Gnome 46 banner, “Kathmandu”
The new version of Gnome 46 is already among us and complying with its release schedule (after six months of development) Gnome 46 arrives implementing a large number of changes, improvements and bug fixes, of which in this article we will address the most important ones of this new release.
This new presentation of the Gnome desktop environment in version 46, the code name that I know has been assigned to this release It is “Kathmandu”, which is mentioned to be in recognition "of the incredible work done by the organizers of Gnome Asia 2023."
Main new features of Gnome 46, “Kathmandu”
Among the most important changes that are presented, the new global search function, which allows search in several predefined places in the settings in addition to the home directory, and offers options to search file contents and filter files by type and last modified date. Additionally, a search function has been added to the file manager settings interface, along with the option to display detailed date and time information.
Another new feature that Gnome 46, “Kathmandu” presents, is the configuration interface update with simplified navigation and a new section called "System", which includes localization, language, date/time, SSH, user accounts and remote desktop connection parameters.
Also touch panel settings have been improved, as it now presents options to configure actions when pressing the second (right) button, tapping with two fingers and clicking in the corner of the touchpad, as well as an option has been added to disable the touchpad lock while typing , useful for some applications and games.
Has modernized the interface design for configuring “Online Accounts”, with the addition of a new account type, “WebDAV”, which allows access to external address books and calendars. Connecting to accounts now uses the default web browser, which has made it easier to incorporate additional authentication methods such as USB tokens. Also updated to manage connections to external services, as it now includes support for Microsoft OneDrive and setting up an account for Microsoft 365. When connected, the “OneDrive” button appears in the sidebar, allowing you to view the contents of the “OneDrive” storage in a similar way to local files .
Nautilus (files) has seen code improvements and performance optimizations, as this resolved the issue with progressive drawing on the screen, added a progress indicator for long-running operations in the sidebar, more available network devices now appear in the "Other Locations" view, and now includes an option to display the date and time in a more complete and consistent format.
Of the other changes that stand out:
- Specific layouts have been added for entering phone numbers, emails, and URLs, along with an automatic capitalization mode. Additionally, tap-to-click gesture processing has been enabled by default.
- GNOME Software now displays special labels for verified Flathub apps, with a new design in the settings section and the ability to merge metadata from different sources in AppStream format.
- The interface for editing points of interest on OpenStreetMap maps has been redesigned, route construction has been improved, support for a dark theme has been added, and a new map display style has been implemented.
- In GNOME Shell, the interface has been redesigned to simplify navigation through the list of installed plugins, allowing the deactivation of plugins that have been automatically deactivated.
Finally If you are interested in knowing more about it, you can check the details in the following link
If you are interested in trying out GNOME 46 and its capabilities, you should know that specialized Live builds such as openSUSE and a prepared installation image are offered as part of the GNOME OS initiative.