7 things to do after installing Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Diolinux

Version 20.04 is Ubuntu’s newest LTS (Long Term Support), which just came out of the oven a few hours ago. With the recent launch of this one, which promises to be the first “well finished” Ubuntu LTS after the end of the Unity project, a large number of users are “rolling up their sleeves” to install and test the newly launched system.

For those who can’t wait to try Ubuntu 20.04, here is an article “full” of post installation tips. A compilation of tips that will help you get the best that the system has to offer, without spilling a single drop of sweat. ?

Experienced users already know how to do everything they want, regardless of the distro. However, many people are in this world that we recently called Linux, and have not yet gained enough knowledge to be able to enjoy the best that systems have to offer.

After all, nobody is born knowing. And a little help is always welcome, isn’t it? ?

Mouse and keyboard bet? So come with me!

1. Update the system

You may be asking yourself, «Why should I update a system I just installed?»

Even if you check the option «Download updates while installing», systems are often not fully updated when installation is complete. It is quite common to find up to hundreds of megabytes of updates the first time the system is started.

Updates are always important, but when a system has just been released that importance is even greater. As much as the systems are tested during development, and in the Alpha and Beta phases, at launch it will receive a much larger number of simultaneous users. A much larger number of users using different hardware and software can bring up bugs that went unnoticed during the testing phase.

These last-minute bugs, at least the most important ones, are always fixed as quickly as possible. And each MB of update can contain corrections that are extremely important for the proper functioning of the system.

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Alternatively, the system can also be updated by Ubuntu Software through the tab “Updates“.

And of course we couldn’t forget about him, the infamous terminal. If you want, you also have the option to update your system through it, using the following command.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

2. Installing video drivers on your Ubuntu

Having the correct video drivers installed is essential to having the best possible experience with an operating system. Therefore, nothing more logical than our next step being exactly that.

Nvidia

Fortunately it has been a while since installing Nvidia drivers on Ubuntu has become extremely simple. Adding third-party repositories, scouring the internet for downloads, or even running commands on the terminal have become a thing of the past.

As you can see in this article, since version 19.10 Nvidia’s proprietary drivers are already included in the Ubuntu installation ISO. Which means that in current versions of the system, such drivers can be installed with a few clicks through a utility that is already installed by default on the system.

We already wrote a full article dedicated to explaining in detail the step by step how to install the drivers for your Nvidia GPU on Ubuntu.

OMG

If you, like me, use a video card from AMD, know that the drivers are already installed by default in virtually all Linux distributions. Regardless of your GPU model.

Cool huh? ?

The driver that is installed by default is usually the best option for the vast majority of users. However, if your AMD GPU is a “Sea Island” or “Southern Island” (some models in the Radeon HD7000, R5, R7 and R9 series), there is a possibility that you may need to activate a certain feature in order to run Vulkan applications. , as well as getting better performance from your hardware.

I already wrote one article listing all GPU models that need this procedure, as well as teaching you how to do it.

In addition, there is also the driver that is available on AMD’s own website, but make no mistake, this is a good option only for some very specific cases.

We already have an article explaining everything you need to know about AMD drivers on Linux. Through it you will know if any procedure is necessary for your hardware, and if so, you will also learn how to perform it.

Similar to Snaps, Flatpak is a sandboxed software packaging format. In layman’s terms, we can say that Flatpak is a way of installing software on Linux distributions.

Its characteristic of being installed and running in sandbox, makes the programs installed in Flatpak are isolated from the rest of the system. Each one in its own “box”. Even so, the way to use them is exactly the same as the software installed by traditional methods.

If you’re still in doubt about what these Flatpaks are, This article it will certainly give you “a light” on the subject.

Enabling Flatpaks support in Ubuntu is very easy! First install the “flatpak” package using the command below:

sudo apt install flatpak

In order to have a large number of Flatpak software available for installation, we will add support for Flathub. A software store / repository made available in this packaging format. To do this, copy the command below and run it on your terminal:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

The Snap Store is the new standard app store for Ubuntu 20.04, which came to replace GNOME Software. At the time this article is being written the Snap Store (which continues to be identified in the system as Ubuntu Software) does not yet have compatibility with applications in Flatpak. Therefore, to work with this format through the graphical interface at this time, it will be necessary to install the good old GNOME Software.

