K Desktop Environment
Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 The KDE Team
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
This is the KDE User's Guide, a complete documentation of the K Desktop Environment from the user perspective. The K Desktop Environment is a collection of tools that will make your UNIX® life easier and more enjoyable.
Table of Contents
Welcome to the K Desktop Environment User Guide.
This book is intended to be an introduction to the K Desktop Environment as a whole, with a broad description of the user interface, some practical examples on how to use KDE for daily work, and some hints on how to customise the KDE desktop.
Included is a table of shortcuts, and some tips and tricks intended to help you find your way around quickly and efficiently.
This book is not a guide to the use of the individual applications, as they each have their own User Manual. However, KDE is an integrated environment — what you learn in this manual and in your own exploration of KDE's interface is consistent and readily transferable between KDE applications.
This book also explores some of the philosophy behind KDE and some of its history, and rounds out with how to find more information, should you need it.
640KB ought to be enough for everybody
Since the beginning of UNIX® development, there has been one great problem: There were stable kernels, and good, powerful software. Unfortunately, only a few people could use UNIX®, because it was written mainly for those students and professionals who had studied the system for a long time. For example, the standard method for reading USENET news was:
find /var/spool/news -name '[0-9]*' -exec cat {} \; | more
Although fast and relatively efficient, this couldn't be called user friendly. Today, there are many good front ends available, such as tin and KNode, which provide easy-to-use, intuitive graphical user interfaces (GUIs). Unfortunately, the GUIs lack a common look-and-feel. Commercial libraries for programmers like Motif® promised a solution to this, but these libraries remained, until recently, far too expensive and far too slow.
The configuration of programs is also often difficult. While compiling is usually done with a command line such as ./configure && make && make only a very few programs can be configured with menus or scripts. In most cases, you must edit text configuration files yourself. It often happens that a misplaced period ruins the whole file, forcing you to restart the configuration process. Whenever you need to change your settings or reconfigure a program, the whole mess comes up again.install
All this contributes to the fact that Linux® and other UNIX®'s fail to reach a wider audience. At the same time, many people are not satisfied with their current operating system, often because of the lack of stability and performance found in those operating systems. Other people hate to buy a new computer each time a new version of the program they cannot live without comes out, because it needs more RAM and more disk space. Often the new version provides functions few people really need.
KDE is different. Although we do not try to replace the standard UNIX® shell, we are working on a tool that will make using UNIX® easier. We also want to attract more users to the UNIX® environment. Simple things will be made easy, yet complex things will still be just as possible. A single interface will be provided, instead of the dozens currently required.
KDE is designed for everyone.
Those new to UNIX®, or those who simply have no interest in learning to use new technologies and commands not found in their previous operating systems don't need to face the intricacies of the command line unless they want to. Yet there is much KDE offers that is of value to experienced UNIX® users, with GUI tools to make simple what were previously complex tasks, and the command line just a mouse click away if you want it.
No matter what your level of experience with UNIX® or any other operating system, KDE brings you:
A good looking, easy to use desktop environment.
A powerful, easy to use file manager
An equally powerful and easy to use web browser
A simple, centralised configuration
A comprehensive list of applications, so you can be productive within minutes of your first KDE login.
Online help to support you in every situation.
Consistency of interface. Menus are in the same place across applications, keybindings behave the same way, toolbar icons, once learned, always work the same.
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In October 1996, German LyX developer Matthias Ettrich initiated the development of KDE with a USENET posting. Soon after, a couple of interested developers began planning and programming parts of the new project. One year later, the window and file managers, the terminal emulator, the help system and the display configuration tool were released for Alpha and Beta testing and proved to be relatively stable.
In July 1998, KDE 1.0 was released. It was the stable version for the next six months, while developers continued work on improving KDE without stability constraints. In January 1999, their improvements were consolidated and integrated to produce KDE 1.1, the new standard, stable version.
Development continued from there with KDE 2.0, an almost complete rewrite of the desktop, being released on October 23rd 2000. The KDE 2.x version evolved through six minor releases over the period of a year, each bringing an already impressive desktop further features and stability.
At the time of writing, KDE 3.2 is in preparation for release, introducing a broad range of improvements over the 2.0 series. Although the GUI didn't change as dramatically as it did during the move from KDE 1 to KDE 2, many refinements like a completely new printing system, vastly improved SSL support (for secure Internet transactions) or full support for languages which are written right-to-left (like Arabic or Hebrew) found their way into the desktop. You can find more information about this exciting development at http://www.kde.org/.
The developers and users communicate primarily via several mailing lists, as described in the Mailing Lists section. If you would like to help, please do, KDE is driven by volunteer contribution, and you are always welcome to take part.
