Contents
Overview
The gnome-panel module provides:
- the panel
- the libpanel-applet library. This library allows one to develop small applications which may be embedded in the panel. These are called applet.
several applets (the Workspace Switcher, the Window List, the Window Selector, the Notification Area, the Clock and the infamous 'Wanda the Fish') (other applets are in GnomeApplets)
Creating a panel in an empty desktop
Right click in the desktop and create a launcher to execute "gnome-panel".
Helping on the gnome-panel module
The panel itself is a lot of code and it might not be easy to understand it all the first time you look at it. But it's not that difficult 
Working on the applets is, however, quite easy.
We are looking for people who are using multihead setups. These people can help us test/develop the panel with their configuration. The panel might be buggy in multihead setups because none of the developer is using a multihead setup...
Before working on a bug, please add a comment to the relevant bug in bugzilla.
Love tasks
You can find on bugzilla a list of gnome-panel tasks for new contributors.
Please ask the maintainers before starting a task, or add a note in bugzilla.
2.12 plans
see list of 2.12 targeted bugs
- dbus interface to manage applets
- possibility to change the menu layouts
- gnome-panel-manager/applet-manager (maybe?)
DavydMadeley: Also see AppletsRevisited
2.12 panel-related plans
I (VincentUntz) am planning to work on these items for the 2.12 release. Help is of course welcome.
gnomebug:95331 Simplify new launcher dialog
Initial patch is attached to the bug but needs more work
gnomebug:137953 menu editing
A menu editor should be written from scratch.
Future
Some ideas about the future of gnome-panel are being agregated in GnomePanel/Future.
