If you are using Ubuntu 11.10 as your Linux Desktop, then you will find that when you minimize any application, there is no visual cue where the application has been minimized. And the only way of bringing the minimized application to the front is to use the application switcher [Alt + Tab] key combination.

In traditional GNOME desktop, there was a task list bar which gave you a visual cue of all the open and minimized applications on your desktop which made retrieving minimized applications much easier.

In Ubuntu 11.10 though, a task list bar in the traditional sense is missing.

A task list bar is quite useful when you want a view of all the applications you have minimized.

Fortunately, it is possible to provide a task-bar in Ubuntu 11.10 running Unity Desktop. Just install and run the tint2 package to get a taskbar in Ubuntu 11.10.

$ sudo apt-get install tint2

Tint2 is a simple panel/taskbar specifically made for Openbox3, that also works with other window managers. It can be configured to include among other things a system tray, a task list, a battery monitor and a clock. Its look can also be configured a great deal, and it does not have many dependencies. This makes it ideal for window manager users who want a panel but do not have one.

Once you have installed tint2 in Ubuntu 11.10, you should open the tint2 configuration file (~/.config/tint2/tint2rc) and edit the panel_size parameter to the following value.

...
# Panel
...
panel_size = 84% 30
...

This is done to reduce the width of the panel so as not to overlap the side band of Unity desktop.

Also to save screen space, you should enable autohide for the panel by setting its value to 1.

...
# Panel Autohide
autohide = 1
...

Next you should add tint2 to the list of startup programs. (See how to run programs during GNOME startup).

The end result is as shown in the screen shot below.

Tint2 taskbar for Ubuntu 11.10

Tint2 taskbar on Ubuntu 11.10 Desktop

You can configure tint2 extensively. Full documentation on how to configure tint2 is found here.

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