path: root/doc/quickstart/index.docbook

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<!DOCTYPE book PUBLIC "-//KDE//DTD DocBook XML V4.2-Based Variant V1.1//EN" 
"dtd/kdex.dtd" [
  <!ENTITY kappname "&kde; Quick Start Guide">
  <!ENTITY package "kdebase">
  <!ENTITY % addindex "IGNORE">
  <!ENTITY % English "INCLUDE" > <!-- change language only here -->
]>

<book lang="&language;">
<bookinfo>
	
<title>An Introduction to &kde;</title>

<authorgroup>

<author>
<surname>The &kde; Team</surname>
</author>
<!-- TRANS:ROLES_OF_TRANSLATORS -->
</authorgroup>

<date>2004-08-28</date>
<releaseinfo>3.00.00</releaseinfo>

<copyright>
<year>1999</year><year>2000</year><year>2001</year><year>2002</year>
<holder>The &kde; Team</holder>
</copyright>

<legalnotice>&FDLNotice;</legalnotice>

<abstract>
<para>An introduction to the K Desktop Environment</para>
<para>Quick Start Guide to &kde;</para></abstract>

<keywordset>
<keyword>KDE</keyword>
<keyword>quick start</keyword>
<keyword>introduction</keyword>
</keywordset>
</bookinfo>

<chapter id="introduction">
<title>Introduction</title>

<para>
This document is a brief introduction to the K Desktop Environment. It
will familiarize you with some of the basic features of &kde;.
</para>

<para>
This guide is far from covering all aspects of the K Desktop or even most
of them. It will only describe some of the most basic ways to accomplish a few
of the most common tasks.
</para>

<para>
We assume that you are already familiar with at least one graphical
user interface, for example <trademark>CDE</trademark>,
<trademark>Geos</trademark>, <trademark>GEM</trademark>, &NeXTSTEP;,
&Mac;, <trademark>OS/2</trademark> or &Microsoft; &Windows;. So we
will not explain the usage of the mouse or the keyboard but
concentrate on hopefully more interesting things.
</para>

</chapter>

<chapter id="an-overview-of-kde">
<title>An Overview of &kde;</title>

<para>
This section is for users who prefer to learn by exploring and want
only a brief orientation to get started. Later sections provide a more
thorough introduction to the environment, with helpful hints and
shortcuts. If you are impatient to get started, skim this section, go
play for a bit, then come back and peruse the other sections of this
guide as needed.
</para>

<note>
<para>
&kde; provides a highly configurable desktop environment. This
overview assumes that you are using the default environment.
</para>
</note>

<sect1 id="the-kde-desktop">
<title>The &kde; Desktop</title>

<para>A typical &kde; desktop consists of several parts:</para>

<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>A <interface>panel</interface> at the bottom of the screen, used
to start applications and switch between desktops. Among other things, it
contains the &kmenu;, a large &kicon;
which displays a menu of applications to start when clicked. 
</para>
</listitem>

<listitem>
<para>
A <interface>taskbar</interface>, by default embedded in the panel, used
to switch between and manage currently running applications. Click on an
application on the taskbar to switch to the application.
</para>
</listitem> 

<listitem>
<para>
The <interface>desktop</interface> itself, on which frequently used
files and folders may be placed. &kde; provides multiple desktops,
each of which has its own windows. Click on the numbered buttons on
the panel to switch between desktops.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>

</sect1>

<sect1 id="ready-set-go">
<title>Ready, Set, Go!</title>

<para>Here are a few quick tips to get you up and running.</para>

<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
To start an application, click on the &kicon; button on
the panel (called the <link linkend="starter">&kmenu;</link>)
and choose an item from the menu.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Click the icon that looks like a picture of a house on
the panel to access the files in your home folder using
&konqueror;, &kde;'s File Manager utility.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Choose <menuchoice><guimenu>K menu</guimenu>
<guisubmenu>System</guisubmenu>
<guimenuitem>Konsole</guimenuitem></menuchoice> to get a &UNIX;
command prompt, or press <keycombo action="simul">&Alt;
<keycap>F2</keycap></keycombo> to get a mini command prompt window to
execute a single command.
</para>
</listitem>

<listitem>
<para>
Choose the <menuchoice><guimenuitem>Control Center</guimenuitem>
</menuchoice>item on the &kmenu;
to configure &kde;.
</para>
</listitem> 

<listitem>
<para>
Press <keycombo action="simul">&Alt;<keycap>Tab</keycap></keycombo> to
switch between applications and <keycombo
action="simul">&Ctrl;<keycap>Tab</keycap></keycombo> to switch between
desktops using the keyboard.
</para>
</listitem> 

<listitem>
<para>
Use the &RMB; mouse button to access context menus for the panel,
desktop, and most &kde; applications.
</para>
</listitem> 
</itemizedlist>

