Don’t be afraid of the terminal
Contrary to the reputation of Linux, it is increasingly easy to avoid the Linux Terminal (scary white text on black background thing) entirely and use graphical programs, just like on Windows or macOS. However, many tutorials on this website and other online tutorials use the Linux Terminal and for a good reason: it is often the easiest/quickest way to accomplish a task.
It’s a pretty scary looking application for a beginner, but don’t be afraid to copy and paste commands from this website and other reputable sites into the terminal. Tip: use Ctrl+Shift+C and Ctrl+Shift+V instead of Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V within the Terminal application.
It can be accessed from the applications menu or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T at the same time on Ubuntu and most of its derivatives. Tip: Terminal programs are often called ‘Terminal Emulators’.
If you want to really go for it, check out this great Ubuntu beginners guide to common terminal commands.
Installing software
There are three main ways to install software on Linux.
Firstly, look for an application called ‘software manager’ and search for the application you’re looking for. You should be able to install it at the click of a button.
Alternatively, search online for installation files. .run files are equivalent to .exe files on Windows and can usually be used on any distro- just find it in your file manager (by default, it will download to your Downloads folder) and double click it. .deb and .rpm files are more common- .deb files only work on Debian, Ubuntu and their derivatives (though they may only work on Debian-based or Ubuntu-based distros, not both), while .rpm files work on RedHat Enterprise Linux, SuSE Enterprise Linux and their derivatives. These files will only work with a software installation utility installed, which is usually installed by default anyway.
Finally, applications can be installed using the “Linux Terminal”. The Terminal is often used when following tutorials. Beware Ubuntu PPAs, a very useful way to keep 3rd party applications updated but with the potential to compromise the security and stability of your operating system- use them only when necessary and ensure they are from trusted sources.
Finding the right app
Ubuntu and its derivatives have a neat feature where if you search in the app menu for a common piece of Windows software, it suggests the preinstalled equivalent. E.g searching for ‘Excel’ will suggest Libreoffice Calc.
User rights
Windows users are probably familiar with the ‘administrator’ account, which enables you to install software and modify system settings without entering a password. Most Linux distros do not have an administrator account, you take individual actions as the ‘Super User’ and then revert to a lower state– this drastically reduces the chance of malware being installed without you knowing. Graphical programs will bring up a dialogue requesting the ‘root password’ (chosen during installation), while preceding Terminal commands with “sudo” runs individual programs as Super User and will prompt you for a password. Tip: you will not see any symbols when entering your password in the Terminal- this is normal. Use the sudo command with care, as it risks harmful modifications to your system.
You may find that you need to open files as Super User, such as if you want to change the content of system files. The best way to do this is to open the Terminal and type “[name of file manager] admin:///”, e.g “nautilus admin:///” for Ubuntu and most of its derivatives. You can then navigate to the file and run it or modify it as necessary. Be careful, as the password protection is there for a reason!
Accessing drives
You can usually access your Windows files from Linux (though not the other way around), but you may find that you cannot access them from directly within a piece of software, such as opening a file in LibreOffice Writer. This is usually because the drive is not ‘mounted’, which can be solved by simply opening the drive (the section of your hard drive dedicated to Windows, or another device such as a USB stick) in the file manager before attempting to access it within an application.
Right-click not working
You are probably familiar with using the button on the right of your touchpad or mouse to reveal extra options. By default, this touchpad behaviour does not work on Ubuntu and most other distros that use the GNOME 3 desktop environment or one of its derivatives. The default way to reveal these options is to tap the touchpad with 2 fingers, but the ‘GNOME Tweak Tool’ software (which may or may not be pre-installed) offers the option to select ‘Area’ mode under the ‘Keyboard & Mouse’ tab, enabling the right-click function that you are familiar with. This software also offers the option to add maximise and minimise buttons under the ‘Windows’ tab, if this is not enabled by default. You can usually download Gnome Tweak Tool from your software management program.
Recommended software
LibreOffice: LibreOffice is the de-facto office suite on Linux, so it is preinstalled on most distros. It consists of Writer, an alternative to Microsoft Word; Impress, an alternative to Microsoft PowerPoint; Calc, an alternative to Microsoft Excel; Base, an alternative to Microsoft Access and Draw, similar to Microsoft Paint.
SoftMaker Freeoffice: a free of charge but not open source office suite. It is not usually in software repositories, so we recommend downloading the .deb file from here (remember, modern computers use 64-bit).
Grub Customiser is a brilliant piece of software that changes the settings of the GRUB menu without modifying system files manually. It can be installed on Ubuntu and it’s derivatives by typing the following into the Terminal: “sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer”, THEN “sudo apt update”, THEN “sudo apt install grub-customizer”. After opening the software, you may want to change the default boot option by selecting it, then pressing the up arrow until it is at the top of the list. We also recommend opening the General settings menu and changing the following settings: select ‘previously booted entry’, so that it will automatically select the OS you used last time (useful if you hibernate or reboot and during Windows updates); reduce ‘Boot default entry after’ to 4-5 seconds to reduce the time the GRUB menu shows for- it usually defaults to a very long 10 second delay. Now press ‘save’ and your changes will take effect.
We recommend ‘Boomaga’. This piece of software enables you to print double-sided, 2 sides per page etc. Note that there may be a pause between selecting ‘print’ and Boomaga opening, and also that installing Boomaga may remove your printer from the list of printers- you can just use Boomaga and print without making any modifications if necessary. To install, search ‘boomaga’ in your software centre or type “sudo apt-get update && sudo apt install boomaga” into the Terminal on Ubuntu and its derivatives.
GIMP is a common open-source photo editor. There is a learning curve coming from Adobe Photoshop, but it is a very powerful tool. It is usually available in the software management program.
Kdenlive is a good Linux-compatible video editor. It is usually available in the software management program
Thunderbird, Evolution and Geary are all good email clients. Our favourite is Thunderbird, which is available in most software stores or by typing “sudo apt-get update && sudo apt install thunderbird” into the Terminal.
If you use Microsoft OneNote, try P3X OneNote, a third party application that incorporates the official online version of OneNote. To install, type “sudo snap install p3x-onenote” into the Terminal. This uses a technology called ‘Snap’, which is not available on some distros.
Support
Firstly, search the problem, plus your distro and/or the model of your computer in a search engine. The problem has probably been solved before! There will also be documentation for your distro.
I especially recommend:
christitus.com and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg6gPGh8HU2U01vaFCAsvmQ
Uninstalling Linux
If you regret installing Linux and want to remove it, I suggest the following videos.
If you installed Linux in addition to Linux use this.
If you only have Linux on your computer use this.
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UseLinux v1.5
Last modified 14/01/2020
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