Update Manager Indicator Displays The Number Of Updates On The Panel, More

Update Manager Indicator is an Ubuntu appindicator that shows up on the panel when there are updates available and comes with some extra features like showing a list of updates in a submenu, refresh the repositories or display NotifyOSD notifications when you have new updates.

There hasn't been a new Update Manager Indicator release in a while and the previous one was kind of buggy in Ubuntu Precise, so I've packaged the latest version from GIT and uploaded it to the main WebUpd8 PPA. The new version brings GTK3 support, an option to display the number of updates in the indicator icon and a new optional feature to upgrade in the background (until now, you could only use the Update Manager).

To install Update Manager Indicator in Ubuntu 11.10 or 12.04, use the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install indicator-updatemanager

By default, the Update Manager Indicator icon shows up only when there are updates available. To run it and open the preferences (e.g.: the first time, so you can configure it to always display the icon, etc.), run the following command:

update_indicator --with-preferences

Update Manager Indicator is very customizable: you can enable/disable displaying the number of updates in the appindicator icon, enable/disable the notifications, change the upgrade behaviour (using Update Manager or in the background) or change the check interval from its preferences.

To launch Update Manager Indicator on startup, open the Startup Applications dialog, click "Add", enter "Update Manager Indicator" under "Name" and "update_indicator" under command. Note: if you were previously using Update Manager Indicator, change the executable name in Startup Applications to the new one (previously, it was "UpdateIndicator").

Report any bugs you may find @ Launchpad.

If you're using GNOME Shell, there's a similar tool for the GNOME Shell top bar - see: Update Indicator For GNOME Shell Displays New Updates On The Top Bar

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Google Tasks Indicator Can Now Display All Available Tasks, Edit Tasks, More

Google Tasks Indicator, an Ubuntu appindicator that displays your 10 most recent Google tasks on the Ubuntu panel, has been updated to version 0.0.2.2 today, and it now lets you see all the available tasks, by selecting "Show Notes" from its menu.

From the "Show Notes" dialog you can also edit any existing task, mark tasks as completed, change tasks order and clear completed tasks.

To install Google Tasks Indicator in Ubuntu 12.04 or 11.10, use the commands below:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:atareao/atareao
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install google-tasks-indicator

The first time your run Google Tasks Indicator, a new tab opens in your web browser, prompting you to grant Google Tasks Indicator access to your tasks. After this, Google Tasks Indicator should start and show up in the panel.

Note: I've tested the latest Google Tasks Indicator 0.0.2.2 in Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin only.

Report any bugs you may find @ Launchpad.

via Atareao.es

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Google Tasks Indicator: Quick Access To Your Google Tasks From The Ubuntu Panel

Google Tasks Indicator is a new appindicator that displays your 10 most recent Google tasks on the Ubuntu panel.

For now, Google Tasks Indicator supports adding new tasks, marking tasks as completed (or unmark them) and clearing completed tasks. This is the first version, released for testing purposes, so there are still things not yet ready, like editing tasks, selecting the list, configuring the number of tasks displayed and so on, but these features should be available soon. Also, for now Google limits the Google Tasks Indicator API to 5000 hits per day, but hopefully this limit will be increased.

Google Tasks Indicator uses OAuth2 so your credentials are not stored locally. The first time your run Google Tasks Indicator, a new tab opens in your web browser, prompting you to grant Google Tasks Indicator access to your tasks. After this, Google Tasks Indicator should start and display your 10 most recent Google tasks.

From its preferences, you can set if the application should start automatically when you log in and the icon theme used.

If you want to use Google Tasks Indicator with a different Google account, you'll have to revoke the access for the currently logged in user via Google account settings.

Install Google Tasks Indicator

To add the Atareao PPA and install Google Tasks Indicator in Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin or 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot, use the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:atareao/atareao
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install google-tasks-indicator

via Atareao.es

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Calendar Indicator Displays Google Calendar Events On The Ubuntu Panel (Without Evolution)

Calendar Indicator is a new tool to display your Google Calendar events on the Ubuntu / Unity panel.

You can already do that with Evolution and Indicator DateTime, but there are some differences: firstly, the obvious: you don't need Evolution to use Calendar Indicator. And secondly, Calendar Indicator displays the next 10 upcoming Google Calendar events at once, so you don't have to scroll through dates to see your Google Calendar events.

