UbuntuHandbook

How to Access Ubuntu 21.10 Desktop Remotely From Windows 11

Last updated: April 26, 2024

Want to access your Ubuntu desktop remotely from a Windows 11 computer? It’s easy to do the job with built-in screen sharing function.

Ubuntu uses Vino as default VNC server to share your existing desktop. With it, users can access Ubuntu remotely either in or out of local network via a VNC client.

Enable Vino VNC in Ubuntu:

1. Firstly, click on ‘Activities’ in top bar, search for and open terminal from system app launcher. When it opens, run commands:

Make sure Vino is installed by running command:

sudo apt install vino

To allow computer outside of local network to access, enable upnp is your router support it:

gsettings set org.gnome.Vino use-upnp true

Vino requires encryption by default. However, VNC clients from Windows computer does not support the encryption type. So you may disable the feature via command:

gsettings set org.gnome.Vino require-encryption false

There are more settings, e.g., change listening port, disable background, lock on disconnect. And you can control them via Dconf Editor (install from Ubuntu Software), by going to ‘org -> gnome -> desktop -> remote access’.

2. Secondly, open System Settings and go to Sharing in the left pane. Toggle on the slider icon on header, and then click ‘Screen Sharing’ to go to its settings page.

3. Finally, turn on ‘Screen Sharing’ function, and do:

Allow remote control by enabling “Allow connections to control the screen”
Set ‘New connections must ask for access’ if you’re sitting at Ubuntu computer.
Or set a hard-to-guess password for choice.
If you have both wired / wireless network connected, choose one to share with.

Remove Access Ubuntu from Windows 11:

Windows uses need a VNC client to get access remote computers. And I use TigerVNC which is available to download at the link below:

Download TigerVNC

Download & install the exe. Launch the client, and type either IP address or hostname of Ubuntu machine:

If password was not set in Ubuntu, it will pop up a window asking whether to allow access. Or, type password in next dialog to get access.

That’s all. Enjoy!

In Howtos remote desktop

HandBrake 1.4.0 Released with 10 / 12-bit Encoding, How to Install in Ubuntu

Last updated: July 18, 2021

The open-source video transcoder HandBrake released new 1.4.0 version with exciting new features.

HandBrake 1.4.0 adds native 10 and 12-bit encoding support. Though it has limitations that some filters (e.g., Detelecine, Chroma Smooth, and more) do not currently support higher than 8-bit. With these filters enabled, you won’t benefit from the new feature.

You can select the new 10-bit / 12-bit encoder from the “Video codec” drop-down on the Video tab. For hardware encoders, the option will only be shown if the system supports it.

The release also adds new filters including Chroma Smooth and Colourspace Selection. New Media Foundation encoder for Windows based ARM64 devices powered by Qualcomm Chipsets.

Other changes in HandBrake 1.4.0 include:

HDR10 metadata passthru.
Added support for Apple Silicon based macs.
MP2 Audio Passthru support.
Added support for DVB Subtitles.
Added support for EIA608 Closed Captions.
Improved Static Previews to reduce temporary disk space usage
And much more.

How to Install HandBrake 1.4.0 in Ubuntu:

HandBrake has an official Ubuntu PPA though it’s not updated at the moment.

Besides the PPA, you can download & install the flatpak package.

Download HandBrake Linux Flatpak

First time installing a flatpak package? Make sure flatpak daemon is installed via command:

sudo apt install flatpak

Then install the downloaded package via command:

flatpak install ~/Downloads/HandBrake-*.flatpak

(Optional) To uninstall the package, open terminal and run command:

flatpak uninstall fr.handbrake.ghb

In Howtos, News video

How to Install The Latest Mesa Graphics Driver in Ubuntu 20.04 / 21.04

Last updated: April 26, 2024

For those sticking to the open-source graphics driver, the latest Mesa 3D graphics library is easy to install via an Ubuntu PPA.

Mesa is an open-source software implementation of OpenGL, Vulkan, VDPAU, VA-API, and other graphics API specifications.

