Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 KDE User Guide
SUSE Linux Enterprise
www.novell.com10
June21,2006 KDE User Guide
Desktop
KDE User Guide
List of Authors: Jörg Arndt, Steve Bearnson, Stefan Behlert, Frank Bodammer, James Branam,
Volker Buzek, Klara Cihlarova, Catherine Craft, Olaf Dabrunz, Stefan Dirsch, Olaf Donjak, Roman
Drahtmüller, Thorsten Dubiel, Torsten Duwe, Thomas Fehr, Stefan Fent, Werner Fink, Jakub Friedl,
Kurt Garloff, Joachim Gleißner, Todd Grant, Carsten Groß, Andreas Grünbacher, Berthold Gunreben,
Franz Hassels, Andreas Jaeger, Jana Jaeger, Denise Jewkes, Klaus Kämpf, Andi Kleen, Hubert
Mantel, Lars Marowsky-Bree, Chris Mason, Johannes Meixner, Lars Müller, Matthias Nagorni, Anas
Nashif, Siegfried Olschner, Edith Parzefall, Peter Pöml, Thomas Renninger, Hannes Reinecke, Scott
Rhoades, Thomas Rölz, Heiko Rommel, Tanja Roth, Marcus Schäfer,Thomas Schraitle, Kay Sievers,
Klaus Singvogel, Frank Sundermeyer, Elisabeth Tobiasson, Hendrik Vogelsang, Klaus G. Wagner,
Rebecca Walter, Christian Zoz
This publication is intellectual property of Novell Inc.
Its contents can be duplicated, either in part or in whole, provided that a copyright label is visibly located on each copy.
All information found in this book has been compiled with utmost attention to detail. However, this
does not guarantee complete accuracy. Neither SUSE LINUX GmbH, the authors, nor the translators
shall be held liable for possible errors or the consequences thereof.
Novell, the Novell logo, the N logo and SUSE are registered trademarks of Novell, Inc. in the United
States and other countries. * Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other third party
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Contents
About This Guide ix
Part I KDE Desktop 13
1 Getting Started with the KDE Desktop 15
1.1 Logging In and Selecting a Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.2 Logging Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1.3 Desktop Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1.4 Managing Folders and Files with Konqueror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1.5 Accessing Network Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
1.6 Opening or Creating Documents with OpenOfce.org . . . . . . . . . 40
1.7 Finding Data on your Computer or in the File System . . . . . . . . . . 41
1.8 Exploring the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
1.9 E-Mail and Scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
1.10 Moving Text between Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
1.11 Important Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
1.12 Managing Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
1.13 For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
2 Customizing Your Settings 61
2.1 Changing Individual Desktop Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
2.2 Conguring Your Desktop with the Control Center . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Part II Ofce and Collaboration 75
3 The OpenOfce.org Ofce Suite 77
3.1 Understanding OpenOfce.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
3.2 Word Processing with Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
3.3 Using Spreadsheets with Calc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
3.4 Using Presentations with Impress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
3.5 Using Databases with Base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
3.6 Creating Graphics with Draw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
3.7 Creating Mathematical Formulas with Math . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
3.8 Finding Help and Information About OpenOfce.org . . . . . . . . . 108
4 Kontact: E-Mailing and Calendaring 111
4.1 Kontact Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
4.2 Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
4.3 Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
4.4 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
4.5 Syncing Data with a Handheld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
4.6 Kontact for GroupWise Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
4.7 For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
5 GroupWise Linux Client: E-Mailing and Calendaring 125
5.1 Getting Acquainted with the Main GroupWise Window . . . . . . . . 125
5.2 Using Different GroupWise Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
5.3 Understanding Your Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
5.4 Using the Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
5.5 Using Shortcut Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
5.6 Learning More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
6 Synchronizing a Handheld Computer with KPilot 143
6.1 Conduits Used by KPilot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
6.2 Conguring the Handheld Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
6.3 Conguring the KAddressBook Conduit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
6.4 Managing To-Do Items and Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
6.5 Working with KPilot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
7 Instant Messaging with Kopete 151
7.1 Conguring Kopete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
7.2 Adding Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
7.3 Adding Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
7.4 Using Kopete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
8 Using Voice over IP 155
8.1 Conguring Linphone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
8.2 Testing Linphone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
8.3 Making a Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
8.4 Answering a Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
8.5 Using the Address Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
8.6 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
8.7 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
8.8 For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
9 Accessing Network Resources 167
9.1 General Notes on File Sharing and Network Browsing . . . . . . . . . 168
9.2 Accessing Network Shares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
9.3 Sharing Folders in Mixed Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
9.4 Managing Windows Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
9.5 Conguring and Accessing a Windows Network Printer . . . . . . . . 176
9.6 Conguring Shortcuts to Network Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
9.7 Conguring and Using a Small Web Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
10 Encryption with KGpg 185
10.1 Generating a New Key Pair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
10.2 Exporting the Public Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
10.3 Importing Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
10.4 The Key Server Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
10.5 Text and File Encryption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