</sect1>
</chapter>

<chapter id="launching-applications">
<title>Launching Applications</title>

<sect1 id="starter">
<title>Using the &kmenu; and the Panel</title>

<para>
At the bottom of the screen you will find the desktop panel, which is called
&kicker;.  You use the panel to launch applications. Have a look at the
button on the left with a large &kicon;.
</para>

<para> 
This button is called the &kmenu;. It has
a small arrow on the top to indicate that it will pop up a menu if you
click on it. Just do it! The popup offers you easy access to all &kde;
applications installed on your computer system.
</para>

<sect2>
<title>Customizing &kicker;</title>

<!-- FIXME: To add a button, use the little arrows on kicker, not the K menu 
I am not sure I agree - some distributions fade or hide the applet handles by default, but
I haven't found one yet that hides the kmenu. (JLH) --> 

<para>If you use one application or tool very often, then you may want to have even faster
access to it. In this case you can add a single application or an entire sub-menu of the
&kmenu; as a special quick-launch button on the panel. If you want to reach an application
directly via a launch button, click with the &RMB; either on a clear space on the panel or on the
&kmenu; icon. Select <menuchoice><guimenu>Panel Menu</guimenu> <guisubmenu>Add Application to Panel...
</guisubmenu></menuchoice> and then navigate to the application or menu you would like to add to 
the panel.</para>

	
<para>
You can add an entire menu this way, or one of the &kicon;
button sub-menus.  For example, if you have &koffice; installed and
want quick access to all the &koffice; applications, without having to
navigate through the &kmenu;, then instead of choosing an
application, click on the <guimenuitem>Add this menu</guimenuitem> menu
entry.  Now you will have instant access to all the &koffice;
applications, without having to put an icon for each on the panel.
</para>

<note>
<para>
You can move all items of the panel around with the
<guimenuitem>Move</guimenuitem> command of the context menu. Just click
with the <mousebutton>third</mousebutton> mouse button (the
<mousebutton>third</mousebutton> mouse button is normally the
<mousebutton>right</mousebutton> button, but if you have configured your
mouse differently, for example for left-handers, it might also be the
<mousebutton>left</mousebutton> one). A menu will pop up where you can
choose <guimenuitem>Move</guimenuitem>. Now move the mouse and see how
the icon follows while still staying on the panel. When you are done,
simply hit the <mousebutton>first</mousebutton> mouse button (by default
the <mousebutton>left</mousebutton> one). As you may have noticed,
there is also a menu entry <guimenuitem>Remove</guimenuitem> in case you
are tired of a certain launch button on your desktop.
</para> 
</note>

</sect2>

<sect2>
<title>Using Context menus</title>

<para>
This leads us to another interesting topic: in many places, you can
click the <mousebutton>right</mousebutton> mouse button to display a
<interface>context menu</interface> with choices that are applicable to
the item you clicked. It is therefore always a good idea to try out the
<mousebutton>third</mousebutton> mouse button on something, if you do
not know what to do with it. Even the background of the desktops has
such a menu!  
</para>

</sect2>

<sect2>
<title>Other Panel features</title>

<para>
There are other interesting things possible with the panel. One
may be important if you have a low resolution on your monitor: it is
the <quote>hide-and-show</quote> function, activated by clicking on the
small arrowed button, which is at one or both ends of the panel.
</para>

<para>
Perhaps you just do not like the panel extending the full width of the
screen.  That's easily changed!  &RMB; on an empty space in the panel,
and choose <menuchoice><guimenuitem>Configure Panel...</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.  In the &kcontrolcenter;
dialog that pops up, you can choose <guilabel>Length</guilabel> on
the <guilabel>Appearance</guilabel> tab, and use the slider there to set
the panel to less than 100% width.
</para>

<para>
If you're following along, and have that dialog open anyway, then feel
free to play with all the options, and use the
<guibutton>Apply</guibutton> to see the effect they have.  You can
easily reset everything to the default configuration, by simply pressing
the <guibutton>Use Defaults</guibutton> button.
</para>

<para>
By the way, if you are not sure what a certain button does in &kde;,
just move the mouse pointer over it and wait for a short while: &kde;
has a built-in mini context help, called <quote>tool tips</quote>, which
explains the functionality of such controls in a few words.  
</para>


</sect2>
</sect1>

<sect1 id="want-command-line-back">
<title>But I want my command line back!</title>

<para>
Just calm down, there is nothing to fear. &kde; does not want to take your
beloved (and sometimes very effective) command line away from you. You can move
your files with the desktop, but you can also use the &UNIX; commands you are
accustomed to. In fact,&kde; puts command line power at your fingertips,
in perhaps some surprising places.
</para>

