The KDE Help Center

The KDE Help Center provides a browser-like interface for accessing and displaying KDE Help files and Linux Man and info files (see Figure 9-3). It may not be installed by default. Install the khelpcenter package. The same documentation is available at https://docs.kde.org . You can start the Help Center by searching for “help” in the search box of the Kickoff Applications menu. The Help window displays a sidebar that holds two tabs, one listing contents and one providing a glossary. The main pane displays currently selected document. A help tree on the contents tab in the sidebar lets you choose the kind of Help documents you want to access. Here you can choose KDE manuals, Man pages (UNIX manual pages), or info documents (Browse info Pages), or even application manuals (Application Manuals). Online Help provides links to KDE websites such as the KDE user forum and the KDE tech base sites. Click the Table of Contents button to open a listing of all KDE help documents, which you can browse through and click on to open.

A navigation toolbar enables you to move through previously viewed documents. KDE Help documents contain links you can click to access other documents . The Back and Forward buttons move you through the list of previously viewed documents. The KDE Help system provides an effective search tool for searching for patterns in Help documents, including Man and info pages. Click the Find button on the toolbar or choose the Find entry from the Edit menu, to open a search box at the bottom of the Help window, where you can enter a pattern to search on the current open help document. The Options menu lets you refine your search with regular expressions, case-sensitive queries, and whole words-only matches.

Desktop Backgrounds (Wallpaper)

The background (wallpaper) is set from the desktop menu directly. Right-click on the desktop to display the desktop menu and then select Configure Desktop to open the Desktop Settings dialog (see Figure 9-4).

You can also select Desktop Settings from the activities menu in the upper-left corner of the desktop. The background is called wallpaper in Plasma and can be changed in the Wallpaper tab. You can select other wallpapers from the wallpaper icons listed or select your own image by clicking the Open button.

You can add more wallpaper by clicking the Get New Wallpaper button to open a Get Hot New Stuff dialog, which lists and downloads wallpaper posted on the www.kde-look.org site (see Figure 9-5). Each wallpaper entry shows an image, description, and rating. Buttons at the upper right of the dialog let you view the entries in details (list) or icon mode. You can refine the wallpaper listing by size (category), newest, rating, and popularity (most downloads). Click the Install button to download the wallpaper and add it to your Desktop Setting's Wallpaper tab. The wallpaper is downloaded and the Install button changes to Uninstall. To remove a wallpaper, you can select installed wallpapers to find the entry quickly. You can also search by pattern for a wallpaper.

Themes

For your desktop, you can also select a variety of different themes, icons, and window decorations. A theme changes the entire look and feel of your desktop, affecting the appearance of desktop elements, such as scroll bars, buttons, and icons. Themes and window decorations are provided for workspaces. Access the System Settings dialog from the Kickoff Computer menu or the Applications ➤ Settings menu. On the System Settings dialog, click the Workspace Theme icon in the Appearance section. The Workspace Theme dialog lets you choose overall look and feel, cursor themes, desktop themes, and a splash screen (startup) themes. The Desktop Themes tab lists installed themes, letting you choose the one you want. Click the Get New Themes button to open a Get Hot New Stuff dialog, listing desktop themes from https://store.kde.org (see Figure 9-6). Click a theme's Install button to download and install the theme.

For window decorations, you use the Application Style dialog, Window Decorations tab, where you can select window decoration themes. Click the Get New Decorations button to download new decorations. Icons styles are chosen using the Icons dialog, Icons tab, where you can choose the icon set to use and even download new sets (Get New Themes).

Leave Plasma

To leave Plasma, click the Leave tab on the Kickoff menu (see Figure 9-7). Here you will find options to log out, lock, switch user, suspend, shut down, and restart. There are Session and System sections. The Session section has entries for Logout, Lock, and Switch User. The System section lists the system-wide operations: Shut Down, Reboot, Hibernate, and Suspend. When you select a leave entry, a dialog for that action appears on the desktop, which you then click. The Shut Down entry will display the Shutdown and Logout dialog with the Shutdown button selected (see Figure 9-8). The Logout option displays the same dialog with the Logout button selected. The Switch User option displays a dialog with the currently logged in users to choose from, along with a plus button for a new login.

