This chapter will introduce the K Desktop Environment (KDE) and its panel. It will also talk about the concept of virtual desktops, how to navigate through and manage them and session support.
KDE follows the modern desktop paradigm. In the above figure you see the desktop itself with some icons on it, while the panel sits at the bottom. This figure also introduces something new if you come from the Windows® world: virtual desktops (see Section 1.3, “Virtual Desktops”).
![]() | Note |
---|---|
Virtual desktops are not an exclusive KDE concept. Other GNU/Linux desktop environments and window managers also make use of them. |
The icons on the desktop represent files, directories, applications, devices, web pages (actually, the page's URL), etc. Almost “everything” can be placed on it. Different actions are associated to each icon. For example: clicking on a text file opens it into a text editor, clicking on a web page opens the URL inside Konqueror (see Section 3.4, “Browsing Web Pages”), and so on.
Here are some of your desktop's default icons, along with a brief explanation for each of them.
Home. Gives access to all your
personal files. Under UNIX®-like operating systems
(Mandrakelinux is one of them), every user has a personal
directory usually named
/home/user_name
where user_name
is the user's login
name.
Trash. Gives access to all deleted files (the equivalent of
Windows®' Recycle Bin). Please bear in mind that files can also be
deleted without being thrown into the trash can
(“direct” file deletion) so some deleted files
might not be accessible through the trash can.
Dynamic Icons for Removable Media. There will be icons for
removable devices on your system (CD-ROM drive, floppy disk
drive, ZIP/JAZ drives, etc.). Clicking on a device icon
opens the medium inside that device. An error message may
be shown if there is no medium present or if the medium
can not be read for some reason.
The panel is the bar which sits at the bottom of your desktop[4] and contains the following main components:
The Main Menu. Allows you to access the software
installed on your system. It is the equivalent of
Windows®' Start menu. Programs are arranged into
convenient categories, so you can quickly and easily find the
application you want to run.
Show Desktop. Use this to minimize all currently
opened windows. Pressing it again will restore the windows
to the state they were previously in. Handy when you your
desktop is so full of opened windows and you want to
access, for example, a folder on your desktop.
Desktop Switching Applet. Makes switching between virtual desktops
as easy as one, two, three. See Section 1.3, “Virtual Desktops” for more information.
Screen Resolution Applet. Allows you to change the
screen resolution. With higher resolutions you will have
more space to run applications on your desktop. See Section 2.3, “Changing Screen Resolution”, for more information.
Virtual desktops give you more room to place your windows; they also allow you to better organize your windows by task.
Think of virtual desktops as having several screens available but with only one monitor. By default, there are two virtual desktops. To add or remove virtual desktops right-click on the desktop switching applet and select Configure Virtual Desktops from the pop-up menu. Using the slider at the top of the configuration dialog will allow you to select up to 20 virtual desktops. Press once you are satisfied with your settings.
By default, virtual
desktops are named Desktop N
, where
N
is the desktop number. To give more
meaningful names to your virtual desktops (such as
Work
, Play
,
Internet
...), right-click on the desktop
switching bar and select Configure Virtual
Desktops from the pop-up menu. Click in the input
field of the desktop for which you wish to change the name and
type in the new one. Pressing
will make the changes effective immediately. Press
once you are satisfied with your
settings.
When you log in into KDE the last virtual desktop you were in when you closed your last session is opened. To switch between virtual desktops just click on the desktop number in the desktop switching applet et voilà !