<para>
&kde; provides a very sophisticated command line window called
&konsole;.  Choose <menuchoice><guimenu>K menu</guimenu> 
<guisubmenu>System</guisubmenu>
<guimenuitem>Konsole</guimenuitem></menuchoice> to start it. This may
be something you want on your panel: luckily it's already there in the
default configuration!
</para>
  
<para>
Sometimes, you only want to enter one command on the command line. In
these cases, you do not need a full-blown terminal. Just hit
<keycombo>&Alt;<keycap>F2</keycap></keycombo> and you get a
small command line where you can enter one command. The command line
window will disappear afterwards, but it remembers your command.
</para>

<para>
When you pop up this window (which we call
<application>minicli</application> by the way) and hit the <keycap>Up
arrow</keycap>, you can browse through all the commands you have
previously entered.  Also, you can enter &URL;s in
<application>minicli</application> to open a &konqueror; window with
the specified &URL;.
</para>

<para>
&konqueror; and the editor &kate; can both display terminal windows,
which behave just like &konsole;.  In &konqueror;, you can turn this
on with the menu choice
<menuchoice><guimenu>Window</guimenu><guimenuitem>Show Terminal
Emulator</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.  The embedded terminal will display
at the bottom of your &konqueror; window, and the really clever thing
is that it will follow your clicks in the file manager view, changing
folder as you do.  In &kate; you can display a terminal with the
menu choice <menuchoice><guimenu>Settings</guimenu><guimenuitem>Show
Console</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
</para>

<tip>
<para>
To display a &UNIX; man page, enter
<userinput><command>man:</command><replaceable>command</replaceable></userinput>
in <application>minicli</application>, where <replaceable>command</replaceable>
is the name of a &UNIX; command.
</para>
</tip>

<tip>
<para>
To search for a word or words on the Google search engine, you can try entering
<userinput><command>gg:</command><replaceable>word or
words</replaceable></userinput>.  There are a whole lot more of these
shortcut commands, and you can even add your own!  Take a look in
&kcontrolcenter;, in the tab <menuchoice><guilabel>Web Browsing</guilabel>
	<guilabel>Enhanced Browsing</guilabel></menuchoice>.
</para>
</tip>

<para>
Finally, there's a way to have your command line always available, no
matter what you're doing - add one to your &kicker; panel! 
</para>

<para>Simply &RMB; click on an empty space in the panel and choose
<menuchoice><guilabel>Add Applet to Panel...</guilabel></menuchoice>. In the dialog that appears,
scroll down until you see the <guilabel>Run Command</guilabel> list item. Select
it with the &LMB; and click <guilabel>Add to Panel</guilabel>. This will embed a mini-cli
directly into your panel, complete with command history.</para>

<para>
So, in conclusion, the command line is never far from view when you're
using &kde;.
</para>

</sect1>
</chapter>

<chapter id="working-with-windows">
<title>Working with Windows</title>

<para>
If you have not already done so, start an application using the <link 
linkend="starter">&kmenu;</link>; say, 
<guimenuitem>Find Files</guimenuitem>.
</para>

<sect1 id="window-what-now">
<title>A window! What now?</title>

<para>
Well, usually people work <emphasis>inside</emphasis> windows, but
sometimes you may want to manipulate windows. Here's a quick overview
of some of the most common window related functions:
</para>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>Move a window</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Drag the window's title bar, or hold the &Alt; key down
and drag anywhere in the window.
</para>
</listitem> 
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>Resize a window:</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Drag the window's border, or hold the &Alt; key down and drag with the
&RMB; anywhere in the window. 
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>Maximize a window</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Click the maximize button in the titlebar (in the default decoration it
is the square, next to the X) to make the window fill the screen, or if
the window is already maximized, to shrink it back to its original
size.  Clicking with the &MMB; maximizes the window vertically, and with
the &RMB;, horizontally.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>Iconify a window</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Click the <guilabel>Minimize</guilabel> button in the titlebar (next to <guilabel>Maximize</guilabel>)
to hide the window.  Restore it by clicking on the window's icon in the
taskbar.
</para>
</listitem> 
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>Switch between windows</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Aside from the usual mouse click to switch to another window,
you can use <keycombo action="simul">&Alt;
<keycap>Tab</keycap></keycombo> to switch windows.  See below for more
techniques.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>

<sect2>
<title>Titlebar buttons</title>

<para>
&kde; windows have some pretty standard buttons on their titlebars which
give you fast access to some common operations. The default button
layout looks like this:
</para>

<itemizedlist>
<title>On the left side:</title>
<listitem>
<para>
A <guilabel>Menu</guilabel> button. This usually shows a mini icon for the application. Click
on it to get a window operations menu.  Shortcut: <keycombo
action="simul">&Alt;<keycap>F3</keycap></keycombo> opens the window
menu.
</para>
</listitem>

</itemizedlist>

<itemizedlist>
<title>On the right side:</title>
<listitem>
<para>
A <guilabel>Minimise</guilabel> button. 
</para>
</listitem>

