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Enable Gnome’s Default Auto-Resize Left Dock in Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: September 26, 2019

gnome shell

This tutorial is going to show Ubuntu begginers how to enable Gnome’s default left panel (Dock), which has an auto-resize panel height.

In Ubuntu 18.04 and higher, the left panel (called Dock) is by default extended to all the available screen height, which looks just like it does in the previous default Unity desktop.

While the Settings utility only offers options to toggle auto-hide, icon size, and panel position, here’s how to enable auto-resize panel height (or width if panel moved to bottom).

1.) First search for and install dconf editor in Ubuntu Software.

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

Scroll down and find the line says “extend-height” and turn off the switch.

In addition, for those familiar with Linux command line, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run single command to do the job:

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock extend-height false

And restore the change via command:

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock extend-height true
In Gnome Shell, Howtos
 

Install MakeMKV Easily via Snap in Ubuntu 18.04 / 19.04

Last updated: September 25, 2019

MakeMKV, make MKV from Blu-ray and DVD, now is easy to install via Snap package in Ubuntu 18.04 and higher.

Snap is a containerized software package runs in most Linux desktop. Thanks to Daniel Llewellyn, he has made the MakeMKV Snap package. So it can be easily installed either via Snappy Store or by running single command in terminal.

Install MakeMKV snap in Ubuntu:

1.) Don’t know why, but I don’t find makemkv in Ubuntu Software in Ubuntu 18.04. However, it can be installed by running single command in terminal (open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T):

snap install makemkv

2.) One more command is required to run to connect the snap to the hardware-observe interface:

sudo snap connect makemkv:hardware-observe

(Optional) For any reason, you can easily remove the MakeMKV snap package by running command in terminal:

snap remove makemkv

MakeMKV PPA:

For those who prefer installing it via native Ubuntu .deb package, there’s also a PPA repository that contains the software for all current Ubuntu releases.

You can simply open terminal and run 3 commands one by one to add the PPA and install MakeMKV:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:heyarje/makemkv-beta

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install makemkv-bin makemkv-oss
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Animated GIF Recorder ‘Peek’ 1.4.0 Released (How to Install)

Last updated: September 24, 2019

Peek screen recorder 1.4.0 was released today with stability fixes and some use interface improvements. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04, and derivatives.

Peek is a handy desktop screen recorder with an easy to use interface. It supports recording to GIF, APNG, Webm, and MP4, and so far works on X11 or inside a GNOME Shell Wayland session using XWayland.

Peek 1.4.0 release highlights:

  • Move app menu into application window
  • New app icon
  • Set window type hint to UTILITY
  • Show shortcut hint in main window
  • Added Recorder, Video and AudioVideo to desktop files categories
  • Build fixes and updated translations.

How to Install Peek 1.4.0 in Ubuntu:

Note the Peek PPA will not update for Ubuntu 16.04 any more, since the 1.4.0 release required GTK >=3.20.

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 Peek PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:peek-developers/stable

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

2.) Then check updates and install peek via 2 commands:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install peek

For those who don’t want to add PPA, grab the .deb package for your system from PPA packages page.

Uninstall:

To remove the screen recorder, either use your system package manager or run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove peek

You can also remove the PPA repository by going to Application menu -> Software & Updates -> Other Software tab.

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How to Install Fast App Launcher ‘Ulauncher’ in Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: September 23, 2019

Ulauncher is a super fast Linux application launcher written in Python with GTK+. By pressing a keyboard shortcut and then typing a name in search box, you can quickly launch an application or access a file / file directory.

Ulauncher app launcher features:

  • Fuzzy search, type in app name without worrying about spelling.
  • 4 built-in themes, and custom color themes support.
  • customizable shortcuts, and wide range of plugins.
  • Fast directory browser, type ~ or / to start
  • Search Google, Wikiepdia, and Stack Overflow.

How to Install Ulauncher in Ubuntu:

The official PPA contains the latest packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and Ubuntu 19.04 so far.

1.) Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) from application menu. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:agornostal/ulauncher

Type user password for sudo prompts and hit Enter to continue.

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

sudo apt update

sudo apt install ulauncher

Once installed, open Ulauncher from application menu. You’ll see the app applet in system tray area. Click and open its Preferences dialog and set up theme, shortcut, auto-run, etc.

Uninstall Ulauncher:

To remove the PPA repository, either open ‘Software & Updates -> Other Software’ tab, or run command in terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:agornostal/ulauncher

To remove the app launcher, simply run command:

sudo apt remove ulauncher
In App Review, Howtos ,
 

Qimgv – Qt5 Image Viewer with Basic Editing / Optional Video Support

Last updated: September 22, 2019

Qimgv is a Qt5 image viewer with simple, fast, and easy to use user interface. The software features basic image editing and optional video support.

