1.2 The MATE desktop
Wikipedia says that a Desktop Environment is:
... an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer operating system, which share a common graphical user interface (GUI)... Desktop GUIs help the user to easily access and edit files...
The MATE Desktop is one such implementation of a desktop environment and includes a file manager which can connect you to your local and networked files, a text editor, archive manager, image viewer, document viewer, system monitor and terminal. All of which are highly customisable and managed via a control centre. Complete documentation for the MATE Desktop Environment and its applications can be found in the MATE Desktop User Guide.
MATE Desktop provides an intuitive and attractive desktop environment using traditional metaphors, which means if you’ve ever used Microsoft Windows or Apple Mac OS, it will feel very familiar.
The MATE Desktop has a rich history and is the continuation of the GNOME2 desktop, which was the default desktop environment on many Linux and Unix operating systems for over a decade. This means that the MATE Desktop is tried, tested and very reliable.
The name "MATE" is pronounced Ma-Tay. It comes from the yerba maté plant, native to South America.
The MATE Desktop provides you with essential features that you'd expect in a computer desktop environment, all of which are highly customisable and managed by the Control Center:
File Browser (Caja)
The Caja application, found in the Ubuntu MATE menus at Applications ▸ System Tools ▸ Caja, lets you organise files and folders, both on your computer and online. For help topics on this application, see the Caja manual.
Text Editor (Pluma)
The Pluma text editor, found in the Ubuntu MATE menus at Applications ▸ Accessories ▸ Pluma Text Editor, enables you to create and edit text files. The aim of Pluma is to be a simple and easy to use text editor. More powerful features can be enabled with different plugins, allowing a variety of tasks related to text-editing. For help topics on this application, see the Pluma manual.
Archive Manager (Engrampa)
You can use the Engrampa Archive Manager application, found in the Ubuntu MATE menus at Applications ▸ Accessories ▸ Engrampa Archive Manager, to create, view, modify, or unpack an archive. An archive is a file that acts as a container for other files. Sometimes referred to generically as "zipped files" or "compressed files," an archive can contain many files, folders, and subfolders, usually in compressed form. For help topics on this application, see the Engrampa manual.
Image Viewer (Eye of MATE)
The Eye of MATE Image Viewer application, found in the Ubuntu MATE menus at Applications ▸ Graphics ▸ Eye of MATE Image Viewer, enables you to view single image files, as well as large image collections. For help topics on this application, see the Eye of MATE manual.
Document Viewer (Atril)
The Atril Document Viewer, found in the Ubuntu MATE menus at Applications ▸ Office ▸ Atril Document Viewer, enables you to view documents of various formats like Portable Document Format (PDF) files and PostScript files. For help topics on this application, see the Atril manual.
MATE System Monitor
The MATE System Monitor, found in the Ubuntu MATE menus at Applications ▸ System Tools ▸ MATE System Monitor, enables you to display basic system information and monitor system processes, usage of system resources, and file systems. You can also use MATE System Monitor to modify the behaviour of your system. For help topics on this application, see the MATE System Monitor manual.
MATE Terminal
MATE Terminal is a terminal emulation application, found in the Ubuntu MATE menus at Applications ▸ System Tools ▸ MATE Terminal, that you can use to access a UNIX shell in the MATE environment. It interprets and executes the commands that you type at a command line prompt. For help topics on this application, see the MATE Terminal manual.
Control Center
The Control Center, found in the Ubuntu MATE menus at System ▸ Control Center, provides a single window from which to launch all of the MATE preference tools. For help topics on this application, see the Control Center manual.