Chapter 9. The Desktop According to KDE

Table of Contents
9.1. First Steps
9.1.1. Discovering your Universe
9.1.2. The Tool Bar
9.2. KDE's Internal Help
9.3. Manipulating Virtual Desktops
9.3.1. A Little Bit of Practice
9.3.2. Sticking or Transferring Windows
9.3.3. Number and Naming of Virtual Desktops
9.4. Desktop Personalization
9.4.1. Creating Icons
9.4.2. Changing Styles
9.4.3. Background

Along with GNOME, KDE is one of the two most sophisticated graphical environments. We will now discover KDE's possibilities in every-day work.

9.1. First Steps

9.1.1. Discovering your Universe

Figure 9-1. The KDE Desktop

Here is the whole KDE (the colors are lightened for printing reasons). The tool bar will be evoked later on. Different icons are directly available on the desktop:

Table 9-1. The KDE Desktop's Icons

Launches the software manager, which is described at "Package Management".
Here you get the Mandrake Control Center, described at "Mandrake Control Center".
Configuring your Network access (please see "Configuring Internet Connections").
Access to all MandrakeSoft documentation.
Mandrake News.
Mandrake Expert.
Mandrake Campus.
Printing configuration and control.
Launches the file manager from your home directory (please refer to Konqueror: the File Manager).
Launches the file manager in order to browse the CD-ROM's contents.
Launches the file manager in order to browse the floppy disk's contents.
Tool used to "kill" rapidly an application which is not working correctly.

9.1.2. The Tool Bar

Table 9-2. The KDE Tool Bar

The K menu used to access the software installed on your machine.
Click on this icon to minimize all your windows. Click again to maximize them.
Launches the konsole program to use the command line (please refer to the Reference manual for extensive information on the use of the command line).
Launches KDE's Control Center used to configure your environment. Please refer to Changing Styles.
The lifebuoy which allows to access the integrated help system. It will be detailed in the next section.
Another icon used to launch the file manager from your home directory.
Launches the Konqueror web browser.
Launches KDE's mail client.
A powerful text editor which holds sophisticated features.
These buttons allow to switch from one virtual desktop to another. Virtual desktops are detailed on Manipulating Virtual Desktops.
The task bar holds a button for every application you have launched.
This button allows to lock your keyboard and mouse. Hence, no one can use it while you are away.
Click on this button to quit KDE.
The clipboard and its parameters.
The clock, which also displays the date. Click on it to get a complete calendar.
Click on this button to "roll up" the tool bar on the right of the screen.

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