KDE Display Manager (KDM)

If you are using the KDMto log in, a box in which you can enter your username and password (see Figure 10-1) will be displayed at the center of the screen. Shutdown and Session menus are displayedbelow the login box The Session menu lets you change the desktop interface, such as GNOME, should it be installed. The Shutdown has entries for Switch User, Remote Login, and Shutdown. The Shutdown entry opens a dialog with selections to Restart or Turn Off the computer.

Upon entering your username and password and pressing Enter or clicking the Play icon, your KDE session starts up. The login box displays the login splash screen showing the login progress.

You can change the theme of the login greeter using the Login Manager (System Settings System Administration Login screen). On the Theme tab, you can download and install new login themes (Get New Themes button) and then select the one you want to use. Click Apply to use the new theme. If you want to customize your login background, you can turn off the themed greeter on the General tab and then use the Background tab to use your own background image.

Configuration and Administration Access with KDE

KDE uses a different set of menus and access points than GNOME for accessing system administration tools. There are also different ways to access KDE configuration tasks, as well as KDE system administration tools not available through GNOME.

You access Fedora system administration tools from the Applications Administration entry. Here you will find Fedora administration tools such as Users and Groups, Printing, Display, and Network.

• System Settings—Accessible from the Kickoff menu with three entries: Favorites System Settings, Applications System System Settings, and Computer System Settings. This is the comprehensive KDE configuration tool, which lists all the KDE configuration tools for managing your desktop, file manager, and system, as well as KDE’s own administration tools that can be used instead of the Fedora ones.
• Administration—Accessible from Applications Administration, this is a collection of Fedora administration tools. Here you will find tools like Firewall (firewall-config), Samba (system-config-samba), and Services (system-config-services). PackageKit (Software) is not listed. Instead, you use the KDE package manager, Apper, listed as Applications System Software Management.
• Settings—Accessible from Applications Settings, this is a smaller collection of desktop configuration features for tasks such as setting the default printer, preferred applications, or PDA device setup. Also in this menu is the menu-updating tool, which lets you add non-KDE applications to the KDE menu.
• System—Accessible from Applications System, this is where you find the KDE administration tools.

Plasma: Desktop, Panel, and Plasmoids (Applets)

Plasma has containments and applets. Applets are referred to as plasmoids. These plasmoids are applets that operate within containments. On KDE, there are two types of Plasma containments, the panel and the desktop. The desktop and the panel are features of an underlying Plasma operation. They are not separate programs; both can have plasmoids (applets). For each type, you can have several instances. You can have many different desktop containments, each with its own set of plasmoids installed. You can also have several panels on your desktop, using different collections of plasmoids.

Each containment has its own toolbox for configuration. The desktop has a toolbox at the top-right corner, and panels have a toolbox on the right side. The panel toolbox features configuration tools for sizing and positioning the panel. See Table 10-2 for keyboard shortcuts.

Fedora KDE 4 also supports the activities interface,with its support for multiple plasma desktop containments (Activities). The Toolbox icon shows Add Widgets, Activities, and Lock Widgets entries. Use the Activities entry to add, remove, and select desktop containments.

Desktop Backgrounds (Wallpaper)

The background (wallpaper) is set from the desktop menu directly, not from the System Settings window. Right-click the desktop background to display the desktop menu and then select Desktop Activity Settings to open the Desktop Settings dialog (see Figure 10-4). The background is called wallpaper in KDE and can be changed from the View tab. You can select other wallpaper from the wallpaper listing or select your own image by clicking the Open button. Initially, you will have only the Ethais KDE default wallpaper. You can add more wallpaper by clicking the Get New Wallpapers button to open a Get Hot New Stuff dialog, which lists and downloads wallpaper posted on the www.kde-look.org site (see Figure 10-5). 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) mode or icon mode. 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. You can refine your selection by size (category), newest, rating, and popularity (most downloads). To remove wallpaper, you can select installed wallpapers to find the entry quickly. You can also search by pattern for a wallpaper, such as baseball or sky.

