<sect1 id="getting-help"> <sect1info> <authorgroup> <author>&Lauri.Watts; </author> </authorgroup> </sect1info> <title>Getting Help</title> <sect2 id="user-manuals"> <title>User Manuals</title> <indexterm><primary>User Manual</primary></indexterm> <para>Most applications come with a comprehensive user manual<indexterm><primary>User Manual</primary><secondary>Handbook</secondary></indexterm>, which you can reach various ways:</para> <itemizedlist> <listitem> <para>By pressing <keycap>F1</keycap> inside the application.</para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>From the menu bar: <menuchoice><guimenu>Help</guimenu><guimenuitem><replaceable>Application name </replaceable></guimenuitem></menuchoice></para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>By browsing to it in &khelpcenter;<indexterm><primary>&khelpcenter;</primary></indexterm></para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>By using the help KIOslave in &konqueror;. So, in the Location Toolbar, simply type <userinput>help:/<replaceable>Application name</replaceable></userinput> </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>Online at <ulink url="http://docs.kde.org">http://docs.kde.org</ulink></para> </listitem> </itemizedlist> </sect2> <sect2 id="context-help"> <title>Context and <quote>What's This</quote> Help</title> <para>Many applications also provide context help in two forms: Tooltips, and <quote>What's This</quote> help.</para> <sect3 id="tooltips"> <title>Tooltips</title> <indexterm><primary>Tooltips</primary></indexterm> <para>Tooltips are small informational windows or balloons that display when you hover the mouse over an item on your screen without clicking.</para> <para>&kde; uses tooltips in many places to provide brief help or information about an item on your screen. For instance, most toolbar buttons inside applications will display their name in a tooltip if you rest or hover your mouse over them.</para> <para>Tooltips have another function, which is not specifically tied to help. In the &konqueror; file manager and on your Desktop, tooltips can provide information about files. This is commonly referred to as <quote>meta information</quote>.</para> <para>You can find out more about meta-information tooltips in the section about <link linkend="file-manager">the &konqueror; file manager</link>.</para> </sect3> <sect3 id="whats-this-help"> <title><quote>What's This?</quote></title> <indexterm><primary>What's This?</primary></indexterm> <para><quote>What's This?</quote> help is usually more detailed than tooltips. You can access <quote>What's This?</quote> help in two ways:</para> <itemizedlist> <listitem> <para>By pressing the <guibutton>?</guibutton> button in the titlebar of the window.</para> </listitem> <listitem> <para>By pressing the key combination <keycombo>&Shift;<keycap>F1</keycap></keycombo></para> </listitem> </itemizedlist> <para>The cursor will change to a pointer with a question mark next to it. Click on the item you want to know about, and a small window will pop up displaying information.</para> </sect3> </sect2> <sect2 id="mailing-lists-newsgroups-and-irc"> <title>Mailing Lists, Newsgroups and <acronym>IRC</acronym></title> <sect3 id="mailing-lists"> <title>Mailing Lists</title> <indexterm><primary>Mailing Lists</primary></indexterm> <para>&kde; provides many mailing lists which can provide you with help and guidance in using and configuring your Desktop.</para> <para>Some of the lists you might find useful are:</para> <variablelist> <varlistentry> <term>The &kde; User List <indexterm><primary>&kde; User Mailing List</primary></indexterm></term> <listitem> <para>This mailing list focuses specifically on <acronym>OS</acronym>-independent questions and discussions regarding using &kde;. Operating-system-specific questions and discussion are off-topic here. For example, the question <quote>How do I change the margin size for KWord documents</quote> is appropriate for this list; whereas <quote>How do I set up my printer using &kde; under UnixOS X.Y</quote> is not. Questions asked and discussions here should apply to all &kde; users using the applicable &kde; software, not just those using the same operating system.</para> <para>You can subscribe to this list at <ulink url="https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde">https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde</ulink>.</para> <para>You can find archives at <ulink url="http://lists.kde.org/?l=kde">http://lists.kde.org/?l=kde</ulink>.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>The &kde;-&Linux; List <indexterm><primary>kde-linux Mailing List</primary></indexterm></term> <listitem> <para>This mailing list focusses specifically on questions and discussions regarding using &kde; on &Linux;. Questions and discussions can involve any issue confronting desktop users who run &kde; on a &Linux; system. Hence, questions such as <quote>How do I setup a networked printer for printing from &kde; on LinuxDistro X.Y</quote> are appropriate here. If you prefer a list limited to <acronym>OS</acronym>-independent questions and discussions concerning &kde;, please use the general &kde; mailing list.</para> <para>You can subscribe to this list at <ulink url="https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-linux">https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-linux</ulink>.</para> <para>You can find archives at <ulink url="http://lists.kde.org/?l=kde-linux">http://lists.kde.org/?l=kde-linux</ulink>.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> </variablelist> </sect3> <sect3> <title>IRC</title> <para>There is a #kde channel on Freenode (irc.freenode.net) for support and other general talk about &kde;. As usual, you can access this channel by using any of &kde;'s popular IRC clients which include <application>konversation</application>, &ksirc;, as well as &kopete;. For more information, check the <xref linkend="irc"/> section.</para> </sect3> </sect2> <sect2 id="more-resources"> <title>More Resources</title> <para>There are many other resources which you may found useful; some of these are listed below:</para> <variablelist> <varlistentry> <term>dot.kde.org <indexterm><primary>&kde; News Resource</primary></indexterm></term> <listitem> <para>This website has a searchable &kde; news resource where you can find out about a superfluity of innovations in the world of &kde;.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> </variablelist> <variablelist> <varlistentry> <term>kde-look.org <indexterm><primary>icandy for &kde;</primary></indexterm></term> <listitem> <para>The paramount resource for &kde; icandy, including themes, window decorations, wallpapers, mouse themes and icons for your &kde; desktop. Note also that the site contains a howto section on how to install the most common of these.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> </variablelist> <variablelist> <varlistentry> <term>wiki.kde.org <indexterm><primary>&kde; wiki</primary></indexterm></term> <listitem> <para>The official &kde; Wiki. From here you can have access to a plethora of information ranging from frequently asked questions and HOWTOs to tips and tricks. The wiki should never, however, be used as a substitute for the respective application's handbook or the official &kde; documentation.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> </variablelist> </sect2> </sect1> <!-- Keep this comment at the end of the file Local variables: mode: xml sgml-omittag:nil sgml-shorttag:nil sgml-namecase-general:nil sgml-general-insert-case:lower sgml-minimize-attributes:nil sgml-always-quote-attributes:t sgml-indent-step:0 sgml-indent-data:true sgml-parent-document:("index.docbook" "book" "sect1") sgml-exposed-tags:nil sgml-local-catalogs:nil sgml-local-ecat-files:nil End: -->