10.6 For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
11 Searching with Kerry 195
11.1 Searching Using Kerry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
11.2 Conguring Kerry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
12 Managing Printers 199
12.1 Installing a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
12.2 Modifying Printer Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
12.3 Deleting a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
12.4 Starting Print Jobs in KDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
12.5 Monitoring Print Jobs in KDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Part III Internet 207
13 Browsing with Konqueror 209
13.1 Tabbed Browsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
13.2 Automatic Scrolling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
13.3 Proles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
13.4 Saving Web Pages and Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
13.5 Searching with Konqueror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
13.6 Bookmarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
13.7 Java and JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
13.8 Enabling Advertisment Blockers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
13.9 For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
14 Browsing with Firefox 217
14.1 Navigating Web Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
14.2 Finding Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
14.3 Managing Bookmarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
14.4 Using the Download Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
14.5 Customizing Firefox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
14.6 Printing from Firefox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
14.7 For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
15 Transferring Data from the Internet 227
15.1 Adding Transfers to the List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
15.2 Timer-Controller Transfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
16 Reading News Feeds with Akregator 229
Part IV Multimedia 231
17 Manipulating Graphics with The GIMP 233
17.1 Graphics Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
17.2 Starting GIMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
17.3 Getting Started in GIMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
17.4 Saving Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
17.5 Printing Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
17.6 For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
18 Using Digital Cameras with Linux 241
18.1 Connecting to the Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
18.2 Accessing the Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
18.3 Using Digikam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
18.4 For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
19 Playing Music and Movies 253
19.1 Mixers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
19.2 Playing Music Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
19.3 Handling Audio CDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
19.4 Playing Movie Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
20 Burning CDs and DVDs 267
20.1 Creating a Data CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
20.2 Creating an Audio CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
20.3 Copying a CD or DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
20.4 Writing ISO Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
20.5 Creating a Multisession CD or DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
20.6 For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
A Finding the Information You Need 275
A.1 Included Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
A.2 Additional Resources and More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
B Moving from Windows to Linux 281
B.1 Starting Applications from the Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
B.2 Managing Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
B.3 Using the Command Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
B.4 Customizing Your Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
B.5 Setting Up Printers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
B.6 Switching between Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
B.7 Accessing Network Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
C Getting to Know Linux Software 289
C.1 Ofce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
C.2 Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
C.3 Multimedia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
C.4 Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
C.5 System and File Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
C.6 Software Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Index 313
About This Guide
This manual introduces the KDE desktop of your SUSE® Linux Enterprise Desktop
and a variety of applications you will encounter when working with the KDE desktop.
It guides you through using these applications and helps you perform key tasks. It is
intended mainly for end users who want to make efcient use of KDE in everyday life.
The manual is subdivided into the following parts:
KDE Desktop
Get to know your KDE desktop and learn how to cope with basic and daily tasks,
using the central KDE applications and some small utilities. Get an impression of
the numerous possibilities KDE offers to modify and individualize your desktop
according to your needs and wishes.
Ofce and Collaboration
Use the ofce and collaboration software your SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop
offers, such as the OpenOfce.org suite, several e-mailing and calendaring programs,
and applications for online conversations. Also nd vital information concerning
the management and exchange of data on your system: how to share les on the
network, how to effectively search and encrypt data, and how to manage printers.
Internet
Find out how to use the Internet applications included in your SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, such as Konqueror or the Firefox Web browser, a download manager,
or a news feed reader.
Multimedia
Find topics such as graphics applications, digital cameras, sound applications, and
CD and DVD writers.
1 Feedback
We want to hear your comments and suggestions about this manual and the other documentation included with this product. Please use the User Comments feature at the
bottom of each page of the online documentation and enter your comments there.
2 Additional Documentation
There are other manuals available on this SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop product. If
you want to have a look at the other end user documentation for SUSE Linux Enterprise
Desktop, the following manuals might be interesting:
Installation Quick Start
Lists the system requirements and guides you step-by-step through the installation
of your SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop.
