UserGuide

WelcometotheUserGuideoftheSolusoperatingsystem.
ThisguidewillwalkyouthroughtheinstallationandusageofSolus.
Release3June20th,2016

Preface

Solusisbuiltbycontributorsvolunteeringtheirtimeandresourcestocreatethisfreeand
opensourceoperatingsystem.Wearegratefulforeveryonescontributionsandloveto
continuouslyprovidesupportandimproveSolus.

IfyoufeelyouhavebenefitedfromtheuseofSolus,weencourageyoutohelpsupportus
andourmission.

Toseehowyoucansupporttheproject,goto:

https://solusproject.com/support/

Sincerely,
SolusProjectTeam

TableofContents

Installation
PreparingtoInstall
GettingtheISO
GettingtheRightTool
Linux
DVD
USB
GraphicalTool
CommandLine
Windows
DVD
USB
WritingtheISO
Linux
DVD
USB
GraphicalTool
CommandLine
Windows
DVD
USB
BoottheImage
UsingTheDesktop
AboutBudgie
Accessibility
BudgieMenu
Raven
KeyboardShortcuts
BudgieSettings
CommonTasks
Browsingtheweb
Checkingemail
Listeningtomusic
Watchingvideos
Installingandupdatingsoftware
Managingyourfiles
Managingyoursystem
ChangingBackground
ConfiguringDateandTime

ConfiguringDisplays
ConfiguringLanguage
ConfiguringKeyboardLayout
ConfiguringMouseandTouchpad
ConfiguringNetwork
NonHiddenNetwork
HiddenNetwork
ConfiguringSoundandSoundDevices
Raven
Settingsapp
EnableDesktopIcons
EnableProprietaryDrivers
OtherSystemSettings
ManagingUsers
AddingaUser
RemovingaUser
Advanced
Deliveringsoftwareonthesystem
Gettinginvolved
Google+andForums
IRC
Reportingissues
UsingthePackageManager
OtherResources

Installation

PreparingtoInstall

GettingtheISO

ThefirststeptoinstallingSolusisacquiringthecorrectmedia.TheSolusProjectprovides
ISOimages,whichcontainthecontentsoftheSolusoperatingsystemforinstalling.

YoucandownloadaSolusISObygoingtoour
Download
page.Werecommendusingthe
latest
stable
releaseofSolus,whichiscurrently1.2.

Note
:Ifyouareasupporteronour
Patreon
,weprovideearlyaccesstonewbuildsandfeatures.Ifobtaining
accesstonewbuildsearlyinterestsyou,aswellassupportingdevelopment,supportusonPatreon!

GettingtheRightTool

ThereisamultitudeoftoolsenablethewritingofourISOimagetoDVDsorUSBthumb
drives.Below,webreakitapartacrossLinuxandWindows.

Linux

DVD

Werecommendusing
Brasero
forwritingtheISOtoaDVD.

USB

GraphicalTool

Werecommendusing
GnomeMultiWriter
.Pleasenotethatunetbootinwill
not
work.

CommandLine

Forthosecomfortablewiththecommandline/terminal,wewillwalkyouthroughusing
dd
.

Windows

DVD

YoucaneasilyburnanISOimagetoaDVD,onWindows7andnewer,byusingWindow's
builtinfilemanager(Explorer),rightclickingontheISOimagefile,andclickingBurndisk
image.

USB

YoucaneasilyburnanISOimagetoaUSBbyusinggraphicaltool
Rufus
.

WritingtheISO

TowritetheISO,youwillneed:

1. EitherablankDVDoraUSBdrivelargerthan1GB.
2. IfusingaUSB,theabilitytobootfromtheUSB.
3. ISOfromtheGettingtheISOsection

Linux

DVD

1.
2.
3.
4.

InsertblankDVD(DVDRorDVD+RWissuitable)intoyourDVDwriter.
OpenBrasero.
SelecttheoptionBurnimage.
ClicktheClickheretoselectadiscimagebuttonandusingthefiledialog,choose
theISO.
5. EnsurethecorrectDVDisselectedintheSelectadisctowriteto.
6. ClickBurnandwait.
7. UponseeingImagesuccessfullyburnedtoDVD,clickClose.

