayland session, set the value to [‘scale-monitor-framebuffer’]

NOTE: Fractional scaling is an experimental feature, it may have bugs. And It might reduce performance on X11.

For those familiar with Linux commands, do the job via single command:

For default X11 session, open terminal and run command:

gsettings set org.gnome.mutter experimental-features "['x11-randr-fractional-scaling']"

For wayland session, run command:

gsettings set org.gnome.mutter experimental-features "['scale-monitor-framebuffer']"

To undo the change, run command:

gsettings reset org.gnome.mutter experimental-features
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How to Install Gnome Shell Themes in Ubuntu 19.10, 18.04

Last updated: October 14, 2019

This quick tutorial shows how to install Gnome Shell themes in Ubuntu 19.10 / Ubuntu 18.04, which change the appearance of Gnome panel, system tray menu, notification pops, etc.

In the default Gnome desktop, you can easily change the themes of application window, mouse cursor, and icons using Gnome Tweaks tool.

Gnome Tweaks (install it via Ubuntu Software) also offers option for Shell theme, which is not enabled by default. And here’s how to enable the functionality.

Enable Shell Theme Option in Gnome Tweaks:

Shell Themes select-box is greyed out by default in Gnome Tweaks.

To enable it, simply open Ubuntu Software, search for and install user themes extension.

Install Gnome Shell Themes:

1.) Download the theme tarball from the web. There are many Gnome Shell themes available on gnome-look.org and deviantart.com.

2.) Open Files (Nautilus file browser) and press Ctrl+H to view all hidden file folders.

Check if .themes folder exist in user home directory, if not create one.

3.) Extract the previous downloaded themes, and put the theme folders into .themes directory.

4.) Finally open or re-open Gnome Tweaks and apply an user theme from Appearance tab.

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GScan2PDF 2.5.7 Released! How to Install it in Ubuntu

Last updated: October 13, 2019

Gscan2pdf 2.5.7, GTK tool to produce PDF / DjVu from scanned document, was released today. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04.

Changes in Gscan2pdf 2.5.7 include:

  • Recognise “Document Table” as flatbed for imagescan backend.
  • Use option name as label for those options with no title.
  • Extended edit profile functionality in scan dialog to frontend options.
  • Close device when switching frontends so as not to block SANE for the new frontend.
  • Allow tool processes to immediately continue working on subsequent pages despite errors on previous ones.
  • Fix infinite loop scanning reverse pages
  • Updated translations.

How to Install gscan2pdf 2.5.7 in Ubuntu:

The official Ubuntu PPA has made the new release packages for all current Ubuntu releases, and their derivatives.

1. Open terminal either by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard or by searching for ‘terminal’ from application menu. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jeffreyratcliffe/ppa

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

2. For those who have a previous release installed, upgrade it through Software Updater:

For the first time, you can either install it via Synaptic Package Manager or by running following commands in terminal:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install gscan2pdf

How to Remove:

To remove gscan2pdf, either use your system package manager or run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove gscan2pdf

And the PPA can be removed via Software & Updates utility, under Other Software tab.

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Move ‘Show Applications’ Button to the Top in Ubuntu 19.10

Last updated: October 12, 2019

This quick tutorial shows how to move Application Menu button from bottom to the top on the left panel (dock launcher) in Ubuntu 19.10 Gnome Desktop.

Ubuntu Dock (the left panel) now is more customizable in Ubuntu 19.10. It finally offers option to move the position of the ‘Show Applications’ button.

1.) Open Ubuntu Software, search for and install dconf editor:

2.) Launch dconf editor from application menu, when it opens, navigate to org -> gnome -> shell -> extensions -> dash-to-dock.

There scroll down, find out and turn on the toggle of ‘show-apps-at-top‘.

For those familiar with Linux commands, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run single command to move it to the top:

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock show-apps-at-top true

If you want to move the ‘Application Menu’ button back to bottom, run command:

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock show-apps-at-top false
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How to Add Trash Icon to the Left Panel (Dock) in Ubuntu 19.10

Last updated: October 11, 2019

Now it’s easy to move the Trash Can icon from the desktop to the left panel (dock app launcher) in Ubuntu 19.10 with Gnome 3.34.

The default left panel with favorite application launcher icons in Ubuntu 19.10 is handled by Gnome shell extension ‘Ubuntu dock‘ (modified version of Dash-to-dock). Now it finally offers option to show or hide the Trash Can icon.

1.) First open Ubuntu Software, search for and install Dconf editor.

2.) Launch dconf editor, and navigate to org -> gnome -> shell -> extensions -> dash-to-dock.

Then scroll down, find out the key says show-trash and turn it on.