To install GNOME Software on Ubuntu 20.04 run the command below on your terminal:

sudo apt install gnome-software

Finally, we will enable support for Flatpaks within GNOME Software. In your application menu search for “Software”(This is how GNOME Software is identified in the system). Open GNOME Software, click on the “Installed”, Scroll down the page until you find the application“Software”(Which is GNOME Software itself), and click on it.

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At the bottom of the page, check the “Flatpak support”. And wait for the installation to finish.

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Once the procedure is complete, GNOME Software will ask you to restart. Click in «Restart now«, and ready! If you are not prompted, you may need to restart your system. All the Flatpak software available on Flathub is now available in your app store.

identifying-aplocacoes-flatpak-na-gnome-software

To find out if a store application is a Flatpak or not, as shown in the image above, look at the contents of the “Source”. If something is written with “flathub”, it means that such a package is a Flatpak.

One of the most apparent new features of this new version of Ubuntu is its new themes, as well as the possibility to switch between them directly through the system settings.

In previous versions of the system, it was necessary to install software called GNOME Tweaks for theme changes to be made on the system. Fortunately, Canonical’s developers finally implemented this functionality so basic, that it should have been present in the system for years.

The session for changing themes in Ubuntu settings is still very limited, nothing compared to what GNOME Tweaks allows us to do. Still, it is a very welcome addition.

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To switch between the three themes available by default in Ubuntu 20.04, go to “settings”, And then click on the“Appearance”. As shown in the image below, choose between the “Light”, “Standard” and “Dark” themes.

5. Solving the old emoji bug

It is not new that there is a bug in several Linux distributions that makes emojis appear completely wrong in browsers.

Instead of showing the well-known yellow faces, only their black outlines are displayed.

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Okay! This is certainly not a problem for Diolinux readers. Already we wrote an article showing you how to solve this problem in Google Chrome, Chromium and Firefox. The method may or may not work for other browsers, but the tests were performed only on those mentioned.

6. Enable the “minimize when clicking” option

By default, the only way to minimize a window in Ubuntu is to click on the “Minimize” button in the upper right corner of the window. However, many people prefer to click on the applications icon itself in the sidebar to minimize them.

To activate such functionality in Ubuntu 20.04 all you need to do is run the command below on your terminal.

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock click-action 'minimize'

For more information on how to reverse this procedure, or perform it through the graphical interface, see the article we did on the subject.

7. Useful Software

Some software is quite useful, some even mandatory on a newly installed system. Now I will show you some programs that can come in very handy, and avoid possible inconvenience at inopportune moments.

“Ubuntu-restricted-extras” is a package that contains media codecs and fonts that for licensing reasons are not installed by default in Ubuntu. Installing this package is essential for you who want to have your system ready to run all major audio and video formats without headaches.

To install the package, run the command below on your terminal:

sudo apt install ubuntu-restricted-extras

Unrar

Nowadays it is still quite common to find compressed files in the «.rar» format on the internet. However, this is a proprietary format, and by default the Ubuntu compression manager is not able to work with it.

But thanks to Unrar, this isn’t even a problem. Once installed, Unrar makes Ubuntu’s compressed file manager compatible with extracting files in the “.rar” format.

To install Unrar, simply run the command below on your terminal:

sudo apt install unrar

GNOME Tweaks

As I mentioned earlier, GNOME Tweaks allows the user to change various settings that for some reason (which only devs know) have been removed, or have not been implemented in the GNOME Shell’s native settings menu, and therefore Ubuntu.

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A very useful feature for notebook users that can be activated with GNOME Tweaks is the display of the battery percentage in the top bar. Or, change the direction of movement to scroll pages on the touchpad.

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In addition, through GNOME Tweaks you can also change interface themes, icon themes, fonts, extensions, and several other items that give you much greater control and customization capabilities over your system.

GNOME Tweaks can be found in the application store (GNOME Software), and also in the Snap Store under the name “GNOME Settings”.

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If you prefer, it can also be installed through the terminal with the command:

sudo apt install gnome-tweaks

Final considerations

After going through all the steps listed above, your system will certainly be ready to “face any stop”. ? All you need to do now is install the software you like and use, and enjoy your Ubuntu 20.04 and all its new features.

Have you installed Ubuntu 20.04 just now? Or have you been testing the system since before the release of the final version? Share in the comments what are your joys and disappointments with this new version of the system, and how is your experience with it. ?

Do you like Linux and technology? Have a question or problem that you can’t solve? Come join our community in the forum Diolinux Plus!

That’s all, folks! ?