Adjust menu width in Kali

Every once in a while, you have a new and fresh install of Kali. The one thing what’s bothering me, is the small Gnome menu. Because it’s so small, you can’t always tell what you’re starting up.

To make it all a little bit more clear, edit the following file:

/usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions/apps-menu@gnome-shell-extensions.gcampax.github.com/extension.js

Search for:

this.categoriesBox.box.width = 300;

and replace it with:

this.mainBox.box.width = 950;
this.categoriesBox.box.width = 500;

Log off and logon again, the menu will be a lot wider. You can tweak the values to your own needs.

Source:

https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/387843/how-can-i-resize-the-applications-menu-item-in-gnome

Change active java version in Kali

Running applications on Kali can sometimes be rather difficult in combination with Java.  To control the active version of Java, try the following:

First, check the current version of Java:

# java -version

openjdk version “1.8.0_162”
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_162-8u162-b12-1-b12)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.162-b12, mixed mode)

With the next command, you can change the Java version:

# update-alternatives –config java

There are 2 choices for the alternative java (providing /usr/bin/java).

Selection Path Priority Status
————————————————————
0 /usr/lib/jvm/java-9-openjdk-amd64/bin/java 1091 auto mode
* 1 /usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk-amd64/jre/bin/java 1081 manual mode
2 /usr/lib/jvm/java-9-openjdk-amd64/bin/java 1091 manual mode

Press <enter> to keep the current choice[*], or type selection number:

Enter the number of the desired Java version and it will be active, for example zero. The Java version will be openjdk9:

update-alternatives: using /usr/lib/jvm/java-9-openjdk-amd64/bin/java to provide /usr/bin/java (java) in auto mode

# java -version

openjdk version “9.0.4”
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 9.0.4+12-Debian-4)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 9.0.4+12-Debian-4, mixed mode)

 

Sources:

https://www.mkyong.com/linux/debian-change-default-java-version/

https://forums.kali.org/showthread.php?41-Installing-Java-on-Kali-Linux