<listitem>
<para>
A <guilabel>Maximize</guilabel> button. 
</para>
</listitem>

<listitem>
<para>
A <guilabel>Close</guilabel> button. This closes the window. Shortcut: <keycombo
action="simul">&Alt;<keycap>F4</keycap></keycombo>.  
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>

</sect2>

<sect2>
<title>Switching between windows</title>

<para>
Now that we know how to deal with windows, we encourage you to open
some other windows using the panel, since we will now discuss how to
switch between different windows. Since this is such a common
activity, &kde; offers several ways to do it; pick your favorite!
</para>

<para>
Many window systems require you to click the mouse in another window
to begin using it. This is &kde;'s default behavior, termed
<quote>Click To Focus</quote> focus policy. But you can also configure
your desktop in a way that moving the mouse pointer on to a window will
activate it. This is called <quote>Focus Follows Mouse</quote>. If you
select this policy using the <link linkend="configure">&kde; Control
Center</link>, the window under the mouse pointer is always the active
one. It does not necessarily come to the front automatically, but you
can still click on to the titlebar or the border of a window or, a
&kde; special, you can use the &Alt; key and click the &MMB;
anywhere on the window to raise it.
</para>

<para>
Here are some other methods to switch windows:
</para>

<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Pick a window from the <emphasis>window list</emphasis> menu. To open
the menu, click the &MMB; on
an empty area of the desktop, or click the icon with several windows
on the panel, or finally click the up arrow at the left hand end of
the taskbar in the panel.
</para>
</listitem> 

<listitem>
<para>
Hold down the &Alt; key and press <keycap>Tab</keycap> to cycle through
the windows.
</para>
</listitem> 

<listitem>
<para>
Use the taskbar (see below).
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>

</sect2>
</sect1>

<sect1 id="using-taskbar">
<title>Using the Taskbar</title>

<para>
The <interface>taskbar</interface> displays a list of small icons, one
for each window on the desktop. In the default &kde; setup the taskbar
is located inside the panel, but it can also be located at the top or
the bottom of the screen.  </para>

<para>
The taskbar is very powerful.  In the default configuration, if you
have more than one window from the same application open, they will be
<quote>grouped</quote>, so that you see one icon per application in
the taskbar.</para>

<para>A simple &LMB;
click on the taskbar button will pop up a list of the open windows for
that application and you can choose the window you want to
use. Choosing one of these entries with the
<mousebutton>left</mousebutton> will bring you to the selected
window immediately.  Click on a taskbar entry with the
<mousebutton>right</mousebutton> and you will see a menu allowing you
to operate on all the windows grouped under that icon, or each window
individually.</para>

<para>
You can choose to see all the windows on all the desktops in your
taskbar, no matter which desktop you are currently viewing, or to only
see the icons for the desktop you are looking at.  You can also choose
to ungroup the icons, so that each open window will have its own icon
in the taskbar. These and many more options are available simply by
right clicking on the taskbar handle (the small textured bar at the
left hand side) and choosing <guimenuitem>Configure Taskbar...</guimenuitem>.
</para>

<para>
The icons on the taskbar resize themselves to make room for
applications, so you can fit many more applications than you might
think.  Making the panel wider will let the taskbar icons take on a row
and column layout, but they will still resize to fit more icons.  
</para>

</sect1>

<sect1 id="using-v-desktops">
<title>Using Virtual Desktops</title>

<para>
Now, what was that <quote>sticky</quote> thing?
</para>

<para>
It may happen that you have more windows open than space on your
desktop. In this case you have three possibilities: 
</para>

<orderedlist>
<listitem>
<para> 
Leave all windows open (cluttered desktop)
</para>
</listitem>

<listitem>
<para> 
Iconify those windows which you do not need at present and use
the taskbar or <keycombo action="simul">&Alt;
<keycap>Tab</keycap></keycombo> to switch between them
(still a bit confusing and much work!) 
</para>
</listitem> 

<listitem>
<para>
Recommended: Do what a real operating system does if there is not enough
physical memory: Use virtual memory, in this case virtual desktops. 
</para>
</listitem>
</orderedlist>

<para>
The third option is the way to go! &kde; can handle several different desktops,
each with its own windows. The default configuration provides four
desktops.  You can switch between the virtual desktops easily with a
click on one of the desktop buttons on the panel. Also <keycombo
action="simul">&Ctrl;<keycap>F1...F4</keycap></keycombo> will send you
to the corresponding desktop immediately, or <keycombo
action="simul">&Ctrl; <keycap>Tab</keycap></keycombo> will cycle through
the desktops.
</para>

<para>
Virtual desktops are very nice. But sometimes you want a window to be
present on <emphasis>every</emphasis> desktop. This could be, for example,
a small chat window, an alarm clock or whatever. In this case you can
use the above mentioned <quote>sticky</quote> button which will pin the
window on the background so that it will appear on every virtual
desktop.
</para> 