GNOME User Guide
This manual introduces the GNOME desktop of your SUSE Linux Enterprise
Desktop and a variety of applications you will encounter when working with the
GNOME desktop. It guides you through using these applications and helps you
perform key tasks. It is intended mainly for end users who want to make efcient
use of applications running on the GNOME desktop.
For an overview of all manuals shipped with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, refer to
http://www.novell.com/documentation/sled10/, where you can also
download the manuals. You can also access the information online in the Help Center
of your desktop.
3 Documentation Conventions
The following typographical conventions are used in this manual:
• /etc/passwd: lenames and directory names
• placeholder: replace placeholder with the actual value
• PATH: the environment variable PATH
• ls, --help: commands, options, and parameters
• user: users or groups
• Alt , Alt + F1 : a key to press or a key combination; keys are shown in uppercase
as on a keyboard
x KDE User Guide
•
File, File → Save As: menu items, buttons
•
Dancing Penguins (Chapter Penguins, ↑Reference): This is a reference to a chapter
in another book.
About This Guide xi
Part I. KDE Desktop
Getting Started with the KDE
Desktop
This chapter assists you in becoming familiar with the KDE desktop of your SUSE®
Linux Enterprise Desktop. If you have not yet installed your system, see Installation
Quick Start at http://www.novell.com/documentation/sled10/.
KDE stands for K Desktop Environment and is a graphical user interface that has many
applications designed to help you in your daily work. KDE also offers many choices
to modify your desktop according to your needs and wishes. Read more about conguring your desktop in Chapter 2, Customizing Your Settings (page 61).
The following description is based on the default conguration of the KDE desktop
shipped with your product. If you or your system administrator has modied the defaults,
some aspects may be different, such as appearance or keyboard shortcuts.
1.1 Logging In and Selecting a Desktop
If more than one user account is congured on your computer, all users must authenticate. When you start your system, you are prompted to enter your username and password. This is the username and password you created when you installed your system.
If you did not install your system, check with your system administrator for your username and password.
1
Getting Started with the KDE Desktop 15
NOTE: Auto Login
If your computer is not run in a networking environment and you are the only
person using it, you can automatically log in to the desktop environment on
boot. In this case, you do not see any login screen. This feature, called auto
login, can be enabled or disabled during installation or at any time using the
YaST user management module.
The program managing the login process depends on the desktop environment installed
on your system. For KDE, it is KDM. If additionally the GNOME desktop is installed
on your system, it may be GDM.
As shown in Figure 1.1, “A KDM Login Screen” (page 16), the default KDM login
screen provides input elds for username and password and two menu items. To start
a normal login, just enter your username and password.
Figure 1.1
The KDM login screen has input elds for username and password and the following
menu items:
A KDM Login Screen
16 KDE User Guide
Session Type
Species the desktop to run when you log in. If desktops other than KDE are installed, they appear in the list. Make changes only if you want to use a session type
other than your default (usually KDE). Future sessions are automatically of the
same type unless you change the session type manually.
System
Performs a system action, such as shutting down the computer or starting different
login actions. Remote Login enables you to log in on a remote machine.
NOTE: Connecting to an Active Directory Server
To access shared network resources, you can also authenticate a KDE client
machine against an Active Directory server. For further details, refer to Chap-
ter 9, Accessing Network Resources (page 167). If your machine is congured
for this kind of authentication, the login screen also provides an additional
eld. In this case, proceed as follows during login:
1. Select the domain from the list.
2. Enter your Windows username.
3. Enter your Windows password and press Enter .
1.1.1 Controlling a Session
The Session Manager starts after your username and password are authenticated by the
login process. The Session Manager lets you save certain settings for each session. It
also lets you save the state of your most recent session and return to that status the next
time you log in.
The Session Manager can save and restore the following settings:
• Appearance and behavior settings, such as fonts, colors, and mouse settings.
• Applications that you were running, such as a le manager or OpenOfce.org.
Getting Started with the KDE Desktop 17
IMPORTANT: Saving and Restoring Applications
You cannot save and restore applications that Session Manager does not
manage. For example, if you start the vi editor from the command line in
a terminal window, Session Manager cannot restore your editing session.
For information about conguring session preferences, see Section 2.2.4, “KDE Com-
ponents” (page 70).