USB

GraphicalTool

UponopeningGnomeMultiWriter,youwilllikelybeshownawindowsimilartotheone
below,intheeventyourUSBdriveisalreadypluggedin.

IfyourUSBdriveisnotplugged,youwillbepromptedwithanimageindicatingtoplugitin.

Next,clicktheStartCopyingbutton,andyouwillbepromptedtoselecttheISO.Choosethe
ISOyoudownloadedinthe
GettingtheISO
section.TheUSBwillautomaticallybewrittento.

Uponcompletion,youwillbepromptedwillthefollowingdialogandyourUSBisnowready
foruse.

CommandLine

Pleasefollowthestepsbelow,whichguideyouthroughinstallationusingtheutility
dd
:

1. InsertyourUSBdriveinyourcomputerandopenyourTerminal.
2. Type
lsblk
intoyourTerminal.Itshouldoutputsomethingalongthelinesof:

NAMEMAJ:MINRMSIZEROTYPEMOUNTPOINT
sda8:00111.8G0disk
sda18:10350M0part
sda28:2039.7G0part
sda38:3071.8G0part/
sdb8:6417.5G0disk
sdb18:651712M0part
sdb28:66117.2M0part

3. Youwillseeonedisk,inmycase
/dev/sdb,
thatisroughlythesizeofmyUSBDrive.
Yoursshouldbesimilar(
differencebeinginsize
).Writethisdevicedown
somewhere.
4. LocatethedownloadedISO.ItwillmostlikelybeinyourDownloadsfolder.Inthe
eventthatitis,type:
cd~/Downloads

IfitisnotinyourDownloadsfolder,use
cd
tonavigatetothecorrectdirectory.

5. DangerousStep
:Thisiswherewe
overwrite
thecontentsofyourUSBdriveso
pleaseensureyouidentifiedthe
current
driveinlsblkstageabove.Mycommandis
below,howeveryoumayneedtoreplace
sdb
withthedrivewelocatedabove:

sudoddif=Solus1.2.isoof=/dev/sdbbs=1M;sudosync;sudoeject/dev/sdb

ThiswillwritethecontentsoftheISOtothethumbdrivesoyoucanbootitandalsomake
surethedataissynchronisedsoyoucanejecttheUSBsafely.

Windows

DVD

1.
2.
3.
4.

OpenWindow'sbuiltinfilemanager(Explorer).
RightclickontheISOimagefileandclickingBurndiskimage.
SelectthecorrectDiscburner.
ClickBurn.

USB

1.
2.
3.
4.

OpenRufus.
EnsureyourdeviceiscorrectbycheckingthecontentsoftheDevicedropdown.
ClicktheCDiconfoundintheimagebelow,andselecttheISO.
Untickalloptions
except
"Createabootablediskusing"andusethedropdownto
select"DDImage".
5. ClickStart.

BoottheImage

NowitistimetorestartyourcomputertoboottheDVDorISO.Mostcomputerswill
automaticallybootfromDVDsandUSB,howeverifyouexperienceissuesbootingthe
media,youmayneedtoselecttobootfromDVDorISO.

Thisisusuallyaccessiblebypressing`F9`or`F12`whileyourcomputerisbooting.

UsingTheDesktop

Designedwiththemodernuserinmind,itfocusesonsimplicityandelegance.

AboutBudgie

BudgieistheflagshipdesktopenvironmentoftheSolusOperatingSystem.Itis
designed
withthemodernuserinmind,itfocusesonsimplicityandelegance,whilebeingpowerful
andcustomizableenoughtomakeityourown.

Accessibility

BudgiehasbeentestedandrefinedtoensureHighContrastthemingworksoutofthebox
andenablingusagebyindividualswithvisualimpairments.

BudgieMenu

Thismenuenablesquickaccesstoyour
installedprogramsandofferscategoryand
compactviews.

Raven

Budgieshipswithanapplet,notificationand
customizationcenterreferredtoasRaven.

