10 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do In Ubuntu

Rai    Linux     guide, Linux, Tips, ubuntu, user, windows

Ubuntu is one of the popular Linux distros around, still gaining popularity by the minute. It is very easy to use, lightweight and newbie-friendly. Ubuntu is the reason why the Linux stereotyping became less as this distro is becoming similar to Windows in terms of ease of usage but without the extra fat.

Since more people are migrating from Windows to Ubuntu, here are some interesting Ubuntu tips from ubuntukungfu.org that you may want to try with your Ubuntu pc. These tips are provided by Keir Thomas, author of the book Ubuntu Kung Fu, which contains over 300 other tips for Ubuntu 8.04.1.

1. Create website links that automatically install software

Did you know that you can create a link that will automatically launch Ubuntu’s package manager and install the software? This is very useful if you are helping someone install certain programs in Ubuntu. To create ’software install hyperlink” just create a hyperlink but instead of pointing to the usual http:// address, use

apt:< package name >

So if you are trying to install firefox, create a hyperlink and put apt:firefox in Hyperlink bar. This will create a hyperlink that will launch the package manager and install the package when clicked.

2. Do stuff without touching the mouse

If you know how to launch the ‘Run’ dialog box in Windows, this certain command is also available in Ubuntu. Press ALT+F2 and the similar ‘Run’ dialog box will appear, type in the command or the program name, let’s say firefox, hit enter, and firefox will launch.

3. Instantly Search Google for Any Word or Phrase

Googlizer is an app that you can install (this is available from the package manager) and use it to search Google for anything using the keywords directly from your file. An example is if you have a PDF file that contains the word ‘lethargy’, with Googlizer, all you need is to highlight the word, and click Googlizer’s icon to search the web.

4. Create a File Delete Command That Uses the Trash

If you are a frequent user of rm command, you can create a command that will move the file you wish to delete to the Trash directory, instead of completely deleting the file. To do this, just use the command alias and few tweaks with Linux files:

- Open a terminal window, and type gedit ~/.bashrc
- Add this line after the last line of the file:

alias trash=”mv -t ~/.local/share/Trash/files –backup=t”

- Save and close.

To use the command, you need to use the trash command instead of rm:

trash mydoc.txt

5. Repair Windows from Within Ubuntu

You can mount your Windows partition inside your Ubuntu and do stuff with it. With stuff I mean you can access your files in Windows partition, or you can also repair it within Ubuntu. To be able to repair a near-death Windows partition, unmount it and use the command ntfsfix:

sudo ntfsfix /dev/sda1

This is assuming that your Windows partition is /dev/sda1 and the filesystem used is NTFS.

6. Dump the Text on a Virtual Console to a File

Large files can be tiresome to read so you may want to filter the words that you need and dump into a new and smaller file. This can be done using this command:

ls > output.txt 2>&1

The command will execute ls command, put the results into the output.txt file and display errors, if there are any.

7. Instantly Hide a File or Folder

In Linux, any file that begins with period (.) is considered as hidden file. So if you want to hide a certain file from a younger sibling or parent, rename a file and put . at the beginning of the filename

mv grades.txt .grades.txt (use this command inside a terminal)

Or if inside Nautilus, highlight the file, press F2, and rename the file.

8. Print at the Command Line

Did you know that you can print files from the command line? Try this command to print a file without the fancy format for fast printing:

lp -o page-top=72 /home/myfile.txt

This is a quick and dirty way of printing files since the formatting is disregarded, but very useful if you want to print something fast and easy.

9. Listen to MP3s when no GUI is running

If you need to work in your Ubuntu using text mode only and no GUI running, install vlc using the apt-get command and use it to play your MP3 music from the command line:

vlc -I ncurses /home/*.mp3

This will play all mp3 files in the /home folder using the CLI mode of vlc.

10. Turn your desktop into your /home folder

If you want to make your default Desktop directory into something else beside the typical /home/user/Desktop location, you can do so by hitting Alt+F2 and type in gconf-editor. This will launch the gconf-editor app, put a check beside /apps/nautilus/preferences, save and exit. The change will take after after your next login.

Ultimate Linux Cheat Sheets

Rai    How-To's, Linux     commands, guide, help, Linux, list, newbie, tip

If you are in dire need of SOS because of that little command that is stuck at the tip of your tongue or you are having a huge case of memory gap, fret not. Here is a quick link to a massive list of Unix/Linux cheat sheets. One link points to http://www.tuxfiles.org/linuxhelp/linuxcommands.html which profiles a list of Linux commands that are newbie friendly.

List too long for you? You can try the Linux command apropos <keyword>. This command searches the whatis database for strings that matches your keyword. Let’s say you forgot the command to copy a file (uh-oh) so we go like this:

# apropos copy

# cp (1) – copy files and directories
# cp (1p) – copy files

Hey there it is! So we got cp. You can now use man command to check if cp is really what you are looking for. Google is also a neat tool if internet access is readily available.