The Lock and Switch User display manager (SSDM) screens display both a button for the current user and a plus button for starting a new session (Switch User shows the icon for the user you selected). The new session button displays the login screen with its list of users to log in as.

If you log out and more than one user is logged in from a previous Switch User operation, then the Log Out display manager screen will show a logged in user button and a plus button. Use the plus button to display the main login screen.

If you have installed the Application Dashboard widget , you can click the logout, shutdown, and restart button on the lower left. For a complete selection, choose the Power/Session category on the right (see Figure 9-9).

You can also press your computer's power button or right-click anywhere on the desktop and select the Leave entry from the pop-up menu, to open a leave dialog with the Logout button selected, as shown here. Buttons to the left let you choose between the suspend, reboot, and shutdown operations.

If you just want to lock your desktop , you can select the Lock Screen entry (Lock on the Kickoff and Application Dashboard menus), and your screen saver will appear. To access a locked desktop, click on the screen and a box appears prompting you for your login password. When you enter the password, your desktop reappears.

Kickoff Menus

The Kickoff application launcher (see Figure 9-10) organizes menu entries into tabs that are accessed by icons at the bottom of the Kickoff menu. There are tabs for Favorites, Applications, Computer, History, and Leave. You can add an application to the Favorites tab by right-clicking on the application’s Kickoff entry and selecting Add to Favorites. To remove an application from the Favorites menu, right-click on it and select Remove from Favorites. The Applications tab shows application categories. Click the Computer tab to list all your fixed and removable storage. The History tab shows previously accessed documents and applications. Kickoff also provides a search box where you can search for a particular application instead of paging through menus. As you move through sub-tabs, they are listed at the top of the Kickoff menu, below the search box, allowing you to move back to a previous tab quickly. Click on a tab name to move directly to that tab.

The Computer menu has Applications , Places, and Removable Storage sections (see Figure 9-11). The Applications section has an entry for System Settings and Run Command (Krunner). The Places section is similar to the Places menu in GNOME, with entries for your home folder, root folder, network, and the trash. The root folder is the same as the system folder on GNOME, the top-level directory in the Linux file system. The Removable Storage section shows removable devices like USB drives and DVD/CD discs .

The Applications menu has most of the same entries as those found on GNOME (see Figure 9-12). You can find entries for categories such as Internet, Graphics, and Office. These menus list both GNOME and KDE applications you can use. However, some of the menus contain entries for alternate KDE applications, like KMail on the Internet menu. Other entries will invoke the KDE version of a tool, like the Terminal entry in the System menu, which will invoke the KDE terminal window, Konsole. There is no Preferences menu.

Application Dashboard Menus

You can install the Application Dashboard as a desktop or panel widget. The Application Dashboard menu launcher displays menu entries on a full-screen dashboard, showing sections for applications, favorites, logout/shutdown options, and categories (see Figure 9-13). Press the Esc key to leave the dashboard without making a selection. You can add an application to the Favorites section by right-clicking on the application’s icon and selecting Add to Favorites. To remove an application from the Favorites section, right-click on it and select Remove from Favorites. The Applications section shows categories to the right and the icons for a selected category to the left. There are also categories for recent applications and documents. The Power/Section category lists the complete set of leave options, including lock, suspend, and new session. The All Applications category lists all your applications under alphabetic headings (see Figure 9-14).