The indicator uses a nice icon with the current day, which is available for both light and dark themes (configurable in the Calendar Indicator preferences).

If you want to see more than the next 10 events, select "Show Calendar" and a calendar window will pop up. Selecting a date will display the event(s) for that day in a tooltip. Using this calendar, you can see all the previous and future events.

Calendar Indicator is a new application, so there are still features missing: you can't select the calendar used, you can't change the number of upcoming Google Calendar events in the indicator menu and so on. But these along with an option to create or delete events and more are planned for future Calendar Indicator versions.

Install Calendar Indicator in Ubuntu

Calendar Indicator is available for Ubuntu 11.10 and 12.04 in the Atareao PPA. To add the PPA and install it, use the commands below in a terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:atareao/atareao
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install calendar-indicator

Once installed, start it, enter your username and password (they will be saved in GNOME Keyring, so your password is safe), select the update interval and if Calendar Indicator should autostart and that's it.

If you encounter bugs, report them @ Launchpad.

Calendar Indicator was created by Lorenzo, who's also behind My Weather Indicator, CryptFolder Indicator, Google Reader Indicator, Touchpad indicator and others. Check out his blog (in Spanish) @ atareao.es

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A More "Classic GNOME" Session Lands In Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

The Indicator Applet port to GTK3 has finally landed in Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin. This, along with some changes to the GNOME Panel default settings, finally "fix" the Classic (fallback) GNOME session in Ubuntu 12.04:

As you can see in the screenshot above, the theme still needs some fixes. But it's great to finally have a fully working Classic GNOME 3 session without having to use PPAs.

Here is how it used to look (no indicators, Ubuntu Sound menu or Messaging menu, just a notification area):

Also, the bug that was causing Compiz to fail when using the Classic GNOME session seems to have been fixed so Compiz should now work as long as you computer supports it.

Ubuntu 12.04 uses Unity 2D as the fallback session by default, so if you want to use the Classic (Fallback) GNOME Session, you'll have to install it:

sudo apt-get install gnome-session-fallback

Then log out and select "GNOME Classic" from the login screen:

If you want to use AppMenu (global menu) on the panel, install it using the command below:

indicator-applet-appmenu

Then ALT + right click (if that doesn't work, use ALT + SUPER + right click) on the panel, select "Add to panel" and add "Indicator Applet Appmenu".

If you want to install Indicator Applet with GTK3 support in Ubuntu 11.10, see THIS post.

via +Jeremy Bicha

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How To Enable Mac OS X Like Natural Scrolling In Ubuntu [Indicator]

Mac OSX Lion comes with "natural scrolling" (reverse scrolling) and if you're using it on one of your computers, you probably got used to it. But switching between computers can get really confusing so maybe you want to use Apple's Natural Scrolling in Ubuntu too.

Here's where Natural Scrolling Ubuntu appindicator comes in: this application lets you easily enable/disable inversed Mac OS X Lion like "natural" scrolling under Ubuntu. To add the PPA and install Natural Scrolling indicator under Ubuntu Natty or Oneiric, use the commands below:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:zedtux/naturalscrolling
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install naturalscrolling

Then, launch Natural Scrolling and a new indicator should show up. Using it, you can easily enable/disable natural scrolling (useful if someone who is not used to natural scrolling uses your computer).


For now, the PPA provides an icon for Ubuntu Mono Dark (light panels) only.

via Atareao.es

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Radio Tray Gets Plugins Support

Radio Tray is a minimalistic radio player for Linux that runs in the systray (can also use an AppIndicator for Ubuntu). The application is very lightweight and straightforward to use and comes with notifications support, multimedia keys and a sleep timer.

A new RadioTray version was recently released with plugins support so if you're a Python developer, you can now easily create new RadioTray plugins (my only wish is a last.fm scrobbling plugin).

The new version also comes with read-only bookmark support, improved user interaction in bookmarks configuration dialog, moved various features to plugins (sleep timer, notifications, media shortcuts), a new history plugin and bug fixes.

Download Radio Tray (.deb and source files available)

via Chimerarevo

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Indicator Applet Ported To GNOME 3, Can Already Be Used In Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot Classic GNOME 3 Session

Jason Conti has ported Indicator Applet to GNOME 3. That means that you can now get almost the same classic (fall-back) GNOME 3 session look in Ubuntu 11.10 like in Ubuntu 11.04.

