A big update to the perennially popular GNOME Shell extension Dash to Panel is rolling out, including new settings to go from Dash to Panel to dock mode!
Admittedly, that doesn’t sound like a new feature given that Dash to Panel is based on code from Dash to Dock. Yet, until now, those wanting the unified panel of Dash to Panel with the aesthetic of a dock… Had to make do with an inelegant fudge, or switch extension.
No more; when whim and want demands a dynamic dock setup, Dash to Panel’s preferences area can help, making it easier to effect a dock-style mode in a couple of clicks.
To turn Dash to Panel into a dock in the newest update, go to its preferences panel and toggle dynamic panel length on, bump the panel padding and icon size, set margins (for a floating dock look), then dial in a border radius to properly dock-ify Dash to Panel, like so:
As this extension has long offered a range of customisation options I do recommend playing around to see all of the myriad possibilities it offers. When you create a cool setup you like, export the settings so you can quickly restore it at a later date.
Beyond that, this update delivers plenty of other improvements — I did say this was a big update, after all.
Among them an optional approach to window management that echoes the ‘app spread’ feature found in the Unity desktop.
A new ‘Toggle Single / Spread Multiple’ option in the Action > Click Action menu makes clicking on app icons with multiple windows grouped to them trigger an app-only window spread in the GNOME Overview:
As the overview uses large window thumbnails this mode (which is not default) may make it easier to pick the right window. Dash to Panel now this app spread behaviour (by default) when dragging a file over an icon with multiple windows open, also inspired by the Unity desktop.
Elsewhere, look out for badging on app icons to let you know when/if an app on the panel has any unread notifications waiting in the message tray/notifications area, plus a new ‘grayscale’ option to desaturated app icons on the panel:
And it’s possible to edit, remove, and add your own shortcuts to Dash to Panel’s context menu (revealed by right-clicking on the app launcher icon):
All of the Dash to Panel v66 changes at-a-glance:
- Additional settings to support dock-style setups
- New ‘Grayscale’ icon style option
Donation icon1 and settings tab- Intellihide will remember last state between restarts
- Edit/add/remove commands shown in app context menus
- Hotkeys number overlay can now be shown on every monitor
- Per monitor settings behave more consistently across X11 and Wayland
- Notification badges on app icons
- GNOME 48 support
- Various visual improvements
Like the sound of all of that?
Dash to Panel v66 is available to install from the GNOME Extensions website (but easier to do using the Extension Manager desktop app) and it works with GNOME 3.18 and above — if you’re using a supported version of Ubuntu, you’re all set to start using it!
• Get Dash to Panel on GNOME Extensions
- Update: Now Removed.
To remove the new ‘donate’ icon in Dash to Panel, click the icon to open the DtP settings then wait for the 20 seconds countdown to expire and a toggle to remove the icon will appear.↩︎