Customizing a newly installed Ubuntu 16.04 system

Install Windows alongside Ubuntu

• The Windows installation will override the grub loader.
• Fixing the grub loader is easy. See here. P.S. This method didn't quite work for me when I type update-grub or grub-install in the live Ubuntu USB.
• At the end, I solve the problem boot loader problem using boot-repair, see here.

Configure system wide shorcuts

sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager
sudo apt-get install compiz-plugins

Disable sceen locking when hitting Super+L

• Press super key -> Search "CompizConfig Settings Manager" -> Ubuntu Unity Plugin -> Disable "Key to lock the screen".

Use Super+D to show desktop

• Press super key -> Search "CompizConfig Settings Manager" -> General Options -> Key bindings -> Set "Show Desktop" to Super+D.

Use Super+K to maximize window

• Press super key -> Search "CompizConfig Settings Manager" -> General Options -> Key bindings -> Set "Maximize Window" to Super+K.

Use Super+H, Super+L and Super+K to dock and maximize window

• Press super key -> Search "CompizConfig Settings Manager" -> Window Mangement -> Grid -> Set "Left Maximize" to Super+H.
• Press super key -> Search "CompizConfig Settings Manager" -> Window Mangement -> Grid -> Set "Right Maximize" to Super+L.

Use Super+Y and Super+O to move window to other monitors

• Press super key -> Search "CompizConfig Settings Manager" -> Window Mangement -> Put -> Set "Put To Next Output" to Super+O.
• Press super key -> Search "CompizConfig Settings Manager" -> Window Mangement -> Put -> Set "Put To Previous Output" to Super+Y.

Use Ctrl+J and Ctrl+K to switch tabs in Nautilus

• Paste the following to the end of ~/.config/nautilus/accels

  (gtk_accel_path "<Actions>/ShellActions/TabsPrevious" "<Primary>j")
  (gtk_accel_path "<Actions>/ShellActions/TabsNext" "<Primary>k")
  

  Don't forget to remove the ; symbol in front of the line.

Use ctrl+alt+A to take a screenshot

Method 1: Use the built-in screenshot function

• Press super key -> Search "keyboard" -> Shortcuts -> Screenshots -> Set "Take a screenshot of an area" to ctrl+alt+A.

Method 2: Use Flameshot

• Download Flameshot: https://flameshot.js.org/#/getting-start
• Search and open Flameshot by pressing the super key, or by typing flameshot in cmd.
• Click the Flameshot icon at top-left corner -> Configuration -> General -> Check Launch at startup.
• Press super key -> Search "keyboard" -> Shortcuts -> Custom Shortcuts -> Click the "+" button -> Assign shortcut Ctrl+Alt+A to command flameshot gui.
• Press Ctrl+Alt+A to select region. Press Ctrl+C to copy to clipboard, or Press Ctrl+S to save to file.

Fix Trackpoint Scrolling Issue

Simply intall:

sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-input-libinput

Disable Touchpad

• Press super key -> System Settings -> Mouse & Touchpad -> Touchpad -> Set "Enable" to OFF.

• It appears that after installing libinput, the touchpad option disappears in "System Settings -> Mouse & Touchpad". To disable the touch pad again, type

  xinput list
  xinput set-prop "SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad" "Device Enabled" 0
  

  However, using this approach you need to retype the above command every time you reboot your system. To permanently disable touchpad, use touchpad indicator:

  sudo add-apt-repository ppa:atareao/atareao
  sudo apt update
  sudo apt install touchpad-indicator
  

  • Press Super Key -> Touchpad Indicator -> Actions -> On Touchpad indicator starts -> Check "Disable touchpad".
  • Press Super Key -> Touchpad Indicator -> Actions -> On Touchpad indicator ends -> Check "Disable touchpad".
  • Press Super Key -> Touchpad Indicator -> Actions -> General Options -> Set "Autostart" on.

  To get a deeper understanding on libinput, read this.

Configure shadowsocks

• Install shadowsocks-libev from PPA:

  sudo apt-get install software-properties-common -y
  sudo add-apt-repository ppa:max-c-lv/shadowsocks-libev -y
  sudo apt-get update
  sudo apt install shadowsocks-libev
  

• Setup shadowsocks to run on startup

  sudo echo "#!/bin/sh" >> /etc/init.d/mystartup.sh
  sudo echo "ss-local -c /home/chizhang/etc/shadowsocks/digital-ocean-singapore.json -u -v" >> /etc/init.d/mystartup.sh
  sudo chmod +x /etc/init.d/mystartup.sh
  sudo update-rc.d mystartup.sh defaults
  

• Setup proxy in ProxySwitchOmega:
  • Select or create a profile, name it "shadowsocks", set server parameters as following
    • Protocol: SOCKS5
    • Server: 127.0.0.1
    • Port: 1080
  • Select the "auto switch" profile:
    • Add a rule list, and set rule list URL To https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gfwlist/gfwlist/master/gfwlist.txt
    • Ues the "shadowsocks" profile for the rule list rules.
    • Use "Direct" for default situation.

Configue vim/gvim

Install vimplug

• Run

  curl -fLo ~/.vim/autoload/plug.vim --create-dirs \
      https://raw.githubusercontent.com/junegunn/vim-plug/master/plug.vim
  

• Open vim or gvim and type :PlugInstall to install plugins specified in .vimrc.

