Is there a way I can completely disable workspaces and remove the icon from my Unity-2D panel?

My system is built around my 71 year old father (who is a recent, and very supportive Linux user now).

He doesn't have any need for multiple desktops and I find that having too many things on the panel can be a bit confusing for him.

Is there any way to completely disable workspaces / as well as remove the icon from the panel?

1. Disabling multiple workspaces:

   • Using GConf Editor, change the value of the /apps/metacity/general/num_workspaces to 1.

2. Removing the Workspace Switcher from the Launcher:

   Remove and Rearrange

   So to make this changes you need to edit one file. First to be safe make a backup:

(for 11.04 & 11.10)

sudo cp /usr/share/unity-2d/launcher/Launcher.qml /usr/share/unity-2d/launcher/Launcher.qml-backup

when you screw up something just:

sudo cp /usr/share/unity-2d/launcher/Launcher.qml-backup /usr/share/unity-2d/launcher/Launcher.qml

(for 12.04)

sudo cp /usr/share/unity-2d/shell/launcher/Launcher.qml /usr/share/unity-2d/shell/launcher/Launcher.qml-backup

when you screw up something just:

sudo cp /usr/share/unity-2d/launcher/Launcher.qml-backup /usr/share/unity-2d/launcher/Launcher.qml

Now for removing items from the Launcher:

(for 11.04/11.10):

gksu gedit /usr/share/unity-2d/launcher/Launcher.qml

scroll down to line 104, there you will see:

(for 12.04)

gksu gedit /usr/share/unity-2d/shell/launcher/Launcher.qml

scroll down to line 104, there you will see:

Component.onCompleted: {
    items.appendModel(applications);
    items.appendModel(workspaces);
    items.appendModel(visiblePlaces);
    items.appendModel(devices);
    shelfItems.appendModel(trashes);

items.appendModel(applications); = applications in launcher
items.appendModel(workspaces); = Workspace Switcher
items.appendModel(visiblePlaces); = Files & Folders and application button.items.appendModel(devices); = mounted drives (NTFS) + flash drives etc.
shelfitems.appendModel(trashes); = Trash

You can remove these items by deleting their lines or you can rearrange items by moving lines up or down.

^Source

It should be noted that the second step is editing actual code and not a configuration file and thus any changes will be overwritten the next time you install a unity-2d update.

Great answer above by the way. Thank you. To simplify things a bit you can reduce the workspaces from the terminal by:

    gconftool-2 -s /apps/metacity/general/num_workspaces --type int 1

and alter the configuration (remove the workspace launcher from the Launcher by:)

    sudo cp /usr/share/unity-2d/launcher/Launcher.qml{,.bck}
    sudo sed -i '/items.appendModel(workspaces)/d' /usr/share/unity-2d/launcher/Launcher.qml

Yes this will get reset anytime that the package unity-2d-launcher gets updated.