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The main web site for KDE is http://www.kde.org/. Here you can find all important information regarding KDE, including announcements, bugfixes, developer information and much more.
For software upgrades, please visit our FTP site, ftp://ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/, or use a mirror if one exists near you. You can find an up to date list of mirrors at http://www.kde.org/ftpmirrors.html.
On the FTP servers, the folder unstable always contains brand new software, but it is often untested and may not even compile. If you are looking for more reliable components, please take a look in the stable folder, where we put Beta and release versions.
If you are interested in developing KDE applications of your own, you should visit http://developer.kde.org/" where you will find a wealth of information, including tutorials, API guides to the KDE libraries, and much more. You should also visit Troll Tech's server (http://www.trolltech.com) which features a great deal of information concerning the Qt™ library used by KDE. You will probably find it valuable to join the KDE developer mailing list.
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You see to sea to see all that you can see is sea
First impressions are so important -- this is not only true for Agatha Christie's famous thriller “The Mousetrap” -- but also for KDE. As we mentioned before, KDE is supposed to be the most intuitive, easy to learn user interface available. In fact, we will have reached our goal when users no longer need this book in order to work with KDE, causing the authors to lose their (unpaid and voluntary) jobs as documenters.
When you boot a UNIX® system, one of three things should happen (that is, if the system works correctly; everything else is an undocumented fourth case). Either you stay in text mode and get a login prompt, you are logged into your GUI of choice automatically, or you are presented with a graphical login window. In the first case, you must log into your system and type:
startx
If the installation was successful, the KDE desktop should appear after a few seconds of initialisation.
If a graphical login window is presented, then all that should be required is your login name and password. Assuming the KDE installation was successful, KDE should start without further intervention.
If you have not done so already, we recommend changing your X display manager from xdm to kdm, which includes the same functionality, but with the advanced features of the K Desktop Environment.
If your system is configured to automatically log you into a GUI you will need to consult your operating system manuals or support forums for instructions how to have KDE be that GUI.
After everything has come up, take some time to explore the new environment. If you have already worked with Windows®, OS/2 or Mac® OS, many things should look familiar to you. The main visible parts of KDE that you will see are the desktop itself, and the panel.
When you start KDE for the first time, the panel is situated at the bottom of the screen. From here, you will start your programs and switch between the virtual screens.
icon buttonThe
icon button is one of the most important places on your KDE desktop. From here, you can start all KDE applications installed. Later, when you learn how to use the K Menu Editor, you can also add other programs here as well. To start a program, just click on the button. You will see a list of different categories, plus some special entries. Whenever you move your mouse over an entry that has an arrow to the right, a new menu will appear. When you find the program you want to start, just click on it with the mouse button.
When you start KDE for the first time, note the four buttons labelled, appropriately enough, 1, 2, 3 and 4. These represent your four desktops. Just click one of them. Don't worry; though they have “disappeared”, any open windows are still active (just take a look at the task list!). Using multiple desktops is one of the most powerful features of KDE and the X Window System®. Instead of placing one window over another, as you would when using Windows® or OS/2, you can say “Well, on the first desktop, I will write the KDE User Guide. On the second desktop I'll run the meinproc documentation compiler and see my results while compiling my Linux® kernel on the third desktop, and reading my email on the fourth.”
Some people are so lazy that they consider even the two or three motions through the application's menu to be too much (me included). For them, additional buttons can be placed next to the desktop buttons; for example, shortcuts to your home folder, to your trashcan, to the Konsole terminal emulator and to the documents you use often. For information on how to add icons to the taskbar, read Adding icons to your taskbar.
KDE by default installs several commonly used buttons, including links to KHelpCenter, KWrite and KControl.
At the far right end of the KDE panel, you can always see the time and date.
In another section of the panel, find a button for each open window. Just click on the button corresponding to the windows you want to open. Another click will minimise the window. A mouse button click will give you a menu allowing you to move the window to another desktop, manipulate it's size, or close the application.
mouse button clicking in the title bar of the window (where you see the application's name), you can see a window manipulation icon. This is the same menu you see if you click on an application's icon in the panel taskbar. When you click on it, a context menu containing commands to manipulate the window is presented. The available commands are as follows:
Lets you move the window with your mouse. Click on the mouse button when you have the window where you want it to be.
Enables you to make the window smaller or larger. Move your mouse around and click when you are satisfied with the new size.
Hides the window, leaving only an icon in the taskbar. Notice that the window title in this icon is now shown in (parentheses). To bring the window to the desktop again, click the icon.
This will expand the window to the largest size possible. Note that KDE will take the size of your virtual desktop, which means that the window could be bigger than your screen.