<para>
The sticky button can also be used to move a window from one virtual
desktop to another one: push the sticky pin on the window, switch to a
different desktop, and release the pin by pushing it again. You can
achieve the same result by using the context popup menu of the
window's entry in the taskbar (menu item <guimenuitem>To Current
Desktop</guimenuitem>) or the <guimenuitem>To Desktop</guimenuitem>
option on the window operations menu.
</para>

</sect1>
</chapter>

<chapter id="managing-your-files">
<title>Managing your files</title>

<!-- NB Deliberate use of 'directory' rather than 'folder', since we're talking -->
<!-- about folders on disk -->
<para>
A common metaphor of graphical desktops is the use of folders to
represent folders on your hard disk. Folders contain files and
other folders. A &kde; application called &konqueror;, the K File
Manager, uses this metaphor to help you manage your files.
</para>

<sect1 id="using-konqueror">
<title>Using &konqueror;</title>

<para>
The first time you start &kde;, a window with lots of icons in it
appears. This is a &konqueror; window displaying the files in your
home folder (the area where your personal files are stored). The
pathname of the folder is displayed under the window's tool bar. If
you do not see such a window now, click the icon on the panel that
looks like a folder with a picture of a house.
</para>

<para>
To open a file or folder, simply click it once with the &LMB;.
You can also choose
<menuchoice><guimenu>Window</guimenu><guimenuitem>Show
Navigation Panel</guimenuitem></menuchoice> from the menu to display the folder
hierarchy for more direct navigation. Or you can edit the path
displayed under the toolbar to get to a specific folder quickly.
</para>

<sect2>
<title>Opening Files</title>

<para>
&kde; comes with a set of applications to view and edit files of many
common types, and when you click a file containing, say, a document
or image, &konqueror; will start the appropriate application to
display the file. If it does not know what application to start to open
a file you clicked, &konqueror; will prompt you for the name of the
application to run, and when you have chosen, &konqueror; will offer
to remember your choice for the next time you open a file of that type.
</para>

<note>
<para>
&konqueror; uses MIME types to associate
files with applications.
</para>
</note> 

</sect2>

<sect2>
<title>Dragging and Dropping Icons</title>

<para>
To copy or move a file, simply drag its icon to the desktop, to
another &konqueror; window, or to a folder icon.  When you release the
button, &konqueror; displays a menu to allow you to choose to copy,
move, or create a link to the file.
</para>

<note>
<para>
Note that if you choose to create a link, &kde; creates a &UNIX;
symbolic link (not a hard link), so if you move or delete the original
file, the link will be broken.
</para>
</note>

<para>
Most &kde; applications also support drag and drop operations: you can
drag an icon on to a window of a running application, or on to an icon of
an application that is not started, to have the application open the
file. Try it!
</para>

</sect2>

<sect2>
<title>Setting File Properties</title>
 
<para>
To change file properties, such as its name and permissions, &RMB;
click the icon and choose <guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem> from
the menu.
</para>

</sect2>
</sect1>

<sect1 id="archives-and-networks">
<title>Working with Archives and Networks</title>

<para>
In the recent past, you needed special software to access files on the
Internet. Not any more!
</para>

<para>
&kde; supports a technology called <quote>Network Transparent
Access</quote> (<acronym>NTA</acronym>) which allows you to work with
files on the other side of the world as easily as those on your local
hard disk.</para>

<para>
For example, to access files on an &FTP; server, just choose
<menuchoice><guimenu>Location</guimenu><guimenuitem>Open
Location</guimenuitem></menuchoice> from a &konqueror; menu, and enter
the <acronym>URL</acronym> of an &FTP; server.  You can drag and drop
files to and from the folders on the server just as if they were on
your local disk. You'll even be able to open files on the &FTP; server
without having to manually copy them to your local disk (&kde; does it for you
when necessary).
</para>

<note>
<para>
Note that &konqueror; uses anonymous &FTP; access, which may restrict
your access to files on the &FTP; server.  If you have an account on
the server, you can supply your user <abbrev>ID</abbrev> as part of
the <acronym>URL</acronym>, like this:
<userinput><command>ftp://</command><parameter>userid</parameter>@<parameter>server</parameter>/<parameter>folder</parameter></userinput>
</para>

<para>
&konqueror; will prompt you for your password, and if the login
succeeds, you will have full access to your files on the server.
</para>
</note>

<para>
If you are used to the
<trademark><application>WinZip</application></trademark> utility on
&Microsoft; &Windows;, then you will be happy to hear that &kde; can
look into tar archives, too. It treats such archives just like a
normal folder, and you can browse into the archive, open files, &etc; In
general, accessing files on the Internet and in archives should look
and feel just like accessing files on your local disk, except for
delays imposed by the network and extracting the archive.
</para>
</sect1>

