After six months of development, the release of the GNOME 43 desktop environment is presented. To quickly evaluate the capabilities of GNOME 43, specialized live builds based on openSUSE and an installation image prepared as part of the GNOME OS initiative are offered. GNOME 43 is also already included in the experimental build of Fedora 37.
In the new release:
- The system status menu has been redesigned, which offers a block with buttons for quickly changing the most frequently used settings and assessing their current status. Other new features in the status menu include the addition of a user interface style setting (switching between dark and light themes), a new button for taking screenshots, the ability to select an audio device, and a button for connecting via VPN. Otherwise, the new system status menu provides access to all previously available functions, including the activation of hotspots via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and USB.
- The transition of applications to the use of GTK 4 and the libadwaita library, which offers ready-made widgets and objects for building applications that comply with the new GNOME HIG (Human Interface Guidelines) and can adaptively adapt to screens of any size, continued. In GNOME 43, applications such as the file manager, maps, log viewer, Builder, console, initial setup wizard, and parental control interface have been translated to libadwaita.
- The Nautilus file manager has been updated, which has been translated to the GTK 4 library. An adaptive interface has been implemented that changes the layout of widgets depending on the window width. The menu has been reorganized. The design of windows with the properties of files and directories has been changed, a button has been added to open the parent directory. The layout of the list with search results, recently opened files and marked files has been changed, as well as the indication of the location of each file has been improved. A new dialog for opening in another program ("Open With") has been proposed, which makes it easier to select programs for different types of files. In the list output mode, the context menu for the current directory has been simplified.
- A new Device Security page has been added to the configurator with hardware and firmware security options that can be used to identify various hardware issues, including misconfigured hardware. The page shows information about UEFI Secure Boot activation, the status of TPM, Intel BootGuard, and IOMMU protection mechanisms, as well as information about security issues and activity that indicates the potential presence of malware.
- The Builder integrated development environment has been redesigned, which has been translated to GTK 4. Support for tabs and the status bar has been added to the interface. The ability to rearrange panels is provided. Added a new command editor. Support for the Language Server Protocol (LSP) has been rewritten. The number of modes for launching applications has been increased (for example, internationalization settings have been added). Added new options for detecting memory leaks. Extended tools for profiling Flatpak applications.
- The Calendar Scheduler interface has been updated with a new sidebar for navigating the calendar and showing upcoming events. A new color palette has been applied to highlight elements in the event grid.
- The address book now has the ability to import and export contacts in vCard format.
- Support for encrypted VoIP calls and the ability to send SMS from the call history page has been added to the interface for making calls (GNOME Calls). Reduced startup time.
- GNOME Web browser (Epiphany) adds support for WebExtension extensions. Refactored for a further transition to GTK 4. Added support for the "view-source:" URI scheme. Improved the design of the reader mode. An item for creating screenshots has been added to the context menu. An option has been added to settings to disable search recommendations in web application mode. The style of interface elements on web pages is close to the elements of modern GNOME applications.
- Support for self-sufficient web applications in the PWA (Progressive Web Apps) format has been returned, a D-Bus provider for such programs has been implemented. A button has been added to the menu of the Epiphany browser to install the site as a web application. In overview mode, support for launching web applications in a separate window, similar to regular programs, has been added.
- GNOME Software's application manager has added a collection of web applications that can be installed and uninstalled like regular programs. In the application list, the interface for selecting installation sources and format has been improved.
- The on-screen keyboard shows recommendations as you type, with options to continue typing. When typing in the terminal, the Ctrl, Alt and Tab keys are displayed.
- The character map (GNOME Characters) expanded the selection of emoji, including pictures of people with different skin colors, hairstyles and genders.
- In overview mode, animated effects have been optimized.
- Redesigned "about" windows in GNOME applications.
- Cleaned up the dark style of GTK 4 based applications and made the appearance of panels and lists more harmonious.
- When connecting to a remote desktop using the RDP protocol, support for receiving sound from an external host has been added.
- Updated warning sounds.
Source: opennet.ru