“Roll” up the window, leaving only the titlebar visible. You can achieve the same effect by double clicking in the titlebar. To display the entire window again, select again, or double click in the titlebar.
Here you can find menu options that allow you to manipulate how windows may cover each other up, and more:
Selecting this will keep this window on top of all other applications, even when it does not have the focus.
Selecting this will keep this window below all others, even when it does have the focus.
Selecting this makes the window take up the entire screen, similar to maximising, however, there are no window decorations showing. To switch to other applications, you may need to use the keybindings. For instance Alt+Tab to switch to another window or Ctrl+Tab to switch to another virtual desktop.
To revert from fullscreen mode, you can use the Alt+F3 shortcut to show the window operations menu and deselect ->.
Remove the window decoration and border from this window. This is useful for “monitor” type applications, such as KPager which you keep on screen all the time and will never need the window decorations for. Many people also like to use this for xterm and Konsole windows.
To revert from no border mode, you can use the Alt+F3 shortcut to show the window operations menu and deselect ->.
Stored the current settings for this window (position, size, whether it should always stay on top of all other windows etc..). This configuration will then be loaded the next time the window gets opened.
Enables you to send a window to another desktop. Choose the desktop where you want the window to be. The window will disappear at once. To see your window again, select the appropriate Desktop Button on the KDE Panel. Selecting will make the window “sticky” - it will display on all desktops at once, so you can alway see this window.
Allows you to change the look and feel, of all the windows in KDE. This changes the window decoration widgets, including the titlebar buttons, but also including things such as checkboxes and buttons within dialogues, scrollbars, and the titlebar itself. The default is Keramik.
You can further customise nearly everything about the window manager itself, including how windows behave when moved, what different mouse button clicks will do in different parts of the window, and how to decide which windows have focus.
This will close the window. Sometimes the application will allow you to save your work, but in some cases (e.g., old X11 applications) this does not work. It is best to close an application with its own commands, using this menu item only as a last resort.
If the application itself is experiencing a problem that doesn't allow you to close it normally, using this menu item, or the window decoration close button will offer you the chance to “kill” it as gracefully as possible. Note that this may still leave the application open in the background but not showing any windows. Allowing the application to be killed in this manner will most likely allow you back into the desktop however, so you can check in a terminal window and clean up any remaining processes.
Window Decoration Buttons
This button looks like a plus symbol in the default window decoration (Keramik) and may look like a thumb tack in others. It performs the same operation as selecting -> in the , but requires fewer steps to invoke.
The title bar containing the name of the window can be double-clicked in order to shade it. Use the mouse button: The will reappear, allowing you to (un)maximise, iconify, move, resize, (un)sticky the window, to move it to another desktop (this works faster than the method with the sticky button). When a program does not react anymore, you can close (which will sometimes give you the opportunity to save your work) it.
To the right of the title bar, there are two buttons that can also be used to iconify or maximise the window (this is faster than using the window manipulation menu). Iconified windows can be brought back with a click on the taskbar.
At the far left of the titlebar (with the default window decoration) is a button to close the window.
To move a window, place the cursor on the title bar and hold down the mouse button. Without releasing the mouse button, move the window to the location of your choice, then release the mouse button. If you want to resize a window, move the mouse cursor to the window border you wish to change. Once you have reached the correct spot, the cursor will change from an arrow to a bracket and an arrow. Hold down the mouse button and drag the side in question to the location you wish, then release the button. Note that you may drag sides or corners (which will adjust the size in two dimensions at once.)
Using the menu bar of each KDE window is easy. Just click on what you want to do, and it will be done.
Below the menu bar, there is a set of tool symbols you can use to execute commands. Whenever you move over them, an active picture will be marked. But the menu bar can do even more for you. Notice the textured stripe on the left of the menu and icon bars? Depress your mouse button and a context menu will appear, allowing you to put the menu bar on the , , , or of the window. You can also hide the menubar by selecting
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Using only what you see, can you get from A to B?
So far, you may be thinking that KDE is little more than another window manager. Relax, and read this chapter, and we'll introduce you to some features that will assure you that KDE is very much more than a window manager — it's a full fledged environment.
Since you do not only have KDE applications installed on your system, you probably know the mess of editing ASCII style configuration files. But in fact, there are a lot of other file types that need to be edited this way. For example, the raw XML source for this guide was written ASCII style, as was the source code for the KDE programs themselves. We will now show you how you can use the KWrite facility in KDE to edit ASCII files of your own.
Click on the
icon button and choose . A window showing the contents of your home folder will pop up. To see a more detailed listing of files in your home folder, select from the menu.
On the left hand of the window, a tree view of your file system structure should appear, while on the right hand side, you can see icons for each file in your Home folder, including any “hidden files” — files or folders beginning with a period.