<sect1 id="using-templates">
<title>Using Templates to access Applications and Devices</title>

<para>
In &kde; it's easy to put icons on the panel or the desktop to access
your applications.  It's just as easy to add icons to access other
items of interest.  &kde; has templates for shortcuts to:
</para>

<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Applications
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Printers
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Mountable Devices (&eg; floppy drives)
</para>
</listitem> 
<listitem>
<para>
Internet resources (&eg; <acronym>WWW</acronym> documents, &FTP;
folders)
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Documents for some of &kde;'s &koffice; applications.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>

<para>
You can add any of these items to the desktop by &RMB; clicking where
you want the icon, and choosing <guisubmenu>Create New</guisubmenu>
and selecting the item you want to link to.
</para>

<para>
Nearly every item in the &kmenu;, on the desktop, and on
the panel refers to a <literal role="extension">.desktop</literal>
file on disk. The <literal role="extension">.desktop</literal> file
specifies what icon to display, as well as specific information about
what the icon represents (an application, device, or
<acronym>URL</acronym>). You can drag any <literal
role="extension">.desktop</literal> file to the panel to create a
quick-launch button.
</para>

<!-- 
<sect2>
<title>Setting up printers</title>

<para>
You can create icons for your printers so that you can print a file by
dragging it to a printer icon. Here's how:
</para>

<procedure>
<step><para>Open the Templates folder located on the desktop. </para></step>
<step><para>Drag the Program icon in the folder to the desktop. Choose
<guimenuitem>Copy</guimenuitem> from the menu that appears when you drop the
icon.</para></step>
<step><para><mousebutton>Right</mousebutton> click the new icon, and choose
<guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem> from the context menu.</para></step>
<step><para>On the <guilabel>General</guilabel> tab, change the name to
<filename>Printer.kdelnk</filename>.</para></step>
<step><para>On the <guilabel>Execute</guilabel> tab, enter the following in the
first <guilabel>Execute</guilabel> field:</para>
<screen><command>lpr <option>%f</option></command></screen>
<note><para>This example assumes that you print using the <command>lpr</command>
command. If you use a different command, enter the one you
use.</para></note></step>
<step><para>Still in the <guilabel>Execute</guilabel> tab, click the icon that
looks like a <guiicon>cog</guiicon>, and select the <guiicon>Printer</guiicon> icon from the list that appears.</para></step>
</procedure>

<para>Now you should be able to drag a file to the Printer icon and have it
printed on your default printer.</para> 
</sect2>

--> 

<sect2>
<title>Mounting devices</title>

<para>
&UNIX; provides access to storage devices other than the primary
<hardware>hard disk</hardware> through a process called
<emphasis>mounting</emphasis>. &kde; uses <literal
role="extension">.desktop</literal> files to allow you to easily
mount, unmount, and access files on secondary storage devices such as
<hardware>floppy</hardware> drives and &cdrom; drives.
</para>

<para>
As an example, here are the steps needed to create an icon to access
files on a floppy disk:
</para>

<note>
<para>
Many systems require you to be logged in as <systemitem
class="username">root</systemitem> to mount and unmount devices.
</para>
</note>

<procedure>
<step>
<para><mousebutton>Right</mousebutton> click on the desktop and choose
<menuchoice><guisubmenu>Create
New</guisubmenu><guisubmenu>Device</guisubmenu>
<guimenuitem>Floppy Device...</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
</para>
</step>
<step>
<para>
On the <guilabel>General</guilabel> tab of the resulting dialog, change
the name to whatever you like, in the text box at the top.
</para>
</step>

<step>
<para>
On the <guilabel>Device</guilabel> tab, enter <filename
class="devicefile">/dev/fd0</filename> (or the path to the floppy device
as it is named on your system) as the <guilabel>Device</guilabel>.
</para>
</step>
<step>
<para>
You can add a <guilabel>Mount Point</guilabel> here too.  This should be
an existing folder, but empty.  Common mount points are <filename
class="directory">/mnt/floppy</filename> or <filename
class="directory">/floppy</filename>, but you can just as easily have floppy
disks mounted on <filename class="directory">~/mydisk</filename> if you
want.
</para>
</step> 
<step>
<para>
Click the <guilabel>Unmounted Icon</guilabel> and select the picture
of a floppy disk without the green light.
</para>
</step>
<step>
<para>
Once you're happy with your choices, choose <guibutton>OK</guibutton>
and you are finished!
</para>
</step>
</procedure>

<para>
Now, place a properly formatted floppy in the drive and click the
<guiicon>Floppy</guiicon> icon to have &kde; mount the floppy drive and display
the files on the disk. Before removing the disk from the drive, &RMB;
click the <guiicon>Floppy</guiicon> icon and choose
<guimenuitem>Unmount</guimenuitem> from the menu.
</para>

