Desktop Tips
Prev

Desktop Tips

This section details some tips for using and customizing the desktop.

Run programs automatically when KDE starts

  1. The easiest way to run programs automatically when KDE starts is to use the Session Management feature of KDE. You can setup KDE exactly the way you'd like it to start every time you login.

  2. Choose K-MenuSystem SettingsSession Manager from the Advanced tab on the top and then under Advanced User Settings section. Click the Session Manager button on the right. Ensure that the Restore manually saved session checkbox is enabled.

  3. Launch all the applications you want running everytime you log in. Once you have everything set to your satisfaction, click choose K-MenuSave Session. Every time you start KDE, you will return to this configuration.

  4. Another method to do this is to copy the desktop entry of the application you want to autostart from /usr/share/applications to the ~/.kde/Autostart directory.

Login automatically to KDE when the computer starts

It is possible to login a user automatically when the computer boots. This is not recommended for most computers, as it is not secure and may allow other users access to your information.

  1. Go to System Settings by going to KMenuSystem Settings. Under the Advanced tab select the Login Manager.

  2. Click on the Administrator Mode... and enter your user password to gain administrator privileges.

  3. Select the Convenience tab. Check the Enable Autologin and select the user to autologin from the drop down menu and select an appropriate time delay.

Restart KDE without rebooting the computer

  1. Save and close all open applications.

  2. Press Ctrl-Alt-Backspace to restart KDE or X-Windows.

  3. If Ctrl-Alt-Backspace is disabled, open Konsole by going to KMenuSystemKonsole Terminal Program. At the command prompt type the following and press the Enter key (if asked for a password, type in your user password followed by the Enter key):

    sudo /etc/init.d/kdm restart
    

    (See the section called “Preventing the Ctrl-Alt-Backspace shortcut keys from restarting X” to disable Ctrl-Alt-Backspace.)

Preventing the Ctrl-Alt-Backspace shortcut keys from restarting X

  1. Make a backup copy of your existing /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. To do so, open Konsole by going to KMenuSystemKonsole Terminal Program. At the command prompt type the following and then press the Enter key (if asked for a password, type in your user password followed by the Enter key):

    sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf_backup
    

  2. Open /etc/X11/xorg.conf for editing. To do so, press Alt-F2 and at the Run Command dialog type the following and then press the OK key (if asked for a password, type in your user password followed by pressing the OK button):

    kdesu kwrite /etc/X11/xorg.conf
    

  3. Add the following lines to the end of the file:

    Section	"ServerFlags"
    	Option	"DontZap"	"yes"
    EndSection
    

  4. Save the edited file and close out of KWrite.

  5. The change will take effect the next time you log in to KDE. If you want the change to take effect immediately, restart KDE manually. (See the section called “Restart KDE without rebooting the computer”.)

Start a Program Manually

Sometimes it can be useful to start a program manually, for example when the program does not have an entry in the menu. This is easy to do with the Run Command dialog.

  1. Open the Run Command dialog by pressing Alt-F2

  2. Enter the name of the program you wish to run, and press the OK button.

Automatically turn on NumLock when KDE starts

  1. Open System Settings by going to KMenuSystem Settings. In the System Settings window select the Keyboard & Mouse option.

  2. Under the Keyboard section, locate the subsection titled NumLock on KDE Startup, enable the Turn On checkbox. Click on Apply to save your settings.

The change will take effect the next time you log in to KDE. If you want to test it right away, turn off NumLock and restart KDE (see the section called “Restart KDE without rebooting the computer”).

Handle help:/ links in Firefox like Konqueror

Firefox is not installed by default so in order for this to work you will have had to previously installed Firefox. Please refer to the Adding Applications documentation for more information on installing applications.

Konqueror is able to handle help:/ URLs by default. Firefox is also able to handle these the same way however it requires you to manually edit the configuration of Firefox to do so. The following procedure will aide you in such configuration.

  1. Start Firefox by choosing left KMenuInternetFirefox Web Browser.

  2. In the address bar type about:config and press the Enter key.

  3. Right click on the list and select NewBoolean. Type network.protocol-handler.external.help as the Preference Name and true as the Value. Press the OK button when complete.

  4. Right click again on the list and select NewString. Type network.protocol-handler.app.help as the Preference Name and khelpcenter as the Value. Press the OK button when complete.

Edit K-Menu

Kubuntu comes with the KDE Menu Editor, so you can customize your menus and add entries for applications that don't automatically appear after they are installed. To add, remove, or modify an entry, refer to the following procedure.

  1. Open KDE Menu Editor by right clicking on KMenu and choosing Menu Editor. If you have locked your Kicker, you can also open KDE Menu Editor by pressing Alt-F2 and typing kmenuedit followed by pressing the OK button.

  2. In KDE Menu Editor's left-hand pane, choose the submenu the new entry should appear in.

  3. Choose FileNew Item or press the New Item button. In the New Item window, choose a Name. Then add the Description, Comment, and Command. Select the icon by clicking on Icon. The Command will usually be the package name, Name is what will appear on the menu, and the Comment will appear in the tooltip that appears near the menu entry. Icons are chosen from /usr/share/icons/icon_theme directory by default, or can be chosen from anywhere in your files.

To change the order of menu entries, click and drag the entry in the KDE Menu Editor window.

Advanced Desktop Applets

SuperKaramba is a system for bringing mini programs (desklets) such as weather forecasts, news tickers, system information displays, or music player controls onto your desktop, where they are sitting there in a symbiotic relationship of eye candy and usefulness.

  1. Install the superkaramba package. For more information on installing extra applications, please refer to the Adding Applications documentation.

  2. Once installed, open SuperKaramba by going to KMenuUtilitiesSuperKaramba.

To download extra applets for SuperKaramba you can either select the New Stuff... button in the main window or you can go to KDE-Look.org and select the Karamba link.

Install Extra Fonts

This section describes how to install extra fonts from the Kubuntu archives.

  1. For international fonts, install the following packages (please refer to the Adding Applications documentation for help on installing extra applications):


    xfonts-intl-arabic
    xfonts-intl-asian
    xfonts-intl-chinese
    xfonts-intl-chinese-big
    xfonts-intl-european
    xfonts-intl-japanese 
    xfonts-intl-japanese-big
    xfonts-intl-phonetic

  2. For Microsoft TrueType core fonts, install the msttcorefonts package (please refer to the Adding Applications documentation for help on installing extra applications).

  3. For Ghostscript fonts, install the gsfonts-x11 package (please refer to the Adding Applications documentation for help on installing extra applications).

If you prefer to download individual fonts by hand, you can install them easily by opening Konqueror and typing fonts:/ into the location bar. Then you can install the font, either system-wide or for personal use by dragging and dropping into the respective folders.

Prev
Home