Install GNOME Classic desktop on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

GNOME Classic desktop.

The default desktop of Ubuntu is Gnome 3. Its new interface is different from the older version of GNOME 2. Those who are reluctant to use GNOME 3 can switch to the old fashioned desktop. Install the gnome-shell-extensions package to give the classic desktop look for GNOME 3. GNOME Classic is an old-fashioned desktop compared to the GNOME 3. GNOME Classic Desktop can work faster than GNOME 3 Desktop.

Apply the following command to install GNOME Classic desktop,

sudo apt update

sudo apt install gnome-shell-extensions

Once the installation complete, log out from the Gnome desktop to enter into the classic desktop. Select the Log Out option from the System Menu on the top right of the Gnome desktop.

Pressing the button at the bottom of the login screen will pop up the list of desktops. Select the GNOME Classic from the list. Enter the password and log in.

Autocrat for bulk certificate generation

Autocrat is a multi-purpose document merge tool works with Google Drive. It allows you to take data from a spreadsheet and merge it into a document via a template.  Tell Autocrat which fields to merge via <<merge tags>> and then let Autocrat mass-generate personalized documents.  Users can also send the documents as email attachments. Autocrat is useful to generate certificates when conducting, seminar, webinar, competitions, quiz etc. It's possible to reuse the template for further use.

Here I am going to discuss how to create and send event certificates in large numbers using Google Drive and Autocrat.

Prepare a certificate template

First, create a folder for the certificate making purpose inside Google Drive. All files regarding the certificate save here.

Prepare a certificate from Google Slide available at Google Drive. Select a good template from there. Here First Name and Last Name put inside <<merge tags>>. Here values will load from the user's details from a spreadsheet.

Add metadata to LibreOffice Writer document

Metadata in document files helpful to search and find the document in computer and World Wide Web. When the author export the document to PDF format, the metadata will also with the document. Here are the steps to add metadata to a LibreOffice Writer document.

Add author details

Visit Tools > Option > LibreOffice > User Data

Enter the details of the author.