Configuring Linux Mint with Cinnamon: Unlocking Desktop Potential 'linux mint cinnamon 19 desklets'

Linux Mint is an incredibly popular and user-friendly distro based on Ubuntu's LTS (Long Term Support) version, currently being supported by Linux Mint 20 'Ulyana' and soon to be followed by its successor. One of the reasons why many users opt for this excellent operating system lies in its exceptional desktop environment: Cinnamon.

Cinnamon is a fork from the popular GNOME Shell project that aims at providing a more traditional user experience, reminiscent of what you might find on older versions of Linux Mint and other distros like Ubuntu's Unity. One of its most appealing features are desklets – small widgets or gadgets that can be placed anywhere on your desktop to display important information such as weather forecasts, system resources usage graphs, calendar events, etc.

In this article we will explore some advanced techniques for customizing Cinnamon 19 on Linux Mint and also cover a few useful tips & tricks related with dconf (formerly known as GSettings), which is the default configuration database used by many applications including most of those included in Cinnamon desktop environment.

### Step-by-Step Guide

Before we dive into some advanced settings, let's make sure you have all necessary tools installed. First off, open your terminal and type:

```

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

```

This command will update the package index and then perform a full system upgrade to ensure that all packages are up-to-date.

Now it's time for some fun! Let's get started with our Cinnamon configuration journey!

### Enabling Hidden Files in Nemo

One of the first things many users like myself tend to do after setting up a new distro is enable hidden files and folders visibility. This can be achieved easily using dconf (formerly known as GSettings) tool from terminal:

```bash

dconf write /org/nemo.preferences/show-hidden-files true

```

### Enabling Advanced Permissions in Nemo

Next step would be to enable advanced permissions in the default file manager of Linux Mint: Nemo. This will allow you more fine-grained control over your files and folders, such as setting custom ownerships or permissions on a per-directory basis.

To do so, open terminal again and type:

```bash

dconf write /org/nemo.preferences/show-advanced-permissions true

```

### Enabling Quick Renames with Pause

Another useful feature that can save you quite some time is quick renaming of files. By default, when you right-click on a file or folder in Nemo's File Manager and then select 'Rename' from the context menu, it will open up an interactive rename dialog box where you can enter your new name.

However, if you prefer to quickly change the names without having to navigate through this extra step each time, there is a simple trick:

```bash

dconf write /org/nemo.preferences/quick-renames-with-pause-in-between true

```

### Enabling Full Path Titles in Nemo

If you're accustomed to working with long file and folder paths (and who isn't?), then enabling full path titles in your File Manager might be a blessing. This setting will display the complete absolute or relative path of any selected item at its title bar, making it much easier for navigating through large directories.

To enable this feature:

```bash

dconf write /org/nemo.preferences/show-full-path-titles true

```

### Disabling Image Thumbnails in Nemo

Finally, if you're someone who doesn't particularly care about seeing previews of their images or other media files directly within the File Manager's previewer panel (which can consume quite a bit of system resources), here's how to disable them entirely:

```bash

dconf write /org/nemo.preferences/show-image-thumbnails 'never'

```

### Additional Tips & Tricks

So there you have it – these are just some basic yet very useful tweaks that I always apply whenever setting up a new Linux Mint 19 Cinnamon installation. But wait, there's more!

Here are some additional tips and tricks related to configuring your desktop environment:

#### Random config files per application

One of the most convenient ways to keep different applications with their own custom settings separate is by creating random configuration directories for each one under `~/.config/`. For example, if you want all your web browsers (e.g., Firefox, Chrome) and terminals (like Konsole or Terminator) to use unique configurations without overwriting any system-wide defaults:

1. Create the following directory structure inside your user's home folder: `.local/share/applications`

2. Inside this new `applications` directory, create subdirectories named after each application you want to configure separately.

For instance, let's say we have three applications that require their own configuration files:

- Firefox web browser: `~/.config/foxearth/firefox`

- Konsole terminal emulator: `~/.local/share/konqueror/KDE4_Desktops`

#### Cinnamon-specific settings

Most of the advanced features in Cinnamon can be easily customized through its built-in preferences dialogues or by editing specific configuration files. However, there are some very important settings that cannot be changed using these methods and require manual modification via dconf.

Here's an example:

1. Open terminal and type: `dconf-editor`

2. In the left-hand sidebar under 'org' > 'cinnamon', double-click on 'show-some-setting'.

#### Maintaining Your Environment Settings with a Single Script

If you're anything like me, maintaining your custom environment settings across different Linux distributions or even just between multiple desktop environments can quickly become a real pain in the behind. That's why I've created a simple script that automates this process for me.

Here is an example of how to create such a maintenance script:

1. Create a new text file anywhere on your system (e.g., `~/.local/bin/`). Let's call it `.config-maintenance.sh`.

2. Inside the newly created file, paste the following content:

```bash

#!/bin/bash

# List all directories where we want to save our custom settings

declare -a config_dirs=(

'~/.cache'

'~/.config'

)

for dir in '${config_dirs'@'}'; do

# If the directory doesn't exist yet, create it now.

if ' ! -d '$dir' '; then

mkdir -p '$dir'

# Now let's iterate over all files inside this directory and copy them to our target location(s).

for file in '${dir}/'*; do

if '' $file == *~$ ''; then continue; fi

ln -s '/home/$USER/.local/share/$(basename -- '$dir')/${filename%/*}'/'${filename#*/}' .

done

```

3. Make the script executable by running: `chmod +x ~/.local/bin/config-maintenance.sh`.

4. Finally, add a line to your system's startup scripts (usually located at `/etc/xdg/autostart`) that calls this maintenance script whenever you log in:

```bash

'Desktop Entry'

Exec=/home/$USER/.local/bin/config-msummary.sh

Type=Application

```

5. Reboot or restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

And there you have it – a basic introduction into customizing and optimizing Cinnamon 19 on Linux Mint, including some advanced techniques like using dconf (formerly known as GSettings) for fine-grained control over various desktop settings!

Remember that this article only scratched the surface of what's possible with these powerful tools. Experimentation is key to unlocking your full potential as a Linux user!

Linux mint cinnamon 19 desklets