Ravenenablesyouto:

1. Easilyaccesscalendarinformation,sound
volume,mediaplayercontrols,andmorevia
Appletsview.
2. Manageincomingapplicationandsystem
notificationsviaNotificationsview
3. CustomizeyourBudgieandsystem
experiencebyenablingyouto:
1. TogglesystemwideDarktheme.
2. ChangeGTKandicontheming
3. Add,remove,andmodifyBudgie
panels,theirpropertiesaswellastheirdisplayed
applets.
4. Obtainquickaccesstosystemsettingsand
poweroptionssuchasrestart,suspend,and
shutdown.

YoucanaccessRavenbyclickingthestatusicons
(suchasnotificationbell)inthetoprightcornerof
thescreenorviatheKeyboardShortcutstated
below.

KeyboardShortcuts

WeprovidenumerouskeyboardshortcutstoenablequickaccesstoareasoftheBudgie
desktop.

KeyboardShortcut

Action

Windowskey(alsoWindowskey+S)

OpenBudgieMenu

Windowskey+A

OpenAppletsinRaven

Windowskey+N

OpenNotificationsinRaven

BudgieSettings

YoucancustomizeyourBudgiedesktop
experienceviaRaven.Clickthecogwheelicon
whenyouhaveRavenopen.

IntheBudgieSettingsGeneralsection,youcan
choosetouseaglobalDarktheme,widget
theme,andicontheming

IntheBudgieSettingsPanelsection,youcan
choose:
Ifthepanelshouldbeontoporbottom.
Howtallthepanelisandwhetherithasa
shadow.
Thepositioningofindividualapplets(like
theclock).
Individualsectionsforapplets(clickonthe
IconTaskListappletasanexampleandseethe
cogwheellightup.)
Sometimesindividualappletshave
furthercustomizationoptions!TheIconTaskList
enablesyoutoenlargetheicons,forexample.

CommonTasks

Solusaimstomaketheeverydayexperienceofcomputingeasier.
Weprovidenumerousapplicationsoutoftheboxtomakeyourexperience
seamless.

Browsingtheweb

SoluscomespreinstalledwithFirefox,asecureandtrustworthywebbrowserprovidedby
thenonprofitorganization
Mozilla
.

Checkingemail

Soluscomespreinstalledwiththepowerful
Thunderbird
email,newsgroup,andfeedsclient.

Listeningtomusic

SoluscomespreinstalledwiththerockinmusicplayerRhythmboxaswellasthenecessary
codecstoplayallyourfavoritemusic!

Watchingvideos

SoluscomespreinstalledwiththeVLCMediaPlayer,enablingyoutowatchyourfavorite
movies,t.v.shows,DVDs,andBlurays.

Installingandupdatingsoftware

Youcaninstallsoftware(suchasthefreeofficesuiteLibreOffice)aswellasupdating
softwareviaourSoftwareCenter.

Managingyourfiles

Solusprovidessoftwarethatenablesyoutostore,organize,andviewyourfiles(suchas
documents,music,pictures,andvideos).

Managingyoursystem

ChangingBackground

YoucanchangeyourbackgroundbygoingtotheBudgieMenu,openingSettings,then
clickingBackground.

Youwillhavetwooptions,BackgroundandLockScreen.SelectBackground.

Inthissection,youcanchoosebetweenpredefinedwallpapers,picturesinyourPictures
folder,orsolidcolors.Afterchoosing,clickSelect.

ConfiguringDateandTime

YoucanconfigurethedateandtimeofyoursystembygoingtotheBudgieMenu,opening
theSettingsappthengoingtotheDate&Timesection.

Youwillbepresentedwiththefollowingwindow.Thiswindowprovidesyoutheabilityto
enable/disableautomaticdate&time,automatictimezonechanging,andthetimeformat.

ConfiguringDisplays

Youcanconfigureyourdisplay(s)bygoingtotheBudgieMenu,openingtheSettingsapp,
andclickingtheDisplayssection.

Youwillthenbeshownthefollowingwindow.

Inthiswindow,youcanselectindividualdisplaystoconfigure.Clickingonanitemwillshow
thefollowingdialog.

Thiswindowwillenableyoutoselectifyouwishtousethismonitorastheprimaryor
secondarydisplay,mirroritwithanotherdisplay,orturnitoff.

Italsogivesyousizeandaspectratio,abilitytorotatethedisplay,andabilitytochangethe
resolution.