Krunner

For fast access to applications, bookmarks, contacts, and other desktop items, you can use Krunner. The Krunner widget operates as a search tool for applications and other items such as bookmarks. To find an application, enter a search pattern; a listing of matching applications is displayed. Click on an application entry to start the application. You can also place an icon (application launcher) for an entry on the desktop by simply clicking and dragging its entry for the list to the desktop. For applications where you know the name, part of the name, or just its basic topic, Krunner is a very fast way to access the application. To start Krunner, press Alt+F2, Alt+space, or right-click on the desktop to display the desktop menu and select Run Command. Enter the pattern for the application you want to search for and press Enter. The pattern “software” or “package” would display an entry for Discover Software. Entering the pattern “office” displays entries for all the LibreOffice applications, as well as additional office applications you can install (see Figure 9-15).

Clicking the Settings button at the left opens the Configure Search dialog, which lists plugins for searching applications, widgets, and bookmarks, as well as providing capabilities such a running shell commands, opening files, and spell checking. The Clear History button deletes earlier search results. You can also configure Krunner search using the Plasma Search tab on System Settings Search (Workspace section).

Removable Devices: Device Notifier

Installed on the system tray to the right is the Device Notifier. When you insert a removable device like a CD/DVD disc or a USB drive, the New Device Notifier briefly displays a dialog showing all your removable devices, including the new one. The Device Notifier icon is displayed on the system tray. You can click on the New Device Notifier any time to display this dialog. Figure 9-16 shows the New Device Notifier displayed on the panel and its panel icon. The New Device Notifier is displayed only if at least one removable device is attached.

Removable devices are not displayed as icons on your desktop. Instead, to open the devices, you use the New Device Notifier. Click on the Device Notifier icon in the panel to open its dialog. The device is unmounted initially with an unmount button displayed. Click on this button to mount the device. An eject button is then displayed, which you can later use to unmount and eject the device. Opening the device with an application from its menu will mount the device automatically. Clicking on the eject button for a DVD/CD disc will physically eject it. For a USB drive, the drive will be unmounted and prepared for removal. You can then safely remove the USB drive.

To open a device, click on its entry in the Device Notifier, like one for your DVD/CD disc or your USB drive (see Figure 9-16).

Removable media are also displayed on the File Manager window's side pane. You can choose to eject removable media from the file manager instead of from the Device Notifier by right-clicking on the removable media entry and selecting Safely Remove from the pop-up menu.

Network Connections: Network Manager

On Plasma, the Network Manager plasma widget provides panel access for Network Manager. This is the same Network Manager application but adapted to the Plasma interface. The widget icon image changes for wireless only and wired connections. Clicking on the widget icon in the panel opens a dialog listing your current available wireless and wired connections. When you pass the mouse over an active connection, a Disconnect buttons appear (see Figure 9-17). For entries not connected, Connect buttons are displayed. To rescan your available connections, click the rescan button (circle) located to the right of the Available Connections heading. Clicking on a connected entry opens tabs for Speed and Details (see Figure 9-18).

The toolbar at the top of the network plasma widget has buttons for wireless and airplane mode connections (shown below). Check boxes next to each connection icon show if it is enabled. Clicking on the check box for a connection will enable or disable the connection. Disabled connections have an empty check box and a red icon.

You can use the Connection Editor to configure your established connections. Either click the Settings button on the right side of the toolbar at the top of the network dialog or right-click on the network dialog to display a menu where you can choose Configure Network Connections. The Connection editor then opens, which lists your connections (see Figure 9-19). Select a connection and then click the Edit button on the toolbar to open the Network Manager editor for Plasma, with the same General, Wired, Security, and IPv4/IPv6 tabs for a wired or wireless connections, as described in Chapter 15 (see Figure 9-17). To add a new connection manually, click the Add button on the Connection editor to display a menu for different connection types.

Desktop Plasmoids (Widgets)

The Plasma desktop supports plasmoids. Plasmoids are integrated into the desktop on the same level as windows and icons. Just as a desktop can display windows, it can also display plasmoids. Plasmoids can take on desktop operations, running essential operations, even replacing, to a limited extent, the need for file manager windows. The name for plasmoids used on the desktop is widgets. The tools and commands on the desktop that manage plasmoids, refer to them as widgets. For that reason, they will be referred to as widgets.