We tried to make the File Manager as easy as possible to use, and if you know other window managers (including those built into other Operating Systems) with integrated file management, many of the following concepts should be familiar to you.
On the top, there is a menu which contains functions to open and close file manager windows. You can also print the current contents.
Want to visit the Internet? There are several paths you can take. You could choose -> (or press Ctrl-O) and enter a URL.
The simplest way however, is to simply type in the address you want to go to in the location bar itself.
For example, if you want to visit the KDE homepage, enter http://www.kde.org. You can also quickly transfer files over FTP using this method. KDE is “Internet ready”, which means that you can load and save files not only on your local hard disk, but also on remote FTP and other remote servers that you have write access to. While other operating systems and desktops make a distinction between local and remote file systems, KDE does not.
The menu offers functions to select, copy and move files. We will use them later. Already having used the menu, you have probably seen that you can view the content in many different ways. Just play around a bit and see what happens.
You will undoubtedly find the to be extremely useful: Now you can remember virtually any link, be it on the local machine or somewhere on the Internet. KDE's network transparency works both ways, allowing you to treat files and folders on your hard drive as if they were Internet bookmarks.
The menu helps you find the notorious file-that-I-put-somewhere-I-do-not-remember-anymore.
We will now pick one of your configuration files and edit it. First, we must change the folder in the File Manager.
Konqueror started with your home folder as the top of the “tree”. For most day-to-day purposes, this is where you are likely to be working, so it is a practical default. Sometimes you need to see the broader picture though, so the rest of your file system is not far away.
You can quickly display the / or “root” folder several ways: click the small folder icon beside the navigation pane to switch to a full filesystem tree, use the Up arrow on the toolbar above to go to the top of your filesystem in the right hand pane, or type in / in the location bar.
For the purpose of following this guide, press the small blue folder icon beside the navigation pane, so that the navigation pane switches to a full filesystem view. Notice that part of the tree is expanded, and your home folder is still selected. Now you can see how your home folder fits into the whole hierarchy, and your home folder files are still visible in the right hand pane.
Scroll down the navigation pane on the left side of the window until you find the folder /etc. Double-click on etc. You will see a long list of files in the right window.
Some of the files you see here are at the heart of your operating system, so making permanent changes to them require you to be the root or superuser. We are going to practice on a file that will not hurt anything if a mistake is made, called motd.
Scroll down until you find the file motd and click on it with the mouse button. In the , select . A new menu will pop up. Choose . Voila!
There are many ways to open a file, and this is just one of them. KWrite is an editor with a simple and probably familiar interface. You could also have navigated down the small tree in the popup dialogue to the Editors section, and chosen another editor, or simply double click the file to open it in the default editor.
In the meantime, you have the file /etc/motd open in KWrite and we're ready to do some editing.
The more you work with KDE, the more you will notice that most screens and applications look and feel the same. The KWrite menu is a great example of this. Almost every other KDE program has the same menu, allowing you to create new files, open existing files from your local file system or (coming soon) even the web, save them (soon even on the web, too!), print it or mail it to somebody else.
The menu can also be found in most KDE applications, allowing you to cut and paste information between programs. You can also search and replace text. Using the Menu, you can customise the editor in many different ways. For example, you can increase the font size to suit your monitor resolution — and your eyes. Of course, as in any other KDE application, you find a Menu, offering you on-line help whenever you need it.
Most motd files contain useless stuff like “Do not forget to back up your data” or “Do not annoy the system manager”. Boring. Let's change the text so that users logging in get the really important information. You can navigate through the text using the arrow keys, and mark sections of text with Shift-Arrowsor by using the mouse with the button pressed. Use the Menu to cut and paste text. Enter whatever you want, or use the following (great) example:
Welcome!
This machine now has KDE installed, providing you with a great,
easy-to-use interface and a consistent Look-and-Feel for all your
applications. For more information on how to get KDE running on your
account, please email the administrator. Now that you have changed the motd file, it is time to save the file, putting the changes into effect. To do this, you can use either the Menu, or you can use the Save Icon on the toolbar.
At this point, reality hits us. You need to have root permission to save the changes to this file. KDE handles this by asking you for the root password.
You probably don't really want to save this file, so you can press in the password dialogue and again in the save dialogue.
Finally, finish your work by closing the editor and file manager window. You can do this by clicking the button on the top left of the window, by using the window menu of the title bar, or by choosing ->. Simple and elegant, isn't it?
As with everything in KDE, there are several ways to create a new file. You could open up the file manager, click on an empty space in a folder you own, and choose ->->. A new empty file will appear, which you can open just like any other. You can even do this right on the desktop itself.
