How to Type Unusual Characters and Symbols in Ubuntu GNOME

Last updated: November 15, 2021



For Ubuntu, Fedora, and other Linux with GNOME desktop, here’s how to type unusual characters (e.g., Ẽ, ©, ™, ¼, €, etc) using the standard QWERTY computer keyboard.

Without using a virtual keyboard, the standard physical keyboard supports for inserting alternate characters and symbols using the Compose key in Linux. Here’s how to enable and use the key in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.10 & higher with default GNOME desktop.

Enable Compose key in GNOME:

1. Firstly, search for and install “Gnome Tweaks” configuration tool via Ubuntu Software.

For those familiar with Linux commands may also press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal and run command to install the tool:

sudo apt install gnome-tweaks

2. Secondly, open ‘Activities’ overview screen, search for and open ‘GNOME Tweaks’:

3. When the configuration tool opens, do:

  • Go to “Keyboard & Mouse” in the left pane.
  • Click on ‘Disable‘ area in the right side after the Compose Key setting.
  • Turn on the toggle in pop-up dialog.
  • Finally choose a key to use as compose key.

Type unusual characters via Compose Key:

After enabled the functions, you may now press Compose key, then start typing the keys below one by one to insert a character. For example, type Compose key then ~ finally u will input ũ. No need to hold the compose key, though you have to hit the key combination in a short time period in Ubuntu 21.10. For Ubuntu 20.04, it even works 1 min after the compose key is pressed.

Common Compose Key combinations via Wikipedia. In first column, you may replace a with most uppercase and lowercase vowels:

PressForPressForPressForPressFor
‘ + aáa + eæ< + <«– + L£
” + aäA + EÆ> + >»^ + 0⁰
` + aào + eœ/ + /\^ + 1¹
~ + aãO + EŒ/ + C₡^ + 2²
^ + aâd + hð/ + oø^ + 3³
c + aǎD + HÐ/ + OØ^ + _ + aª
< + sšo + o°? + ?¿^ + _ + oº
o + aåo + x¤‘ + <‘_ + 0₀
– + aāo + c©‘ + >’_ + 1₁
, + aąo + r®, + cç_ +2₂
b + aăs + o§. + CÇ_ + 3₃
? + aảs + sß” + <“~ + nñ
. + aȧS + Sẞ” + >”| + c¢
. + ^·t + hþ! + !¡= + y¥
– + DĐT + HÞ– + – + – —= + c€
t + m™– + – + .–1 + 2½
x + x×– + :÷1 + 4¼
. + .…– + dđ3 + 4¾
In Howtos
 

Show Day of Week in Top bar in Ubuntu 24.04 | 22.04

Last updated: July 1, 2024

Ubuntu by default displays only date and time in the center of top-bar. Users have to click on it to see which day is today in drop-down calendar.

To make life easier, you may configure the GNOME desktop to show the day of week in top-bar. And, here’s how to do the trick in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, and Ubuntu 24.04.

Option 1: Single command to Display Weekday in Top bar:

For those who are familiar with Linux commands, it can be done by running a single gsettings command.

To do so, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open up a terminal window. When it opens, paste the command below and hit run:

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface clock-show-weekday true

After that, it shows the weekday name in short (e.g., Sat and Sun) immediately.

Option 2: Use System Settings (for Ubuntu 24.04)

For Ubuntu 24.04 with GNOME 46, system settings (aka Gnome Control Center) has include a toggle option to show/hide the weekday in top-bar.

First, press Super (Windows logo key) + S to open system status menu (Quick Settings), then click launch “Settings”. When it opens, navigate to System in left, then go to Date & Time, finally turn on the option for “Week Day” to enable this feature.

Option 3: Toggle Weekday Display via Gnome Tweaks

For Ubuntu 22.04 and Ubuntu 20.04, the must have GNOME configuration tool ‘Gnome Tweaks’ provides the toggle option for those hate Linux commands. If you don’t have it, search for and install via Ubuntu Software:

Next, press Super/Windows key to bring up activities overview screen. Then search for and launch Gnome Tweaks. Navigate to “Top Bar” from left pane, and then you’ll see the option to toggle “Weekday”.