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 scrollbars, buttons, and icons. Themes and window decorations are provided for workspaces. Access the System Settings dialog from the KDE Favorites menu or the Applications Settings menu. On the System Settings dialog, click the Workspace Appearance icon in the Workspace Appearance and Behavior section. The Workspace Appearance dialog lets you choose window decorations, desktop themes, and splash screen (startup) themes. The Desktop Themes tab lists installed themes, allowing you to choose the one you want. Click the Get New Themes button to open a Get Hot New Stuff dialog. It lists the desktop themes from www.kde-look.org (see Figure 10-6). Click a theme’s Install button to download and install the theme. From the Window Decorations tab, you can select window decoration themes. Click the Get New Decorations button to download new decorations. The Splash Screen tab lists installed splash screen themes to choose. Click the Get New Themes button to install new ones.

You can choose icon styles using Applications Appearance in the System Settings dialog’s Common Appearance and Behavior section. Choose System Settings Applications Appearance. From the Icons tab, you can select an icon set or click the Get New Themes button to download new sets.

Leaving KDE

To leave KDE, you first click the Leave tab on the KDE Kickoff menu (see Figure 10-7). Here you will find options such as log out, lock, switch user, sleep, hibernate, restart, and shut down. There are Session and System sections. The Session section has entries for log out, lock, and switch user. The System section features system-wide operations, including shut down, restart, sleep, and hibernate. When you select a Leave entry, a dialog for that action appears on the desktop, which you then click. The Shutdown entry displays a Shutdown dialog.

You can also right-click anywhere on the desktop and select the Leave entry from the pop-up menu (see Figure 10-8). If you leave any KDE applications or windows open when you quit, they are automatically restored when you start up again. If you just want to lock your desktop, you can select the Lock entry on the Kickoff Leave menu, and your screen saver will appear. To access a locked desktop, click on the screen, and a box appears that prompts you for your login password. When you enter the password, your desktop reappears.

KDE Kickoff and QuickAccess Menus

The Kickoff application launcher (see Figure 10-9) organizes menu entries into tabs that are accessed by icons at the bottom of the Kickoff menu. There are tabs for Favorites, Applications, Computer, Recently Used, and Leave. You can add an application to the Favorites tab by right-clicking the application’s Kickoff entry and selecting Add to Favorites. To remove an application from the Favorites menu, right-click it and select Remove from Favorites. The Applications tab shows application categories. Click the Computer tab to open a window with all your fixed and removable storage. The Recently Used tab shows recently accessed documents and applications. Kickoff also provides a Search box in which you can search for a particular application, instead of paging through menus. As you enter a submenu, a link for it is displayed below the search box, to the right. As you progress through submenus, they are listed here as links. You can move back to a previous menu directly by clicking on its link.

To configure KDE, you use the KDE System Settings referenced by the System Settings item in the Favorites, Computer, or Applications Settings tabs.

The Computer menu has Applications and Places sections. The Applications section has an entry for System Settings. The Places section is similar to the Places menu in GNOME, with entries for your home folder, root folder, and the trash, as well as entries for removable devices such as USB drives and DVD/CDs.

The Applications menu has most of the same entries as those found on GNOME. The entries have been standardized for both interfaces (see Figure 10-10). 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 KDE menus contain entries for alternate KDE applications, such as KMail on the Internet menu. Other entries invoke the KDE version of a tool, such as the Terminal entry in the System menu, which invokes the KDE terminal window, KConsole.

Krunner

For fast access to applications, bookmarks, contacts, and other desktop items, you can use Krunner. Krunner can even search bookmarks on the Marble atlas application. The Krunner plasmoid operates as a search tool for applications and other items. To find an application, enter a search pattern. A listing of matching applications is displayed.

Click an application entry to start the application. When you know the name of the application, 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, or right-click 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 patterns software and package would both display an entry for the Apper software manager. Entering the pattern office displays entries for all the LibreOffice.org applications (see Figure 10-11).

Removable Devices: Device Notifier

Installed on the system tray to the right is the Device Notifier. When you insert a removable device such as a DVD/CD 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 the New Device Notifier any time to display this dialog. Figure 10-12 shows the New Device Notifier displayed on the panel and its applet icon. The New Device Notifier is displayed only when 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 the Device Notifier icon in the panel to open its dialog. The devices will be unmounted initially with an unmount button displayed. Click 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 the eject button for a DVD/CD 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.

Click the device you want to open, such as your DVD/CD or your USB drive. If there is more than one application that can use this device, then a menu is displayed showing the options. For a DVD/CD, you have the options to open the disk with the file manager, copy it with the K3b application, or download photos from it with Gwenview (see Figure 10-12).

You can open a USB drive with the file manager, showing its contents. As you install more applications that can use a device, the applications will be added to the menu. Removable media will also be 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 the removable media entry and selecting Safely Remove from the pop-up menu.