GoingbacktotheDisplayssection,youalsohavetheoptiontoarrangeyourdisplays.Click
theArrangeCombinedDisplaystobepresentedwiththefollowingwindow.

ConfiguringLanguage

YoucanchangeyourlanguagebygoingtotheBudgieMenu,openingSettings,thenclicking
RegionandLanguage.

Youwillnowbeshownthefollowingdialog.

Inthisdialog,clickLanguage.

Thefollowingdialogwillappear.

Here,youcanselectthelanguageyouwishyoursystemtouse.Ifitdoesnotappearinthis
list,clickthe
button.

Youwillcomeacrossthefollowingdialogwhereyoucantypeyourlanguage.

SelectthelanguagefromthelistandclickDone.You
may
needtologoutandlogintoyour
computertochangethelanguage.

ConfiguringKeyboardLayout

YoucanchangeyourlanguagebygoingtotheBudgieMenu,openingSettings,thenclicking
RegionandLanguage.

Youwillnowbeshownthefollowingdialog.

Clickthe
+
buttontoaddaninputsource(keyboardlayout).Youwillbeshownthefollowing
dialog.

Here,youcanselectthelanguageandthenkeyboardlayoutwithineachlanguagesection.If
itdoesnotappearinthislist,clickthe
button.Thiswillenableyoutosearchforthe
keyboardlayoutyouwishtouse.

Afterchoosingthekeyboardlayout,clickDone.Youwillbebroughtbacktothefollowing
dialogwithyournewkeyboardlayout.Intheimagebelow,wearenowusingEnglish(US)
andFinnishlayout.

Youcanremoveakeyboardlayoutbyclickononeoftheitems,forinstanceFinnish,then
clickingthe

button.

Ifyouwishtousemultiplekeyboardlayouts,youcanswitchtothembyusing:

Windowskey+Space

ConfiguringMouseandTouchpad

Youcanconfigurethesettingsofyourmouseand/ortouchpadbygoingtotheBudgieMenu,
openingtheSettingsapp,thenclickingtheMouse&Touchpadsection.

Youwillbepresentedwiththefollowingwindow.Inthiswindow,youcansetifyouwantyour
primarybutton(usuallyleftclick)tobeleftorright,speedofdoubleclicking,andindividual
pointerspeedsformouseandtouchpad.

YoucanalsotoggleTaptoclick(clickviatouchpad),twofingerscrolling,andnatural
scrolling(reversedscrollingdirections).

YoucanalsotestyoursettingsbyclickingtheTestYourSettingsbuttoninthetoprightof
thewindow.

ConfiguringNetwork

Youcanconfigureyournetworksettingssuchaswirelessnetworking,bygoingtotheBudgie
Menu,openingSettings,thenclickingNetwork.

Toconfigurewireless,gototheWiFisection.Ifyourwirelessiscurrentlyturnedoff,clickthe
togglebutton,leavetheNetworksection,andgobackin.

NonHiddenNetwork

Clicktheaccesspointyouwishtoconnectto.

Youmaynowbepromptedtoauthenticatewiththenetwork.Typeinyourpasswordand
thenclickConnect.

Ifyourpasswordiscorrect,youwillnowbeauthenticatedwiththenetwork.

HiddenNetwork

Ifyouwishtoconnecttoahiddennetwork,clickConnecttoHiddenNetwork.Itwillshow
thefollowingdialog,whereyoutypetheSSID(nameofthenetwork)andtypeofsecurity(if
any).

Ifthenetworkisfound,youwillbepromptedtoauthenticatewiththenetwork(ifithas
security).

ConfiguringSoundandSoundDevices

Youcanconfiguresounddevices,changevolumeandenable/disabledevicesthroughtwo
methods

Raven

YoucanaccesssoundsettingsviatheSound
appletinRaven.Pleaseconsultthe
Raven
section
of
UsingDesktop
forinformationon
accessRaven.

Settingsapp

Youcanaccessfurthersoundsettings,includingindividualapplicationvolumecontrols,by
goingtotheBudgieMenu,openingSettings,thenclickingSound.

Youwillbeshownthefollowingwindow.