With this, you'll be able to use all the applications that come with an Ubuntu Appindicator, Indicator Date/Time, the session indicator, network, Ubuntu Sound Menu, Messaging Menu and even the Global Menu (optional) in the classic (fallback) GNOME 3 session, just like in Unity. However, unlike in Unity, the Global Menu doesn't hide automatically for maximized windows and there are no buttons on the top panel.

Here is a video (includes the applets you need to remove and add to the panel to get an Ubuntu 11.04-like look) demoing the GNOME 3 Indicator Applet running in Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot (classic session):

The GNOME 3 Indicator Applet has been proposed for merging in Ubuntu, but most probably it will only be available starting with Ubuntu 12.04. But you can already install it in Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot by using a PPA.

Install Indicator Applet with GTK3 support (for GNOME 3 classic session) in Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot

To install Indicator Applet for GNOME 3 (classic/fallback session) in Ubuntu 11.10, use the commands below:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jconti/gnome3
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install indicator-applet indicator-applet-complete indicator-applet-session

To also install the Global Menu indicator applet for GNOME 3 classic session, use the command below:

sudo apt-get install indicator-applet-appmenu

Once installed, you can remove the existing applets that you don't need such as the clock or user menu from the GNOME 3 classic session top panel - to do this, ALT + right click them and select "Remove".

Then, to add the GNOME 3 Indicator Applet to the panel, right click the top panel while holding the ALT key and select "Add to panel" and from the applets list, add "Indicator Applet Complete". To get a Global Menu, also add "Indicator Applet Appmenu".

Please note that if you don't remove the notification area (systray) from the top panel, you'll get an extra sound icon. Unfortunately I couldn't find a fix for this. Also, if you want to move/remove the systray, don't ALT+RIGHT CLICK on it but in front of it (there's a very small invisible area).


And a final tip: to fix the panel, ALT + RIGHT CLICK it and for the background, use "#303030" color (for Ambiance theme). Alternatively, install a GTK theme that supports the new GNOME 3 panel such as Zukitwo (I've used Zukitwo Dark in the screenshots / video in this post).

To install Zukitwo from the WebUpd8 Themes PPA, you can use the commands below:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/themes
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install zukitwo-theme-all

Then use GNOME Tweak Tool (available in the Ubuntu repositories) to apply the new theme.

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Show Desktop Indicator For Ubuntu [Quick Tip]

A while back we've posted about a "show desktop" icon for the Unity launcher. But if you need more space on the Unity launcher or have autohide turned on, you may find it more convenient to access this from the panel so WebUpd8 reader Mark Bokil converted the "show desktop" Unity icon to an Ubuntu indicator.

To use it, firstly install wmctrl:

sudo apt-get install wmctrl

Then, download the archive from here, extract it and double click the "desktop-indicator.py" file.

To add Desktop Indicator to startup, search for "Startup Applications" in Dash (or access it via the session menu - top right icon), click "Add", under "Name" enter "Desktop Indicator" and under "Command" click "Browse" and select "desktop-indicator.py" from where you've extracted the downloaded archive.

Thanks to Mark Bokil for the indicator!

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Ubuntu Indicator For Qt Applications (Skype, VLC, Etc.) In Ubuntu 11.10

Here is something you might already know, but I for one didn't notice it until today (thanks to Georgi and Rolandixor!): Skype, VLC and other Qt applications have an indicator in Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot thanks to a package called "sni-qt" that converts (automatically) Qt systray icons into indicators.

(Both Skype and VLC icons are indicators - notice the border on the Skype icon, that's indicator-specific)

The converted Qt indicators look and behave the same as regular Ubuntu indicators. All we need now is monochrome icons (I'm not sure if that's possible for Skype).

The systray is still available for Wine, Java, scp-dbus-service and Update-notifier only but you can whitelist all applications just like in Ubuntu 11.04 - and that bug that caused the non-clickable indicators issue seems to have been fixed.

via Georgi Karavasilev @ G+ and Rolandixor @ 2buntu.com

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Zenity For Appindicators: Ubuntu Indicator For Commands Or Bash Scripts

WebUpd8 reader Reda El Khattabi has created a small tool that makes it very easy to create an Ubuntu AppIndicator for Zenity, YAD (a Zenity fork with many improvements) or basically any bash script or command.