Qimgv image viewer features:

  • Basic image editing: Crop, Flip, Rotate, and Resize.
  • Ability to quickly copy / move images to different folders
  • Video playback via libmpv, including webm support.
  • Ability to run shell scripts
  • Folder view
  • Keyboard shortcuts (Settings > Controls)
  • Extend APng support via QtApng, Raw support via Qtraw (Both included in Windows package)

How to Install Qimgv in Ubuntu 18.04:

The software developer maintains a PPA repository that contains the most recent packages for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04, Linux Mint 19.x.

1.) Open terminal either via 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:easymodo/qimgv

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

2.) Then either install Qimgv via Synaptic package manager or run command in terminal:

sudo apt install qimgv

Note for Linux Mint you may need to run sudo apt update to check update first.

Once installed, either use the image viewer via picture file’s right-click menu or launch it from application menu.

Uninstall Qimgv:

To remove the PPA, either open Software & Updates -> Other Software or run command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:easymodo/qimgv

To remove the image viewer, simply run command:

sudo apt remove qimgv
In App Review
 

How to Install FlightGear 2019.1.1 in Ubuntu 19.04/18.04

Last updated: September 21, 2019

FlightGear flight simulator 2019.1 was released almost two months ago. Not it’s finally made into PPA for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04, Linux Mint 19.x and their derivatives.

FlightGear 2019.1 contains many exciting new features, enhancements and bug-fixes. See the changelog for details.

To install the free and open-source flight simulator, open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or by searching for ‘terminal’ from application menu. When it opens, run following commands one by one.

1.) Paste following command and hit run to add the PPA repository:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:saiarcot895/flightgear

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

2.) Then either upgrade FlightGear from an existing release via Software Updater (Update Manager):

or run command in terminal to install the software:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install flightgear

Uninstall:

To remove flightgear, either use Ubuntu Software or run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --auto-remove flightgear

You can also remove the PPA either via the first step’s command with --remove added in the end, or by going to “Software & Updates -> Other Software” tab.

In Howtos ,
 

Vivaldi Web Browser 2.8 Released! How to Install it in Ubuntu

Last updated: September 19, 2019

Vivaldi web browser released the new stable version 2.8 today. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04 and higher.

Vivaldi 2.8 features sync support for Android release, and also following changes:

  • Add keyboard navigation to bookmark menu bar
  • Bookmark manager columns width should be resizable
  • Toggle images via keyboard: Ctrl+Alt+Shift+I / ⌥⌘I
  • Bookmark menu supports for hovering across horizontal menu or the bookmarks bar
  • Various bug-fixes range over bookmark, history, Windows and mac OS platform, and more.

Download / Install Vivaldi in Ubuntu:

The official Ubuntu .DEB packages are available for download at the link below:

Grab the deb matches your OS, then install it via Ubuntu Software or Gdebi package manager. Or run command in terminal:

sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/vivaldi-stable_2.8*.deb

For those who want to receive future Vivaldi updates via Software Updater utility, the browser has an official apt repository for Ubuntu / Debian based system.

Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or by searching for terminal from application menu. When it opens, run following commands one by one:

1. Download and install the repository keyring:

wget -qO- https://repo.vivaldi.com/archive/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add -

Typer user password when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. Add Vivaldi repository via command:

sudo add-apt-repository 'deb https://repo.vivaldi.com/archive/deb/ stable main'

3. Finally check updates and install the web browser via command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install vivaldi-stable

Or upgrade from an old version via Software Updater utility.

(Optional): To remove Vivaldi apt repository from you system, launch Software & Updates and navigate to Other Software tab.

In Howtos, News
 

How to Make Scrollbar Always Visible in Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: September 18, 2019

This quick tutorial shows how to make the scrollbars of GTK3 applications always visible, like Gnome terminal does, no matter whether the mouse cursor is moved over or not.

The scrollbar is only visible when the mouse cursor is moved mover in most of GTK3 applications. It will disappear in a few seconds once the cursor’s moved away.

On a per-app basis, you can start application by setting GTK_OVERLAY_SCROLLING=0 environment variable.

For example, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to launch Gedit text editor:

GTK_OVERLAY_SCROLLING=0 gedit

To apply for all applications for current user, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to edit .profile file:

gedit ~/.profile

When the files opens in text editor, add following 2 lines in the end and save the file.

export GTK_OVERLAY_SCROLLING=0
gdbus call --session --dest org.freedesktop.DBus --object-path /org/freedesktop/DBus --method org.freedesktop.DBus.UpdateActivationEnvironment '{"GTK_OVERLAY_SCROLLING": "0"}'

To apply changes, simply log out and login back.

