5/2/2021 Using your Raspberry Pi | Raspberry Pi Projects

Projects

Using your Raspberry Pi

How to con gure, update, and navigate your

Raspberry Pi once it's set up

Step 1 Introduction

Here you’ll learn how to use Raspberry Pi OS and some of its software, and how to adjust some key settings to your

needs.

If you don’t have your Raspberry Pi up and running yet, check out our Setting up your Raspberry Pi (https://proj

ects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/raspberry-pi-setting-up) guide.

We also have a three-week online course available on the FutureLearn platform (http://rpf.io/rpi- ).

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Step 2 Raspberry Pi Desktop

Your Raspberry Pi runs Raspberry Pi OS, a version of an operating system (OS) called Linux. (Windows and macOS

are other common operating systems.)

After Raspberry Pi OS starts up, you will see the Desktop appear.

The Raspberry Pi icon in the top left-hand corner is where you access the menu.

Click on it to nd lots of applications, including Programming applications.

To open a text editor, click on Accessories and choose Text Editor.

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Close the text editor by clicking the x in the top right-hand corner of the window.

Explore what other applications are currently available in the menu.

Note: The Raspberry Pi Imager gives the option to install Raspberry Pi OS Full, which comes with all recommended

software already loaded, including o ce applications and some games.

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Step 3 Keyboard and mouse settings

To set up your mouse and keyboard, select Preferences and then Mouse and Keyboard Settings from the menu.

Mouse

You can change the mouse speed and double-click time here, and swap the buttons if you are left-handed.

Keyboard

You can adjust the key repeat delay and interval values here.

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To change the keyboard layout, click on Keyboard Layout and select your layout from the list of countries.

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Step 4 Connecting to the internet

If you want to connect your Raspberry Pi to the internet, you can plug an Ethernet cable into it (if you have a

Raspberry Pi Zero, you’ll need a USB-to-Ethernet adapter as well).

If your model is a Raspberry Pi 4, Raspberry Pi 3, or Raspberry Pi Zero W, you can also connect to a wireless

network.

Connecting to a wireless network

Click on the wireless network icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen, and select your network from the

drop-down menu.

Type in the password for your wireless network, then click on OK.

Once your Raspberry Pi is connected to the internet, you will see a wireless LAN symbol instead of the red

crosses.

Test your connection by clicking on the web browser icon and searching the web for raspberry pi.

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Step 5 Setting up the sound

Your Raspberry Pi can either send sound to the screen’s built-in speakers through the HDMI connection (if your

screen has speakers), or to the analogue headphone jack.

Right-click on the speaker icon in the top right-hand corner, and select Audio Outputs, to choose whether

your Raspberry Pi should use the HDMI or the AV Jack connection for sound.

Click on the speaker icon to adjust the volume by moving the slider up or down.

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Step 6 Installing software

There are many, many software programs and applications you can download and install on Raspberry Pi.

Note: Your Raspberry Pi has to be connected to the internet (4) before you can install software.

In the menu, click on Preferences and then on Recommended Software.

You can browse all the recommended software, or lter it by category.

To install a piece of software, click to mark the checkbox to its right.

Then click on OK to install the selected software.

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In addition to the Raspberry Pi’s recommended software, there’s a huge library of other available programs and

applications.

Click on Preferences and then on Add / Remove Software in the menu.

You can search for software, or browse by selecting a category from the menu on the left.

Try installing a drawing application called Pinta.

Type ‘pinta’ into the search box and press Enter.

Select Simple drawing/painting program in the list that appears.

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Click on OK to start the installation process.

When prompted, enter your password; if you haven’t changed the password, it will be ‘raspberry’.

Pinta will now be downloaded and installed.

When the process is complete, open Pinta by selecting Graphics and then Pinta from the menu.

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Step 7 Updating your Raspberry Pi

It’s a good idea to regularly update the software on your Raspberry Pi with the latest features and xes.

You can update your Raspberry Pi using the Add / Remove Software application: open it by selecting it from

the Preferences section of the menu.

Before you check and install any updates, you should refresh the software package lists on your Raspberry Pi.

Click on Options in the top left-hand corner, and select Refresh Package Lists.

Your Raspberry Pi will then update all lists of packages.

When this is done, click on Options and select Check for Updates.

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The Package Updater will open and automatically check whether updates are available. It will display anything it

nds in a list.

Click on Install Updates to install all the available updates.

When prompted, enter your password; if you haven’t changed the password, it will be ‘raspberry’.

The updates will then be downloaded and installed. You can see the installation by checking the progress bar

in the bottom left-hand corner.

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Step 8 Accessing your les

All the les on your Raspberry Pi, including the ones you create yourself, are stored on the SD card. You can access

your les using the File Manager application.

Click on Accessories and then on File Manager in the menu, or select the File Manager icon on the menu

bar.

When the File Manager opens, you will be shown the pi directory — this is where you can store your les and create

new subfolders.

Double-click on the Documents icon to open the directory and view the les inside.

To open a le, double-click on its name, or right-click on it to open the le menu for more options.

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You can use USB drives and sticks with your Raspberry Pi. This is a convenient way of backing up your les and

copying them to other computers.

Insert a USB stick into your Raspberry Pi. A window will pop up, asking what action you want to perform.