1.1.2 Switching Desktops
If you installed both the KDE and the GNOME desktops, use the following instructions
to switch desktops.
If you are logged in to KDE, select Log Out → End Current Session from the
1
main menu. On the login screen, click Session Type.
Select the GNOME desktop.
2
Enter your username.
3
Enter your password. The GNOME desktop is started.
4
See GNOME User Guide http://www.novell.com/documentation/
sled10/ for more information about using the GNOME desktop.
To switch back to KDE again, click Desktop → Log Out on the panel of the
5
GNOME desktop then click OK. The session is closed and the login screen
reappears.
Before logging in again, click Session Type and select KDE in the login screen.
6
If you do not select a new session type, your next session will be of the same
type (GNOME) as the session before.
1.1.3 Locking Your Screen
To lock the screen, do either of the following:
18 KDE User Guide
•
From the main menu, select Lock Session.
• Use the keyboard shortcut dened in the KDE Control Center. Usually, this is Ctrl
+ Alt + L .
TIP: Looking Up KDE Keyboard Shortcuts
If you want to look up the keyboard shortcuts dened in KDE, select Personal Settings → Regional & Accessibility → Keyboard Shortcuts from the
main menu. See also Section 2.2.6, “Regional & Accessibility” (page 72).
For quick access, you can also add the Lock and Logout icons to the panel. To do so,
right-click the panel then click Add Applet to Panel. In the following window, select
Lock/Logout Buttons and click Add to Panel.
When you lock your screen, the screensaver starts. To unlock the screen, move your
mouse to display the locked screen dialog. Enter your username and password then
press Enter .
For information about conguring your screensaver, see Section 2.2.1, “Appearance
& Themes” (page 65).
1.2 Logging Out
When you are nished using the computer, you can log out and leave the system running
or restart or shut down the computer. If your system provides power management, you
can also suspend the computer, making the next system start much faster than a complete
boot.
To log out and leave the system running, do one of the following:
•
From the main menu, select Log Out → End Current Session.
• Use the keyboard shortcut that is dened in the KDE Control Center, described in
Section 2.2.6, “Regional & Accessibility” (page 72). Usually, to log out with
conrmation, this is Ctrl + Alt + Del . In the following dialog you still have the
choice to cancel the logout process. If you want to log out without any conrmation,
press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + Del .
Getting Started with the KDE Desktop 19
•
Click the Logout icon in the panel. If your panel does not include the logout icon,
you can add it to the panel as described in Section 1.1.3, “Locking Your Screen”
(page 18).
1.3 Desktop Components
The graphical desktop environment should not pose any problems for former Windows
or Macintosh users. The main components of the desktop are the icons on the desktop
and the panel at the bottom of the screen.
Figure 1.2
Desktop icons represent les, directories, applications, functions, and removable media,
like CDs or DVDs.
The desktop has the following icons by default:
An Example KDE Desktop
Trash
Contains les and folders that have been deleted. For information about using the
trash bin, see Section 1.3.4, “Managing the Trash Bin” (page 29).
20 KDE User Guide
My Computer
Displays information about hardware, network status, operating system, hard disks,
common folders, and removable devices. For more information, refer to Sec-
tion 1.3.3, “Accessing Removable Media” (page 26).
Network Browsing
Displays network services you can access. Some of the services might require authentication. To learn more, refer to Chapter 9, Accessing Network Resources
(page 167).
Printer
Opens KJobViewer that displays print jobs you have sent to printers. See Sec-
tion 12.4, “Starting Print Jobs in KDE” (page 202) for more information.
Firefox
Opens the Firefox Web browser. For more information, refer to Chapter 14,
Browsing with Firefox (page 217).
Ofce
Opens a new OpenOfce.org document. For an introduction to this ofce suite,
refer to Chapter 3, The OpenOfce.org Ofce Suite (page 77).
The panel (in KDE also called “Kicker”) is a bar, typically located at the top or the
bottom of the screen. It is designed to provide information about running applications
or the system and easy access to some important functions or applications. If you hold
your pointer over an icon, a short description is displayed.
Figure 1.3
The panel typically consists of the following areas:
Main Menu Icon
By default, the left end of the panel has an icon that opens the main menu, similar
to the start button on the MS Windows desktop. The main menu has a well-ordered
structure for accessing the main applications. It also contains menu items for major
functions like logging out or searching for applications. For more information, see
Section 1.3.1, “Accessing the Main Menu” (page 22).
