Customizing indicator-multiload in Ubuntu Unity

After installing indicator-multiload some days ago, I realized that this small program is very useful for the desktop users in many ways. It provides complete system indicators, not only for networking (real-time up/down speed), but also cpu, mem, and disk transfer real-time statuses. It can be configured to show on the panel only one of them, or combination of some, or even them all. For Unity desktop environment users, indicator-multiload features are arguably needed. So here I show you the examples in configuring indicator-multiload to show the things you need from your system statuses.

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About System Load Indicator

System Load Indicator (package name: indicator-multiload) is a program to show real-time system status in Ubuntu Unity desktop or any GNOME based desktop system, developed by Michael Hofmann. It is free software under GNU GPL v3+ license. Its official webpage is https://launchpad.net/indicator-multiload.

Installing indicator-multiload

I have written the installation and basic configuration here. It is available in all version of Ubuntu releases from the official repositories.

The Configuration Window

To open the configuration window, first run your indicator-multiload and then click on it > select Preferences.

Show Networking Status

To show a real-time graph and up/down speed of network, check only Network on Monitored Resources and then raise the Net $(...) selection to the top of list on Indicator Items. You can test the indicator by downloading something from the internet, for example.

Show Disk Transfer Status

To show a real-time graph and disk transfer speed, check only Harddisk on Monitored Resources and then raise the Disk $(...) selection to the top of list on Indicator Items. You can test the indicator by copying something from/into your disk drive. In picture below, I was copying a huge iso image between SSD partitions.

Show CPU Status

To show a real-time graph and CPU usage status in percentage, check only Processor on Monitored Resources and then raise the CPU $(...) selection to the top of list on Indicator Items.

Show Memory Status

To show a real-time graph and RAM usage status in GB, check only Memory on Monitored Resources and then raise the Mem $(...) selection to the top of list on Indicator Items.

Show Combination of Network, CPU, and Mem Statuses

To combine some statuses in one row, Add a new item on the Indicator Items. Fill the blank with a combination of codes from Network, CPU, and Mem items. Just copy and paste them, and you can also change the text string. For example, my code is

Mem $(size(mem.user))  CPU $(percent(cpu.inuse)) UP: $(speed(net.down)) DOWN: $(speed(net.up)).

Customizing The Colors

You can change the color of every aspect of the graph. For example, change the upload color to RED and download color to GREEN.