More often you are already in an application and want to start a new file. Most KDE applications offer a -> menu item, and an icon on the toolbar to complement it. A new empty document will appear that you can immediately begin working in.
Both these approaches have advantages, so use the one that is most practical at the time.
As you have seen in the previous section, working with files is as easy as 1-2-3. However, when you want to copy and move files, the whole copy-and-paste business can get annoying. Don't worry — a procedure called “drag and drop” allows you to copy and move files more quickly and easily.
Before you can start, you will need to open two file manager windows. The simplest way to open a new window is to press the gear wheel button on the right of the icon bar. If you do not see the tree view in the new window, activate it (-> or press F9).
In the first window, open the /etc folder and scroll until you see the motd file we modified in the previous section.
In the second window, open your home folder.
Click on the motd file. Hold your mouse button and drag your file into your home folder. Release the mouse button (this is called dropping the file). You will be presented up to four options: , , and . In this example, since you are not root, you cannot move the file, so this option is not presented. will create a symbolic link to the file, while and do exactly what they say. Select . You should now have a copy of the motd file in your home folder.
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So far, you have only worked with the tools and programs KDE provides. Undoubtedly, you will want to use other UNIX® programs as well. There are two ways of running them: The quick command line and the terminal.
Pressing Alt+F2 pops up a small window where you can enter a command to run. Please note that you will not see any text output generated from a program started in this manner! This method is only recommended for starting X Window System® based programs or for running tools where you do not need to see or type anything. For other programs, you will still need to use the terminal.
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Everyone has undoubtedly encountered the following problem: You start ftp, log into a great site like ftp.kde.org and start downloading files. It is late in the evening and you shut down your machine after completing the transfer. The next morning, you are at the keyboard again, and you start wondering into which folder you placed the recently transferred files. Using KDE's KFind utility makes finding those lost files a snap.
Starting KFind is simple: Choose in the menu. KFind uses an interface part you probably have not yet met in KDE: tabs. When KFind starts, you see that Name/Location is selected. When you click on Date Range, the tab content changes. Since you have never run a search before, most of the icons on the toolbar and most of the menu entries are disabled. We will change this now.
As long as you know a bit of the file name, searching is easy. Select the Name/Location tab, and enter the file name in the Named field. Wildcards may be used as needed. As a test, type *.tar.gz. By default, the search begins in your home folder, but you can select any starting folder you wish by clicking on the Look in or . To start searching, press the button. After a moment, a list of files will appear in the search results window. If they do not appear, you started the search in the wrong folder, made a spelling mistake in the Named field, or no files ending with a .tar.gz extension are located on your machine.
There are many categories you can use to make your search more precise. The more you know about the file, the better are your chances of finding it.
Here, you can specify that you only want to see files which were last touched in a given period of time. You can also specify that you only want to see files that were touched since a specified number of months or days ago.
If you know that the file was of a special type (e.g., a tar/gzip archive or a jpeg picture), you can tell KFind to find only this type of file.
You can specify text that the file must contain.
If you know the file size, you can limit your search in this regard, as well.
KFind has many more options to refine searches, explore them all!
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Using multiple desktops helps you organise your work. You can place your programs on different desktops, and name the desktops so you know what you do there. This increases and optimises your workspace. It also helps you when you are surfing the net instead of doing your work and your boss comes in. But, of course, this is rare — at least in the office where I work.
You can switch between desktops by clicking the desktop buttons on the Kicker panel. If you want to rename them, you can do so by double-clicking on them.
You can use windows on multiple desktops. If you want to have a window present everywhere, just click the sticky button on the top-left of the window. To send a window to another desktop, click on the title bar with the mouse button, choose , and select the desktop where you would like the window moved.
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To quit working with KDE, you can use the entry in the menu. You will be asked if you really want to quit KDE. Quitting will close all windows and return you to your console or display manager. For information on how programs can save your work during logout, please read the notes for logging out.
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Grandma, what big eyes you have!
The better to see you!
The more you see, the more efficiently you can use your desktop. KDE gives you the opportunity to make the desktop look and work the way you prefer, enabling you to work faster and more productively. It even gives you the opportunity to be warned if a wolf is trying to eat you, or (if you happen to be a granny) alert you when Little Red Riding Hood is on her way to bring you the goodies. Now that's service.
Native KDE programs and many third party applications left open at the end of a session will save their state and reappear when you login again, but there are some programs (like some versions of Netscape®) that will not. You can use the Autostart folder for these programs.
To launch programs when KDE is started, do the following:
Open the Autostart folder. By default this folder is at $HOME/.kde/Autostart
Open a Konqueror window and browse to the program you want to add. If you do not know how to do this, it was covered in the section called “Opening a Window Containing Your Home Folder ”.
