I can easily set the number of workspaces and the workspace names with the gconftool-2, as follows:

  gconftool-2 --type int --set /apps/metacity/general/num_workspaces 4

  gconftool-2 --type string --set /apps/metacity/workspace_names/name_1 Dev

  gconftool-2 --type string --set /apps/metacity/workspace_names/name_2 Docs

  gconftool-2 --type string --set /apps/metacity/workspace_names/name_3 VM

  gconftool-2 --type string --set /apps/metacity/workspace_names/name_4 Web

However, for some reason I am unable to use similar techniques to set the number of rows in the workspace switcher, or set the preference to show workspace names. I am similarly unable to add applets and launchers via gconftool. I would also like to be able to configure my system to have just one panel at the bottom of the screen. (Solved this much)

I have reviewed the using gconf page without success. For some options, I have been successfully able to find the option name by dumping gconftool-2 -R / to a file, change the option via the GUI, and then dump again and diff. This technique was not fruitful with the above mentioned items. I have also tried --dump and --load, and have tried restarting gnome-panel and gconfd-2, but that does not help either. Is there some other mechanism besides gconftool-2 that the panel uses for storing settings?

I am currently using 11.10 in gnome-classic mode.

Update: Found a script to hide panels.

Update 2: An easier way to remove the top panel:

gsettings set org.gnome.gnome-panel.layout toplevel-id-list "['bottom-panel']"

I actually still cannot configure the panel with dconf.

I can change an existing panel item to point to a different program via dconf write /org/gnome/gnome-panel/layout/objects/object-6/instance-config/location "'...'", but killall -HUP gnome-panel is also required.

If I try to remove an item from the panel via dconf write /org/gnome/gnome-panel/layout/objects/object-id-list "[...]", the contents of the panel do not change, even after restarting gnome panel.

If I make the same change with dconf-editor, it changes immediately.

What do I need to do to update the panel after dconf write?

(Note: behaves the same way under 12.04)