+ == What Is Fedora About

+ === Who Is It For?

+ Fedora is available in several different editions, each targeted at different kinds of users. The Fedora _Workstation_ edition this handbook is about is designed for users who use computers primarily to create, from developers to graphic designers, musicians, and writers.

+ Fedora Workstation features the{nbsp}_GNOME{nbsp}3_ environment and a variety of tools for developers (like the newly released _Builder_), applications for virtualization (_Boxes_), container management tools (_Docker_), and many more. But it is definitely not just for developers and engineers! It also comes with several tools for video editing (_PiTiVi_), audio editing (_Adacity_), as well as for editing bitmap (_GIMP_), vector (_Inkscape_), and 3D (_Blender_) graphics.

+ In a sense, Fedora Workstation is a better operating system for an average user than it ever was.

+ === Open Source and Freedom

+ Open source software is software that has made its source code available for distribution, modification, and use for any purpose. Fedora has been created and maintained for over 10 years by a community of professional developers and volunteers who are passionate about open source and because of it, it has always included and will continue to include only open source software. It doesn't include any software that can't be reviewed at the source code level.

+ 

+ At the same time, Fedora doesn't prevent you from installing any software you want. Do you want a non-open source application, such as _Google Chrome_? You can easily install it. But, even without 3rd-party and non-open source software, you'll find more then 20,000 packages for Fedora which represent various applications, extensions, and libraries. Many of these open source programs are not just alternatives, but are often better or more powerful than their closed source counterparts. For more information, see the _Installing New Software_ chapter.

+ 

+ Fedora is, however, not just about open source, but is also passionate about freedom in the form of software licenses and patents. Fedora respects software patent law (even though it may not be relevant in some parts of the world). You can be sure that you are not breaking laws by using Fedora.

+ Fedora development prioritizes security and includes clear rules to ensure that it remains its primary focus. Like any other significant software product, each release is carefully tested. Moreover, Fedora is the base for Red{nbsp}Hat{nbsp}Enterprise{nbsp}Linux, a commercially supported operating system offered by Red{nbsp}Hat. Red{nbsp}Hat employs a lot of developers, many of whom are involved in the Fedora Project, and owns Fedora trademarks.

+ The Fedora community support lasts for two release cycles plus one month. This means that with a new release every 6 months, each version of Fedora is supported for 13 months. The Fedora community support includes security fixes and kernel updates, which is significant because new kernels mean improved and new hardware support. This is a big advantage of using Fedora.

+ Fedora integrates a lot of new software and is often the first (or one of the first) operating systems to adopt new technology. Fedora is very often where new technologies are being developed and tested.

+ 

+ Open source software is about collaboration and people who are involved in the Fedora Project are very often active in other projects, too. They don't wait until someone else develops software so they can include it in Fedora. Instead they actively participate in the project's development and collaborate with participants from other Linux operating systems or independent developers. It is common that such software goes on to become the de facto standard of the Linux world.

+ 

+ Fedora users keep fingers on the pulse of innovation and change and are ahead of others. This is why it is easy to say that Fedora is progressive, innovative, and leading the way.

+ === Getting Fedora

+ You can install Fedora from optical media (CD, DVD), a USB flash drive, or over the network by using an appropriate installation image. Installation images of _Fedora{nbsp}Workstation_ are available for download in the ISO format at link:http://getfedora.org[getfedora.org]. _Fedora Workstation_ defaults to a 64-bit operating system download as that is what is best for most users.

+ If you aren't ready to install Fedora yet and would like to try it first without losing or changing anything already on your PC, make sure you download a live image. With this image, you can boot to a fully functional system and find out what Fedora is like, experiment with it, and determine whether it fully supports your PC's hardware.

+ To run _Fedora Workstation_ reasonably well it is recommend that you have at least a 1{nbsp}GHz processor, 2{nbsp}GiB of memory, 10{nbsp}GiB of hard drive space, and a graphics card that supports hardware acceleration. These aren't the minimum requirements, but they are the best for most users. Some users may wish to run Fedora on lower powered machines and will find it performs well there too.

+ === Creating Installation Media

+ In order to install or run Fedora from an installation image, you need to create installation media first:

+ * _USB Installation_ - To create a USB installation drive, you can use the _Fedora Media Writer_. It can run on _MS Windows_, _Apple macOS_ or Linux. Beware, this program will erase all the data on the flash drive! _Fedora Media Writer_ can download the installation image for you when you run it. If you're using _MS Windows_ or _Apple macOS_, the installation file of the application is what you'll be offered when you decide to download _Fedora Workstation_ at link:https://getfedora.org.

+ _GNOME and Disks_ - If you already use a Linux operating system with the GNOME desktop environment, you can use built-in software to write to a USB drive. In the _Files_ application, right-click an ISO image, choose "`Open in a different app`" and then choose "`Write on disk`". This will open the _Disks_ utility which will write the image on to a flash drive.

+ If you decide to write the installation image on to a USB flash drive, carefully double-check that you've picked the correct target drive. If you're doing this on _MS Windows_, you need to pick the character that has been assigned to the drive you'd like to use (typically this will be `D:` or `E:`). On Linux, you need to do the same using the device (typically this is will be `/dev/sdX` where `X` is an alphabetic character). The easiest and safest way to do this on Linux is to use the _Disks_ utility mentioned above.

