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A short guide to the Federated CoreDesktop desktop: launching apps, moving windows with Tiling Shell, editing layouts, workspaces, notifications, screenshots and screen recordings. |
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GNOME · Tiling Shell |
Find your way around the desktop. |
CoreDesktop is GNOME with the Tiling Shell extension. A few keys get you most of the way: Super to find things, Super and the arrows to move windows, Print Screen to capture the screen. |
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launching |
Launching apps |
Press Super and type. |
<kbd>Super</kbd> is the Windows key, or <kbd>⌘</kbd> on a Mac keyboard. Press it to open the overview, start typing an app's name, and press <kbd>Enter</kbd>. The same search finds files, settings and calculations.
- <kbd>Super</kbd>+<kbd>A</kbd> opens the app grid, with every app installed.
- The dock at the bottom of the overview holds your favorite apps. Right-click an app there or in the app grid and choose **Pin to Dash** to add it.
- <kbd>Alt</kbd>+<kbd>Tab</kbd> or <kbd>Super</kbd>+<kbd>Tab</kbd> switches between open apps.
- <kbd>Alt</kbd>+<kbd>F2</kbd> runs a command without opening a terminal.
To see everything CoreDesktop installs, browse the [software catalog](/software/).
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windows |
Moving windows |
Windows go into tiles. |
Tiling Shell divides each screen into tiles. CoreDesktop starts you with three columns. A new window goes into an empty tile by itself, so you rarely need to drag or resize anything.
From the keyboard, select a window and hold <kbd>Super</kbd>:
- <kbd>←</kbd> and <kbd>→</kbd> move it to the next tile. At the edge of the screen, they move it to the next monitor, if there is one.
- <kbd>↑</kbd> maximizes it, from a tile in the top row. If the layout has a tile above, it moves the window there instead.
- <kbd>↓</kbd> puts a maximized window back in a tile.
With the mouse, drag a window by its title bar:
- Hold <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> while you drag, and the tiles appear. Drop the window on one.
- Hold <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> and <kbd>Alt</kbd> to stretch it across more than one tile.
- Or drag the window to the top of the screen. A strip of layouts opens, and you drop the window into a tile of any of them.
Drag the window away from its tile to free it. It goes back to the size it had before.
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layouts |
Layouts |
Change the tiles to suit the screen. |
Click the Tiling Shell icon in the top right of the top bar to choose a layout for the current workspace. CoreDesktop comes with three columns, two columns and a single full-screen tile. Each workspace keeps its own layout, so one can have three columns for code and another a single tile for a video call.
To change a layout or make your own:
1. Click the Tiling Shell icon, then **Edit Layouts** (or **New Layout**).
2. Choose the layout to change, then **Start editing**.
3. Click inside a tile to split it in two side by side, where the line shows. <kbd>Ctrl</kbd>+click to split it top and bottom. Right-click a tile to delete it. Drag the line between two tiles to resize them.
4. Click the Tiling Shell icon again and choose **Save**, or **Cancel** to leave the layout as it was.
Ultrawide monitors are where this shines: try four narrow columns, or a wide middle tile with a narrow one on each side.
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workspaces |
Workspaces |
More room than one screen. |
Workspaces are screens side by side, each with its own windows and layout. There's always an empty one at the end; put a window on it and another empty one appears.
From the keyboard:
- <kbd>Super</kbd>+<kbd>Page Up</kbd> or <kbd>Page Down</kbd> switches to the workspace to the left or right. <kbd>Ctrl</kbd>+<kbd>Alt</kbd>+<kbd>←</kbd> or <kbd>→</kbd> does the same.
- Add <kbd>Shift</kbd> to take the selected window with you: <kbd>Super</kbd>+<kbd>Shift</kbd>+<kbd>Page Up</kbd> or <kbd>Page Down</kbd>.
With the mouse:
- Click the dots in the top left of the top bar, or press <kbd>Super</kbd>, to open the overview. It shows your workspaces side by side; click one to go there, or scroll to move between them.
