1. Using the Internet

Abstract

MandrivaOne is an excellent tool to use the Internet. We show you how to manage your email using KMail, browse the web with Konqueror and chat with your friends and colleagues with Kopete.

1.1. Sending and Receiving Emails

 Choose InternetMail+KMail from the main menu to launch KMail. A configuration wizard appears.

1.1.1. Mail Configuration

Figure 1.1. Mail Account Type

Mail Account Type

Select the account type from the suggested list and advance to the next step. Both IMAP and POP3 accounts setup are the same.

Figure 1.2. Your Personal Data

Your Personal Data

Then, you are asked about your name, email address and company name, fill these with your personal data.

Figure 1.3. Account Credentials

Account Credentials

You are then asked for the account credentials: username and password. Your ISP or system administrator should have provided these along with your email address.

Figure 1.4. Mail Servers

Mail Servers

You are finally asked to provide mail server parameters. Again, your ISP or system administrator should have provided you with the incoming and outgoing mail servers. Outgoing servers are usually of the smtp.provider.net form. Incoming POP3 servers are usually of the pop.provider.net or pop3.provider.net forms. Incoming IMAP servers are usually of the imap.provider.net form. The mail.provider.net form is also common for both incoming and outgoing mail servers.

1.1.2. Mail Client Interface

Figure 1.5. KMail Client Interface

KMail Client Interface

Toolbar. Where the main action buttons lie. See Table 1.1, “KMail's Toolbar Buttons”.

Message List. Where information (subject, date, sender, etc.) about messages stored in the currently selected folder is displayed.

Message View Pane. Where the currently selected message's contents is displayed.

Folder List. Where all folders are listed. The default folders are inbox (incoming messages), outbox (unsent templates), sent-mail (already sent messages), trash (deleted messages) and drafts (draft messages). There is also a special folder named Searches which contains the results of a search for messages.

1.1.3. KMail Usage

The following table shows the most important buttons available in KMail's toolbar, their equivalent keyboard shortcuts and a brief explanation of the functions they provide.

Table 1.1. KMail's Toolbar Buttons

Button Keyboard Shortcut Function
Ctrl-N

Compose a New Message. You need to complete the To and Subject fields in the message-compose window.

Ctrl-L

Get new messages for all defined e-mail accounts. Keep this button pressed to display a list of all defined accounts; select the one you want to get mail from in order to retrieve messages only for that account.

R

Reply to the author of the selected message. A message-compose window pops up with some fields already set.

F

Forward (send to a third party) the selected message.

Del

Delete the selected messages. Deleted messages are moved to the Trash folder. You can recover messages moved to the trash folder, but deletion from the Trash folder cannot be undone: be careful!


[Note] Note

Some of those buttons have a little black arrow at the bottom right corner. An additional menu with related actions can be displayed by pressing the mouse button a little longer.

1.2. Browsing the Web

 Choose InternetWeb Browsers+Konqueror from the main menu to launch Konqueror. The home page opens. Type in an URL in the Location bar to open a different page.

1.2.1. Browser Interface

Figure 1.6. Konqueror Web Browser Interface

Konqueror Web Browser Interface

Toolbar. Contains all buttons used to navigate and perform common actions (see Table 1.2, “Konqueror's Toolbar Buttons”).

Location Bar. Where you enter a site's URL (or a local file using file:// as the protocol part of the URL).

Bookmarks Bar. Contains buttons which give you quick access to your favorite sites.

Tab Browsing. Allows you to open many sites in the same window instead of opening new windows, which makes browsing much simpler.

Display Area. Where the contents of the web sites and local files you browse are displayed.

1.2.2. Surfing the Web

Table 1.2. Konqueror's Toolbar Buttons

Button Keyboard Shortcut Function
Alt-left_arrow

Go back. Returns to the page you visited before the current one. Keep this button pressed to display the list of all URLs you can access.

Alt-right_arrow

Go forward. Returns to the page you visited after the current one. The same back-button considerations apply.

F5

Reload. Refreshes the current page. By default, Konqueror first looks in the browser's cache (on-disk temporary storage space) and uses the local copy. Press the Shift key while clicking on the reload button to force Konqueror to fetch the page from the Internet.

Esc

Stop. Aborts the transfer of the currently requested object and cancels the page-loading operation.


Konqueror's browser allows you to browse many web pages at a time by using tabbed browsing.

 Creates and opens a new tab (Ctrl-Shift-N). Just type an URL on the location bar to open a new page on this tab.

[Tip] Tip

You can also press the Ctrl-Shift-D keys to duplicate the current tab, that is to open the same page you are currently browsing, but on a different tab. This is handy for example with long pages allowing you to browse the same page in two different positions at the same time.