Drag and drop the desired program from the Konqueror window on to the Autostart folder. When asked, choose to create a symbolic link rather than a full copy, as this saves a great deal of disk space.
Repeat the above steps for every program you want started when KDE is launched. Remember, you do not need to add native KDE applications, just leave them open when you log out, and they will open up again as if nothing had happened the next time you log in to KDE.
Restart KDE if you want to see the autostart function in action.
Your programs should have launched automatically when KDE restarted.
Do not forget though that you will only need the Autostart folder for a few applications. Many applications, including almost all native KDE applications, now understand session management, and you can simply leave them open when you log out in order for them to be restarted exactly as you left them. You can leave a Konqueror window open with your favourite website, KMail looking at your inbox, and Kate with a half dozen files open, log out, log back in, and find your desktop exactly as you left it.
The KDE menu and Kicker are not limited to the setup you find right after installing KDE. The KDE panel is designed to be extended, and there are two main ways of doing that: Adding new programs, and adding shortcut icons.
KDE comes with a great many applications already in the menu. Depending on your operating system and distribution, this could include many non-KDE applications. KDE also includes an application that will search your hard drive for more applications, and add them to the menu for you. Try pressing Alt+F2 and entering kappfinder to see it in action — operation is very straightforward.
Kappfinder is clever enough, but it doesn't know about every application there is. Or perhaps you simply don't want to have all those applications in the menu, and just want to add a single extra program.
To add your favourite programs to the KDE menu, you can use the KDE Menu Editor. To start it, use the menu and choose ->.
A window will open showing the existing menu on the left, and an empty menu entry dialogue on the right
For this example, we will be adding an entry for the Gimp under the submenu. If you already have a entry there and don't want a new one, you can still follow through this example, but just don't click the when you are done.
Navigate down the left hand tree to the entry.
Click on it once with the mouse button to expand the entry.
Click the icon labelled New Item in the toolbar, or choose -> in the menu bar.
In the dialogue box that pops up, enter the name you want your new menu entry to have. For this example, enter Gimp.
Then press in the dialogue.
Click on the new menu entry that was created for you under the submenu. The menu entry dialogue to the right will now change to be mostly empty, except for the name you already gave.
Fill in an optional Comment. You might like to put An image editor for the example. Text entered here will be shown as a tool-tip in the menu.
Enter in the box labelled Command, the command you would type on the command line to open your application. For this example, this is gimp. You may also enter any optional command line parameters if you wish. You can use this to make a menu entry that always opens a particular document or image, for example. Check the application's documentation to find out more about command line parameters.
If you want the application to operate from a particular folder (for example, for Gimp to begin its Load Image dialogue in a particular place) enter this path in the box labelled Work Path. This is optional.
If you wish to change the icon from the default “unknown”, click on the icon to the right of the dialogue, to open a standard KDE icon chooser.
Some applications must be run in a terminal window (for example Pine). If this is the case, check the appropriate check box.
If you want to run your application as a different user, check the box labelled Run as a different user and enter the appropriate user name in the text box.
If you're happy with your menu entry, press . If you would like to start over, press .
And that's all. You now have a new menu entry.
Although KDE is much more comfortable than the average UNIX® window manager, everyone wants a solution for a one-click way to start a program. Later, you will learn how to create links and files on your desktop, but this also has some disadvantages: sometimes all your desktops are filled up with windows, and you cannot reach your icons without minimising all the windows that cover them. For commonly used programs, you can minimise this problem and speed access by creating shortcut icons on the KDE panel.
To create a shortcut on the Kicker panel, you have some choices: Drag-and-drop, or via a menu.
Procedure 5.3. Adding a shortcut icon with the menu
Click on the
icon and choose ->->.
You will see the top level of the menu again. Go through the menus to find the entry for which you want to create the shortcut, such as or Konqueror. Click on the program you want.
A new icon will appear on the panel. Click on it, and the program will start.
Adding a shortcut icon with drag-and-drop is even simpler - just drag any icon from your desktop, or a Konqueror window, to an empty space on the panel.
What happens when you drag an item to your panel depends on what kind of item it is:
A menu will pop up giving you a choice of or . Choosing the first will create an icon that opens a Konqueror window, starting at this folder, while choosing the latter will open that folder as a menu from the Panel.
It will be copied to the panel.
A link will be made on the panel, leaving the original in place. Clicking on the resulting icon will open that document in the default application.
In any case, if you want to move the icon, click on it using the mouse button and choose Move the icon to the position you want and press the mouse button. If you wish to remove the icon, click on it using the mouse button and choose .
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Your desktop can be an efficient place to work. Every time you start KDE, you can see the complete files, folders and URLs which you often use.