</sect2>
</sect1>
</chapter>

<chapter id="configure">
<title>Configuring your desktop</title>

<para>
If you do not like something about the way the desktop looks or
operates, you can probably change it. &kde; is very configurable and you
can change almost every aspect of the appearance and the behavior of
your desktop. Unlike many other &UNIX; desktop environments, you do not
have to edit cryptic configuration files either (but you can if you
really want to!)  You use the &kcontrolcenter;, a special program for
configuring your desktop.
</para>

<sect1 id="using-kde-control">
<title>Using the <application>&kde; Control Center</application></title>

<para>
Launch the &kcontrolcenter; from the <link linkend="starter">&kmenu;</link>.
A window with two panes appears, displaying a list of
modules in the left pane.
</para>  

<para> 
Open a module by clicking its name; a list of submodules will
appear. Then, click one of the submodule category names to edit its
configuration in the right pane.
</para>

<para>
Changing the configuration is fairly straightforward. A help button is
available on each configuration panel to explain settings that are not
obvious.  Each panel has buttons labeled <guibutton>Help</guibutton>,
<guibutton>Use Defaults</guibutton>, <guibutton>Apply</guibutton>, and
<guibutton>Reset</guibutton>, which work as follows:
</para>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><guibutton>Help</guibutton></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Displays a short help text in the left hand pane, including a link to a
longer manual for the module in question.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><guibutton>Use Defaults</guibutton></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Sets all the options in the current module back to the default at the
time &kde; was installed.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><guibutton>Apply</guibutton></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Applies the current settings in the currently open module.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><guibutton>Reset</guibutton></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Resets the options to the state they were in when you opened the module.
If you have already used the <guibutton>Apply</guibutton> button, then
this button will reset the options to the state they were in when you
pressed <guibutton>Apply</guibutton>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>

<note>
<para>
If you make changes on one configuration panel and move to a different module
without clicking <guibutton>OK</guibutton> or <guibutton>Apply</guibutton>
first, &kcontrolcenter; will prompt you to ask whether your changes should be applied
first.
</para>
</note>

</sect1>

</chapter>

<chapter id="logging-out">
<title>Logging out</title>

<para>
We sincerely hope that using &kde; gives you so much fun and
pleasure that you never want to log out. But if you do, simply choose
<menuchoice><guimenu>K menu</guimenu>
<guimenuitem>Logout</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
</para>

<para>
There is also a logout button directly on the panel, which looks like a
small power button.  Or you can press <keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;
&Alt; <keycap>Delete</keycap></keycombo> to log out.
</para>

<sect1 id="session-management">
<title>Session Management</title>

<para>
When you log out, &kde; can remember which applications you had open, as
well as where all the windows were located, so that it can open them
for you the next time you log in. This feature is termed
<emphasis>Session Management</emphasis>. &kde;-aware applications will
restore themselves to the state they were in when you logged out.  For
example, &kate; remembers which files you were editing.  </para>

<para>
Non-&kde; applications do not memorize their state on logout, and
&kde; will warn you to make sure that you have saved any important
data in them when you start to log out.
</para>

<para>
To illustrate session management, choose <menuchoice>
<guimenu>K menu</guimenu><guisubmenu>Editors</guisubmenu>
<guimenuitem>Kate</guimenuitem> </menuchoice> to start &kate;. Open
a text document to edit. Now log out and back in. You will observe
that &kate; will be restored to the exact same position on the screen,
including the right virtual desktop, and the document we left open in
&kate; before we logged out is opened again automatically.  &kate;
will even remember whether you had unsaved changes to your document
before you logged out and will save them to the file you were working
on if you choose <guimenuitem>Save</guimenuitem> from the
<guimenu>File</guimenu> menu.
</para>

</sect1>
</chapter>

<chapter id="kde-an-exciting-journey">
<title>&kde;, an exciting Journey</title>

<para>
We hope you enjoyed this brief tour of the K Desktop environment and
that this unique desktop environment will help you get your work done
faster and more comfortably than ever.
</para>

<para>
Please remember that the &kde; project is not a commercial venture,
but rather a project run by volunteers from all over the world. We
would like to invite you to join the &kde; project and become part of
this unique network of people. If you are a programmer you might
consider helping us write &kde; applications. If you are an artist or
have experience with graphic design, consider creating icons sets,
color schemes, sound schemes and logos for &kde;.  If you enjoy
writing we would love for you to join our documentation project.
</para>

<para>
As you can see there are many ways in which you can help. You are
cordially invited to join this world-wide network of people dedicated
to making &kde; the best desktop environment for any computer. Please
visit <ulink url="http://www.kde.org">www.kde.org</ulink> for more
information.
</para>

<para>
<emphasis>Welcome aboard on this exciting journey, </emphasis>
</para>
<para>
<literal>Your &kde; Team</literal>
</para>
</chapter>