Ubuntu uses Mesa as OpenGL implementation if no proprietary driver is in use. It is however always old. For users want to play some games with the open-source RadeonSI, RADV, Intel, or Nouveau drivers, you may try the latest Mesa via PPA.

Install Mesa via Ubuntu PPA:

A trustworthy Ubuntu PPA is available that contains the latest stable Mesa packages for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04. It also provides packages for Ubuntu 20.10 and Ubuntu 21.04, but not tested.

1. Add the PPA:

Search for and open terminal from system app launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kisak/kisak-mesa

Type user password, no visual feedback, when it asks. Read the PPA description as you want and hit Enter to continue.

2. Install Mesa packages:

For Ubuntu 18.04, Linux Mint, you need to update package cache though it’d done automatically in Ubuntu 20.04 and higher.

sudo apt update

Finally install available upgrades of all packages including Mesa library via command:

sudo apt full-upgrade

3. Check mesa version:

To find out the package version, use command:

glxinfo | grep "OpenGL version"

Restore Original Mesa packages:

To restore your graphics driver to the original status, firstly install ppa-purge via command:

sudo apt install ppa-purge

Next purge the Ubuntu PPA which will downgrade all the installed packages:

sudo ppa-purge ppa:kisak/kisak-mesa

For Linux Mint 20, it’s recommended to add -d focal flag to work safely:

sudo ppa-purge -d focal ppa:kisak/kisak-mesa

In Howtos Mesa 3D graphics library

Enable Windows 11 Style Start Menu in Ubuntu 20.04 & Higher via Arc Menu

Last updated: April 26, 2024

By releasing recent update, the popular Arc Menu Gnome Shell extension finally adds Gnome 40 and Windows 11 layout support.

Arc Menu is a free open-source app menu extension for Gnome. It provides various menu layouts to choose from, as well as many options to customize the appearance. For users new to GNOME and looking for a Windows style start menu, this extension will be perfect for you!

With the extension along with dash to panel, you can make Ubuntu just look like Windows 11.

The new menu layout does not display a search bar by default. Just type and it will bring up the search box as well as results.

How to Install Arc Menu:

The extension requires Gnome 3.36 +, which means you can install it in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 20.10, Ubuntu 21.04 and next Ubuntu 21.10.

1.) Firstly, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to install the required tools, if you don’t have it:

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

Next go to Arc Menu web page and turn on the slider icon to install it:

Install Arc Menu

If you don’t see the toggle icon, install browser extension via “Click here to install browser extension” link and refresh the web page.

Once installed, you can toggle on / off Arc Menu by opening Extensions from system app menu.

To select Windows 11 style start menu, right-click on start icon and go to settings. Then navigate to “Menu Layout -> Modern Menu Layouts”, choose ‘Eleven’ and click on Apply button.

Arc Menu follows your system theme. For dark mode menu, set Gnome Shell theme to dark.

In Howtos windows 11

Disable Startup Animation & Show Boot Message in Ubuntu 24.04/22.04

Last updated: April 26, 2024

Since Ubuntu 20.04, it shows your computer manufacturer logo on startup. It’s however easy to remove it, as well display the blank and white boot text message.

The Grub boot-loader offers option to toggle the settings in its configuration file. You can either manually edit the file or using a graphical tool called Grub Customizer.

NOTE: This tutorial will replace startup animation with blank while text message! If you still want the animation screen, see this new tutorial instead.

Option 1. Manually configure Grub bootloader:

Firstly, search for and open terminal from system app launcher. When it opens, run command to edit the Grub configuration file:

sudo gnome-text-editor /etc/default/grub

For Ubuntu 22.04 and earlier, replace gnome-text-editor with gedit in command. Or, use nano instead that works in all other Desktop environments.

When the files opens, do:

Remove quiet and splash from line ‘GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=”quiet splash”‘. Keep other parameters if any. In my case, it will be GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=””.
(Optional) Enable GRUB_TERMINAL=”console” by removing # at the beginning. NOTE this will disable the boot-menu theme if any.

Finally apply changes by running command:

sudo update-grub

Option 2. Configure Grub via Grub Customizer:

The popular graphical configuration tool offers ability to change the boot parameters.