There are two ways to create and edit files on your desktop. In any application, you can say that you want to save your work in the Desktop subfolder of your home folder. For example, my home folder is /home/stupiddog, so my Desktop folder is /home/stupiddog/Desktop. Everything you save there will be put on your desktop.
If you want to move existing files to your Desktop, the best way to achieve this is to use Konqueror. Open a file manager window and drag the files you need to your desktop. You can choose to copy them if you want to keep all your common stuff on the desktop now, or you can create symbolic links to the real files. Everything you change in the link files will be automatically updated in the originals. For more information on how to use drag & drop and the file manager, see the chapter Moving files with drag & drop.
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Placing files on your desktop may shorten the paths you need to enter. However, sometimes it would be nice if you could start KEdit with a commonly edited file already opened in it. And how often do you find yourself frustrated after browsing through endless lists of bookmarks to find a site you visit often? Wouldn't it be nice if everything necessary to deliver you to that site was done automatically after clicking a single icon?
MIME Types are very powerful. Employing them, you can easily customise your system such that clicking on a file of a specific type starts the application with which that file type has been associated. For example, all .mod files could be set to start Noatun, .html files could open a Konqueror window showing the file, and a core file can be viewed with the KHexEdit by simply clicking on the core file.
Although MIME types are very powerful, they are not without dangers. Playing around with MIME types as the system administrator (root) can damage a KDE system so severely that it cannot be restarted! In this example, you will create your personal MIME style, which is only relevant for you. It will only affect other users if you copy or move it to $.KDEDIR/share/mimelnk
To link a certain file type with a particular application:
Make sure the application you want to start this file type has an entry in the menu.
In Konqueror find or make a file with the extension you wish to link.
click on the file, and choose from the context menu and then press the tiny button with an icon next to the Type resulting properties dialogue. Or, choose -> in the Konqueror menu bar.
Add file masks for the application by clicking the button, and entering the file pattern you want. Remember that UNIX® is case sensitive, so you may need to add variations - *.mp3 may need *.MP3 added as well, for example. Add as many masks as you like in this way.
Add a description if you like. This is optional.
In the section labelled Application Preference Order, press the button. A miniature copy of the menu will open, where you can choose the application you want files of this type to be opened with.
Sometimes, you may want to use a different application to open this file type. For example, you might like to use Kate to open text files you wish to edit, and KEdit for text files that you just want to take a quick peek into. You can add more applications in the same way as you did in the last step, and you can change the preferred order using the and buttons.
If you're satisfied with your choices, you can click the button to save your changes without closing the dialogue box. This gives you the opportunity to test in the Konqueror window that your file association is correct. You can choose to save your changes and close the dialogue box, or if you have changed your mind and just want to close the dialogue box.
Be sure to try your new association by opening a folder containing a file of the type you just selected. Click on the file, and the program needed to edit it should start.
MIME types are a way of describing the contents of files. You may be used to using file extensions for that purpose, and you may know that on UNIX® systems the file extension often bears little or no relation to the contents of the file. On the other hand, it may be vital - for example, some implementations of gunzip won't operate on files that aren't named .gz.
MIME types naturally make use of filename patterns, but not necessarily the extensions - you can set up any filename pattern you like. For example, if you always want to open any files relating to a particular client with Kate, and you make a habit of naming the files with the client's name at the beginning so that they naturally group in the Konqueror window, then you can set up a filename pattern that matches ^. Then any files that have clientname*clientname at the beginning (the ^ character means “starts with...”) will be opened with the application you choose.
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Under normal circumstances, deleting a file under UNIX® is something which cannot be undone. However, with KDE, you can choose instead of . This will move the file into the Trash Folder, which, by default, is accessible as an icon on your desktop. In the Trash Folder, you can always recover deleted files. Remember to empty the trashcan now and then by clicking on it using the right mouse button, then choosing , otherwise you might run out of disk space because the files still need space. Note, however, that once you empty the Trash Folder, the files contained therein are lost forever.
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Everyone can make an omelette with eggs. The trick is to make one with none.
Nearly everyone can use KDE; this is why the developers made it. There are no cryptic switches with which to cope, and few configuration files you need edit in ASCII style. However, there are some ways you can do your work more elegantly, saving you time for the truly important things, like KSirtet.
Cycle through the windows
Cycle through your desktops
Mini Command line
Window Menu
Close the current window
Switch to a specific desktop
Window destroyer (every window you click on will be destroyed). Press this key combination again to cancel the killer cursor.
This exits KDE (without saving!) Use this as a last resort
Cycles to the next screen resolution. You need to configure this in your X-Server configuration for it to work.
Cycles to the previous screen resolution. You need to configure this in your X-Server configuration for it to work.