<!--
2004-08-27
Removed because it probably should not be here, and it will only end up
getting out-of-date if it is (Phil)
<chapter id="advanced-topics">
<title>Advanced Topics</title>

<sect1 id="mime">
<title>&MIME; Types</title>

<para>
&kde; comes with a number of &MIME; types predefined, but you can add
your own &MIME; types by choosing
<menuchoice><guimenu>Settings</guimenu>
<guisubmenu>Configure Konqueror...</guisubmenu>
</menuchoice> and then <guilabel>File
Associations</guilabel> in a &konqueror; window.
</para>

<para>
&kde;'s handling of &MIME; types is very powerful, and very
configurable.  On the one hand, you can set a default action to be
performed when you click on a file in &konqueror;.  Just as usefully,
you can add many more actions, which are then available with a &RMB;
click menu on the file in question.
</para>


<procedure>
<title>To link a certain file type with a particular application:</title>
<step>
<para>
Make sure the application you want to start this file type has an
entry in the &kmenu;.
</para>
</step>

<step>
<para>In &konqueror; find or make a file with the extension you wish to
link.
</para>
</step> 

<step>
<para>
<mousebutton>Right</mousebutton> click on the file, and choose
<guimenuitem>Edit File Type</guimenuitem> from the context menu, or
choose <menuchoice><guimenu>Edit</guimenu><guimenuitem>Edit File
Type</guimenuitem></menuchoice> in &konqueror;'s menu bar.
</para>
</step>

<step> <para> Add file masks for the application by clicking the
<guibutton>Add</guibutton> button, and entering the file pattern you
want. Remember that &UNIX; is case sensitive, so you may need to add
variations - <userinput>*.mp3</userinput> may need
<userinput>*.MP3</userinput> added as well, for example.  Add as many
extensions as you like in this way.  </para> </step>

<step>
<para>
Add a description if you like.  This is optional.
</para>
</step>

<step>
<para>In the section labeled <guilabel>Application Preference
Order</guilabel>, press the <guibutton>Add</guibutton> button.  A
miniature copy of the &kmenu; will
open, where you can choose the application you want files of this type
to be opened with.
</para>
</step>

<step>
<para>
Sometimes, you may want to use a different application to open this
file type.  For example, you might like to use &kate; to open text
files you wish to edit, and &kedit; for text files that you just want
to take a quick peek into.  You can add more applications in the same
way as you did in the last step, and you can change the preferred
order using the <guibutton>Move Up</guibutton> and <guibutton>Move
Down</guibutton> buttons.
</para>
</step> 

<step>
<para>
If you're satisfied with your choices, you can click the
<guibutton>Apply</guibutton> button to save your changes without
closing the dialog box.  This gives you the opportunity to test in the
<application>Konqueror</application> window that your file association
is correct.  You can choose <guibutton>OK</guibutton> to save your
changes and close the dialog box, or <guibutton>Cancel</guibutton> if
you have changed your mind and just want to close the dialog box.
</para>
</step>
</procedure>
  
<para>
Be sure to try your new association by opening a folder containing
a file of the type you just selected. Click on the file, and the
program needed to edit it should start.
</para>

<note>
<para>
&MIME; types are a way of describing the contents of files.  You may
be used to using file extensions for that purpose, and you may know
that on &UNIX; systems the file extension often bears little or no
relation to the contents of the file.  On the other hand, it may be
vital - for example, some implementations of <command>gunzip</command>
will not operate on files that are not named <literal
role="extension">.gz</literal>.
</para>

<para>
&MIME; types naturally make use of filename patterns, but not
necessarily the extensions - you can set up any filename pattern you
like.  For example, if you always want to open any files relating to a
particular client with &kate;,  and you make a habit of naming the files
with the client's name at the beginning so that they naturally group in
the &konqueror; window, then you can set up a filename pattern that
matches <literal>^<replaceable>clientname</replaceable>*</literal>.
Then any files that have <replaceable>clientname</replaceable> at the
beginning (the <token>^</token> character means <quote>starts with...</quote>) and
without any regard to the rest of the filename. 
</para>
</note>

</sect1>

</chapter>
-->
<chapter id="credits">
<title>Credits</title>
<sect1 id="authors">
<title>Authors</title>

<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>Matthias Ettrich
<email>[email protected]</email></para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Kalle Dahlheimer <email>[email protected]</email></para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Torben Weiss <email>[email protected]</email></para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Bernd Wuebben <email>[email protected]</email></para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Stephen Schaub <email>[email protected]</email> -
Editor</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Robert Williams <email>[email protected]</email> -
Editor</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Lauri Watts <email>[email protected]</email></para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

<!-- TRANS:CREDIT_FOR_TRANSLATORS -->

&underFDL;

</sect1>
</chapter>
</book>

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