With over 2000 applications available with Linux, there are often several available applications for each desired function. The Fixstars
Team has made special effort to select and organize a default, minimal application set into a series of categories which help you
readily find and use them. These applications are showcased and discussed in brief detail on the
Featured Applications page of the Fixstars website. Remember, the packages installed by default are just a small selection
of the vast quantity available to you through online resources.
In this brief tutorial, let's take a quick look at how to find and launch the default applications, and then how to edit the
applications available via your YDL Menu. It is important to note that with other operating systems, you may be accustomed to a
Start menu. In Yellow Dog Linux, we call this starting point the "YDL Menu".
Launch Application
All Applications are available from the YDL "Start" Menu or by left-clicking the mouse on any available E17 desktop space.
YDL Menu ==> Applications
... and then follow the sub-menus from there.
Add Application to YDL Menu
Applications already or newly installed but not found in the Applications menu may be quickly added using the Applications Configuration
interface. This utility presents all available, installed applications on the left and the menu options on the right.
- Launch the Applications Configuration interface:
YDL Menu ==> Applications ==> System Tools ==> Menu Layout
- On the left side of the interface, select the sub-category in which you desire to add an application.
- On the right side of the interface, select "New Item".
- In the Menu Item Properties interface, select "Browse". This will produce a list of all the applications that you would want
to add to the menu. It's a l-o-n-g list and a bit cryptic as these are the names of the packages a recognized by the system. You
should be able to find the desired application by selecting the one that is closest to the common name.
- You may select an icon to be associated with the new application. Again, some patience applied to a search will find the desired
icon ... or something you may enjoy even more. Take note that if at the time of installation you opted to install KDE in addition to the
Gnome application foundation, you will have both KDE and Gnome icons available to you.
- Press "OK" and instantly, the new application will be available to you via the YDL Menu.
Remove Application from YDL Menu
This process is as simple as de-selecting the checkbox to the left of an application listed in any sub-menu.
Applications listed, but not available ...
Each application shown by default in the YDL Menu was included by Fixstars much in the same way you would add an application (above).
There are many additional applications that belong to the Gnome family which are also installed with Yellow Dog Linux, by default, but
were not given specific instruction to be included in the YDL Menu. This was done to keep the menu clean and free of applications which
are not needed or do not function well with E17. If you re-login and select the Gnome desktop manager in place of E17, for instance, you
will find a much more diversified menu selection by default. Doing so will not in any way harm your E17 setting if you elect to log back
into an E17 desktop manager session.