Install the Molokai color scheme

• Run

  mkdir -p ~/.vim/colors/
  wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tomasr/molokai/master/colors/molokai.vim ~/.vim/colors/
  

Install Chinese input method

1. Install fcitx and Google Pinyin link

   sudo apt-get install fcitx fcitx-googlepinyin
   

2. Press Super Key -> Language Support -> Set "Keyboard input method system" to fcitx.
3. Reboot and you will see a keyboard icon on the top right corner of the desktop.
4. Click the keyboard icon -> ConfigureFcitx -> Click the '+' icon at the lower left -> Select "Google Pinyin" -> OK.
5. Now you can use ctrl+space to switch input methods.

Make dates in ls shown in English instead of Chinese

• Press Super Key -> Language Support -> Regional Formats -> Choose "English (United States)" -> Apply System-Wide -> Re-login for change to take effect.

Change apt source to aliyun.com

• Run

  sudo apt-get install software-center
  

• Open ""Ubuntu Software Center" (Not "Ubuntu Software) -> Menu -> Edit -> Software Sources -> Edit "Download from...".

Install Consolas font

• Click here to original post.

Configure PDF Reader.

• sudo apt-get install okular.
• Okular -> Settings -> Configure Okular -> General -> Check "Open new files in tabs".
• Okular -> Settings -> Configure Okular -> Accessibility -> Set "Page color" to RGB(199, 237, 204).
• Okular -> Settings -> Configure Shortcuts -> Add alternate shortcut 'Y' to action "Beginning of the document".
• Okular -> Settings -> Configure Shortcuts -> Add alternate shortcut 'O' to action "End of the document".
• Okular -> Settings -> Configure Shortcuts -> Add alternate shortcut 'U' to action "Scroll Page Up".
• Okular -> Settings -> Configure Shortcuts -> Add alternate shortcut 'I' to action "Scroll Page Down".
• Use ctrl+, and ctrl+. to navigate between tabs.
• Use ctrl+4 to activate regular text selection, instead of selecting text by a rectangle.

Fix dbus Issue When Openning gvim from tmux

• If gvim tells you it cannot load or save configuration files (see problem phenomenon here) when it is started from a tmux terminal, and clicking the "detail" button shows "No D-BUS daemon running", the reason and solution can be found here: Create ~/.config/upstart/dbus.override with the following content:

  pre-start script
      DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS=unix:path=$HOME/.dbus-$(hostname)-$(echo $DISPLAY | sed -e s/:/%3A/)
      initctl set-env DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS=$DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS
  end script
  

  Reboot, then you are all set.

Fix issue that AceJump shortcut ctrl+; got hijacked

The problem is caused by an addon in fcitx named Clipboard. To disable it, simply open Fcitx Configuration -> Addon -> Clipboard, then either disable it or change its trigger key.

Let PyCharm autocomplete PyQt

• I've installed PyQt4 by sudo apt-get install python3-pyqt4.
• PyCharm cannot find my PyQt4 because the index has been built before I install PyQt.
• Solution: File -> Invalidate Cache / Restart.

Let Clion inherit ROS shell environment automatically on startup

• Append the following line to ~/.bashrc: source /opt/ros/kinetic/setup.bash.

• Edit the desktop file located at ~/.local/share/applications/jetbrains-clion.desktop.

• Modify the line containing Exec= to Exec=bash -i -c "/INSTALL_LOCATION/clion-2016.3.2/bin/clion.sh" %f.

Install CloudCompare

• Run

  snap find cloudcompare
  sudo snap install cloudcompare
  

Install Meshlab

• Run

  sudo add-apt-repository ppa:zarquon42/meshlab
  sudo apt-get update
  sudo apt-get install meshlab
  

Associate .ply .off .las files with MeshLab or CloudCompare

• How to make MeshLab/CloudCompare appear in Nautilus's context menu?

  • https://askubuntu.com/questions/145878/how-do-i-make-meshlab-the-default-viewer-for-stl-files
  • Open .local/share/applications/meshlab.desktop, change Exec=meshlab into Exec=meshlab %f. Save and exit. Now Meshlab should be listed in Nautilus's context menu.
  • Open .local/share/applications/cloudcompare.desktop, change Exec=CloudCompare into Exec=cloudcompare.CloudCompare %f. Save and exit. Now CloudCompare should be listed in Nautilus's context menu.
  • Note: There is no need to even restart Nautilus, let alone a total reboot.

• How to associate file extension (not file type) for a particular application?

  • https://askubuntu.com/questions/55653/how-to-associate-file-extension-not-file-type-for-a-particular-application

Fix PyCharm's low resolution icon on launcher

• Open ~/.local/share/applications/jetbrains-pycharm.desktop, Change the line Icon= to the correct path: e.g. Icon=/home/chizhang/bin/pycharm-2018.2.4/bin/pycharm.png.

Disable gnome-binded ctrl+alt+down and ctrl+alt+up

• Motivation: CLion uses the same shortcuts to navigate between prev and next occurence of build error, but get intercepted the gnome default binding.
• Removing the shortcuts using dconf-editor:
  • sudo apt-get install dconf-tools
  • dconf-editor
  • in dconf-editor go to: /org/gnome/desktop/wm/keybindings/
  • Find switch-to-workspace-down, put ['disabled'] instead of default
  • same for ...-up
  • quit dconf-editor and you are done

Use a custom navigatable and colorful version of the tree command

• Put the custom tree file under ${THIS_PROJECT}/script to ~/bin.
• On Ubuntu 16.04 ~/bin is automatically included in $PATH (see ~/.profile), if not add it manually.