Option 4: Use Dconf Editor

As you may know, the advanced configuration tool “Dconf Editor” also provides a graphical option to toggle this function.

First, search for and install ‘Dconf Editor’ from either Ubuntu Software or App Center.

Then, launch the tool and navigate to “org/gnome/desktop/interface“. Finally, find out and turn on the option for “clock-show-weekday”:

As you see, the tool also provides tons of other configure options. Use them as you want and enjoy!

In Howtos
 

Telegrand is a Modern GTK4 Telegram Client for GNOME in Development

Last updated: November 12, 2021

For Ubuntu, Fedora, and other Linux with GNOME desktop, a modern GTK4 Telegram app “Telegrand” is under development.

Telegrand is the free open-source client written in Rust programming language. By using libadwaita library, it has an adaptive user interface to fit all screen sized.

Telegrand – The GTK4 Telegram GNOME App (Image by Marcus Behrendt in thisweek.gnome.org)

Though Telegram has official app for Linux, this new app is worth expecting for GNOME users. As an in-development project, it isn’t considered stable software yet. So far, it supports log in via phone number or using QR code.

Sadly, my Telegram account got banned after trying the app via Flatpak, though I do not use the service (Telegram is blocked in my Country and no friend around uses this messenger).

Telegrand includes the Telegram’s test credentials by default, which are very limited, but usable (especially for development). However, it’s known that Telegram sometimes decides to ban accounts that use such credentials (especially newer accounts).

Try Telegrand in Your Linux:

Arch Linux user may try out the app using the AUR package with provided API credentials via meson options.

For other Linux, the latest flatpak build with the test API credentials is available to download:

Telegrand Flatpak (for testing purpose)

Then, extract the package and open the folder that contains the flatpak in terminal. Finally, run command to install it:

flatpak install telegrand.flatpak

You must have flatpak daemon installed via sudo apt install flatpak command first.

NOTE: As mentioned, the flatpak package includes the test credentials. Telegram may ban accounts that use such credentials (especially newer accounts).

And to remove the Flatpak, use command:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data com.github.melix99.telegrand.Devel

Read more in github

In Howtos
 

Add Custom Text to Wallpaper as Watermark in GNOME

Last updated: May 5, 2024

Want to display custom text on your desktop wallpaper as watermark? This extension makes it possible in Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 23.10, and other Linux with GNOME 40+.

As I know, only Fedora so far display system logo as watermark in the bottom right of desktop wallpaper, though it’s enabled only for the default wallpaper by default.

‘Activate Gnome’ is the extension, which adds semi-transparent text ‘Activate Gnome – Go to Settings to activate Gnome‘ in the bottom right corner of GNOME 40+ desktop.

GNOME with Watermark

Install “Activate Gnome” to add text watermark

1. Firstly, launch “Ubuntu Software” (or App Center for 24.04), search for and install “Extension Manager”.

Install Extension Manager in Ubuntu Software/App Center

2. Then, press Super (Windows Logo) key to open overview screen. Search & launch “Extension Manager”.

3. When the tool opens, navigate to “Browse” tab. Then, search & install the “Activate Gnome” extension.

4. After installation, switch back “Installed” tab in Extension Manager app. Then, click the Setting (gear icon) for the newly installed extension to open its preferences dialog.

Finally, you can add your custom text in two lines, change its size and screen position, and configure the opacity.

For Fedora, Debian, Arch and other Linux with GNOME, simply go to the link below:

Activate Gnome

Then, use the ON/OFF switch to install the extension. And, install ‘Gnome Extensions’ app from Gnome Software for configuring extensions.

If you don’t see the ON/OFF switch, use the link in that page to install browser extension, then refresh.

Turn on the slider to install extension

That’s all. Enjoy!

In Howtos
 

Linux Mint’s Sticky Note App Looks Great Now! Here’s how to get it in Ubuntu

Last updated: November 9, 2021

For those looking for Google Keep or Windows Sticky Notes style desktop noting app, Linux Mint’s “sticky” is a good choice for Ubuntu Linux.

