We have published several ways to customize the Ubuntu, some of which involve changing the panels. The following are some examples of what you can do to customize your installation of Ubuntu.

For example, we installed DockBarX and removed the standard application buttons from the bottom panel to make it look more like the Windows 7 Superbar, as described in the first post listed above.

DockBarX on the bottom panel

There are also many other ways to customize Ubuntu, such as applying themes, installing dock bars, or adding “drawers” to the panels. However, you may want to be able to quickly and easily restore the Gnome desktop panels to their default setup.

To do this, open a Terminal window by selecting Accessories | Terminal from the Applications menu.

Opening the Terminal window

Enter the following command at the prompt to turn off the panels.

$ gconftool –recursive-unset /apps/panel

NOTE: There are two dashes before “recursive.”

Entering command to turn off panels

Enter the following command to remove the customized panels.

$ rm –rf ~/.gconf/apps/panel

NOTE: There is one dash before “rf.”

Entering command to remove customized panels

Enter the following command to reload the default panels.

$ pkill gnome-panel

NOTE: There is one dash between “gnome” and “panel.”

Entering command to restore default panels

Enter “exit” (without the quotes) at the prompt to close the Terminal window.

Closing the Terminal window

In our example, DockBarX is now gone and the applications buttons have returned.

Default panels reinstated

When trying to decide whether to customize your panels in Ubuntu, for fear of not being able to reverse the process, remember this little trick. Now, you can experiment with different ways of customizing your panels and know you can return to the default setup.

by Lori Kaufman