Features:

• supports submenus and separators
• you can specify a custom icon
• persistent mode or quit after executing command

For now the tool doesn't support specifying a timeout after which it should quit, but this feature might be added in the future.

Usage (examples)

The script takes input from stdin and when you select an entry, the whole path is printed to stdout. Here's working example that will create an AppIndicator for Y PPA Manager:

echo "Add
Advanced
List
Search
Settings" | ./cappind.py -p -i y-ppa-manager | while read s; do
case "$s" in
Add ) y-ppa-cmd add ;;
Advanced ) y-ppa-cmd advanced ;;
List ) y-ppa-cmd list ;;
Search ) y-ppa-cmd search ;;
Settings ) y-ppa-cmd settings ;;
esac
done

• "-p" makes the indicator persistent and adds a quit menu item at the end - without it, the indicator quits after executing the select action.
• "-i" specifies an icon from the current icon theme (don't use an exact path to an icon, it won't work. Just enter an icon name).

Here's another example, this time with submenus (just for the sake of this example) and a separator above the "Media" menu item that creates an AppIndicator for Nautilus (for opening Downloads, Music folders, etc.):

echo "Home Folder
Documents
Downloads
Pictures

Media:Music
Media:Videos" | ./cappind.py -p -i nautilus |  sed -u 's/Media://g' | while read s; do
case "$s" in
Home* ) nautilus ;;
Documents ) nautilus ~/Documents/ ;;
Downloads ) nautilus ~/Downloads/ ;;
Pictures ) nautilus ~/Pictures/ ;;
Music ) nautilus ~/Music/ ;;
Videos ) nautilus ~/Videos/ ;;
esac
done

More examples and download

Thanks to Réda for the tip!

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Update Manager Indicator For Ubuntu Brings Old Update Manager Behavior With Extra Features

Update Manager Indicator is an appindicator that brings back the old Update Manager behavior (an orange icon is displayed on the panel when updates are available) with some extra features like displaying a list of updates in a submenu, option to refresh the repositories or display NotifyOSD notifications.

In its preferences you'll also find an option to disable the Update Manager auto-popup.

Update Manager Indicator source code is available @ Launchpad, but to make it easier to install, I've uploaded it to the main WebUpd8 PPA.

Add the WebUpd8 PPA and install Update Manager Indicator using the commands below (package available for Ubuntu 11.04 and 11.10):

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install indicator-updatemanager

Once installed, search for "Update Manager Indicator" in Dash / main menu.

To launch Update Manager Indicator on startup, open the Startup Applications dialog, click "Add", enter "Update Manager Indicator" under "Name" and "/usr/bin/UpdateIndicator" under command.

Report any bugs you may find @ Launchpad.

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Install Hamster Indicator (Time Tracking Tool) In Ubuntu

Hamster applet is a tool that helps you keep track on how much time you've spent during various activities. For more information, see the Hamster Project page.

To be able to use Hamster applet in Unity, it had to use an AppIndicator and thanks to Alberto Milone's work, an Hamster Indicator is finally available and comes with a PPA for easy installation.

By default, Hamster Indicator only displays an icon on the Unity panel. If you want to get your current activity label like in my screenshot,  see "Tweaking Hamster Indicator" below.

Install Hamster Indicator in Ubuntu

To add the PPA and install Hamster Indicator in Ubuntu 11.04 or 11.10, use the commands below:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:albertomilone/hamster-indicator
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install hamster-indicator

Once installed run it by pressing ALT + F2 and entering:

hamster-indicator

Tweaking Hamster Indicator

By default, Hamster Indicator won't display any info on the Unity panel. To get it to display the activity label, use the command below:

gconftool-2 --set "/apps/hamster-indicator/show_label" --type bool "true"

To disable this, use the following command:

gconftool-2 --set "/apps/hamster-indicator/show_label" --type bool "false"

Because of the activity label length settings, only the time will be displayed when using the command above. To change the maximum label length and thus display the activity too (you can tweak the value for the command below to whatever you like), use the command below:

gconftool-2 --set "/apps/hamster-indicator/label_length" --type int "20"

Hamster Indicator can also display a glow when an activity is undergoing (this is useful if you don't want Hamster Indicator to display any text on the panel) which you can enable using the command below:

gconftool-2 --set "/apps/hamster-indicator/icon_glow" --type bool "true"

If you change your mind and want to disable the icon glow, use the command below:

gconftool-2 --set "/apps/hamster-indicator/icon_glow" --type bool "false"

And finally: Hamster Indicator is not added automatically to your startup applications so to add it, search for "Startup Applications" in Dash, then click "Add", under "Name" enter "Hamster Indicator" and under "Command" enter "hamster-indicator". That's it!