Managing Desktop Widgets

When you long click (click and hold for several seconds) your mouse on a widget, its sidebar is displayed with buttons for resizing, rotating, settings, and removing the widget (see Figure 9-18). Click and drag the resize button to change the widget size. Clicking the Settings button opens that widget's settings dialog (see Figure 9-20).

To move a widget, long click on it to display its sidebar and while holding the click, drag the icon to the position you want.

To add a widget (plasmoid) to the desktop, right-click anywhere on the desktop and select Add Widgets from the pop-up menu. This opens the Widgets dialog at the left side of the desktop that lists widgets you can add (see Figure 9-21). Clicking on the Categories button opens a pop-up menu with different widget categories like Date and Time, Online Services, and Graphics. Double-click or drag a widget to the desktop to add it to the desktop. You can enter a pattern to search for a widget using the search box located at the top of the dialog.

To remove a widget, long click on the widget to display its toolbar, and then click on the red Remove button at the bottom of the toolbar . When you remove a widget, a notification message is displayed with an Undo button, as shown here. Clicking on the Undo button will restore the widget.

Figure 9-22 shows the folder, digital clock, notes, calculator, and CPU monitor widgets. The desktop folder widget is just a folder widget set initially to the desktop folder.

Folder and Icon Widgets

You can place access to any folders on the desktop by simply dragging their icons from a file manager window to the desktop (see Figure 9-23). A small menu will appear that includes options for the Icon and Folder View widgets. The Folder View option sets up a Folder View widget for the folder showing icons for subfolders and files. The Icon entry creates an Icon widget. The icon and folder view widgets are shown here.

For any Folder View widget, you can use that widget's settings dialog to change the folder it references. A Folder View widget has options for showing the desktop folder, a folder on your Places list, or a specific folder . You can also specify a title. You can easily create a Folder View widget for your home folder .

Activities

The Plasma desktop is designed to support multiple activities. Activities are different plasma containments, each with its set of widgets. An activity is not the same as virtual desktop. Virtual desktops affect space, displaying additional desktops. An activity has its own set of widgets (widgets) and windows, displaying a different set of widgets and windows for each activity. In effect, each activity has a different desktop and set of virtual desktops. Technically, each activity is a Plasma containment that has its own collection of widgets and windows. You can switch to a different activity (containment) and display a different collection of widgets and windows on your desktop.

An activity is often tailored for a certain task. You could have one activity for office work, another for news, and yet another for media. Each activity could have its own set of appropriate widgets, like clock, calculator, notes, and folder widgets for an office activity. A media activity might have a Media Player widget and media applications open.

Multiple activities are managed using the Activities Manager, which is accessed through the Activities entry on the desktop toolbox menu or the Activities widget, which you can install on the panel or desktop. Both are shown here.

Files and folders can be attached to an activity, displaying them only on that activity. Right-click on the folder or file icon in the File Manager and choose the Activities submenu to choose an activity. Windows are set by default to display on the activity they are opened on. The window switcher is configured to work only on the current activity. The setting is configured in the Window Management dialog (Workspace section of the System settings dialog). On the Task Switcher tab, the Filter Windows By section has Activities checked and Current Activity selected.

To add an activity, click the Activities entry in the toolbox or desktop menus. If you have added and Activities widget to the panel, you can click the Activities button. The Activities Manager is displayed listing your activities on the left side of the screen (see Figure 9-24). A default activity icon for your desktop will already be displayed. Click the Create Activity button (plus button) to add a new activity. A Create a New Activity window opens with entries for the name and description (see Figure 9-25). Click on the Icon image to open a dialog where you can choose an icon for your activity. On the Other tab, you can choose not to track usage and to set up a keyboard shortcut for the activity. Click the Create button to add the new activity. An activity entry then appears on the Activity Manager. To switch to another activity, click its icon.

