Kicker basics
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Chapter 3. Kicker basics

General usage

As mentioned before, there are a lot of things that can be added to Kicker. This section will tell you everything about application starting, folder browsing and adding some kinds of applets and extensions. Lots of things can be done from the context menu or from Configure Panel in the K Menu.

Adding applications

There are three different ways to add an application to Kicker:

Drag and Drop

Simply drag any file from Konqueror into Kicker and it's there. Dragging also works from the K Menu with any entry. You can change the attributes like optional command line parameters or the icon by clicking it with the right mouse button and choosing Properties from the context menu.

Using the context menu to add a KDE application

Click the right mouse button on any free space in Kicker and choose Add and then Application Button. There you can choose an application which will be added in the place you clicked.

Using the context menu to add a non-KDE-application

Non-KDE-applications e.g. xosview or xemacs.

Click the right mouse button on any free space in Kicker and choose Add, Special Button and then Non-KDE Application . In the newly appearing window, enter the name of the application you wish to add in the Executable: text box. You can also append Optional command line arguments, have the application start from a terminal, and choose the icon which will appear in Kicker by clicking the gear. If you don't choose an icon, the application will use the gear as a default.

Applications can be moved or removed by right mouse button click and choosing Move or Remove. You can also move icons using the middle mouse button if you have one. To do this click on an icon using the middle mouse button, hold for a second and then drag the icon to its new position. Another way to remove an application is by clicking the right mouse button on any free space and then choosing Remove, Button and then the application you want to be removed.

Adding Folders

Folders can be added by simply dragging a folder to any free space of Kicker. Quick Browsers can also be added from the context menu or the K Menu.

There are two different ways to have a folder in Kicker, you can choose between them in the menu appearing after dropping.

Add as file manager URL

Choosing this will add a link to the selected folder. Clicking this folder icon will open Konqueror displaying the contents of this folder.

Add as Quick Browser

If you add a folder this way, it will be displayed as a submenu of Kicker. This submenu contains Open in File Manager, which does the same as a file manager URL, and Open in Terminal, which opens a terminal with this folder as the working path. Also, this submenu contains the contents of that folder. Sub-folders are displayed as new submenus like the Quick Browser itself. The maximum number of displayed elements can be set in the Settings Dialog. Quick Browsers can also be added from the context menu of Kicker and then choosing Add and Special Button.

Both kinds of folders can be moved or removed by right mouse button click and choosing Move or Remove. You can also move an icon by clicking middle mouse button if you have one. Another way to remove a folder is by clicking the right mouse button on any free space and then choosing Remove, Button and then the folder you want to be removed.

File manager URLs can also be configured from the context-menu, just like any other folder anywhere in KDE.

Special Icons

Some icons in Kicker have a special meaning. They are added by choosing Add and then Special Button of the context-menu.

The K Menu Icon

The K Menu icon is one of the most necessary icons in Kicker. As you might guess, it opens the K Menu, which you can learn more about in The K Menu.

The Window List

Clicking this icon will show the Window List. Its first entry, Unclutter Windows, tries to move the windows on your active desktop in a way to see as many as possible.

Cascade Windows puts all windows on the active desktop over each others, the most recently on top and the others sorted by the time they where last used.

Below those entries is a list of all currently running applications, grouped by the desktops on which they are running. Clicking on an application will activate it.

The Bookmarks Icon

The Bookmarks icon provides fast access to your bookmarks. They appear in the same way as if you click the Bookmarks menu in Konqueror. Clicking a bookmark in the menu will launch Konqueror with the URL which is behind that bookmark.

The Recent Documents Icon

This menu shows the most recently used documents. Clicking the element Clear History will remove those entries, which may be useful for privacy reasons.

The Desktop Access Icon

The Desktop Access icon lets you have quick access to all the things you have on your desktop by minimizing all currently open applications. Clicking it once will toggle it to show the desktop. The icon will remain pressed until you either click it again, which will restore your minimized apps, or reactivate an application from the taskbar.

The Quick Browser Item

Adding a Quick Browser icon will open a dialog which will let you choose a path and an icon, which will appear as a Quick Browser menu. Refer to the Adding Folders section for more information about quick browsers.

The Non-KDE Application Item

The Add Non-KDE Application lets you add an application which doesn't appear in the K menu to Kicker. Refer to Adding Applications for more information about Non-KDE Applications.

The Terminal Sessions Icon

This icon provides a menu of the available Terminal sessions, just as Konsole does when you click and hold its New Session button.

The Printing System Icon

This icon gives direct access to KDE's printing system. KDE is able to utilize various printing systems according to users' wishes. The options shown below will vary depending on the printing system in use. Clicking the left mouse button on the icon opens a menu which gives the following options:

  • Add Printer... This will start KDE's Add Printer Wizard which allows you to simply add a new printer to your system.

  • KDE Print Settings This item will open the KDE Print Configuration dialog.

  • Configure Server This item allows configuration of a CUPS Server. An authorization dialog, requiring validation, will be presented to you before allowing any changes.

  • Print Manager This item starts the Printing Manager, KDE's main printing control center.

  • Print Browser (Konqueror) This item will start Konqueror with the print:/ io-slave to browse all kinds of printers.

  • Print a file... This item opens a dialog which lets you easily print one or more files.

Removing all kinds of icons

Clicking the right mouse button on any icon, whether it's an application, folder or special icon, or clicking the small arrow on the applet handle, and then choosing Remove from the appearing context menu will remove the icon from Kicker.

Another way of removing icons is clicking the right mouse button on any free space in Kicker and choosing Remove and then Button or Special Button. You can then choose the button you want to remove in the submenu.

Note

Please note that removing an icon from Kicker won't remove the application on the disk!

Adding Applets

Kicker comes with a set of applets like the taskbar or the mini-pager. They can be added from the context menu by clicking the right mouse button on any free space in Kicker and choosing Add and then Applet.

Applets can be moved by dragging them on their handle with holding the left mouse button, or the middle mouse button, or by choosing Move from the context menu.

You can learn more about the applets in the section Applets.

Removing Applets

Applets can be removed by choosing Remove from the context menu, which appears when the right mouse button is clicked on the applet's handle (left or top side of the applet) or in some applets allover the applet. The same menu appears when clicking the small arrow on the applet's handle.

Adding Extensions

There is also the possibility to add external extensions to Kicker, like the external taskbar, the Dock Application Bar for WindowMaker dock-applications, Kasbar, an iconic kind of taskbar and even child panels which behave like new instances of Kicker.

All extensions can be moved to any border of the screen by dragging them with the left mouse button on the small fade-out handles on the left or top side of the extensions. These fade-out handles can also be used for fading out the extension. The child panel can also be dragged by clicking with the left mouse button on any empty space on it.

More about extensions can be read in the extensions section.

Removing Extensions

You can remove extensions by clicking Remove in their context menu, usually located in the fade-out handles.

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