 Closes the currently displayed tab (Ctrl-W).

For bookmark management it is recommended you use social bookmark sites, such as Del.Icio.Us, so you always have bookmarks with you on the go.

1.3. Chatting With Friends and Colleagues

 Choose InternetInstant Messaging+Kopete from the main menu to launch Kopete. A configuration wizard appears.

1.3.1. Configuring Kopete

Figure 1.7. Messaging Service Selection

Messaging Service Selection

Kopete supports communications with many popular messaging applications like MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, IRC, etc. Select the messaging service from the list and advance to the next step. Please bear in mind that the different messaging protocols have different configuration parameters. We show you how to setup an instant messaging service account and then an IRC service account.

Figure 1.8. Account Parameters

Account Parameters

Then, you have to provide the account parameters: as a minimum a username (or email address) and a password; some messaging services might need other options too. Refer to the messaging service documentation for more information on the account parameters to be set.

[Tip] Tip

Most messaging services have a Register New Account button that you can click to get an account with that service, if you don't have one already.

Finally you are invited to connect to the messaging service and finish the messaging service configuration wizard. Uncheck the Connect now option if you wish to connect later.

Choose SettingsConfigure from the menu, then select the Accounts section and click on the New button to add an account for a different messaging service. We now add an account for IRC server irc.freenode.net, channel #mandriva, where you can get support for your MandrivaOne system from other users of Mandriva Linux.

Figure 1.9. IRC Basic Parameters

IRC Basic Parameters

Provide your nickname[1] and an alternate one (in case someone else already has registered the nickname you've chosen), and optionally a username and a password.

[Tip] Tip

It's common to append a _ to the nickname to form the alternative nickname.

Figure 1.10. IRC Network Parameters

IRC Network Parameters

Then, select the Connection tab and choose an IRC network using the Network pulldown list. You can also select the default encoding and other options. Advance to the final step and finish the wizard.

1.3.2. Kopete Interface

Figure 1.11. IM and Chat Interface

IM and Chat Interface

Toolbar. Where the main action buttons lie. See Table 1.3, “Kopete's Toolbar Buttons”.

Buddy List. Where an entry is displayed for each of your buddies who is online, together with an icon identifying the protocol they are using. Buddy status is indicated as follows:

  •  The buddy is currently online and available;

  •  the buddy is currently online, but not available. Depending on the messaging service you might be able to send him messages anyway, which your buddy sees when he's available again;

  •  the buddy isn't currently online, you cannot send him messages. Please note that you might not see this status at all if you decide to hide offline buddies.

Service Status. One icon is displayed for each messaging service configured. If the icon is coloured, it means you are currently online on that service, otherwise the icon is grayed. Right click on the service's icon to access a menu with actions for that particular messaging service.

1.3.3. Chatting and IM With Kopete

Table 1.3. Kopete's Toolbar Buttons

Button Function

Set Status. Displays a list of all possible online status. Just select the desired status from the list. Please bear in mind that this status applies to all currently configured messaging services. It can be thought of like a kind of global status setting.

Add Buddy. Select the messaging service from the proposed ones and then fill in the buddy's ID and optionally select a group using the Group pulldown list; click on OK to add the buddy to your buddy list.

Popular messaging services (MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, Jabber, etc.) store the buddy list on the server, so you get the same buddy list no matter where you connect to that service from.

When this button is pressed offline users are shown on the buddy list. This is handy to see which buddies you have on your list for the different messaging services.


To start chatting with a buddy, simply double click on his nick on the Buddy List. The window is divided in two, you type on the lower frame, and see the conversation on the upper frame.

IRC is a bit different, you first have to join a channel on a server. Think of channels as chat rooms where you can speak about a given topic. To join a channel:

  1. Click on the IRC service status icon.

  2. Select the Join Channel menu entry.

  3. Type the name of the channel in the dialog box that appears. Channel names start with a sharp symbol (#), for example #mandriva.

  4. A window similar to the IM one appears, it also has a list on the right with the people connected on that channel. If you don't see the people list, it means you are alone on that channel, please try a different channel or wait for someone to join that channel.

Repeat the above procedure to connect to other IRC channels on the same server, a window opens for each channel you connect to so you can chat simultaneously on all channels you join.

There are many resources on the Internet about the so-called “netiquette”, which are norms and rules (some can be described as common sense) one should observe for fair behavior when chatting with other people. You can perform a search for “chat netiquette” (using Google) for more information.



[1] On IRC channels you are identified by your nickname. People will know you through it.