Moving the mouse over an activity icon displays Configure and Stop buttons. The Configure button opens the Activity Settings dialog for that activity , which is the same as the create dialog, with Name, Description, and Icon settings. The Stop button deactivates the activity and places it at the bottom of the Activity Manager under the Stopped Activities heading. To start a stopped activity, simply click its icon in the Stopped Activities list.

To remove an activity, first stop it, then move your mouse over the activity icon in the Stopped activities section (see Figure 9-26). A remove button appears to the right of the activity entry. Click it to remove the activity. You are prompted to confirm the deletion.

To add widgets to an activity, first click the activity to make it the current activity, and then click the Add Widgets button to display the Widgets dialog. Widgets you add are placed in the current activity.

To switch from one activity to another, first display the Activities Manager by choosing Activities from the desktop toolbox menu (right-click on desktop) or the Activates button on the panel (if installed). Then click on the Activity icon you want. The new activity becomes your desktop (see Figure 9-27). To change to another activity, open the Activities Manager again and click the activity icon you want. Your original desktop is the first icon (Default).

To move easily between activities, you can add the Activity bar widget, either to the panel or to the desktop. On the panel, the Activity bar displays buttons for each activity. Click to move to a different activity. On the desktop , the Activity bar displays a dialog with an arrow button for moving from one activity to another.

Windows

A Plasma window has the same functionality you find in other window managers and desktops. You can resize the window by clicking and dragging any of its corners or sides. A click-and-drag operation on a side extends the window in that dimension, whereas a corner extends both height and width at the same time. The top of the window has a title bar showing the name of the window, the program name in the case of applications, and the current directory name for the file manager windows. The active window has the title bar highlighted.

To move the window, click the title bar and drag it where you want. Right-clicking the window title bar displays a pop-up menu with entries for window operations, such as minimize, maximize, and moving the window to a different desktop or activity. The More Actions submenu includes closing or resizing the window, the shade option to roll up the window to the title bar, and full screen. Menus, icons, and toolbars for the particular application are displayed in the window.

You can configure the appearance and operation of a window by selecting the Window Manager Settings from the More Actions submenu in the Window menu (right-click the title bar). Here you can set appearance (Window Decoration), button and key operations (Actions), the focus policy, such as a mouse click on the window or just passing the mouse over it (Focus), and how the window is displayed when moving it (Moving). All these features can be configured also using the System Setting's Window Behavior tool in the Workspace section.

Opened windows are shown as buttons on the Plasma taskbar located on the panel. The taskbar shows buttons for the different programs you are running or windows you have open. This is essentially a docking mechanism that lets you change to a window or application by clicking its button. When you minimize a window, it is reduced to its taskbar button. You can then restore the window by clicking its taskbar button. A live thumbnail of a window on the taskbar is displayed as your mouse passes over its taskbar button, showing its name, desktop, and image.

Taskbar buttons also function as progress bars, showing the progress of copy and download operations. Music and video players also show basic multimedia controls, such as pause, start, next, and previous.

To the right of the title bar are three small buttons for minimizing, maximizing, or closing the window (down, up, and x symbols). You can switch to a window at any time by clicking its taskbar button. You can also maximize a window by dragging it to the top edge of the screen.

From the keyboard, you can use the Alt+Tab key combination to display a list of current open windows. Holding down the Alt key and sequentially pressing Tab moves you through the list.

A window can be displayed as a tile on one half of the screen. Another tile can be set up for a different window on the other side of the screen, allowing you to display two windows side by side on the full screen (see Figure 9-28). You can tile a window by dragging it to the side of the screen (over the side edge to the middle of the window). A tile outline will appear. Add a second tile by moving a window to the other side edge. You can add more windows to a tile by moving them to that edge. Clicking on a window's taskbar button will display it on its tile.