- In the overview, drag a window onto another workspace to move it there.
- On a touchpad, swipe left or right with three fingers to switch, and up to open the overview.
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notifications |
Notifications |
Everything that wanted your attention. |
Notifications appear at the top of the screen for a moment. Click one to open what it's about.
To see the ones you missed, click the clock in the middle of the top bar, or press <kbd>Super</kbd>+<kbd>V</kbd>. That opens the calendar and the list of notifications. **Clear** removes them, and the **Do Not Disturb** switch holds new ones back until you turn it off. They still go into the list.
CoreDesktop uses notifications too. If a daily [backup](/utilities/#backups) fails, you'll hear about it here.
The menu in the top right, which you can also open with <kbd>Super</kbd>+<kbd>S</kbd>, has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, sound, power and dark mode.
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screenshots |
Screenshots and recordings |
Capture the screen, or a video of it. |
Press <kbd>Print</kbd> (<kbd>PrtSc</kbd> on many keyboards) to open GNOME's screenshot tool. Choose an area, a window or the whole screen, then press <kbd>Enter</kbd> or click the round button. To record a video instead, switch the tool from the camera to the video icon first, and stop the recording with the red button in the top bar.
- <kbd>Print</kbd> opens the screenshot tool.
- <kbd>Shift</kbd>+<kbd>Print</kbd> takes a screenshot of the whole screen.
- <kbd>Alt</kbd>+<kbd>Print</kbd> takes a screenshot of the selected window.
- <kbd>Ctrl</kbd>+<kbd>Shift</kbd>+<kbd>Alt</kbd>+<kbd>R</kbd> opens the tool ready to record.
Screenshots go to `~/Pictures/Screenshots` and are copied to the clipboard, so you can paste one straight into a chat. Recordings go to `~/Videos/Screencasts`.
To point at something with arrows, boxes or text, or to blur a password before you share, use [Flameshot](/software/flameshot/): open it from the app grid, or run `flameshot gui`. For recordings with your camera, several sources or live streaming, there's [OBS Studio](/software/obs-studio/).
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shortcuts |
Cheat sheet |
The shortcuts worth learning. |
For the rest, open **Settings › Keyboard › View and Customize Shortcuts**, where you can change them too. |
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| <kbd>Super</kbd> |
| Opens the overview, to search for an app or file |
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| <kbd>Super</kbd>+<kbd>A</kbd> |
| Opens the app grid |
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| <kbd>Alt</kbd>+<kbd>Tab</kbd> |
| Switches between apps |
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| <kbd>Super</kbd>+<kbd>←</kbd> <kbd>→</kbd> |
| Moves the window to the next tile, or the next monitor |
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| <kbd>Super</kbd>+<kbd>↑</kbd> <kbd>↓</kbd> |
| Maximizes the window, or puts it back in a tile |
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| <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> while dragging |
| Shows the tiles to drop a window into |
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| <kbd>Super</kbd>+<kbd>Page Up</kbd> <kbd>Page Down</kbd> |
| Switches workspace |
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| <kbd>Super</kbd>+<kbd>Shift</kbd>+<kbd>Page Up</kbd> <kbd>Page Down</kbd> |
| Moves the window to the next workspace |
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| <kbd>Super</kbd>+<kbd>V</kbd> |
| Shows notifications and the calendar |
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| <kbd>Super</kbd>+<kbd>S</kbd> |
| Opens the system menu: network, sound, power |
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| <kbd>Print</kbd> |
| Takes a screenshot or a recording |
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| <kbd>Alt</kbd>+<kbd>F4</kbd> |
| Closes the window |
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| <kbd>Super</kbd>+<kbd>L</kbd> |
| Locks the screen |
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Now make it yours. |
See what CoreDesktop sets up under the hood, or browse the software it installs. |
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| What's set up |
/system/ |
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| Browse the software |
/software/ |
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