KDE Panel (Kicker)
Getting Started with the KDE Desktop 21
Quick Launcher
Next to the main menu icon, nd the quick launcher. It holds some icons for the
most important functions or applications to enable you to start them without going
through the main menu. It also contains an icon for the Help Center, which provides
online help for your system.
Desktop Previewer
Next to the quick launcher, nd the desktop previewer, which shows your different
desktops. These virtual desktops enable you to organize your work. If you use many
programs simultaneously, you might want to run some programs in one desktop
and other programs in the other desktop. To switch between desktops, click the
desktop symbol in the panel.
Taskbar
The taskbar is located next to the desktop previewer. By default, all started applications and open windows are displayed in the taskbar, which allows you to access
any application regardless of the currently active desktop. If you click a window
title in the taskbar, the application is moved to the foreground. If it is already in
the foreground, clicking minimizes the application.
System Tray
The rightmost part of the panel usually holds the system clock, the volume control,
and several other helper applications.
To learn how to congure the appearance and behavior of your desktop, including the
main menu, desktop icons, or the panel, refer to Changing Panel Elements (page 62).
1.3.1 Accessing the Main Menu
Open the main menu by clicking the icon to the far left of the panel. Alternatively, press
Alt + F1 . The main menu is subdivided into these sections: Most Used Applications,
All Applications (a menu with all applications sorted according to categories), and Actions. Applications that you start most often appear in the Most Used Applications
section.
The function-oriented menu structure makes it easy to nd the right application for
your purpose even if you do not know the application names yet. If you already know
the name of an application (or at least a part of its name) but are not sure how to start
22 KDE User Guide
it from the main menu, you can use the search function provided in the All Applications
section.
Figure 1.4
Main Menu Search Function
Just type a part of the application name into the search eld without pressing the Enter
key afterwards. If the application is installed on your system, the menu structure leading
to this application is highlighted in the main menu.
The following section provides information about a number of actions that can be triggered from the main menu.
Recent Documents
Lists the most recently opened les or folders. When you select a document, the
application to view or edit this document is started. You can also clear the history
of documents.
My System
Gives quick access to some places often needed, such as your home directory or
media devices.
Run Command
Opens a dialog where you can enter an command to start the application. The name
of the command is often (but not always) the application name written in lowercase.
You can use autocompletion of the command by typing the rst letters then pressing
→| . If the command was executed before and can be uniquely identied, it is
completed to full length.
Switch User
To start a second session with a graphical user interface on your machine, select
Start New Session. Your current session remains active while you are taken to the
Getting Started with the KDE Desktop 23
login screen where you can log in as a different user. You can access the rst session
by pressing Ctrl + Alt + F7 . To access a new session, press F8 instead of F7 . Additional sessions can be accessed by pressing Ctrl + Alt + F9 to F12 .
Lock Session
If you leave your computer you can prevent unauthorized access by others by
locking your screen. After locking, a screensaver starts. Access to the session can
only be regained with a password. To unlock, enter your normal login password.
Log Out
Opens a dialog with several options: you can end the current session, turn off the
computer, restart the computer, or cancel the logout. End Current Session leaves
your system running and restores the applications for your next login. If your system
provides power management, you are also offered to suspend the computer, making
the next system start much faster than a complete boot.
1.3.2 Inserting or Connecting Removable
Media
If you insert or connect removable media to your computer (such as CD-ROMs, digital
cameras, or USB sticks), these are usually automatically detected. In KDE, a dialog
appears, showing the medium type detected and offering several options of what to do
with the new medium. The list of options depends on the type of medium inserted.
Figure 1.5
24 KDE User Guide
Autodetection of a USB Stick in KDE
To view the data with a le manager, select Open in New Window and click OK. The
Konqueror le manager appears, showing the contents of the removable device.
Figure 1.6
If you want the same action to be performed every time you insert a removable medium
of that type, activate Always do this for this type of media in the autodetection dialog
before clicking OK.
Procedure 1.1
In the autodetection dialog, you can also congure how KDE should handle several
types of removable media. For example, if you know that a certain type of medium
that you use often always contains photos, you can congure it to open an image
viewer application automatically:
Viewing the Contents of an USB Stick
Conguring How to Handle Removable Media
In the autodetection dialog, click Congure.
1
A conguration dialog appears, showing a list of all available actions.
2
Click the Medium types drop-down list and select the type of medium for which
3
to congure a certain action. The list of available actions now only shows actions
applicable to the medium type selected.
