Using Ubuntu

OSGeo provides the Ubuntu operating system to distribute it's package of software. Ubuntu is one of the versions of Linux that is freely available. Unlike many of these, Ubuntu is very easy to use and you rarely have to go into a command-line window.

Introduction

First, click on the icon in the lower-left and click on each of the menu items to see what is available in OSGeo.

Folder Structure

The folder structure is a little different form MS-Windows but contains much of the same information.

• File System
  • Media: Additional drives appear in this folder
  • bin: Operating system commands?
  • etc: Configuration files
  • home: The folders for each user's information

For more information see the LINUX Directory Structure Explained.

Menus

Most of the applications availably on Ubuntu can be accessed through the menu at the top of the screen.

• Applications
  • Web Browser
  • Accessories
    • Terminal Emulator (command line console)
      • Note that you can also right-click in a window and select "Open Terminal Here"
• Geospatial
  • Databases
    • pgAmin: PostgreSQL admin application
    • QGIS Browser
  • Desktop GIS
    • QGIS
  • Spatial Tools
    • R Statistic
    • TileMill
  • Web Services
    • GeoServer
      • Admin GeoServer

Task Bar

Ubuntu also has a very Mac-like task bar at the bottom of the screen for quick access to commonly used pediculation.

Managing Files

If you do not see the desktop, close any open windows by clicking on the "x" in the upper-right of each window. The desktop looks and works in a very similar way to MS-Windows. You can drag folders around and double-click on them to open them. You can also right click to create a new folder or delete an existing folder. There is even a "trash" bin instead of a "recycling" bin.

Let's create our standard geospatial folder structure to put data into.

1. Double-click on the "Home" folder. This is your folder as you have a "User" folder in MS-Windows.
2. Right click to create a new folder for "GISData"
3. In this folder, create folders for "1_Originals", "2_Working", and "3_Final".

Running Applications

Go ahead and select "Geospatial -> Desktop GIS -> QGIS". This will run QGIS and add it to the menu bar at the top of the screen. This is important as it will help you find QGIS if it is minimized or is hidden behind other applications. For now, close QGIS with the "x" in the upper right corner of the window, we'll come back to it later.

Logging Out

When you're ready to leave, you can select "Applications -> Log Out". Typically, you'll want to "Shut Down" the virtual machine.

Additional Actions (probably not required)

Changing Permissions

For some tasks, you will want to be an administrator in Ubuntu.

1. In Ubuntu, select Applications -> System -> Users and Groups
2. Click on your name
3. Click on the "Change..." button next to "Account type:"
4. Enter your password to "Authenticate"
5. Change the account type to "Administrator"
6. Click "OK" and then "Close"
7. You will need to log out (Applications -> Log Out) and then log in again for the computer to see you as an administrator

When you are managing servers, you will typically be an administrator. You do not typically want to be an administrator on a computer because you can accidently make major changes to the computer but a server is just used for serving data and you will be very careful when working on it.

Linux commands

cd /	Changes directory to the root
ls	Lists the contents of the directory
pwd	Shows the current directory

You may need to have administrator permissions to use some comments. Prefixing the command with "sudo" allows this.

1. sudo reboot -n // reboot with admin permissions
2. sudo mdkir test // make a new directory