# Desktop icons (for me pop\_os, so gnome) and DING

**URL:** <https://community.learnlinux.tv/t/desktop-icons-for-me-pop-os-so-gnome-and-ding/1120>\
**Category:** Switching to Linux\
**Created:** [November 6, 2021, 12:11pm UTC](https://community.learnlinux.tv/t/desktop-icons-for-me-pop-os-so-gnome-and-ding/1120 "2021-11-06T12:11:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![greeners](https://community.learnlinux.tv/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/ea5d25/32.png) [@greeners](https://community.learnlinux.tv/u/greeners)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 12:11pm UTC](https://community.learnlinux.tv/t/desktop-icons-for-me-pop-os-so-gnome-and-ding/1120/1 "2021-11-06T12:11:19Z")

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For a seasoned Windows guy, switching to Linux, I feel that Gnome’s desktop is a step backwards.

- Shortcuts to apps on the desktop are not practical. The locations are kept under the hood and managed by the Linux package manager. I need to use the gnome app dock and the applications panel only.
- Shortcuts are soft links (kinda). One of Jays recent videos on links was quite instructive, and I learnt some useful things - thanks Jay.
- [Firefox] Web page shortcuts, dragged from Firefox to the desktop, do not get a browser application icon. I can set it manually, but that’s making life hard.
- The file explorer (nautilus I think) will allow me to create a link from a right-click on a file, which helps. The context of the linked file important, so once a file is placed it can’t be moved anywhere (not to a networked folder for other users to access for example).

So I think my expectations of Gnome desktop are all wrong. I should not try to use it like I would on the Windows desktop.

If you are in the ‘switching to linux’ forum you may have similar experiences? What do you think?

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**Author:** ![hulxmash](https://community.learnlinux.tv/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@hulxmash](https://community.learnlinux.tv/u/hulxmash)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 9:20pm UTC](https://community.learnlinux.tv/t/desktop-icons-for-me-pop-os-so-gnome-and-ding/1120/2 "2021-11-06T21:20:26Z")

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My experience was similar. The first time I used gnome(Fedora) I thought it was huge step back too. I ended up switching to KDE Plasma(Manjaro) and it felt familiar enough, that I was at least comfortable. After awhile, since I was having difficulty getting anything to work from the AUR, I decided to try pop os. This time I started learning and using keyboard shortcuts and started to take advantage of dynamic workspaces. Now I feel like I am infinitely more productive on gnome as a keyboard warrior. It’s not for everyone, but it sure does make you change your view on how things should work. I would explore the keyboard shortcuts. But, if you don’t like gnome, try installing plasma. It’s more like windows, than gnome, more customizable than anything else I have ever seen, and [System76](https://support.system76.com/articles/desktop-environment/) has instructions on how to set it up. There are growing pains when switching to Linux or any other os, but learning is half the fun.

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**Author:** ![greeners](https://community.learnlinux.tv/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/ea5d25/32.png) [@greeners](https://community.learnlinux.tv/u/greeners)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2021, 9:15am UTC](https://community.learnlinux.tv/t/desktop-icons-for-me-pop-os-so-gnome-and-ding/1120/3 "2021-11-07T09:15:07Z")

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I forgot to add - DING (in the title) is ‘Desktop Icons Next Generation’, without which gnome desktop is fairly useless. See: [https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/2087/desktop-icons-ng-ding/](https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/2087/desktop-icons-ng-ding/)

Some background on DING can be seen here: [https://csorianognome.wordpress.com/2017/12/21/nautilus-desktop-plans/](https://csorianognome.wordpress.com/2017/12/21/nautilus-desktop-plans/)