Many thanks to Alberto Milone for Hamster Indicator and the info!

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CPU Frequency Scaling Indicator, Fixed For Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot

CPUFreq Indicator is a CPU frequency scaling GNOME panel applet replacement.

A new CPUFreq Indicator version has been uploaded to its PPA for Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot. The new version comes with some very important fixes, such as: the bug that caused CPUFreq Indicator to only manage one core as well as the bug that was causing it not to work at all in Ubuntu 11.04 have been fixed for Ubuntu 11.10. The latest version also comes with a new AppIndicator icon.

Unfortunately these fixes are not available (at least for now) for Ubuntu 11.04. The PPA now provides the new version for Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal too.

To install the latest CPU Frequency Indicator in Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot or 11.04 Natty Narwhal, use the commands below:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:artfwo/ppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install indicator-cpufreq

CPUFreq Indicator will be automatically added to your startup applications (only available for the Oneiric version) so it will start automatically when you log in. To run it manually, press ALT + F2 and type:

indicator-cpufreq

Report any bugs you may find @ Launchpad.

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Character Palette Replacement With Ubuntu AppIndicator Support: Chars Indicator

Chars Indicator is a simple Ubuntu appindicator that serves as a replacement for the old Character Palette GNOME Panel applet. It allows you to store some special characters that aren't available on your keyboard directly and easily access them without having to use the full Character Map each time you need them.

Installation and usage

Install git-core and get the Chars Indicator code using the commands below:

sudo apt-get install git-core
cd
git clone https://github.com/tobyS/indicator-chars.git

By default, Chars Indicator doesn't display any characters - you must create a new file called ".indicator-chars" in your home folder and paste the characters you want to show up in Chars Indicator inside this file (you can launch Character Map and copy some characters from it). Each line in this file represents a menu item in the Chars Indicator.

After you finish adding all the characters you want to the ".indicator-chars" file, save it and start Chars Indicator by using the command below:

~/indicator-chars/indicator-chars.py

Important: to paste a character from Chars Indicator, click the character, then middle click where you want to insert it (don't try Ctrl + V - it won't work!).


If you want to add Chars Indicator to startup, search for "Startup applications" in Dash, click "Add", under name enter "Chars Indicator" and under command, enter: "/home/YOUR_USERNAME/indicator-chars/indicator-chars.py" (presuming you've downloaded it in your home folder), replacing "YOUR_USERNAME" with... your username.

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Unified Messaging Menu / MeMenu Lands In Oneiric, New Power Indicator Available [Oneiric Updates]

2 quick Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot updates:

- The unified Messaging Menu / MeMenu has finally arrived in Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot:

The new Messaging Menu doesn't yet come with some of the features mentioned on the Ubuntu Wiki (check out this post for more info: Unified Messaging Menu / MeMenu On The Way): there's no "Clear" menu entry, no option to remove it, etc., but these will probably be available soon enough.

- A new Power Indicator is available by default:

According to the Ubuntu Wiki, the new Power Indicator should include external devices too, like wireless mouse or keyboard, iPod, a plugged in phone, etc., as long as the device supports it:

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"Recent Notifications" Indicator Keeps A History Of Recent NotifyOSD Notifications

Recent Notifications is a GNOME panel applet that displays a history of recent NotifyOSD notifications. We've covered it before so check out our previous posts for more info.

Well, since you can't use GNOME applets in Ubuntu 11.04, the applet is available as an AppIndicator (for a while now but I've missed the update). But there's some bad news: in the GNOME applet to AppIndicator transition, "Recent Notifications" lost some features, most importantly: the option to blacklist applications from showing up in the recent notifications history.

"Recent Notifications" Indicator is still under development so I'm hoping it will get this feature back soon. There's some good news too: it seems a GNOME 3 version is on the way.

Installation

To install "Recent Notifications" Indicator in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, use the commands below:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jconti/recent-notifications
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install indicator-notifications

Once installed, it will automatically start after you log out and log back in or restart Unity (press ALT + F2 and enter "unity").