Note these are defaults only, and you can customise them to your liking.
Activates and raises the window.
Lowers the window
Shows the if the window is active, otherwise activates the window.
Shades the window (“rolls it up” so only the titlebar is visible).
Moves the window around.
Resizes the window.
Moves the window around.
Raises the window.
Resizes the window in the direction you drag the mouse.
Close the application
toggles sticky
Maximises the window
Maximises only vertically
Maximises horizontally
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What are you?
I'm your worst nightmare...
There are some questions that are always raised on the KDE mailing lists. To keep the traffic as low as possible (making the lists more readable), we have included them in this section. So please be kind and do not ask them in the mailing lists anymore - think of the quote above!
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Take a look at the http://www.kde.org/ for the most up-to-date information available about KDE on the web. You may also want to subscribe to our mailing lists.
You can subscribe at the web pages listed below:
| KDE announcements - http://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-announce |
| KDE users' mailing list - http://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde |
| KDE developers' mailing list - http://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-devel |
| KDE look and feel discussions - http://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-look |
| KDE licensing questions - http://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-licensing |
| KDE Documenters' list - http://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-doc-english |
Many KDE applications and sub-projects maintain more specific lists for themselves. You can find a complete list of archives at http://lists.kde.org/.
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She had her moments, she had some style, the best show in town was the crowd, outside the Casa Rosada crying 'Eva Peron'; but that's all gone now...
We hope that you found this documentation useful, informative and perhaps even entertaining. The following things are not necessary to understand the KDE Desktop Environment, but you still may want to read it.
This User Guide has been updated for 3.0, and is currently maintained by Lauri Watts (lauri AT kde.org)
Others who have contributed to this guide.
Pablo de Vicente (vicente AT oan.es), who updated the section regarding installing on Debian for KDE 2.0
Andreas Buschka (andi AT circe.tops.net)
Robert D. Williams (rwilliam AT kde.org)
Poul Gerhard
John Waalkes
Vernon Wells
Kay Lutz
Stephan Kulow
KDE is a huge project, and every KDE supporter has already realised that. All of us are trying very hard to create a user interface that is easy to use and maybe also has the potential to make UNIX ready for the desktop PC. You have the chance to participate in this project too, and we would be thankful if you did. Developers and interested users communicate via several mailing lists described in the section called “Other Sources for Help ”. If you would like to help, please do so! We are still looking for helpers in the following departments:
Development (Libraries and Applications)
Documentation
Graphics
Beta-Testing
and everywhere else, too :-)
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This document contains copyrighted material from Andreas Buschka, Gerhard Poul and Robert David Williams. All trademarks and branded names mentioned are properties of their legal owners.
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During the creation of this documentation, the authors used the following sources for information:
The KDE Mailing lists
Various README and HTML help files that came with the KDE components
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This program is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License.
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Table of Contents
All trademarks mentioned on this web server or in KDE documentation are recognised as belonging to their respective owners, including but not limited to:
| AIX® is a registered trademark of IBM Corporation |
| CSS, XHTML, XSL and XML are common law trademarks of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique, or Keio University on behalf of the World Wide Web Consortium. |
| Handspring™ and Visor™ are trademarks of Handspring, Inc. and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. |
| Hewlett-Packard®, HP® LaserJet®,HP-UX® PCL, PCL 5 and PCL 6 are U.S. registered trademarks of Hewlett Packard Company. |
| IRIX® is a registered trademark and SGI™ is a trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. |
| Java™ and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. |
| Jini™ and all Jini-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the US and other countries. |
| Linux® is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds |
| LinuxPPC™ is a trademark of LinuxPPC Inc. |
| Mac® is a trademark of Apple Computer Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. |
| Mandrake™ and Mandrakelinux™ are trademarks of MandrakeSoft. |
| Netscape® is a registered trademark of Netscape Communications Corporation in the United States and other countries. |
| NeXTSTEP™ is a trademark of NeXT Software, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. |
| Palm OS®, HotSync® and PalmPilot™ are registered trademarks of Palm, Inc. |
| PostScript® is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated. |
| Qt™ is a trademark of Trolltech AS |
| Red Hat® and all Red Hat-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. in the United States and other countries. |
| sendmail® is a registered trademark of Sendmail Inc. |
| Solaris™, Sun™ and SunOS™ are trademarks of Sun Microsystems Inc. |
| SuSE® is a registered trademark of SuSE AG |
| 3Com® is a registered trademark of 3com corporation in the United States and other countries. |
| Motif®, UNIX® and the “X” device are registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries |
| Microsoft® and Windows® are registered trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation |
| XFree86 is pending trademark registration by The XFree86 Project, Inc. |
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