Select the action to apply and click Toggle as Auto Action.
4
Getting Started with the KDE Desktop 25
Figure 1.7
Click the Advanced tab and make sure the Enable medium application autostart
5
after mount check box is selected.
Click OK to apply the changes and close the conguration dialog. Now every
6
time you insert a medium of this type, the congured action is executed automatically and the autodetection dialog does not appear any more.
To reset the action assigned to the type of medium and restore the default options,
proceed as follows:
KDE Conguration Dialog for Removable Media
Start the KDE Control Center from the main menu by selecting Personal Settings.
1
In the left-hand navigation bar, click Peripherals → Storage Media. The con-
2
guration dialog appears on the right.
Click Default and Apply. The next time you insert a medium, the autodetection
3
dialog appears again, leaving you the choice of what to do with the medium.
1.3.3 Accessing Removable Media
KDE offers several ways to access removable media at any time. Clicking My Computer
on the desktops opens a view as shown in Figure 1.8, “My Computer” (page 27).
26 KDE User Guide
Figure 1.8
If you start Konqueror as a le manager (see Section 1.4, “Managing Folders and Files
with Konqueror” (page 29)) and click Storage Media on the start window or enter
media:/ in the location bar, Konqueror displays the storage devices as shown in
Figure 1.9, “Displaying Media in Konqueror” (page 28).
My Computer
Getting Started with the KDE Desktop 27
Figure 1.9
You can also name removable devices, such as USB sticks, with Konqueror. Rightclick the USB stick in Konqueror and select Properties. On the General tab, enter a
name in the input eld and click OK. When inserting the stick the next time, Konqueror
displays the name of the stick.
Displaying Media in Konqueror
A small green arrow indicates that a medium has been mounted (integrated into your
le system, which is necessary to access the data on the medium). In SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, you normally do not have to care about mounting removable devices
because this is done automatically by default.
NOTE: Removing Media Safely
If you want to remove or disconnect a medium from your computer, make
sure that the data on the medium is currently not accessed by any application
or user. Otherwise risk a loss of data. To safely remove the medium, proceed
as follows:
1. Open a view that displays all removable media.
28 KDE User Guide
2. Right-click the medium to remove and select Safely Remove or Eject.
Safely Remove unmounts the medium after which you can disconnect
the medium from your computer. Eject automatically opens the CD or
DVD drive of your computer.
1.3.4 Managing the Trash Bin
The trash bin is a directory for les marked for deletion. Drag icons from the le
manager or the desktop to the trash bin icon by keeping the left mouse button pressed.
Then release to drop them there. Alternatively, right-click an icon and select Move to
Trash from the menu. Click the trash bin icon to view its contents. You can retrieve an
item from the trash if desired.
Files removed with Delete are not moved to the trash bin, but deleted completely. To
delete the les in the trash bin completely, right-click the trash bin icon then click
Empty Trash Bin.
1.4 Managing Folders and Files with Konqueror
Konqueror is a unied Web browser, le manager, document viewer, and image
viewer. The following sections cover using Konqueror for le management. For information about Konqueror as a Web browser, see Chapter 13, Browsing with Konqueror
(page 209).
Start Konqueror as a le manager by clicking the house icon in the panel. Konqueror
displays the contents of your home directory.
Getting Started with the KDE Desktop 29
Figure 1.10
The Konqueror le manager window consists of the following elements:
Menu Bar
The menu bar holds menu items for actions like copying, moving, or deleting les,
changing views, starting additional tools, dening your settings, and getting help.
Toolbar
The toolbar provides quick access to frequently used functions that can also be
accessed through the menu. If you hover the pointer over an icon, a short description
is displayed. To the right, the toolbar features the Konqueror icon, which is animated
while a directory or Web page is loaded.
The File Manager Konqueror
Location Bar
The location bar shows the path to the directory or le in your le system. You
can enter a path to a directory directly by typing it in or by clicking one of the directories in the display eld. Delete the contents of the line by clicking the black
symbol with a white X located left of the location bar. After typing an address,
press Enter or click Go to the right of the input line.
Unlike a Windows operating system, Linux does not use drive letters. In Windows,
you would address the oppy drive as A:\, Windows system data is under C:\,
and so on. In Linux, all les and directories are located in a tree-like structure. The
topmost directory is referred to as the le system root or just /. All other directories
30 KDE User Guide
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