"Recent Notifications" is available for older Ubuntu versions too, tough not as an AppIndicator but as a GNOME Panel applet. And using it, you'll get the blacklist feature - to install it, add the same PPA as above and then run the command below:

sudo apt-get install recent-notifications

Report any bugs you may find @ Launchpad.

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Ubuntu Application Indicator For Shutter (Screenshot Tool)

Because of a bug in Unity, I try to avoid using regular notification area icons and only use AppIndicators. Unfortunately, Shutter (an amazing screenshot tool for Linux) doesn't have an Application Indicator and it doesn't seem like it will be getting one any time soon (because there are no Perl bindings for AppIndicator).

Since I want to learn Python and because Shutter is an application I use daily, I've decided to create an external AppIndicator for Shutter. The code is probably very bad since this is the first time I write something in Python but it works for me so I wanted to share it with you.

Add the WebUpd8 PPA and install Shutter Indicator using the commands below:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install indicator-shutter

You can also manually install the .deb if you don't want to add the PPA - download it from here.

Since this AppIndicator is not built into Shutter, you'll have to run "Indicator-Shutter" from the menu instead of the actual Shutter application. Alternatively, you can search for "Main Menu" in Dash, go to Accessories > Shutter and edit use "indicator-shutter" as the executable for Shutter. But that's not really required if you remember to simply launch Indicator-Shutter instead of Shutter.

Known issue: The Shutter Indicator will start Shutter without a notification area icon (that's the intended behavior), but if you exist Shutter and start it manually, you'll get both an AppIndicator and a notification area icon so try starting shutter from the AppIndicator only or don't exist it (clicking the close button won't quit Shutter so that's ok; only the File > Quit option will exit Shutter).

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CryptFolder-Indicator: Ubuntu AppIndicator To Manage EncFS Folders

Lorenzo @ atareao.es has released another cool Ubuntu AppIndicator: CryptFolder-Indicator, which can be used to manage EncFS folders. We've covered EncFS in the Encrypt Your Private Dropbox Data With EncFS post so check it out for more info.

If you use Ubuntu and prefer a GUI for managing your EncFS folders, CryptFolder-Indicator is a must. But unfortunately, just like Cryptkeeper, CryptFolder-Indicator doesn't let you create advanced EncFS folders so for that you still have to use the command line.

CryptFolder-Indicator features:

• mount, unmount EncFS folders
• create new EncFS folders
• stores the password in Gnome Keyring and mounts it at login, just like Gnome-EncFS
• change existing EncFS folders password

Install CryptFolder-Indicator

CryptFolder-Indicator is available for Ubuntu 11.04, 10.10 and 10.04. Add the Atareao PPA and install it using the commands below:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:atareao/atareao
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install cryptfolder-indicator

Thanks to Atareao.es for yet another great Ubuntu Application Indicator!

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GNOME Shell Might Support AppIndicators

Giovanni Campagna, a GNOME Shell developer, has reported a bug and already submitted 3 patches for including libappindicator + dbusmenu support in GNOME Shell as a part of the core, not as an extension (because it can't be implemented as an extension).

What does this mean? Well, if this is approved, GNOME Shell will get AppIndicator support so all those cool Ubuntu AppIndicators will work in GNOME Shell (as well as KDE apps that use a tray icon).

The AppIndicators will show up in the GNOME Shell Message Tray (displayed at the bottom of the screen) and they work a bit differently compared to the Ubuntu implementation: clicking the notification brings the application forward (if the AppIndicator isn't a stand-alone app), the menu shows up on right click and they support tooltips, as opposed to Ubuntu. But of course, this may change (again, if this is approved):

This commit adds a tray based on KDE/Ayatana/proposed Freedesktop protocol for renewed tray communication. Icons following this protocol support menus, titles and tooltips, as well as providing status and category, thus allowing seamless integration in the desktop shell. In the Shell, they are rendered as Message Tray sources, with attached a Notification acting as the tooltip. Clicking on the notification brings the application forward, as usual. Next patch will add support for DBusMenu.

- Giovanni Campagna

I've tried compiling the latest GNOME Shell with these patches in Ubuntu 11.10 and the AppIndicators show up, but the right click menu didn't work for me. Here are a couple of screenshots:

What do you think?

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