Using your Graphical Environment

The Mandrakelinux Desktop

All modern graphical environments share a common set of features: a main menu, a desktop area with some icons, a panel, etc. In the following paragraphs we will describe the elements which compose the desktop environment.

Figure 5.3. The KDE Desktop

The KDE Desktop
  1. Icons are located on the left of the screen and in the bar at the bottom of the screen. These are enhanced by a short description beneath them (the icon's title or name). Clicking on an icon either launches a program or opens a folder. In both cases a window will appear on the desktop.

  2. The panel is located in the lower part of the screen. It provides quick access to useful tools such as a Terminal, a web browser, etc. Each icon symbolizes an application (or program). Just move your mouse cursor over one of the icons and leave it there for a few seconds. A yellow help balloon will appear to describe the icon's function.

  3. The icons and the panel do not float on the screen: they are “stuck” on something called the desktop, also called the background. In a sense, the desktop is where everything you see or use lives. Move your mouse cursor to a free area on the desktop (i.e. where there is nothing) and right-click: a menu will appear which will give you access to several more functions.

Accessing Applications

To access all of the software you installed during the installation process, click on the main menu. The applications are organized by tasks, so finding the program you are looking for is pretty easy.

Opening a Window on the Desktop

If you click on the icon on the desktop labeled as Home this window will appear:

Figure 5.4. KDE File Manager

KDE File Manager

You just launched a file manager called Konqueror. The window which pops up displays the content of your Home directory. This is where all of your personal documents and files are stored: only you can access them.

A window is composed of several parts. On top is the title bar. It shows the name or title of the application you launched and, possibly, the name of the document you are working on. It can be in two different states:

  • Active. (full-colored title bar) This means you are currently using it.

  • Inactive. (shaded title bar)The program is running, but you are not interacting with it at the moment.

Just under the title bar is the menu bar. In our example, it contains menus named Edit, View, and so on. Click on Edit. A list of items will appear in a drop-down menu, each one giving you access to one of the program's functions.

Below the menu bar is the application's tool bar. It consists of one or more rows of icons, each one equivalent to an item in one of the application's drop-down menus: you can consider them as a shortcuts to frequently-accessed program features, which can be found elsewhere in the menu bar.

The status bar usually sits at the bottom of the window. In it you will find information about the program's activity. Not all programs offer this feature, but if the one you are using does, remember to check it from time to time.

Managing Desktops

We introduced the desktop to point out the area of the screen where all objects are placed. Now look at the panel at the bottom of the screen. You can see a group of desktop buttons:

Figure 5.5. KDE's Virtual Desktop Buttons

KDE's Virtual Desktop Buttons

These buttons give you access to virtual desktops, which are identical copies of the desktop you see after you have logged in. You will find more information about the handling and usage of virtual desktops in Chapter 7, Using KDE.

Click on the button labeled 2: as you can see, the window you opened before disappears. You didn't close it, you simply switched desktops. Click on the button labeled 1. The previous desktop will be displayed.

This feature called virtual desktops is very handy. It allows you to open several windows and to organize them as you wish.

You can also change which virtual desktop a window is currently in. This may be handy to logically organize your work by desktop, for instance moving all network related windows into desktop 2, all multimedia applications into another desktop, and so on.

So with KDE, right-click on the window's title bar and a pull-down menu will appear containing an item named To Desktop. Just point to this item and a list of your virtual desktops will appear. Simply choose the virtual desktop that you want to move it to.