Linux Mint maintains some great apps. Sticky is one of them that sticks an electronic version of Post-it Note on your desktop. It’s GTK3 app written in Python3 and works on most desktop environments.

With it, you may create as many notes as possible on desktop. And, it allows to set different color palette for each note: Blue, Green, Magenta, Orange, Purple, Red, Teal, and Yellow.

By right-clicking on header, it allows to set title for your note, and make it “Always on Top”. And, it supports format options including: Bold, Italic, Fixed Width, Underline, Strikethrough, Highlight, Header, toggle Checklist and Bullets. There are many other features, e.g., emoji, language, undo and redo support!

Linux Mint apps used to have right angles which are a little bit ugly in GNOME desktop. Now, it’s switching to rounded title-bar corners which looks native in Ubuntu, though it still lacks an indicator applet.

The app starts as group dialog with button in the bottom to add / remove notes, though each note itself has the new and delete buttons.

How to Install Linux Mint’s Sticky Notes in Ubuntu:

Besides adding Linux Mint repository and managing package priority, this unofficial PPA maintains useful Linux Mint apps, so far for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.04, and Ubuntu 21.10.

1. Add Ubuntu PPA:

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal, then run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kelebek333/mint-tools

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

2. Update package cache.

Next, refresh system package cache by running command below in terminal, though it’s done automatically since Ubuntu 20.04 while adding PPA.

sudo apt update

3. Install sticky:

Finally, install the sticky notes app via command:

sudo apt install sticky

Once installed, search for and open ‘Sticky’ from activities overview screen and enjoy!

How to remove Sticky Notes App:

To remove the app, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command:

sudo apt remove sticky --autoremove

And, remove the Ubuntu PPA either using “Software & Updates” app under “Other Software” tab or by running command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:kelebek333/mint-tools
In Howtos
 

[Workaround] Blurry / Pixelated Text Font in Ubuntu Software of Ubuntu 21.10

Last updated: November 8, 2021

The Ubuntu Software app in Ubuntu 21.10 Impish has an ugly font rendering on default Wayland. The text in the app looks a bit pixelated.

I found the issue firstly when Impish was in beta stage. The issue was reported to also affect LibreOffice, Chromium, and other Snap apps, though most of them has been updated with it fixed.

Ubuntu Software with Bad Font

According to Daniel van Vugt, this issue is caused by a few key settings change. The following keys has been removed in Ubuntu 21.10:

org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.xsettings antialiasing
org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.xsettings hinting
org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.xsettings rgba-order

And, following ones take the places instead:

org.gnome.desktop.interface font-antialiasing
org.gnome.desktop.interface font-hinting
org.gnome.desktop.interface font-rgba-order

Not only Snap apps, but also font-manager and Gnome Tweaks are affected by this change. And, Ubuntu Software (aka “Snap Store”) has fixed the issue in via the current beta release.

Snap Store Beta

Upgrade Snap Store via Beta Channel:

So the solution is either wait until Canonical published the update, or update Snap Store (Ubuntu Software) through beta channel if you use it regularly.

To do so, simply press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal, and then run command:

snap refresh --channel beta snap-store

After that, font will be properly loaded next boot.

If you’ve found that Snap Store in stable channel has been updated to version higher than “3.38.0-66”. You may revert back by running command:

snap refresh --channel stable snap-store

That’s it. Enjoy!

In Howtos
 

How to Set Time Limits for Your Kids in Ubuntu 20.04 / 22.04 & Debian 11

Last updated: December 14, 2023

This simple tutorial shows how to limit the time that your kids spend on PC running with Ubuntu or Debian.

GNOME, Ubuntu’s default desktop environment, is working on parental control app (Malcontent) though it so far lacks the time limitation feature. In this tutorial, I’m going to introduce Timekrp-nExT, a screen time managing app works on GNOME, XFCE, KDE, and all other Linux desktops.

1. Add A Standard Account for Kid:

Firstly, you need to create an account for your child with restricted permission. For Ubuntu and Debian with GNOME, it must be “standard” (non-administrator).

Open “Settings” and go to “Users” from left pane. Then click “Unlock” and type user password to authentication. After that, add a standard user for kid.

