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The bars across the top and bottom of the desktop are called ''panels''. The top panel (shown below) contains the desktop menus, icons to launch commonly used applications such as the web browser and email client and other items such as the date and time and various status indicators.
[[Image:fedora_gnome_top_panel.jpg| Fedora GNOME Desktop Top Panel]]
The panel along the bottom of the desktop (shown below) contains button to hide and show the currently running applications, an area for switching between workspaces, a button to hide all currently visible application windows and an icon to open the trash can.
[[Image:fedora_gnome_bottom_panel.jpg| Fedora GNOME Desktop Bottom Panel]]
Although only two panels are configured by default you can add as many panels you you need to the desktop (although obviously there are limits on the amount of space on the desktop to accommodate the panels).
The ''Background'' tab of the ''Panel Properties'' dialog provides control over the background of the panel. The panel can be a specific color, the color dictated by the current theme, a user defined image or transparent to a specific degree:
[[Image:fedora_gnome_panel_background_properties.jpg| Fedora GNOME Panel Background Properties]]
== Adding Items to a GNOME Destop Panel ==
The GNOME desktop supports multiple desktop workspaces (these are essentially individual screens which the user can switch between to avoid having to have all applications cluttered onto one screen). Switching between workspaces is achieved by clicking on the workspaces in the bottom desktop panel. The image below shows the panel from a desktop with four workspaces:
[[Image:fedora_linux_workspaces.jpg| Fedora GNOME increasing number of workspaces]]
By default, Fedora configures four workspaces. To increase the number of workspaces, right click with the mouse on the workspace control (as shown above) in the panel and select ''Preferences''. Simply increase the ''Number of workspaces'' value to the desired number. The name of each workspace may be changed by double clicking on the default name in the list (Desk 1, Desk 2 etc) and typing in a new name.
