how to reduce size of icons on desktop, size of icons in the launcher, Launch a restricted guest session, appointments in your calendar

1. How to reduce size of icons on desktop
   
   
   1. right click the icon, select Stretch Icon...
   2. Open a terminal
   3. type nautilus (this open a file browser)
   4. Edit -> Preferences -> Icon View Defaults and select the size you like
2. 
   
   no need to open a terminal; type Alt+F2 to run the commandline, or just open one of the entries on the Places menu (Home Folder is a good choice). the Edit -> Preferences... directions are correct tho.
   
   

   Change the size of icons in the launcher

   1. The size of the icons in the launcher cannot be changed by default, but you can install software that will allow you to change the size of the icons. To install the necessary software and change the size of the icons, complete these steps:
   2. Install the CompizConfig Settings Manager (ccsm) application from the Software Center.
   3. If you need assistance with installing the application, consult the software installation help, or review the Ubuntu Software Center Manual.
   4. After you have installed the program, click the power icon at the very right of the panel and select System Settings.
   5. In the Personal section, click CompizConfig Settings Manager.
   6. In the Desktop section of the CompizConfig Settings Manager, click Ubuntu Unity Plugin, and select the Experimental tab.
   7. Move the Launcher icon size slider to increase or decrease the size of the Launcher icons.
   8. The default Launcher icon size is 48.

3. Use the Launcher to start applications

   The Launcher is one of the key components of the new Unity desktop. When you first log-in to your desktop, it will appear along the left-hand side of the screen. The Launcher provides you with quick access to applications, Unity workspaces and lenses, as well as the trash.

   If an application that you want to start using is present in the Launcher, you can click on that application's icon, and it will start up, ready for you to use.

   Opening the Launcher

   You may notice that the Launcher will hide when it comes into contact with an open application. You can make the launcher reappear in a number of different ways. Experiment and try each of the following ways of opening the Launcher:

   • Move your mouse pointer to the left side of the screen and push the pointer against the edge of the screen. The Launcher will appear after a brief delay.
   • Move your mouse pointer to the top-left corner of the screen. The Launcher will appear immediately.
   • Tap the meta key twice. The Launcher will appear briefly, but will disappear unless you hover your mouse over the Launcher.
   • Press and hold the meta key. The Launcher will appear, and numbers will appear on top of the Launcher icons. This allows you to press any one of the numbers to start that application.

   
   

   Launch a restricted guest session

   Temporary session with restricted privileges

   Once in a while a friend, family member, or colleague may want to borrow your computer. The Ubuntu Guest Session feature provides a convenient way, with a high level of security, to lend your computer to someone else. The feature is available to any regular user when logged in.

   To launch a guest session, click the icon at the very right of the top bar and select Guest Session. This will lock the screen for your own session and start the guest session. A guest cannot view the home folders of other users, and by default any saved data or changed settings will be removed/reset at logout. It means that each session starts with a fresh environment, unaffected by what previous guests did.

   Customization

   The tutorial Customize Guest Session shows some ways to customize the appearance and behavior.

   
   

   Log out, power off, switch users

   When you've finished using your computer, you can turn it off, suspend it (to save power), or leave it powered on and just log out.

   Log out or switch users

   To let other users use your computer, you can either log out, or leave yourself logged in and just switch users. If you just switch users, all of your applications will continue running, and everything will be where you left it when you log back in.

   To log out or switch users, click the session menu at the very right of the top panel and select the appropriate option.

   Lock the screen

   If you're leaving your computer for a short time, you should lock your screen to prevent other people from accessing your files and running applications. When you return, simply enter your password to log back in. If you don't lock your screen, it will lock automatically after a certain amount of time.

   To lock your screen, click the session menu in the top panel and select Lock Screen.

   When your screen is locked, other users can log in to their own accounts by clicking Switch User on the password screen. You can switch back to your desktop when they are finished.

   
   

   Stop the launcher from showing when I point to the left side of the screen

   The launcher unhides when you move your mouse or touchpad pointer to the left side of the screen. If you prefer, you can tell Unity to only show the launcher when you click the top left Ubuntu button instead.

   1. Click the icon at the very right of the top bar and select System Settings.
   2. In the Personal section, click Launcher & Menus.
   3. Choose Touches the top left corner of the screen.

   
   

   View appointments in your calendar

   You can organize your calendar appointments by clicking on the clock in the panel, if you're using a mail and calendar application called Evolution.

   If you have already set up Evolution, click the clock on the top bar and then click the Add Event to start adding appointments. As appointments are added, they will appear below the calendar when you click on the clock.

   To quickly get to the full Evolution calendar, click on the clock and click the first line where today's date is.

   This will work only if you have an existing Evolution account. Otherwise, a window will appear with the necessary steps for adding your first account.

   Turn off Evolution calendar integration

   You can also turn off this feature if you like.

   1. Click on the clock and select Time & Date Settings.
   2. Now, switch to the Clock tab.
   3. Uncheck Coming events from Evolution Calendar.

   What is fallback mode?

   If your computer's graphics card doesn't support certain features, a more basic version of the desktop will be displayed and you will see a message telling you what happened. This is called fallback mode, and it allows you to use Ubuntu on your computer without some of its more advanced features.

   Most of the features that are missing in fallback mode are related to organizing windows and starting applications. For example, instead of having a dash and launcher, you will have an Applications menu at the top of the screen which you can use to start apps, and a list of open windows at the bottom of the screen. Running in fallback mode doesn't affect which applications you can run - it only changes the way that the desktop looks.

   Starting in fallback mode doesn't necessarily mean that your graphics card isn't good enough to run Ubuntu - it might just mean that you don't have the right drivers installed for your graphics card. If you can find better graphics card drivers for your computer, you may be able to run the full version of Ubuntu.