Create “standard” user for kid

2. Install Timekpr-nExT:

a.) Add its official PPA:

The software app is available in Ubuntu repositories since Ubuntu 20.10. For choice, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 23.10/24.04 can also install the most recent version from the official PPA.

First, press Ctrl+Alt+T to open terminal and run command to add its PPA repository:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mjasnik/ppa

b.) Install Timekpr-next:

Next, open terminal and run command to install the app in all Ubuntu releases or Debian 11:

sudo apt install timekpr-next

Linux Mint and old Ubuntu 18.04/16.04 needs to run sudo apt update first to refresh cache.

2. Set Time Limit for Your Kid’s Account:

Now, search for and open the time managing app from activities overview (or start menu depends on your desktop environment). There are two app icons, choose the one has “(SU)” at the beginning, which is available only for Administrator accounts.

Open (SU)Timekpr-Next

When the app opens, choose the child account under “Username” to configure. In the first tab, you can see the spend & left time info for the account. And, you may add/subtract specific hours/minutes for today’s time.

Under “Limit configuration” page, you may specify how many hours and minutes allowed to use each day. By adding “Hour intervals“, kids can only use the PC with limited hours/minutes during the interval.

NOTE: if “∞ ” checkbox is enabled, your kid is free to play during all the time interval without counting week day limits.

Saturday allows 1 hour during 00:00 ~ 22:00. And free to use from 22:00 to 24:00.

After setting the time limits, remember to click “Apply daily limits” to save changes.

For the PlayTime, it’s a time limit for running a certain app/process. You may use the feature to control how long your kid is allowed to play a game during the daily time limits, though it’s not enabled by default.

By default, the app will NOT count the time if the screen is locked or child is logging into command console (TTY console via Ctrl+Alt+F3 ~ F6). However, you may change this behavior via additional options:

There are many other settings, just move the cursor over an option it will prompt what does it do for you.

In Howtos
 

HP Linux Printer Driver HPLIP 3.21.10 Adds Debian 11, Zorin OS 16 & Ubuntu 21.10 Support

Last updated: November 5, 2021

HPLIP, HP’s inkjet and laser printers Linux driver, released version 3.21.10 with new devices and Linux distributions support.

Zorin OS, the modern Ubuntu-based Linux distribution, is finally supported by HPLIP’s official .run installer. And, it also adds Debian 11 and Ubuntu 21.10 support.

As well, HPLIP 3.21.10 adds a list of new printers support:

  • HP ENVY Inspire 7200e series, 7900e series
  • HP LaserJet MFP M140a, MFP M139a, MFP M141a, MFP M142a, MFP M140w, MFP M140we, MFP M139w, MFP M139we, MFP M141w, MFP M141we, MFP M142we, MFP M142w
  • HP LaserJet M109a, M110a, M111a, M112a, M109w, M109we, M110w, M110we, M111w, M111we, M112we, M112w
  • HP DesignJet Z6 Pro 64in
  • HP DesignJet Z9 Pro 64in
  • HP PageWide XL Pro 5200 PS MFP series
  • HP PageWide XL Pro 8200 PS MFP series
  • HP PageWide XL 3920 MFP
  • HP PageWide XL 4200 Printer, 4200 Multifunction Printer
  • HP PageWide XL 4700 Printer, 4700 Multifunction Printer
  • HP PageWide XL 5200 Printer, 5200 Multifunction Printer
  • HP PageWide XL 8200 Printer

Download & Install HPLIP 3.21.10:

1. Firstly, download the .run installer package from the link page below:

Download HPLIP (.run)

2. Next, open terminal from start menu (Ubuntu may press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open it). When it opens, add executable permission to the .run packge:

chmod u+x ~/Downloads/hplip*.run

3. Finally, run the installer to start installing the Linux driver:

~/Downloads/hplip*.run

Follow the terminal output to answer some questions. When everything’s done, plug or re-plug your HP printer and enjoy!

For Ubuntu with python-pyqt5 dependency issue, this tutorial may help.

