The desktop environment used in Tails is [GNOME](https://www.gnome.org). This page describes some important features of the desktop in the context of Tails.

<h1 id="top-navigation-bar">Top navigation bar</h1>

In the upper left corner of the screen there is one button and three menus:

The <b>Activities</b> button

The <span class="guimenu">Applications</span> menu

The <span class="guimenu">Places</span> menu

<h2 id="activities">Activities overview</h2>

To access your windows and applications you can either:

Click on the <b>Activities</b> button.

- Throw your mouse pointer to the top-left hot corner.

- Press the [[!img lib/start.png class="symbolic" link="no" alt="Super"]] key on your keyboard.

You can see your windows and applications in the overview. You can also start typing to search your applications, files, and folders.

<h2 id="applications">Applications menu</h2>

[[!img applications.png link="no" class="screenshot" alt=""]]

<p><b><i>Settings</i></b></p>

<p>To change various system settings such as keyboard, mouse,
touchpad, or displays, choose <b>System Tools&nbsp;▸ Settings</b>.</p>

<div class="next">

<p>By default, any setting that you change in Tails is lost when you shut
down. Only the settings that you saved in the [[Persistent
Storage|persistent_storage]] are restored when you restart Tails.</p>

</div>

<div class="tip">