A panel is an area on your desktop from which you can run applications and applets, and perform other tasks. When you start a session for the first time, the desktop contains the following panels:
Menu Panel
Edge panel at the bottom of the desktop
The following sections describe these panels.
The Menu Panel stretches the full length of the top edge of your screen. The Menu Panel includes textual rather than graphical menus. Figure 4.1 shows the Menu Panel. Your system administrator might have set your default Menu Panel according to your local requirements, so you might see a slightly different Menu Panel.
The typical Menu Panel contains the following objects:
Unlike other types of panel, you can only have one Menu Panel at a time on your desktop.
On startup, an edge panel stretches the full length of the bottom edge of the desktop. Figure 4.2 shows a typical bottom edge panel. Your system administrator might have set your default bottom edge panel according to your local requirements, so you might see a slightly different bottom edge panel.
The bottom edge panel contains the following applets:
Window List: Displays a button for each window that is open. Window List enables you to minimize and restore windows.
Workspace Switcher: Enables you to navigate between your workspaces.
You can change the behavior and appearance of your bottom edge panel to suit your requirements. You can also add or remove objects from your bottom edge panel. You can create multiple panels, and choose different properties, objects, and backgrounds for each panel. You can also hide panels.