Comment 29 for bug 1024768

Using Unity 12.04 LTS on Intel i3, this or something similar has happened to me. Suddenly the launcher has gone, replaced by a thin grey line. I may have pressed some magic combination of keys without realising it (but what combination). Flyouts for some of the icons appear when the mouse cursor is over the launcher panel, but about halfway between the cursor and the top of the panel. Problem persists across reboot. Unable to switch to started applications (except by luck: eg, in the top half of the launcher). Can get Ubuntu Home and start a selected application, but they seem to disappear (eg, into the invisible launcher icon ?)
Suggestions for a workaround / recovery anyone. Must stress that system has been working OK for about six months and this has happened witou obvious cause.