GNOME.org

The Boxes interface

Collection view

When you first launch Boxes, the greeting tells you to click the New button to create your first box. On subsequent visits, Boxes opens in the collection view, displaying thumbnails of your boxes in a grid. Favourites or frequently-used boxes appear at the top of the list. Collection view allows you to:

  • Click New to create a box.

  • Click a box to launch a virtual machine session.

  • Search for a box.

  • Click the checkmark button in the header bar to enter selection mode.

  • Right click on a box to choose Open in New Window, Add to Favorites, Force Shutdown, Pause, Clone, Delete, or to open the Properties view for the box.

The wizard

Clicking New launches the wizard, which guides you through the process of box creation.

Selection mode

In collection view, clicking the checkmark button or right-clicking a thumbnail puts you in selection mode, where various operations can be performed on boxes, individually or in groups. You can:

  • Delete a box or boxes.

  • Mark a box or boxes as favorites.

  • Pause a box.

  • Open a box in a new window.

Properties view

Right clicking a box and selecting Properties in the collection view opens the properties view, where some of the details of a box can be configured. The properties view allows you to display or change settings depending on which of the following tabs is selected:

  • General: displays the box Name and Broker or virtualizer being used (such as QEMU). For a remote box, this tab also displays the Protocol (such as VNC), and the URL to be used for remote access. When the box is running, the Share Clipboard switch appears here.

  • System settings: shows running graphs of CPU, disk I/O and network activity. Memory and Maximum Disk Size sliders can be adjusted, and the Troubleshooting Log can be viewed. The Force Shutdown button, which enables you to force a box to shut down, the Restart button, and the Run in background switch are on this tab.

  • Devices: the Select button allows you to specify the path to a CD/DVD device or ISO. The Remove button disconnects it. When the box is running, the USB devices connected to the host system are listed, and each can be controlled with an ON | OFF switch.

  • Snapshots: allows you to create and manage snapshots of the box.

The properties view can also be accessed using the wizard's Customize button during local box setup. If the box is running, click the menu (settings) button in the header bar and select Properties.