Want a single-panel setup on GNOME Shell but don’t want to use something like Dash to Panel? If so, a new option is now available for you to try.
‘App Icons Taskbar’ hit the GNOME Extensions website this week. As the name tells you, this is a simple add-on that adds icons for running apps and favourites to the Top Bar (which is what the GNOME Shell panel stripped across the top of the screen is called).
Right-clicking on an app icon lets you access the respective app’s context menu, and if you hover over a running app icon you will see thumbnail previews of open window(s).
And that’s pretty much it.
One major drawback to this deliciously diminutive dock replacement is that, for now, it works with GNOME 42 only. I wasn’t able to get it running on GNOME 40 in Ubuntu 21.10 by editing the manifest or using the “install unsupported extension” option recently added to Extension Manager app.
Settings, ahoy
A new version of this extension is rolling out. It includes a set of settings with options to enable/disable certain behaviours, including whether to show favourites, window previews, indicators, and so on.
But since a number of you out there may be running Arch, the new Fedora beta, or (more probable given this site’s niche) a daily build of Ubuntu 22.04, I figured I’d surface it anyhow. If you try it out be sure to tip out some thoughts in the opinion cereal bowl beneath this post.
You can install the extension from the GNOME Extensions website, with source code up on Gitlab.