The same process works for corners. You can tile a window to a corner by moving it to that corner. You can then have four tiled windows open at each corner. You could even have server windows open on the same corner, displaying the one you want by clicking its taskbar icon.

Applications

You can start an application in Plasma in several ways. If an entry for it is in the Kickoff Applications menu or Application Dashboard, you can select that entry to start the application. You can right-click on any application entry in the Applications menu to display a pop-up menu with Add to Panel and Add to Desktop entries. Select either to add a shortcut icon for the application to the desktop or the panel. You can then start an application by single-clicking its desktop or panel icon.

An application icon on the desktop is implemented as a desktop widget. Performing a long click on the application icon on the desktop displays a sidebar with the icon for the widget settings. This opens a Settings window that allows you to specify a keyboard shortcut.

You can also run an application by right-clicking on the desktop and selecting the Run Command (or press Alt+F2 or Alt+space), which will display the Krunner tool consisting of a box to enter a single command. Previous commands can be accessed from a pop-up menu. You need only enter a pattern to search for the application. Results will be displayed in the Krunner window. Choose the one you want.

Virtual Desktops: Pager

The Plasma desktop supports virtual desktops, extending the desktop area on which you can work. You could have a web browser running on one desktop and be using a text editor in another. Plasma can support up to 16 virtual desktops. To use virtual desktops, add the Pager widget to your panel or desktop. On the panel, you can use the panel editor (toolbox, right side) to move it to the location you want on the panel. The panel and desktop pagers are shown here.

The Pager widget represents your virtual desktops as miniature screens, showing small squares for each desktop. It works much like the GNOME Workspace Switcher. To move from one desktop to another, click the square for the destination desktop. The selected desktop will be highlighted. Just passing your mouse over a desktop image on the panel will open a message displaying the desktop number along with the windows open on that desktop.

If you want to move a window to a different desktop, first open the window’s menu by right-clicking the window’s title bar. Then select the To Desktop entry, which lists the available desktops. Choose the one you want.

You can also configure Plasma so that if you move the mouse over the edge of a desktop screen, it automatically moves to the adjoining desktop. You need to imagine the desktops arranged next to each. You enable this feature by enabling the Switch Desktop on Edge feature in the System Settings ➤ Desktop Behavior ➤ Screen Edges tab. This feature will also allow you to move windows over the edge to an adjoining desktop.

To change the number of virtual desktops, right-click on the Desktop Pager widget, select the Configure Desktops entry in the pop-up menu to open the Virtual Desktops dialog, and choose the Desktops tab, which displays entries for your active desktops. You can also access the Virtual Desktops dialog from System Settings ➤ Desktop Behavior in the Workspace section (see Figure 9-29). The text box labeled Number of Desktops controls the number of active desktops. Use the arrows or enter a number to change the number of active desktops. You can change any of the desktop names by clicking an active name and entering a new one.

To change how the pager displays desktops on the pager, right-click on the pager and choose Pager Settings to open the Pager Settings dialog (see Figure 9-30). Here you can configure the pager to display numbers or names for desktops, or show icons of open windows.

Plasma Panel

The Plasma panel, located at the bottom of the screen, provides access to most Plasma functions (see Figure 9-31). The panel is a specially configured Plasma containment, just like the desktop. The panel can include icons for menus, folder windows, specific programs, and virtual desktops. These are widgets that are configured for use on the panel. At the left end of the panel is a button for the Kickoff menu, a KDE K icon.

To add an application to the panel, right-click on its entry in the Kickoff menu to open a pop-up menu and select Add to Panel.

To add a widget to the panel, right-click on any panel widget on the panel to open a pop-up menu and select Panel Options submenu, from which you can select the Add Widgets entry. This opens the Add Widgets dialog that lists widgets you can add to the panel (see Figure 9-32). A drop-down menu at the top of the window lets you see different widget categories, like Date and Time, Online Services , and Graphics. Another way to open the Add Widgets dialog is to click on the panel toolbox on the right side of the panel and click the Add widgets button.