NOTE: Since Ubuntu 22.04, Grub Customizer is removed from system repository. You need to run command in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) to add the developer’s PPA first:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer

Then, refresh system package cache via command:

sudo apt update

Finally, install Grub Customizer either in Ubuntu Software (for 20.04 & earlier) or by running command in terminal:

sudo apt install grub-customizer

Next, launch the tool and navigate to ‘General settings‘ tab. There you can easily remove the ‘quiet’ and ‘splash’ boot parameters. And optionally enable ‘GRUB_TERMINAL=”console”‘.

Click on Save button. Changes will take effect at next boot!

In Howtos grub

How to Install Dukto File Transfer App in Ubuntu 24.04 | 22.04

Last updated: July 4, 2024

Missing the classic Dukto file transfer tool? The tool now is ported to Qt6 and easy to install in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, and Ubuntu 24.04 via PPA.

For those never heard about Dukto, it’s a free open-source file transfer tool for LAN (Local Network) use. With the clean elegant user interface, you can drag and drop to transfer files from one PC to anther, without worrying about users, permissions, operating systems, protocols, clients, servers and so on…

Dukto works on Mac OS, Windows, and Linux. Though it’s not being developed for years, the tool still works well and available to download at:

Download Dukto

However, the deb package does not install in Ubuntu since it requires old Qt4 libraries!

Thanks to community, the Qt5/Qt6 port is available and can be installed from the developer’s PPA. So far, it supports Ubuntu 18.04 (stuck at v6.0), Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, and Ubuntu 24.04.

Install Dukto 6 via Ubuntu PPA:

Firstly, search for and open terminal from system app launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xuzhen666/dukto

Type user password, no asterisk feedback, when it asks and hit Enter to continue.

Next, update package cache though it’s done automatically in Ubuntu 20.04 & higher:

sudo apt update

Finally, install the Qt5 version of Dukto via command:

sudo apt install dukto

Once installed, open the tool from system app launcher. It will automatic find other machines that have the tool opens.

Uninstall Dukto:

To remove Dukto, simply open terminal and run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove dukto

And remove the Ubuntu PPA via command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:xuzhen666/dukto

In Howtos file transfer

Mozilla Firefox 90.0 Released with SmartBlock 2.0

Last updated: July 13, 2021

Mozilla Firefox released version 90.0 today with some new features and various security fixes.

Firefox 90 introduced the 2.0 version of SmartBlock. The built-in tracker blocking mechanism now provides robust privacy protection, while ensuring you can still use third-party Facebook logins. Facebook scripts are all blocked, just as before, except the short period for the sign-in to proceed smoothly.

For HTTPS-Only Mode, there’s now an option to add exceptions. So that you can visit specified HTTP websites directly without HTTPS-only alerts.

Other changes in Firefox 90 include:

Apply updates in the background while Firefox in not running for Windows.
New about:third-party page to help identify compatibility issues
Print to PDF now produces working hyperlinks
The “Open Image in New Tab” context menu now opens images and media in a background tab
Improved software WebRender performance
Removed FTP support.

How to Get Firefox 90:

Normally, Ubuntu will publish the new Firefox packages through the security & updates repositories in next few days.

You can just wait until it being available to update in Software Updater:

Alternatively, see the release note and download the portable package from Firefox website:

Firefox 90 Release Note & Download

In News Firefox

How to Remap Keyboard / Gamepad in Ubuntu Easily with This Tool

Last updated: March 29, 2023

Want to remap your keyboard or gamepad keys in Ubuntu Linux? It’s easy to do this via Input Remapper.

Input Remapper is a free and open-source tool written in Python 3. With it, you can change the mapping for input devices, including mouse, keyboard, and gamepad.

It works on both X11 and Wayland, and supports for mapping to combined buttons (e.g., Control+A) and programmable macros.

