# Using the Main Menubar

Walter Cheuk
wwycheuk@gmail.com
2016.
Walter Cheuk

This chapter describes how to use the MATE Panel Menubar.

The classic menu is your main point of access to MATE. Use the Applications menu to launch applications, the Places to open locations on your computer or network, and the System to customize your system, get help with MATE, and log out of MATE or shut down your computer.

The following sections describe these three menus.

By default, the classic menu is on the . But like any other panel object, you can move the classic menu to another panel, or have more than one instance of the classic menu in your panels. For more on this, see .

## Applications Menu

The Applications menu contains a hierarchy of submenus, from which you can start the applications that are installed on your system.

Each submenu corresponds to a category. For example, in the Sound & Video submenu, you will find applications for playing CDs and recording sound.

To launch an application, perform the following steps:

1. Open the Applications menu by clicking on it.

2. Move the mouse down the menu to the category the application you want is in. Each submenu opens as your mouse passes over the category.

3. Click the menu item for the application.

When you install a new application, it is automatically added to the Applications menu in a suitable category. For example, if you install an instant messenger application, a VoIP application, or an FTP client, you will find it in the Internet submenu.

## Places Menu

The Places menu is a quick way to go to various locations on your computer and your local network. The Places menu allows you to open the following items:

- Your Home folder

- The Desktop folder, which corresponds to the items displays in the desktop.

- The items in your Caja bookmarks. For more on this, see .

- Your computer, which shows all your drives.

- The Caja CD/DVD Creator. For more on this, see .

- The local network. For more on this, see .

The last three items on the menu perform actions rather than open locations.

- Connect to Server lets you choose a server on your network. For more on this, see .

- Search for Files lets you search for files on your computer. For more on this, see the Search for Files Manual.

- The Recent Documents submenu lists the documents you have recently opened. The last entry in the submenu clears the list.

## System Menu

The System menu allows you to set your preferences for the MATE Desktop, get help with using MATE, and log out or shut down.

- The Control Center item contains preference tools to configure your computer. For more information on using these preference tools, see .

- The Help item launches the Help Browser.

- The About MATE item has a brief introduction to MATE, links to the MATE website, and credits.

- The Lock Screen command starts your screensaver, and requires your password to return to the desktop. For more on this, see .

- Choose Log Out to log out of MATE, or to switch user.

- Choose Shut Down to end your MATE session and turn off your computer, or restart it.

For more on logging out and shutting down, see .

## Customizing the Panel Menubar

You can modify the contents of the following menus:

- Applications menu

- System Preferences submenu

- System Administration submenu

To edit the items in these menus, right-click on the panel menubar, and choose Edit Menus. The Menu Layout window opens.

The Menu Layout window lists the menus in the left pane. Click on the expand arrows to show or hide submenus. Choose a menu in the left pane to see its items listed in the right pane.

To remove an item from a menu, deselect it in the list. The item can be added back to the menu by selecting it once again.