+ * _DVD Installation_ - Using a _DVD_ is a very traditional way of installing Fedora. You can create an installation DVD by writing an ISO image to a DVD. Most modern operating systems can do this operation with built-in software. If not, you can install a specialized application such as _Brasero_ on Linux and _ImgBurn_ on _MS Windows_. All versions of _Apple macOS_ can write DVDs using _Finder_ and _Disk Utility_.

+ 1. _Booting_ -- No matter what media you've chosen, you'll need to make sure that you set the right boot sequence in the BIOS of the computer you'd like to install Fedora Workstation on. The drive with the install media needs to be in the first position. You can get to the BIOS configuration by pressing a specific key after starting the computer. The key depends on the vendor (typically the keys are kbd:[Delete], kbd:[F1], or {nbsp}kbd:[F2]). Alternately, many vendors allow you to choose a boot drive without having to go to the BIOS settings by pressing the kbd:[F12] key.

+ 

+ 2. _Initial Screen_ -- After successfully booting from the installation media, you'll see the initial screen where you can choose between installing Fedora Workstation (or booting into the live system) and verifying the install media. If you choose installation, you'll boot into the live system and will be asked if you want to try the system out or install it on the hard drive. If you choose to "Try Fedora" you can use it in this way for as long as you want and can choose to perform an installation at any time by clicking on the installer icon in the menu.

+ .Booted installation media of Fedora Workstation

+ 3. _Trying the System_ -- If you've chosen to try the system, you'll begin using the _GNOME{nbsp}Shell_. The top of the display contains the most commonly used control elements. There is an _Activities_ button in the upper left corner which will get you to applications (and to the option to install Fedora Workstation on your system). The upper right corner has controls that allow you to set up the network, as well as to restart or shut down the system.

+ 

+ 4. _Installer_ -- Once you decide to install Fedora Workstation, you'll being using the installation program, Anaconda. The installer consists of different spokes that manage the options for areas such as language settings, time zone, etc.

+ The disk partitioning spoke is the most important part of the installer. This spoke will define where on your hard drive Fedora Workstation will be installed. The installer offers you automatic partitioning which will configure the hard drive in a way that is useful for most people, or you can also choose manual partitioning and apply a customized setting. It is also possible to set up encryption for better security.

+ +

+ Fedora Workstation also allows you to create a dualboot system, that is, to have two operating systems installed on your PC at the same time. It's easy to install Fedora Workstation next to an existing _MS Windows_ installation.

+ 5. _Finishing the Installation_ -- While the system is being installed, you need to provide several important pieces of information such as the root or administrator password and the information for creating a user account.

+ +

+ You will normally use the user account you created and only use the root password when you need to make a system-wide change. Fedora Workstation has the classic approach to user accounts where the root account is not disabled. However, if you do not want to remember passwords for two accounts, you can check the _Admin_ option when creating your user account. This enables the account to act as an administrator in vast majority of operations and avoids your having to use the root password often.

+ 

+ And that's it. The whole installation should take less than several dozen minutes. After a restart you'll just need to perform a couple of short post-install tasks such as changing the boot order to the original state and then you're ready to go.

+ Everything worked well? Now you can start exploring Fedora Workstation!

+ === Let's Go Deeper

+ === What Are the _Activities_ For?

+ 3. Search -- _GNOME_ provides very powerful search functionality. You don't have to click to search field, you can start typing immediately after opening _Activities_ mode and search function will be activated automatically. It is probably the fastest way to launch applications. Apart from them, you can search documents, pictures, virtual machines, not yet installed applications, contacts and so on. Or even do simple calculations. You can set what can be searched through activities in System Settings under _Search_ field.

+ 4. _Virtual desktops_ -- we can see virtual desktops on the right side. You can have more than one virtual desktop even if you have just one physical monitor. You can use them to organize application windows in a better way. Number of virtual desktops in _GNOME_ is not fixed but dynamic - always as many as you have applications on plus one ready to be used. When you drag a window to virtual desktop, GNOME automatically creates another empty virtual desktop. It even automatically deletes empty virtual desktops. You can circle between virtual desktops directly in work mode with keyboard shortcut kbd:[Ctrl]+kbd:[Alt]+kbd[arrow ↑]/kbd[arrow ↓].

+ == How to Tweak Fedora Workstation?

+ There are extensions available for GNOME Shell which are powerful weapon in terms of customizing system for single user. They're installed directly through the web browser environment from website link:http://extensions.gnome.org[extensions.gnome.org]. There are hundreds of extensions which are adding or changing single elements of user interface. Changes of menu, icons, panels, indications, displays, window switching and many others.

+ == Where to Look for Further Information

+ * link:http://fedoramagazine.org[fedoramagazine.org] -- articles from Fedora world. This also includes information about new applications and announcements.

+ === What to Do If You Encounter a Bug

+ There is also a tool in Fedora called ABRT. ABRT allows anyone to report bugs or errors by just agreeing to share the details with the Fedora Project. Even if you don't have time to contribute by fixing the bug, be sure to let us know about it by using ABRT.

+ Unlike many other generic Linux operating systems, Fedora consists of 3 main editions. This guide describes the Workstation edition. There are also _Server_ and _Atomic_ Editions. The _Server_ edition is designed for server uses and features applications like Cockpit which allows for easy remote management of servers through a web browser and the administration of server roles through _Rolekit_. The _Atomic_ edition is a minimal version of Fedora optimized for deploying containers. There are multiple Fedora Atomic images optimized for use in environments like _OpenStack_, _VirtualBox_ and others.