Click on OK to Open in File Manager.

The File Manager will open and show you the les on your USB stick.

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Step 9 Using the terminal

The terminal is a really useful application: it allows you to navigate le directories and control your Raspberry Pi

using typed commands instead of clicking on menu options. It’s often in many tutorials and project guides,

including the ones on our website.

To open a terminal window, click on the Terminal icon at the top of the screen, or select Accessories and then

Terminal in the menu.

You can type commands into the terminal window and run them by pressing Enter on your keyboard.

In the terminal window, type:

ls

Then press Enter on the keyboard.

The command ls lists all the les and subdirectories in the current le directory. By default, the le directory that

the terminal accesses when you open it is the one called pi.

Now type in this command to change directory to the Desktop.

cd Desktop

You have to press the Enter key after every command.

Use the command ls to list the les in the Desktop directory.

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ls

The terminal can do a lot more than list les — it’s a very powerful way of interacting with your Raspberry Pi!

As just one small example, try the command pinout:

pinout

This will show you a labelled diagram of the GPIO pins, and some other information about your Raspberry Pi.

Close the terminal window by clicking on the x in the top right-hand corner, or using the command exit.

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Step 10 Con guring your Raspberry Pi

You can control most of your Raspberry Pi’s settings, such as the password, through the Raspberry Pi

Con guration application found in Preferences on the menu.

System

In this tab you can change basic system settings of your Raspberry Pi.

Password — set the password of the pi user (it is a good idea to change the password from the factory
default ‘raspberry’)

Boot — select to show the Desktop or CLI (command line interface) when your Raspberry Pi starts

Auto Login — enabling this option will make the Raspberry Pi automatically log in whenever it starts

Network at Boot — selecting this option will cause your Raspberry Pi to wait until a network connection is

available before starting

Splash Screen — choose whether or not to show the splash (startup) screen when your Raspberry Pi boots

Interfaces

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You can link devices and components to your Raspberry Pi using a lot of di erent types of connections. The

Interfaces tab is where you turn these di erent connections on or o , so that your Raspberry Pi recognises that

you’ve linked something to it via a particular type of connection.

Camera — enable the Raspberry Pi Camera Module (https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/camera-mod

ule-v2/)

SSH — allow remote access to your Raspberry Pi from another computer using SSH

VNC — allow remote access to the Raspberry Pi Desktop from another computer using VNC

SPI — enable the SPI GPIO pins

I2C — enable the I2C GPIO pins

Serial — enable the Serial (Rx, Tx) GPIO pins

1-Wire — enable the 1-Wire GPIO pin

Remote GPIO — allow access to your Raspberry Pi’s GPIO pins from another computer

Performance

If you need to do so for a particular project you want to work on, you can change the performance settings of your

Raspberry Pi in this tab.

Warning: Changing your Raspberry Pi’s performance settings may result in it behaving erratically or not working.

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Overclock — change the CPU speed and voltage to increase performance

GPU Memory — change the allocation of memory given to the GPU

Localisation

This tab allows you to change your Raspberry Pi settings to be speci c to a country or location.

Locale — set the language, country, and character set used by your Raspberry Pi

Timezone — set the time zone

Keyboard — change your keyboard layout

WiFi Country — set the WiFi country code

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Step 11 How to get help

If you are experiencing problems with your Raspberry Pi, there are lots of ways you can get help and advice:

Check out the help section (https://www.raspberrypi.org/help/) and the troubleshooting guide (https://

www.raspberrypi.org/learning/troubleshooting-guide/) on raspberrypi.org (https://www.raspberrypi.o

rg)

The Raspberry Pi forum (https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums), including the Beginners (https://www.ra

spberrypi.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=91) section, is a great place to ask questions and get support from

the Raspberry Pi community

Call out on Twitter (https://twitter.com) using the hashtag #rpilearn, or submit a question on the Raspberry

Pi Stack Exchange (https://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/)

You could also attend a free Raspberry Jam (https://rpf.io/jam) community event to talk to people about

their experiences and get some rst-hand help from fellow Raspberry Pi users

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Step 12 What next?

Well done! You have just completed the second project in the Raspberry Pi for beginners (https://projects.raspb

errypi.org/en/pathways/raspberry-pi-beginners) pathway.

Next, try the third project in the pathway, Customise your Raspberry Pi desktop (https://projects.raspberrypi.o

rg/en/projects/custom-pi-desktop/).

The complete Raspberry Pi for beginners pathway

Setting up your Raspberry Pi (https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/raspberry-pi-setting-up/)

Using your Raspberry Pi (https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/raspberry-pi-using/)

Customise your Raspberry Pi desktop (https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/custom-pi-deskto

p/)

Pac-Man treasure hunt on the terminal (https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/pacman-termina

l)

Create a new command on Raspberry Pi (https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/raspberry-pi-co

mmand/)

Other Raspberry Pi projects on the Raspberry Pi website

Take a look at some of our many other Raspberry Pi projects (https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects?ha

rdware%5B%5D=raspberry-pi ).

Published by Raspberry Pi Foundation (https://www.raspberrypi.org) under a Creative Commons

license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).

View project & license on GitHub (https://github.com/RaspberryPiLearning/raspberry-pi-using)

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