To restore the changes, edit .profile file again and remove the previous lines.

In Howtos ,
 

How to Install Linux Kernel 5.3 in Ubuntu / Linux Mint

Last updated: September 16, 2019

Linux Kernel 5.3 was released yesterday. Linus Torvalds announced that:

So we’ve had a fairly quiet last week, but I think it was good that we ended up having that extra week and the final rc8.

Even if the reason for that extra week was my travel schedule rather than any pending issues, we ended up having a few good fixes come in, including some for some bad btrfs behavior. Yeah, there’s some unnecessary noise in there too (like the speling fixes), but we also had several last-minute reverts for things that caused issues.

One _particularly_ last-minute revert is the top-most commit (ignoring the version change itself) done just before the release, and while it’s very annoying, it’s perhaps also instructive.

…

Linux 5.3 kernel brings many exciting changes including initial Intel HDR display support, Intel Speed Select support, Radeon RX 5700 Navi series support, better Intel Icelake Gen 11 graphics support, ACRN guest hypervisor support.

How to Install Linux Kernel 5.3 in Ubuntu:

The mainline kernel packages for Linux 5.3 are available for download at the link below:

Depends on your OS type, download and install the packages in turns:

  1. linux-headers-5.3.0-xxxxxx_all.deb
  2. linux-headers-5.3.0-xxx-generic(/lowlatency)_xxx_amd64(/i386).deb
  3. linux-modules-5.3.0-xxx-generic(/lowlatency)_xxx_amd64(/i386).deb
  4. linux-image-xxx-5.3.0-xxx-generic(/lowlatency)_xxx_amd64(/i386).deb

Select generic for common system, and lowlatency for a low latency system (e.g. for recording audio), amd64 for 64bit system, i386 for 32bit system, or armhf, arm64, etc for other OS types.

Alternatively you can download and install the kernel binaries via terminal commands ( open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T):

For 64-bit OS:

cd /tmp/

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.3/linux-headers-5.3.0-050300_5.3.0-050300.201909152230_all.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.3/linux-headers-5.3.0-050300-generic_5.3.0-050300.201909152230_amd64.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.3/linux-image-unsigned-5.3.0-050300-generic_5.3.0-050300.201909152230_amd64.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.3/linux-modules-5.3.0-050300-generic_5.3.0-050300.201909152230_amd64.deb

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

for 32-bit OS:

cd /tmp/

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.3/linux-headers-5.3.0-050300_5.3.0-050300.201909152230_all.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.3/linux-headers-5.3.0-050300-generic_5.3.0-050300.201909152230_i386.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.3/linux-image-5.3.0-050300-generic_5.3.0-050300.201909152230_i386.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.3/linux-modules-5.3.0-050300-generic_5.3.0-050300.201909152230_i386.deb

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

Once installed, restart your computer and enjoy!

Uninstall Linux Kernel 5.3:

Restart your machine and select boot with the previous kernel in boot menu ‘Grub2 -> Advanced Option for Ubuntu’. Then run command to remove Linux Kernel 5.3:

sudo dpkg --purge linux-image-5.3.0-050300-generic linux-image-unsigned-5.3.0-050300-generic
In Howtos, News ,
 

MusicBrainz Picard 2.2 Released with Built-in Media Player

Last updated: September 15, 2019

MusicBrainz Picard, a cross-platform music tagger, released version 2.2 a day ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04.

MusicBrainz Picard is a free and open-source software application for identifying, tagging, and organising digital audio recordings. It was developed by the MetaBrainz Foundation, a non-profit company that also operates the MusicBrainz database.

The latest Picard 2.2 was released with following new features:

  • Post save plugins
  • Built-in media player (beta feature)
  • Support for ReplayGain 2.0 tags
  • Replace genre / folksonomy tag blacklist with more comprehensive list
  • Replace hardcoded colors by user-configurable ones
  • Add plugin hook for file-added-to-a-track event, file-removed-from-a-track event, album-removed event, and file loaded event
  • Provide $is_video() / $is_audio scripting functions
  • Tons of bug-fixes, and many improvements.

How to Install Picard in Ubuntu:

Picard is available as Snap (runs in sandbox, version 2.2 is not ready at the moment), which can be directly installed from Ubuntu Software in Ubuntu 18.04 and higher.

MusicBrainz stable PPA also contains the latest packages for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04, Ubuntu 19.10, Linux Mint 19.x, and their derivatives.

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:musicbrainz-developers/stable

Type user password when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. After that, either upgrade from an existing version via Software Updater:

or simply run commands one by one to install the music tagger:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install picard
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