Network Manager

On KDE, the Network Manager plasma widget provides panel access for Network Manager. This is the same Network Manager application, but it has been adapted to the KDE 4 interface. Clicking the plasmoid icon in the panel opens a widget listing your current available connections (see Figure 10-13).

To configure your connections manually, click the wrench button in the lower right to open the Connection editor, which lists your connections. To open the Network Manger editor for KDE, with the same General, Wired, Security, and IPv tabs for a wired or wireless connection, click the connection and then click the Edit button on the toolbar (see Figure 10-14). To add a new connection manually, click the Add button on the Connection editor to display a menu for different connection types.

Desktop Plasmoids (Applets)

The KDE 4 desktop features the Plasma desktop, which treats appletsdifferently. Plasma designates its applets as plasmoids. It is designed to deal with plasmoids on the same level as windows and icons. Just as a desktop can display windows, it can also display plasmoids. Plasmoids, or applets, are taking on more responsibility in desktop operations, running essential operations, even replacing, to a limited extent, the need for file manager windows. To this end, the dashboard tool can hide all other desktop items, showing just the plasmoids. When you first log in, your desktop will show one plasmoid, the Desktop folder view plasmoid (see Figure 10-15).

KDE Windows

A KDE 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 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 closing or resizing the window. The Shade option will roll up the window to the title bar. Within the window, menus, icons, and toolbars for the particular application are displayed.

You can configure the appearance and operation of a window by selecting the Configure Window Behavior entry from the Window menu (right-click the title bar). Here, you can set appearance (Windows); 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 also be configured using the System Settings Look & Feel Window Behavior dialog.

Opened windows are shown as buttons on the KDE task bar located on the panel. The task bar 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 task bar button. You can then restore the window by clicking its task bar button.

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 task bar 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 (see Figure 10-26). 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. 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, as shown in Figure 10-26. You can add more windows to a tile by moving them to that edge. Clicking on a window’s task bar button will display it on its tile.

You can also group windows, displaying them as tabs within a single window. To add a window to a group, right-click its title bar and choose the Attach As Tab To option to display a submenu of open windows. Select the one you want to group the window with. The grouped windows are displayed as tabs within a single window. To remove a window from a group, right-click the title bar and select the Untab entry.

You can also add a widow to a group by moving its title bar with the middle mouse button (hold the right and left mouse buttons at once) to the title bar of another window. The title bar will become detached as you move it. Figure 10-27 shows the Amarok, Gwenview, and Calligra Words application windows grouped as tabs into a single window.

You can drag a window group to the side edge to tile it, showing the tabbed group as a tile. You can also maximize the group by dragging its window to the top edge.

Applications

You can start an application in KDE in several ways. If an entry for it is in the Kickoff Applications menu, you can select that entry to start the application. You can right-click 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 to the panel. You can then start an application by clicking its desktop or panel icon.

An application icon on the desktop is implemented as a desktop plasmoid. Passing the mouse over the application icon on the desktop displays a sidebar with the wrench icon for the icon settings. This opens a Setting window with tabs for General, Permissions, Application, and Preview. On the General tab, you can select an icon image and set the displayed name. The Application tab references the actual application program file with possible options and lists any supported mime types (file types). Permissions sets standard access permissions by the owner, group, or others. Preview shows the desktop configuration information for the application, such as the name in various languages, the program name and location, the file name of the icon used for the application, the application’s software category, and any comments.

You can also run an application by right-clicking the desktop and selecting Run Command (or pressing Alt+F2), which will display the Krunner tool consisting of a box in which 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 are displayed in the Krunner window. Choose the one you want.

Virtual Desktops: Desktop Pager

KDE supports virtual desktops, extending the desktop area on which you can work. You can have a web browser running on one desktop and be using a text editor in another. KDE can support up to 16 virtual desktops, although the default is 4. Your virtual desktops can be displayed and accessed using the KDE Desktop Pager. It is not installed by default. Use Add Widgets for the Panel (Panel options menu) to install it. In these examples it is located on the left side of the panel. The KDE Desktop Pager represents your virtual desktops as miniature screens showing small squares for each desktop. It works much like the GNOME Workspace Switcher. On Fedora, by default, there are two squares, one on top of the other. 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 KDE so that if you move the mouse over the edge of a desktop screen, it automatically moves to the adjoining desktop, as if the desktop were arranged next to each. You enable this feature by enabling the Switch Desktop on Edge feature in the System Settings Window Behavior Screen Edges tab. This feature also allows you to move windows over the edge to an adjoining desktop.