The software has an easy to use interface. Simply start the app, choose the device (e.g., keyboard) to you want to remap, then click add new preset and do:

1. Click ‘Add’ button in left to add an item.
2. Click the pencil icon and type a name.
3. Use “Record” button to record the original keyboard key or key combination.
4. Choose device to map the input key to.
5. Finally, type the output key, e.g., letter (a, b, …, z), number (1, 2, …, 9), and/or function keys (Alt_L Control_L Control_R Shift_L Shift_R)

Presets are saved in user’s .config/input-remapper-2/presets folder. You can use them in another machine that can read these “.json” files.

How to Install Input Remapper in Ubuntu:

The software offers official .deb package for Ubuntu / Debian based systems.

Download Input Remapper (.deb)

Grab the deb package, then open terminal and run command to install it:

sudo apt install ~/Downloads/input-remapper*.deb

It should work on all current Ubuntu releases since it requires only a few python modules.

Once installed, open it from system app launcher and enjoy!

(Optional) For choice, there’s command to remove the tool from Ubuntu:

sudo apt remove --autoremove input-remapper

In Howtos key remapping

Active Line in Text Editor Unreadable in Ubuntu 20.04 Dark Mode [Workaround]

Last updated: July 10, 2021

For dark mode fans, you may found the color scheme in Gedit Text Editor is not so good! Focused line is not even readable due to the light text on light line background.

There’s already an upstream fix, though it’s not made into current Ubuntu releases. There are however workarounds and I’m going to show you how!

Option 1.) Use another color scheme:

There are a few other built-in color schemes available in the default Gedit text editor.

Firstly, open the editor and go to ‘Preferences’ in the hamburger menu. While Ubuntu defaults to the ‘Classic’ colors, you can then choose another from Font & Colors tab.

And new colors take places immediately!

Option 2.) Hack the current line background color:

Sticking to the default color scheme? It’s easy to hack the xml config file to change the current line background.

1.) Firstly, open terminal either from system app launcher or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard.

2.) When terminal opens, run command to edit the xml:

sudo gedit /usr/share/gtksourceview-4/styles/classic.xml

Type user password (no visual feedback) when it asks and hit Enter. When file opens, scroll down to find out and change the background value of ‘current-line’ and ‘current-line-number’.

NOTE: If you stick to dark mode, color #181818 is great! However, it’s not good in light mode. So if you switch between light and dark mode regularly, use another color value, such as #99999c.

After saving the changes, the color will take place in new app window.

In Howtos dark mode

Linux Mint 20.2 Released with Improved Update Manager, Bulky File Renamer, Cinnamon 5.0

Last updated: July 8, 2021

Linux Mint team announced the second point release for Mint 20 today. Features Kernel 5.4, Ubuntu 20.04 package base, and Cinnamon 5.0, Xfce 4.16, MATE 1.24 for each desktop edition.

Linux Mint 20.2 will be supported until 2025. It comes with improved Update Manager that supports installing updates for applets, desklets, themes, and extensions.

As well, it now displays software update notifications if it has been available for more than 7 logged-in days or older than 15 calendar days. However, you can change the time period or disable the notification entirely.

The release comes with the new Bulky batch file renamer out-of-the-box. As a desktop independent app, you can install it on Ubuntu easily via the .deb package.

For Cinnamon edition, the new Cinnamon 5.0 features file search and content search in Nemo file manager, memory limit for the desktop usage, new CLI and python3 module.

Other changes include:

Automated Flatpak updates in Update Manager preferences. It will automatically remove unused flatpak run-times to free up your disk space.
Replace GNote with Sticky Notes as default note taking app.
Improvements for the ‘Warpinator’ file transfer app.
HPLIP 3.21.2 as well as the latest ipp-usb and sane-airscan
The WebApp manager now supports for incognito/private browsing.
The NVIDIA Prime applet can now switch between AMD onboard chipsets and discrete GPUs.

How to Get Linux Mint 20.2:

You can get the Linux Mint 20.2 upgrade wizard easily via “Edit->Upgrade to Linux Mint 20.2 Uma” menu in Update Manager. However, it’s recommended to backup, disable screensaver, and update Cinnamon spices (applets, desklets, extensions, themes) before getting started.