The Kicker Handbook
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# Chapter 3. Kicker basics

# 3.1. 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.

## 3.1.1. 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. This works also 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 Preferences from the context menu.

Using the context menu to add a KDE application

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

Using the context menu to add a legacy application

  Legacy application means non-KDE-applications e.g. xosview or xemacs. