{"id":98154,"date":"2019-08-09T08:00:38","date_gmt":"2019-08-09T08:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fedoramagazine.org\/?p=28697"},"modified":"2019-08-09T08:00:38","modified_gmt":"2019-08-09T08:00:38","slug":"use-a-drop-down-terminal-for-fast-commands-in-fedora","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2019\/08\/09\/use-a-drop-down-terminal-for-fast-commands-in-fedora\/","title":{"rendered":"Use a drop-down terminal for fast commands in Fedora"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A <strong>drop-down terminal<\/strong> lets you tap a key and quickly enter any command on your desktop. Often it creates a terminal in a smooth way, sometimes with effects. This article demonstrates how it helps to improve and speed up daily tasks, using drop-down terminals like Yakuake, Tilda, Guake and a GNOME extension.<\/p>\n<p> <span id=\"more-28871\"><\/span> <\/p>\n<h2>Yakuake<\/h2>\n<p><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/kde.org\/applications\/system\/org.kde.yakuake\" target=\"_blank\">Yakuake<\/a> is a drop-down terminal emulator based on KDE Konsole techonology. It is distributed under the terms of the GNU GPL Version 2. It includes features such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Smoothly rolls down from the top of your screen<\/li>\n<li>Tabbed interface<\/li>\n<li>Configurable dimensions and animation speed<\/li>\n<li>Skinnable<\/li>\n<li>Sophisticated D-Bus interface<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To install Yakuake, use the following command:<\/p>\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted background: #eee;\">$ sudo dnf install -y yakuake<\/pre>\n<h3>Startup and configuration<\/h3>\n<p>If you&#8217;re runnign KDE, open the System Settings and go to <em>Startup and Shutdown<\/em>. Add <em>yakuake<\/em> to the list of programs under <em>Autostart<\/em>, like this:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/use-a-drop-down-terminal-for-fast-commands-in-fedora.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28738\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>It&#8217;s easy to configure Yakuake while running the app. To begin, launch the program at the command line:<\/p>\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">$ yakuake &amp;<\/pre>\n<p>The following welcome dialog appears. You can set a new keyboard shortcut if the standard one conflicts with another keystroke you already use:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/use-a-drop-down-terminal-for-fast-commands-in-fedora-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28739\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>Now click the menu button, and the following help menu appears. Next, select <em>Configure Yakuake&#8230;<\/em> to access the configuration options.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/use-a-drop-down-terminal-for-fast-commands-in-fedora-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28740\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>You can customize the options for appearance, such as opacity; behavior, such as focusing terminals when the mouse pointer is moved over them; and window, such as size and animation. In the window options you&#8217;ll find one of the most useful options is you use two or more monitors: <em>Open on screen: At mouse location<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h3>Using Yakuake<\/h3>\n<p>The main shortcuts are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>F12<\/strong> = Open\/Retract Yakuake<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ctrl+F11<\/strong> = Full Screen Mode<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ctrl+)<\/strong> = Split Top\/Bottom<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ctrl+(<\/strong> = Split Left\/Right<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ctrl+Shift+T<\/strong> = New Session<\/li>\n<li><strong>Shift+Right<\/strong> = Next Session<\/li>\n<li><strong>Shift+Left<\/strong> = Previous Session<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ctrl+Alt+S<\/strong> = Rename Session<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Below is an example of Yakuake being used to split the session like a <a href=\"https:\/\/fedoramagazine.org\/4-cool-terminal-multiplexers\/\">terminal multiplexer<\/a>. Using this feature, you can run several shells in one session.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/use-a-drop-down-terminal-for-fast-commands-in-fedora.gif\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<h2>Tilda<\/h2>\n<p><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/lanoxx\/tilda\" target=\"_blank\">Tilda<\/a> is a drop-down terminal that compares with other popular terminal emulators such as GNOME Terminal, KDE&#8217;s Konsole, xterm, and many others.<\/p>\n<p>It features a highly configurable interface. You can even change options such as the terminal size and animation speed. Tilda also lets you enable hotkeys you can bind to commands and operations.<\/p>\n<p>To install Tilda, run this command:<\/p>\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted background: #eee;\">$ sudo dnf install -y tilda<\/pre>\n<h3>Startup and configuration<\/h3>\n<p>Most users prefer to have a drop-down terminal available behind the scenes when they login. To set this option, first go to the app launcher in your desktop, search for Tilda, and open it.<\/p>\n<p>Next, open up the Tilda Config window. Select <em>Start Tilda hidden<\/em>, which means it will not display a terminal immediately when started.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/use-a-drop-down-terminal-for-fast-commands-in-fedora-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28995\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>Next, you&#8217;ll set your desktop to start Tilda automatically. If you&#8217;re using KDE, go to <em>System Settings<\/em> &gt; <em>Startup and Shutdown<\/em> &gt; <em>Autostart<\/em> and use <em>Add a Program<\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/use-a-drop-down-terminal-for-fast-commands-in-fedora-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28996\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>If you&#8217;re using GNOME, you can run this command in a terminal:<\/p>\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">$ ln -s \/usr\/share\/applications\/tilda.desktop ~\/.config\/autostart\/<\/pre>\n<p>When you run for the first time, a wizard shows up to set your preferences. If you need to change something, right click and go to <em>Preferences<\/em> in the menu. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/use-a-drop-down-terminal-for-fast-commands-in-fedora-5.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28997\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>You can also create multiple configuration files, and bind other keys to open new terminals at different places on the screen. To do that, run this command:<\/p>\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted background: #eee;\">$ tilda -C<\/pre>\n<p>Every time you use the above command, Tilda creates a new config file located in the <em>~\/.config\/tilda\/<\/em> folder called <em>config_0<\/em>, <em>config_1<\/em>, and so on. You can then map a key combination to open a new Tilda terminal with a specific set of options.<\/p>\n<h3>Using Tilda<\/h3>\n<p>The main shortcuts are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>F1<\/strong> = Pull Down Terminal Tilda (Note: If you have more than one config file, the shortcuts are the same, with a diferent <em>open\/retract<\/em> shortcut like F1, F2, F3, and so on)<\/li>\n<li><strong>F11<\/strong> = Full Screen Mode<\/li>\n<li><strong>F12<\/strong> = Toggle Transparency<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ctrl+Shift+T<\/strong> = Add Tab<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ctrl+Page Up<\/strong> = Go to Next Tab<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ctrl+Page Down<\/strong> = Go to Previous Tab<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>GNOME Extension<\/h2>\n<p>The Drop-down Terminal <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/extensions.gnome.org\/extension\/442\/drop-down-terminal\/\" target=\"_blank\">GNOME Extension<\/a> lets you use this useful tool in your GNOME Shell. It is easy to install and configure, and gives you fast access to a terminal session.<\/p>\n<h3>Installation<\/h3>\n<p>Open a browser and go to the <a href=\"https:\/\/extensions.gnome.org\/extension\/442\/drop-down-terminal\/\">site for this GNOME extension<\/a>. Enable the extension setting to <em>On<\/em>, as shown here:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/use-a-drop-down-terminal-for-fast-commands-in-fedora-6.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-29074\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>Then select <em>Install<\/em> to install the extension on your system.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/use-a-drop-down-terminal-for-fast-commands-in-fedora-7.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-29075\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>Once you do this, there&#8217;s no reason to set any autostart options. The extension will automatically run whenever you login to GNOME!<\/p>\n<h3>Configuration<\/h3>\n<p>After install, the Drop Down Terminal configuration window opens to set your preferences. For example, you can set the size of the terminal, animation, transparency, and scrollbar use.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/use-a-drop-down-terminal-for-fast-commands-in-fedora-8.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-29077\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>If you need change some preferences in the future, run the <em>gnome-shell-extension-prefs<\/em> command and choose <em>Drop Down Terminal<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h3>Using the extension<\/h3>\n<p>The shortcuts are simple:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>`<\/strong> (usually the key above <strong>Tab<\/strong>) = Open\/Retract Terminal<\/li>\n<li><strong>F12<\/strong> (customize as you prefer) = Open\/Retract Terminal<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A drop-down terminal lets you tap a key and quickly enter any command on your desktop. Often it creates a terminal in a smooth way, sometimes with effects. This article demonstrates how it helps to improve and speed up daily tasks, using drop-down terminals like Yakuake, Tilda, Guake and a GNOME extension. Yakuake Yakuake is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":98155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[88,89,250,666,45,42,43,216,667,668,217,669,46,47,670,93,275,44,671],"class_list":["post-98154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fedora-os","tag-cli","tag-command-line","tag-command-line-tool","tag-emulator","tag-fedora","tag-for-developers","tag-for-system-administrators","tag-gnome","tag-gnome-extension","tag-gnome-shell-extension","tag-kde","tag-konsole","tag-magazine","tag-news","tag-sysadmin","tag-terminal","tag-tools","tag-using-software","tag-xterm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}