The Plasma panel supports several kinds of Windows and Tasks widgets, including the taskbar (Task Manager) and system tray. To the right of the system tray is the digital clock. The system tray holds widgets for desktop operations like update notifier, the clipboard, Bluetooth, device notifier, sound settings (kmix), media player (if a multimedia player is active), and network manager, as shown here.

The pop-up menu (arrow icon) on the right side of the system tray display widgets that are not in use, or not often used (see Figure 9-33). The Battery and Brightness entry displays a dialog to see battery charges and set screen brightness.

To configure the system tray, right-click on the system tray menu (arrow icon) and choose System Tray Settings to open the system tray configuration dialog at the General tab, where you can decide what items to display or entries to make visible or remove (see Figure 9-34). In the Extra Items list, you can check items that you also want displayed on the system tray, such as Printers and Instant Messaging. When you click the Apply button the items are displayed. Items not in use are in the menu. The Entries tab shows how selected items are to be displayed (auto, shown, or hidden).

Plasma Panel Configuration

To configure a panel , changing its position, size, and display features, you use the panel's toolbox, located at the right side of the panel. Click on it to open an additional configuration panel with buttons for adding widgets, moving the panel, changing its size, and a More Settings menu for setting visibility and alignment features. Figure 9-35 shows the configuration panel as it will appear on your desktop. Figure 9-36 provides a more detailed description, including the More Settings menu entries.

With the configuration panel activated, you can also move widgets around the panel. Clicking on a widget will overlay a movement icon , letting you then move the widget icon to a different location on the panel.

As you move your mouse over a widget in the panel, a pop-up dialog opens showing the widget's name, a settings button, and a delete button (see Figure 9-35). To remove the widget from the panel, click its delete button.

The lower part of the configuration panel is used for panel position settings. On the left side is a slider for positioning the panel on the edge of the screen. On the right side are two sliders for the minimum (bottom) and maximum (top) size of the panel.

The top part of the panel has buttons for changing the location and the size of the panel. The Screen Edge button lets you move the panel to another side of the screen (left, right, top, bottom). Just click and drag. The height button lets you change the panel size, larger or smaller. The Add Widgets button will open the Add Widgets dialog, letting you add new widgets to the panel. The Add Spacer button adds a spacer to separate widgets. Right-click on the spacer to set the flexible size option or to remove the spacer.

The More Setting menu lets you set Visibility and Alignment features. You can choose an AutoHide setting that will hide the panel until you move the mouse to its location. The Windows Can Cover option lets a window overlap the panel. For smaller panels, you can align to the right, left, or center of the screen edge. The More Settings menu also has an entry to remove the panel. Use this entry to delete a panel you no longer want.

When you are finished with the configuration, click the red x icon the upper-right side.

Navigating Directories

Within a file manager window , a single-click on a folder icon moves to that folder and displays its file and sub-folder icons. To move back up to the parent folder, you click the back arrow button located on the left end of the navigation toolbar. A single-click on a folder icon moves you down the folder tree, one folder at a time. By clicking the back arrow button, you move up the tree. The Navigation bar can display either the folder path for the current folder or an editable location box where you can enter in a pathname. For the folder path, you can click on any displayed folder name to move you quickly to an upper-level folder. To use the location box, click to the right of the folder path. The Location box is displayed. You can also select Show Full Location in the View ➤ Location Bar ➤ Editable Location menu item (or press Ctrl+L or F6). The navigation bar changes to an editable text box, where you can type a path name. To change back to the folder path, click the checkmark to the right of the text box.

Like a web browser, the file manager remembers the previous folder it has displayed. You can use the back and forward arrow buttons to move through this list of prior folders. You can also use several keyboard shortcuts to perform such operations, like Alt+back arrow to move up a folder, and the arrow keys to move to different icons.

