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Some useful tips for the Linux MATE desktop.

  1. Some very useful tips for the Linux Mint MATE desktop
  2. Install KDE on Linux Mint and other useful tips
  3. Install more themes on Linux Mint
  4. Cool misc software for Linux Mint
  5. Install some cool wallpapers
  6. Install new GTK3 themes on your Linux Mint installation
  7. Useful keyboard shortcuts for the Linux MATE desktop
  8. Change the keyboard shortcuts using the configuration utility
  9. Use the MATE Tweak Tool to modify your desktop
  10. Enable window snapping.
  11. Some awesome GTK themes for the Linux Mint MATE desktop.
  12. Some more awesome themes for the MATE desktop
  13. Switch num-lock on by default when MATE starts
  14. Turn off desktop icons on the MATE desktop
  15. MATE panel options

Some very useful tips for the Linux Mint MATE desktop

Installing Linux Mint 18.
Off to a good start.

How to check if you are running either Wayland or Xorg.

This command will do this for you.

loginctl show-session $(loginctl | grep $(whoami) | awk '{print $1}') -p Type

The output on my machine shows that I am running Xorg and not Wayland.

jason@jason-desktop:~$ loginctl show-session $(loginctl | grep $(whoami) | awk '{print $1}') -p Type
Type=x11

Install KDE on Linux Mint and other useful tips

http://securitronlinux.com/bejiitaswrath/installing-kde-4-9-in-linux-mint-14-the-easy-way/.

Install more themes on Linux Mint

Themes available in the software manager for Linux Mint.
Themes available in the software manager for Linux Mint.

Search the Mint Software Manager for themes and there will be a lot of matches. The Ubuntu Artwork package has a few very nice themes.

Some nice themes for Linux Mint: http://securitronlinux.com/bejiitaswrath/quality-gtk-3-themes-for-gnome-shell-and-the-linux-mint-14-mate-desktop/.

Cool misc software for Linux Mint

Install screenfetch to get cool information about Linux Mint in your terminal.

jason@jason-virtual-machine ~ $ sudo apt install screenfetch

Extra software.

jason@jason-virtual-machine ~ $ sudo apt install mc ipcalc sipcalc audacious chromium mpv
Screenfetch on Linux Mint 18.1.
Screenfetch on Linux Mint 18.1.

Get the weather report in your Linux Mint terminal.

jason@jason-virtual-machine ~ $ curl wttr.in/sydney

Install some cool wallpapers

Run this command to install some cool wallpapers for Linux Mint 18.

jason@jason-virtual-machine ~ $ sudo apt install ubuntu-mate-wallpapers-wily ubuntu-wallpapers-maverick xubuntu-wallpapers mint-backgrounds-rosa mint-backgrounds-qiana mint-y-theme

Install some cool wallpapers on Ubuntu MATE.

sudo apt install ubuntu-wallpapers-lucid ubuntu-wallpapers-karmic ubuntu-wallpapers-trusty ubuntu-gnome-wallpapers-utopic

Install new GTK3 themes on your Linux Mint installation

To install new GTK3 themes on your Linux Mint installation, open the themes window and click the Get more themes online option. Download a theme to the Downloads directory. Then unpack it and drag the theme folder on to the themes window. This will install the new GTK3 theme. And it should also ask if you wish to apply the new theme as well. This is very easy to do. Click the Customize option to further tweak the theme settings.

Installing new GTK3 themes on Linux Mint 18.
Installing new GTK3 themes on Linux Mint 18.

Useful keyboard shortcuts for the Linux MATE desktop

Ctrl-Shift-N. This is the shortcut that is used in the Caja file manager to create a new folder. The new folder will be highlighted to enable you to type a name.

Crtl-Alt-D. Hide all windows and show the desktop. Press this again to bring everything back.

Ctrl-Alt-L. Lock the screen.

Alt-F2. Show the run dialog to launch a program.

PrintSc. Take a screen-shot of the entire desktop.

Alt-PrintSc. Take a screen-shot of a single window.

Alt-Space Open the window menu, i.e the same menu you get by right-clicking the title bar.

Ctrl Alt T Open a terminal window the easy way.

Switch between workspaces: Control-Alt-Left arrow key.

switch between different windows: Alt-Esc.

Open the window menu: Alt-Space.

Switch between different windows in the same application. Like the Gimp for example: Alt-F6.

Toggle an application between maximized and the default: Alt-F10.

Switch between different windows in the same application with a popup window: Alt-`.

Open the MATE menu: Alt-F1.

Change the keyboard shortcuts using the configuration utility

Changing the keyboard shortcuts with a simple utility.
Changing the keyboard shortcuts with a simple utility.

I have bound the close window shortcut to Win-w.

Use the MATE Tweak Tool to modify your desktop

The MATE Tweak Tool may be used to tweak various settings in your Linux Mint MATE desktop. This is useful for turning off desktop icons and changing themes.

