The only icons you usually see on the Ubuntu desktop after installing the OS are the different disk volumes which were discovered during the install, e.g. hda1, hda2, sda1… Using the Gnome Configuration Editor you can remove these icons and/or display others like Computer, Home, Network Servers, Trash or Documents.
First run gconf-editor from terminal. Using the tree pane navigate to apps > nautilus > desktop. From there it’s a simple matter of selecting or deselecting the icons’ checkboxes.
You can also change the display names. If you want a more Windows-like feel and rename the Computer icon to ‘My Computer’ then double-click the computer_icon_name line in the modification pane to edit the key value. The first time you change the default value you need to change the Type to String. Now enter the new display name in the Value box and press Enter.
To get the Documents icon to show up on your desktop you will need to create a Documents (note the capital D) folder in your Home folder. If you already have a Documents folder on a different partition or drive then you can just create a link to it from your Home and rename the link to Documents.
Possibly related posts:
October 15th, 2008 on 6:47 pm
thanks for this one……….i usually use gconf-editor to add keyboard shortcuts for applications i use mostly.
may be the future releases of gnome will have a much more easy to use config ediotr
October 15th, 2008 on 7:29 pm
You might wanna give Ubuntu Tweak a try. Not only does it let you add and remove Desktop icons, but you can also create keyboard shortcuts. Or, if you use Compiz-Fusion, you can add keyboard shortcuts through its settings manager.
January 21st, 2009 on 12:40 pm
Thx for helping me remember where in gconf-editor that you do this. My secure setup is now all ready to go. Mainly making it hard for others to use my computer. Grun with a specific key configuration to bring up, and no computer or mounted media desktop icons.
Sorry if my comment is way off date, but this was helpful and speedy for me when i read this.
February 18th, 2009 on 6:37 am
Thanks! Very nice to see simple, easy fixes for annoying little things.