How can I configure the GNOME Slab menu?

English Applications
1

Hi:

When I right-click on the Slab menu of GNOME no configuring option appears. Neither when I open this menu left-clicking.

Anybody knows how to configure this Slab? For example to add/remove submenus or parts of it, view which application/folder its shortcuts point to, …

Thanks

2

Hi
Run the application alacarte to configure :wink:

3

If I understood your question correctly, that’s actually the thing I miss from the menu of Windows, where you can right click on an item and select properties and change stuff. You can change those thing in “Main Menu” item which is in Control Center. There you can move items to other folder and edit their properties.

Alternatively, you can install mintmenu and add it to the panel and use it. It gives you similar functionality as the menu in windows, as the right click context menu has “Edit Properties” menu and there is instant search for applications. It’s from Linux Mint so it is not perfectly integrated to openSUSE but I really like it.

Search for mintmenu gives you the 1-click install: software.opensuse.org: Search Results

4

Thanks:

(NB: I use openSUSE in Spanish, so some of my translations may not be exactly what the English version shows)

The alacarte command you mention can be opened from terminal/console or from Alt+F2 dialog. It’s also what opens from the “Main menu” item of the Control Center. And it can also be opened right clicking on the panel’s “Traditional main menu (default menu and application browser)” or “Menu bar (a personalized menu bar)” and then clicking on “edit menus”.

Changes made in alacarte take effect in the “Traditional main menu” and the “Menu bar”, but have nothing to do with the slab menu. The items in my slab menu are very different to alacarte/“Traditional main menu”/“Menu bar”.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

5

Hi
Did you try adding changing menu items with alacarte? It works for me… I can add/remove items in the application browser.

6

Or are you talking 'Favourite applications, when you first click the menu?

7

I’ve verified that alacarte has effect on the “Application browser”, that can be opened from Slab’s “More applications…” button or with the application-browser command (both from the terminal/console and the Alt+F2 “Run an application” dialog).

But I mean the Slab menu itself, that by default has these submenus:

  • Applications (Favorite + Recent)
  • Documents (Favorite + Recent)
  • Places
  • System
  • Status

The fact is that after I installed openSUSE months ago I removed almost all the submenus & items. Now I only have the System submenu with only the Shutdown button.

So my verifications now have been with the root user. And this way I see that some items can be taken out from Slab right-clicking and clicking on “remove from “here””. But many things cannot be removed from Slab right-clicking. Probably I found how to do it from the “Configuration editor” (gconf-editor command) or other place. But I don’t find now how I could add or restore submenus & buttons to my Slab menu (normal user, not root).

Any ideas?

8

Hi
gconf-editor else you would need to look at the slab code and
re-compile… You could go in and change the categories entry
(alacarte should do this?) down in ~/.config and see what’s there.

Why not create a test user to play around with?

–
Cheers Malcolm °¿° (Linux Counter #276890)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 (x86_64) Kernel 2.6.32.24-0.2-default
up 1 day 22:40, 2 users, load average: 0.12, 0.08, 0.02
GPU GeForce 8600 GTS Silent - Driver Version: 260.19.21

9

I’ve found it !! :

I’ve opened gconf-editor, then Edit menu -> Search -> menu

In /desktop/gnome/applications/main-menu/lock-down there are the desired parameters:

  • application_browser_link_visible (related to “More applications…” button)
  • search_area_visible
  • status_area_visible
  • system_area_visible (interacting with user_modifiable_system_area)

And this one can change several things:

  • showable_file_types (it can have 0, 1, 2 or more of the next ones at the same time):
    ++ 0 value for Favorite applications (interacting with user_modifiable_apps)
    ++ 1 value for Recent applications
    ++ 2 value for Favorite documents (interacting with user_modifiable_docs)
    ++ 3 value for Recent documents
    ++ 4 value for Favorite places (interacting with user_modifiable_dirs)
    ++ 5 value for Recent places

Olé!

10

Correction of the second line of the third paragraph of my previous message:

  • application_browser_link_visible (related to “More applications…”, “More documents…” and “More places…” buttons)

Tip:
If you have taken out all the Favorites (applications or documents) you can recover the submenu right-clicking on one of the Recent ones and then clicking on “Add to favorites”. It may be necessary for that to have before all from 0 to 5 activated in showable_file_types.

The “Recent places” do not appear here, even if 5 (or all from 0 to 5, or 0-1-2-3-5) of showable_file_types is (are) activated. This seems not to work well.

And I see no way to recover one or more items that I decide to the System submenu. If I uncheck user_modifiable_system_area all the items appear but I cannot remove anyone of them.