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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

<div class="next">

</div>

<div class="tip">

<p>To learn about the many keyboard shortcuts in GNOME, open the
<i>Settings</i>. At the bottom of the <b>Keyboard</b> section, choose
<b>View and Customize Shortcuts</b>.</p>

<h3 id="favorites">Favorites submenu</h3>

In the <span class="guisubmenu">Favorites</span> submenu, a few
shortcuts allow you to launch the most frequently used applications:

[[!img lib/apps/tor-browser.png link="no" alt=""]]

<p><b><i>Tails Documentation</i></b> opens an offline version of the Tails
website and documentation.</p>

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</div>

<p>See [[emailing and reading news with
<i>Thunderbird</i>|anonymous_internet/thunderbird]].</p>

<p>See [[managing passwords with
<i>KeePassXC</i>|encryption_and_privacy/manage_passwords]].</p>

<h2 id="places">Places menu</h2>