EnableDesktopIcons

YoucanenabledesktopiconsbygoingtoopeningupRaven,goingtotheBudgieSettings
byclickingonthecogwheel,andtogglingonDesktopIconsundertheGeneral>
Backgroundsection.

YoumaynowaddthingstoyourDesktopby:

1. Openthefilemanager
2. Movethefilesyouwanttothe
Desktopfolder
(asshownintheimagebelow).

EnableProprietaryDrivers

Enablingproprietarydriversmayimproveperformanceorcertainfeatures,howevertheyare
usuallynotnecessaryfornormaldailyusage.

YoucanenableproprietaryAMDandNvidiadriversbygoingtotheBudgieMenuand
openingHardwareDrivers.

Youwillnowbeshownthefollowingprogram.

Ifthereareproprietarydriversthatcanbeinstalled,theywillshowupintheboxbelowthe
description.YoucanclicktheitemyouwishtoinstallandclickInstall.Arebootwillbe
requiredtousethenewlyinstalleddriver.

OtherSystemSettings

YoucanaccessothersystemsettingsviatheSettingsapp.Belowisatableofcommonly
changedsystemsettingsandtheirlocationintheSettingsapp.

Action

Location

ConfiguringBluetoothdevices

Bluetooth

ConfiguringWacomTablets

WacomTablet

ManagingUsers

Inthissection,wewillbereviewinghowtoaddandremoveusersonyourSolussystem.
Beforewebegin,gototheBudgieMenu,opentheSettingsapp,thengotoUsers.

Youwillbebroughttoawindowsimilartotheoneshownbelow.

Tomanageyourorothersaccounts,youfirstneedtoauthenticate.ClicktheUnlockbutton
inthetoprightcornerandtypetherootpassword(ifyouaretheonlyuser,thisislikelythe
samepasswordyouusetologin).

Intheeventitiscorrect,theUnlockbuttonwillchangetoLockandtheAdd/Remove
buttonswillbeclickable.

AddingaUser

Toaddauser,clickthe
+
buttoninthebottomleftcorneroftheUserswindow.Thiswill
showtheAddUserwindow(shownbelow).

Iftheuserwillnotneedadministratorprivileges,keepittoStandardAccountType.Ifthey
willneedadministratorprivileges,clickthedropdownandchooseAdministrator.

NextfillintheFullNameandUsername.

Youwillalsohavetheoptiontolettheuserchoosetheirownpassword.Optionallyyoucan
setitfortheuser.ClickAddwhenyouarefinished.TheUserisnowadded.

RemovingaUser

Toremoveauser,selecttheuserundertheOtherAccountssectionandclickthe

button.

Uponclickingtheremovetheuser,youwillbebroughttothefollowingwindow.

Inthiswindow,youhavetheoptiontokeeptheirfiles,deletethefiles,orcanceltheremoval
oftheusersaccount.

Advanced
Wevebuiltengine.Yougettotuneit.

Deliveringsoftwareonthesystem

SoftwareisdeliveredforSolusthroughtheSolusrepository.Intheeventyouwishtoprovide
opensource
softwareviatherepository,weprovidea
PackagingGuide
tohelpgetyou
started.

Gettinginvolved

Google+andForums

Withsomanynewusersjoining,therearealwaysmorepeopleneedinghelp.Agreatwaytohelp
usout,wouldbetohelpoutourusersonthe
SolusProjectForums
aswellas
Google+
community
.

IRC

InternetRelayChat
isagreatwaytodiscussissuesanddevelopmentwiththecommunity,
andprojectdevelopers.It'salsoagreatplaceforgettingsupport,butrememberdueto
timezonedifferencestheremightnotalwaysbepeoplepresenttoansweryourquery
immediately.

#SolusMainprojectIRCchannelfordiscussionsandsupport
#SolusChatOfftopicchannelforSolus
#SolusDevDevelopmenttalks,projectdevelopersinvariablypresent.

ThesechannelsareavailableontheFreenodeIRCserver.

Reportingissues

Youcanreportissuesviathe
Solusbugtracker
.

UsingthePackageManager

Solususestheeopkgpackagemanagementsystemtodeliversoftwaretotheenduser.You
canreadaboutthepackagemanager
here
.

OtherResources

Officialwebsite
Blog
SolusReleaseCycle
Soluswiki