The Copy, Move, Delete, Rename, and Link Operations

To perform an operation on a file or folder, you first have to select it by clicking the file’s icon or listing. To select more than one file, hold down the Ctrl key down while you click the files you want. You can also use the keyboard arrow keys to move from one file icon to another.

To copy and move files , you can use the standard drag-and-drop method with your mouse. To copy a file, you locate it by using the file manager. Open another file manager window to the folder to which you want the file copied. Then drag-and-drop the file icon to that window. A pop-up menu appears with selections for Move Here, Copy Here, or Link Here. Choose Copy Here. To move a file to another directory, follow the same procedure, but select Move Here from the pop-up menu. To copy or move a folder, use the same procedure as for files. All the folder’s files and subfolders are also copied or moved. Instead of having to select from a pop-up menu, you can use the corresponding keys: Ctrl for copy, Shift for move, and Ctrl+Shift for link (same as for GNOME).

To rename a file, Ctrl+click its icon and press F2, or right-click the icon and select Rename from the pop-up menu. A dialog opens where you can enter the new name for the file or folder.

You can delete a file either by selecting it and deleting it, or placing it in the Trash folder to delete later. To delete a file, select it and then choose the Delete entry in the File menu, File ➤ Delete (also Shift+Del key). To place a file in the Trash folder, drag-and-drop it to the Trash icon on the Places panel, or right-click the file and choose Move To Trash from the pop-up menu. You can later open the Trash folder and delete the files. To delete all the files in the Trash folder, right-click the Trash icon in Dolphin File Manager Places panel and select Empty Trash from the pop-up menu. To restore files in the Trash bin, open the Trash window and right-click on the file to restore and select Restore.

Each file or directory has properties associated with it that include permissions, the filename, and its directory. To display the Properties dialog for a given file, right-click the file’s icon and select the Properties entry. On the General tab, you see the name of the file displayed. To change the filename, replace the name there with a new one. Permissions are set on the Permissions tab. Here, you can set read, write, and execute permissions for user, group, or other access to the file. The Group entry enables you to change the group for a file.

Search Bar and Filter Bar

The Dolphin search tool provides a simplified search bar for files and folders. Dolphin also supports a filter bar to search files and folders in the current folder. You can also use the Filter Panel to refine searches by metadata such as type, date, ratings, and tags. For quick access to basic categories and recent use, you can use the Places panel's Recently Accessed and Search For entries, as noted previously.

Search Bar

To search for files , click the Find button on the icon bar to open the search bar, which displays a search text box. You can also choose Find from the Edit menu or press Ctrl+f. The search bar displays a search text box, where you enter the pattern of the file or folder you are searching for. Click the red x button to the left to close the find bar and use the black x button in the text box to clear the search pattern.

Buttons below the search box provide options to qualify the search. The Filename button (the default) searches on the filename. The Content button will search the contents of text files for the pattern. The From Here button searches the user's home folders, and the Everywhere button (the default) searches the entire file system (see Figure 9-50).

The search results are displayed in the main pane. You can click a file to have it open with its appropriate application. Text files are displayed by the Kate text editor, images by Gwenview, and applications are run. When you are finished searching, click the Close button.

When you pass your mouse over an icon listed in the Query Results, information about it is displayed on the information panel to the right (if the information panel is displayed). Links are shown for adding tags and comments. Right-clicking on this panel lets you open a configure dialog where you can specify what information to display.

The search operation uses the Dolphin implementation of Baloo desktop search. To configure desktop search, choose System Settings ➤ Workspace ➤ Search, File Search tab. On the File Search tab, you can enable or disable file searching and choose folders not to search.

Filter Bar

For a quick search of the current folder, you can activate the Filter bar (Control ➤ Tools ➤ Show Filter Bar or Ctrl+i), which opens a Filter search box at the bottom of the window. Enter a pattern and only those file and directory names containing that pattern are displayed. Click the x button at the right of the Filter box to clear it (see Figure 9-51).