How to Remove HPLIP:

The release somehow does not create source folder while installing process. You may re-run the installer with --target flag to extract source:

~/Downloads/hplip-3.21.10.run --target ~/Downloads/hplip-3.21.10

When you see the new folder generated in Downloads, type q or press Ctrl+C to quit installer.

And, finally run the uninstall script from that folder will remove the driver:

sudo python3 ~/Downloads/hplip*/uninstall.py

That’s all. Enjoy!

In Howtos
 

Firefox 94.0 Released with “Unload” option to Release System Resource

Last updated: November 3, 2021

Mozilla Firefox web browser released version 94.0. Here’s what’s new.

On the first launch of Firefox 94, a dialog will pop-up allows you to choose between color schemes. By clicking on “Explore colorways“, it allows to choose between 6 color palettes with live preview. And each has ‘Soft’, ‘Balance’, and ‘Cold’ colors to choose from.

For those using Mesa driver >= 21, Firefox 94 now uses the Linux graphics stack EGL instead of GLX. This will increase WebGL performance and reduce resource consumption. Ubuntu 21.04 and Ubuntu 21.10 may have the benefit, though proprietary Nvidia driver is not supported at the moment.

The new Firefox introduced a “about:unloads” page, allows users to manually unload inactive tabs to release system resources. Though it can be disabled by settings “browser.tabs.unloadOnLowMemory” to false.

Firefox about:unloads page

Other features in Firefox 94 include:

  • Firefox macOS now uses Apple’s low power mode for fullscreen video to extend battery life.
  • Firefox won’t prompt updates in Windows. Instead, it will download and install updates in background.
  • Introduced new Site Isolation security architecture.
  • Roll out Firefox Multi-Account Containers extension with Mozilla VPN integration
  • No longer warn when closing Firefox using a menu, button, or three-key command.
  • Support new Snap Layouts menus in Windows 11.
  • Reduced system resource usage and various security fixes.

Get Firefox 94:

For all current Ubuntu releases, including Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.04, and Ubuntu 21.10. It recommends to wait until the official Ubuntu builds released (check here).

It will be available to install in next few days through “Software Updater”:

For the portable Linux tarball as well as release note, go to mozilla website.

In Howtos
 

Check Contrast between Two Colors in Ubuntu Linux via Kontrast

Last updated: November 2, 2021

For designers want to check color contrast, there are a few handy little tools in Linux Desktop to do the job. Kontrast is the one designed for KDE though works on all Linux desktops.

GNOME has a stylish color contrast tool. Though it’s now in early stage which does not work well and freezes often at least in my case. Here I’ll introduce the KDE’s Kontrast.

This little app displays font color for text and another color as background. Users may change the font and background colors by:

  • manually input a color value.
  • use built-in color picker.
  • drag slider bar to change hue, saturation, and lightness.
  • or use “Randomize” button to generate a pair of colors.

For each color combination, it displays the contrast ratio, and readability (“Perfect”, “Good”, or “Bad”) for normal and large text. There’s also “Invert” button to reverse the two colors. As you can see, it allows to mark color as favorite, though it somehow always fail in my case.

How to Install Kontrast in Ubuntu via apt:

For Ubuntu 21.04 and Ubuntu 21.10, this handy tool has been made into official Ubuntu repositories. Simply press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal and run command to install it:

sudo apt install kontrast

Though for non-KDE desktop, there will be a lot of dependency libraries also to be installed.

Install Kontrast in Ubuntu 20.04 and older versions:

Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and even Ubuntu 16.04 users may install the latest version using the Linux universal flatpak package.

1.) Firstly, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. Then run command to install the flatpak daemon:

sudo apt install flatpak

Ubuntu 18.04 and 16.04 need to add this stable PPA first.

2.) Next, add the flathub repository that hosts the package:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

3.) Finally install the color contrast checker app via command:

flatpak install flathub org.kde.kontrast

For first time installing KDE app as flatpak, there are almost 800 MB run-time libraries to be installed:

Once installed, search for and open the tool from activities overview screen and enjoy!

How to Remove Kontrast:

To remove the package installed via apt, use command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove kontrast

For the flatpak, use this command instead to remove it:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data kontrast

And run flatpak uninstall --unused command will delete the unused run-time libraries.

In Howtos