Ubuntu's Unity interface is a step away from traditional graphical user interfaces. The intention is to make it the basis of a standard interface for everything from PCs to tablets to phones, and it's implementation has been somewhat controversial. It's predicated on two main ideas; that most users only ever use a handful of applications, and that people prefer to search for things by typing -- as they do on the web -- rather than going through going through arcane menus and clicking on drop-downs. I take issue with the second of those, but before abandoning the interface entirely -- this is Linux, after all! -- it's worth exploring Unity to see what it has to offer.

Unity vs Unity 2D

There are two distinct forms of Unity -- Unity and Unity 2D -- and they look almost identical, but they are built very differently. The default, Unity, (sometimes called "Unity 3D"), uses the Compiz window manager and your fancy 3D graphics card to add all sorts of eye candy like translucency and cool 3D graphical effects. It's really designed for modern hardware. Older gear will perform better with Unity 2D.

The easiest way to tell what you're running is to move your cursor over the Dash button:




But that may change in future versions. A more reliable way is to type this command in terminal window:

echo $DESKTOP_SESSION

A return value of "ubuntu" means Unity (3D), while "ubuntu-2d" means Unity 2D.

You can select which version to run at login. Just click the gear icon before you enter your password.



Whatever you select will automatically become the default, so there's no need to repeat this process every login.

Unity's Launcher

The Launcher -- that icon bar on the left -- is Unity's most obvious feature. Click on a button and the application will start. Running apps get a little arrow head on the left, while the one currently in the foreground also scores an arrow on the right:



Left-clicking a Launcher button will bring an already open application to the foreground, but what if you want to open a separate copy? Easy, just click it with the middle button of your mouse instead. (If you only have a two-button mouse, right-click the Launcher button and choose New.)

Unity will track each separate opening of the same application by adding a check mark to the left ...



... so here I have three instances of Terminal running

The exception to all of the above is the Dash button at the top of the Launcher. This is the place you search for and start apps not already on the Launcher. Once an app is started, if you want to keep it there for easy access in future, just right-click it and tick Keep in Launcher:



To remove an item from the Launcher, right-click it and untick Keep in Launcher.

To re-order items, simply left-click the icon and drag it to where you want.

As the Launcher fills, items on the bottom will stack. Just move the cursor over them and they'll unpack.



With items unstacked, use the mouse's scroll wheel to move through the list, or left-click and drag to move quickly up and down the list.

Unity has a number of nifty screen-space saving features like hide-away scroll bars that only appear if you need them.



One initially confusing aspect for many new users is the apparent absence of menus. (This is even more disturbing if you maximise an app because the Exit, Maximise and Window buttons disappear too!) To find them again, just move the cursor to the Status Bar at the top of the screen ...



... or press the <Alt> key.


Unity has a heap of keyboard shortcuts built-in. Here are some of the most useful:
(Note: The Meta key is the one with the (shudder) Windows logo on it.)

Meta	Tap to open the Dash. Tap to close it again.
Meta	Hold it down to reveal the Launcher and number launchable applications. (See below.)
Meta + 1 thru to Meta + 0	Start Launcher item number n or switch to it if it's already running. (Hold down Shift to open a new window.)
Meta + A	Open the Application selector.
Meta + F	Open Files and Folders.
Meta + T	Open Trash.
Ctrl + Alt + T	Open a Terminal window.
Alt	Reveal the Application menu.
Alt + Tab	Switch between windows.

Hidden Linuxy Goodness

There are a few other things you may not be aware of -- what I like to call hidden Linuxy goodness. For example, you actually have four separate workspaces available by default. That means, for example, you could do word processing in workspace #1, email and web browsing in space #2, programming in space #3, etc. and simply switch between them.



This is where the next set of shortcut keys kick in:

Ctrl + Alt + Arrow keys	Shift between workspaces
Meta + S	Activate the workspace switcher, zooming out on all of them.
Meta + W	Show all windows from all workspaces.
Ctrl + Alt + Shift + Arrow keys	Move the current window to a different workspace.

Another way of performing that last command is to right-click in an application's Title Bar and choose Move to Another Workspace.

Perhaps you're now thinking that Unity's not so scary after all. Personally, I rather like it. But if you'd like to try something more conventional, tune in next time. Complete reconfiguration is only a few commands away ...