MATE Keyboard Shortcuts.
MATE Keyboard Shortcuts.

In the image above I have defined a new shortcut that opens a new terminal when I press Win-T. The windows key has a use after all. You may use the System->Preferences-Keyboard Shortcuts utility to see the keyboard shortcuts and define new ones.

To add a shortcut to the panel, right-click a program icon in the MATE menu and select “Add to panel”. Or drag the icon to the panel.

Enable window snapping.

To have two windows open side by side, enable a simple setting to enable window snapping on the Linux Mint MATE desktop.

  1. Go to Menu -> Control Center -> Personal
  2. Click “Windows” to open up “Window Preferences”.
  3. Tick “Enable side by side tiling” under the “Placement” tab.

The MATE desktop; just like the older Gnome 2.32 desktop that Ubuntu 8.10 used. Everything seems to work as you would expect. Apparently the MATE desktop may be installed in PC-BSD as well. So even UNIX users can enjoy this new port of Gnome.

How to remove the desktop icons on the Linux MATE desktop. This hides all of the icons; but this makes the desktop cleaner. Read the post here: http://www.securitronlinux.com/linux-mint-2/disable-desktop-icons-on-the-linux-mint-13-mate-desktop-very-easy-with-the-configuration-editor/.

Some awesome GTK themes for the Linux Mint MATE desktop.

Lovely GTK themes for the Linux Mint MATE desktop. These themes are the best available for the Linux Mint MATE desktop. Get these and make your desktop look even better.

How to make the Linux Mint 14 MATE desktop look like Windows XP Luna. How to theme the Linux Mint MATE desktop to look like the Windows XP Luna theme.

How to install a lovely Windows 7 GTK theme on Linux Mint 14. Make your Linux Mint MATE desktop look like Windows 7.

Cool GTK and Metacity theme to make MATE look like CDE. Make your MATE desktop look like the UNIX CDE desktop environment.

Some more awesome themes for the MATE desktop

Here is a post with a collection of more awesome themes for the MATE desktop.

http://www.securitronlinux.com/bejiitaswrath/some-more-good-themes-for-the-linux-mint-mate-desktop/.

Windows 8 UI theme for MATE: http://www.securitronlinux.com/bejiitaswrath/windows-8-metro-ui-theme-for-metacity-available-make-your-linux-mint-mate-desktop-look-like-windows-8/.

Switch num-lock on by default when MATE starts

This tip is only meant for desktops and laptops that have a separate numeric keypad! It’s definitely not desirable to have the Num Lock on by default on a machine that does not have a numpad.

You can achieve that as follows:

Copy/paste the following command into the terminal:

sudo apt-get install numlockx

Reboot your computer. The numeric keypad should turn on automatically after you log into your user account.

Note: it’s possible that during login, Mint will turn Num Lock off again. If that happens, you can counteract that irritating behavior as follows:

Go to: Menu -> Preferences -> Startup Applications.

Click Add.

Give the new addition the name Numlockx and the command:

sh -c "sleep 20 && numlockx on"

Click Add.

This will turn Num Lock on, 20 seconds after login. This delay is necessary, because you have to make sure it happens after Mint has turned Num Lock off.

Turn off desktop icons on the MATE desktop

To turn off desktop icons on the MATE desktop, use the MATE Tweak Tool. This allows us to do this with one click.

Turn off desktop icons. Use the MATE tweak tool.
Turn off desktop icons. Use the MATE tweak tool.

MATE panel options

Change the MATE panel layout with the Tweak Tool. This is very easy to do.

Change the MATE panel layout easily with the MATE Tweak Tool.
Change the MATE panel layout easily with the MATE Tweak Tool.

Adding more workspaces to the MATE desktop.

Adding or removing workspaces from the MATE desktop is easy. Just right-click in the workspace switcher and then click preferences.

MATE desktop workspace switcher preferences.
MATE desktop workspace switcher preferences.

Now you can add even more workspaces and change their names.

5 thoughts on “Some useful tips for the Linux MATE desktop.”

  1. I’m having terrible trouble getting custom shortcuts like Cmd+w to replace Alt+F4 running Ubuntu 17 with Mate. What am I doing wrong?

    name: close window
    command: Alt+F4 (also tried xdotools key Alt+F4)

    bind to super+w
    result: error popup

    Reply
  2. I installed the mate desktop on my new 12.04 because unity was making my computer run like windows95 on dialup.

    After I installed mate, everything is lightning fast when I use it, but it doubleed up on some applications, (time and date, users and groups, main menu, screensaver, calculator, screenshot, disk usage analyzer, and system monitor) They seem to be all system type apps, and was wondering why this hapenned and if I should remove them.

    Or—

    If maybe mate uses different versions of these and needed a different version, so I should leave them be?

    Thanks

    Reply

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