To change the number of virtual desktops, you right-click the Desktop Pager on the panel and select the Pager Settings entry in the pop-up menu. This opens the Desktop Settings dialog, which displays tabs for General and Virtual Desktops (see Figure 10-28). You can also access the Desktop Settings Virtual Desktop tab from System Settings Workspace Behavior Virtual Desktops. By default, the Fedora KDE desktop will set up two virtual desktops for you. On the Desktop Settings dialog’s Virtual Desktops Desktops tab, 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. The Switching tab lets you configure animations and shortcuts. Four desktops are shown here:

To change how the Pager displays desktops on the panel, use the Pager Settings dialog, General tab. From there, you can configure the Pager to display numbers or names for desktops. You can also decide on the number of rows to use. Choosing just one row will display the desktops side by side, as shown here:

KDE Panel

The KDE panel, located at the bottom of the screen, provides access to most KDE functions (see Figure 10-29). The panel is a specially configured Plasma containment, just as the desktop is a Plasma containment. The panel includes icons for menus, directory windows, specific programs, and virtual desktops. These are plasmoids that are configured for use on the panel. At the left end of the panel is a button for the Kickoff menu, a Fedora F icon.

To add an application to the panel, right-click 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 any panel widget on the panel, to open a pop-up menu, and select the Panel Options submenu, from which you can select the Add Widgets entry. This opens the Add Widgets window, which lists the widgets you can add to the panel (see Figure 10-30). A drop-down menu at the top of the window lets you see different widget categories, such as Date and Time, Online Services, and Graphics. You can also see recently used widgets and set up favorite widgets.

The Plasma panel supports several kinds of windows and tasks widgets, including the task bar, system tray, and pager. The system tray holds widgets for desktop operations such as sound settings (KMix), update notifier, the network manager, the clipboard (Klipper), power (battery) detection, and device notifier (see Figure 10-31). A pop-up menu (arrow icon) on the right side of the system tray displays widgets that do not fit, such as printers and search service. To configure the system tray, right-click the system tray border on the left and choose System Tray Settings. This opens the System Tray Configuration dialog, from which you can decide the items to display or the entries to make visible or remove.

To the right of the system tray is the digital clock. To the left are widgets such as the notifications and jobs widget (i icon) and any other widgets you may have added. Figure 10-31 shows, from left to right, the show plasma dashboard, notifications and jobs, the system tray (update notifier, clipboard, sound volume, device notifier, Bluetooth, network manager, and pop-up menu for printer and search), and the digital clock.

KDE Panel Configuration

To configure a panel, changing its position, size, and display features, you use the panel’s toolbox. The panel toolbox is located at the right side of the panel. Click it to open an additional configuration panel with buttons for adding widgets, moving the panel, and changing its size and position. There is also a More Settings menu for setting visibility and alignment features. Figure 10-32 shows the configuration panel as it will appear on your desktop. Figure 10-33 provides a more detailed description, including the More Settings menu entries.

With the configuration panel activated, you can move plasmoids around the panel. Clicking a plasmoid will overlay a movement icon, letting you move the plasmoid icon to a different location on the panel.

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 a button 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.

The Add Widgets button will open the Add Widgets dialog, which enables you to add new plasmoids to the panel.

The More Settings menu lets you set visibility and alignment features. You can choose an Auto-Hide setting, which 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 This Panel. Use this entry to delete a panel you no longer want.

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

Navigating Directories

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

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

Copy, Move, Delete, Rename, and Link Operations

To perform an operation on a file or directory, 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 while you click the files you want. You can also use the keyboard arrow keys to move from one file icon to another.

To copyand 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 directory 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 directory, use the same procedure as for files. All the directory’s files and subdirectories 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 in which you can enter the new name for the file or folder.

You delete a file either by selecting it and deleting it or placing it in the Trash folder to delete later. To place a file in the Trash folder, drag and drop it to the Trash icon on your desktop, 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 sidebar and select Remove Trash from the pop-up menu. To restore files in the Trash bin, open the Trash window and right-click 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 can see the name of the file. To change the file name, replace the name 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. The Group entry enables you to change the group for a file.

Search Bar and Filter Bar

KDE has combined the former KFind and Dolphin search tools into one simplified search bar. KDE 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.