3.) You may also hide the Trash icon from the Desktop.

Navigate to org -> gnome -> shell -> extensions -> desktop-icons, and turn off the toggle for show-trash.

For those familiar with Linux commands, you can do the job by running single command in terminal:

1. To add trash can to the panel:

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock show-trash true

You can replace true with false in the command to remove the icon.

2. To remove trash icon from the desktop:

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.desktop-icons show-trash false

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How to Send App Shortcut Icons to Desktop in Ubuntu 19.10

Last updated: October 10, 2019

This is another tutorial shows how to send the application launcher icons to the Desktop in Ubuntu 19.10.

Where Ubuntu stores the application icons:

Ubuntu stores the application shortcut icons as .desktop files. Most of them are available in /usr/share/applications directory, and few in .local/share/applications.

Since Ubuntu 19.04, you can no longer drop and drop or even copy and paste files directly from file manager to the Desktop, because Nautilus file manager is replaced by a Gnome Shell extension to handle the Desktop.

However, the .desktop files can be directly placed into user’s “Desktop” folder. Like Windows, all files in that folder will be displayed on the Desktop.

1.) Open “Files” (Nautilus file manager) and navigate to the Desktop folder.

2.) Right-click on “Files” in left panel and open a new file manager window.

3.) In new file manager window, navigate to Other Locations -> Computer -> usr -> share -> applications.

There choose the app launcher files as you want, drag and drop them to the Desktop folder that you opened in step 1.).

4.) Finally right-click on each file in the desktop, and select ‘Allow Launching’.

In Howtos
 

How to Retain Nautilus Type-Ahead Search in Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: October 9, 2019

This quick tutorial shows how to restore the type-to-seek (type-ahead) functionality in Ubuntu 18.04 Nautilus file browser.

The type ahead functionality is removed in upstream Nautilus and unavailable in Ubuntu since Ubuntu 17.10 Artful.

For those sticking to the search functionality, Lubomir Brindza has made a patched for Nautilus in Ubuntu 18.04 and higher.

To install the patched Nautilus package, open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or by searching for ‘terminal’ from application menu.

When terminal opens, run following commands one by one:

1.) Paste command and hit run to add the PPA. Type user password (no asterisk feedback) for sudo prompts and hit Enter to continue.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:lubomir-brindza/nautilus-typeahead

2.) Then check updates and upgrade Nautilus package with the patch:

sudo apt update

sudo apt upgrade

The PPA also contains the patch for Ubuntu 19.04 and Ubuntu 19.10, it is however a little older than default Nautilus version so far, and you may either wait the PPA to be updated or download & install the packages manually (see the previous link).

Uninstall:

To uninstall the patch and restore Nautilus file browser to its original status, simply purge the PPA via command:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:lubomir-brindza/nautilus-typeahead

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Opera Web Browser 64 Released! (How to Install)

Last updated: October 8, 2019

Opera web browser 64 stable was released today. The new release features more accessible privacy and security functionality, and enhanced snapshot tool.

According to the release note, Opera 64 includes following changes:

  • Add “Block Trackers” to EasySetup
  • Count blocked trackers in popup
  • Snapshot tool enhancements:
    • save a website directly to PDF
    • capture the entire website all the way to the bottom
    • improved the blurring function and the drawing tool
    • allows to add text in three fonts
    • new emojis and more other changes.

How to Install Opera 64 in Ubuntu:

The Opera team offers snap package (runs in sandbox), which is always up-to-date (auto-updates itself). You can simply install it in Ubuntu Software:

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

To receive future updates through Software Updater, add the official Opera apt repository via following steps:

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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How to Install Oracle Java 13 in Ubuntu 18.04, 16.04, 19.04

Last updated: October 5, 2019

Oracle Java 13 was released a few weeks ago. Here’s how to easily install it in Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Linux Mint 18.x, 19.x, and higher.

To check out new features and enhancements in Java 13, see the announcement.

The ‘Linux Uprising’ team has made an installer script that automatically downloads and installs Oracle JDK 13, and sets Java 13 as the default Java version (setting JAVA_HOME, etc.).

1.) Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or by searching for ‘terminal’ from application menu. When it opens, run commands to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:linuxuprising/java

Type your login password (no asterisk feedback) for sudo prompt and hit Enter to continue.

2.) Then check updates and install the script via 2 commands:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install oracle-java13-installer

The command will automatically downloads Java 13 source tarball, installs on 64-bit Ubuntu, and also sets it as default.

Check the result via command: java --version

(Optional) You can remove the PPA repository via Software & Updates utility under Other Software tab.

And remove Java 13 if you want via command:

sudo apt-get remove oracle-java13-installer
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