Ubuntu 23.10, Mantic Minotaur, was released today! If you installed it from the .iso disco image, then here are some top things to make it easy to use.
1. Update system package cache
The first thing to do is always update the system package cache/index, though you can choose to skip installing the package updates.
To do so, press Super (the windows logo key) to open overview, search for and launch “Software & Updates“. When it opens, wait checking for updates until done.
Or, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal and run command:
sudo apt update
2. Configure the left Dock Launcher
The left panel, also known as Ubuntu Dock, is highly configurable.
Just search for and launch “Settings“, then navigate to “Ubuntu Desktop” in left pane. In right, you’ll see the options to:
- toggle auto-hide.
- shorten the panel.
- configure icon size.
- move dock to bottom or right.
- toggle display trash, removable devices (e.g., USB stick).
3. Install Media Codec
While installing Ubuntu, there’s an option to “Install Media Codec” in the installer wizard. If you didn’t enable that option, the default video and audio players will refuse to work!!
In the case, you can manually install the medic codec. To do the job, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal, and run command:
sudo apt install ubuntu-restricted-extras
Replace package name to lubuntu-restricted-extras for LUbuntu, or kubuntu-restricted-extras for KUbuntu.
4. Enable “New Document” option
The release still does not have a graphical option to create new documents! Though, it’s the design issue of GNOME developer team.
To enable this feature, you just need to create an empty document into user’s “Template” folder either via text editor or touch command.
1. First, search for and launch “Text Editor“. When it opens, you don’t have to input anything.
2. Just go to menu ‘☰’ and click ‘Save as’. Or, press “Ctrl+Shift+S” to open the save dialog. Then do,
- type a name that will display as sub-menu of “New Document”.
- choose save file to your user’s Templates folder.
Or, open terminal and run command to enable the option:
cd ~/Templates/ && touch "Empty Document"
Finally, right-click blank area in file manager to see the new option!
5. Enable Flatpak Apps Support
Flatpak applications is getting so popular today, we can’t avoid them in Linux desktop. However, Ubuntu doesn’t support this package format, but focuses on Deb and Snap.
1. Enable Flatpak support is quite easy, just open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command:
sudo apt install flatpak
2. You can optionally add the flathub repository by running command:
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
Finally, go to flathub.org to look for your favorite applications. Then, either click “INSTALL” to download & install .flatpakrel file, or run the command in the drop-down prompt.
6. Enable AppImage Apps Support
AppImage is another popular app package format for today’s Linux. Due to switch to FUSE3, it doesn’t run out-of-the-box in Ubuntu.
To enable it, simply open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to install libfuse2 library.:
sudo apt install libfuse2
After that, you may run your favorite AppImage package, by selecting “Run” from its context menu. Though, you have to enable ‘Executable as Program’ permission under file ‘Properties’.
7. Install GNOME Tweaks
Gnome Tweaks is one of the must have applications to enable more configure options for your desktop, including:
- Changing fonts.
- Configure cursor, icon, sound and app (legacy GTK3) themes.
- Configure window title-bar buttons and more.
You can install it either from App Center, or by running command in terminal:
sudo apt install gnome-tweaks
8. Install Extension Manager
GNOME, the default desktop environment, has few thousands of extensions for extended features and functions. To make it easy to install and manage extensions, “Extension Manager” is really a great choice.
With it, you can:
- Search, browse, and install Gnome Shell Extensions.
- Enable, disable, configure and manage all installed extensions.
To install “Extension Manager”, either use App Center or run command in terminal:
sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-manager
9. Install Just Perfection
Just Perfection is another configuration tool for Gnome Shell components. With it, you can:
- Hide top panel.
- Configure top panel size and position (bottom).
- Move clock to right.
- Show or Hide ‘Activities’, App Menu, Clock, System Menu, etc.
- And more.
To install “Just Perfection”, search for and launch “Extension Manager” and use it to search and install it under ‘Browse’ tab.
Then switch back to ‘Installed’ tab to open the “Just Perfection” configuration dialog.
10. Configure More about ‘Ubuntu Dock’ & the new ‘Tiling Assistant’
After installing “Extension Manager“, you can get MORE configure options for ‘Ubuntu Dock’ under its Installed tab.
They include options for ‘Show Apps’ icons, icons emblems, minimize on click, and themes.
As you see in the last screenshot, it can also configure the new “Ubuntu Tiling Assistant“, including gaps, active window hint, and keyboard shortcut.
And, you may enable the layout indicator for the new “Tiling Assistant”, by running the command in terminal, though it lacks icon.
gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.tiling-assistant show-layout-panel-indicator true
Even More
There are ever more things to do depends on user requirements, such as install Gdm Settings for configuring the login screen, and Grub Customizer for the boot menu. They are either not updated for Ubuntu 23.10 at the moment or less important, so I excluded in this tutorial.
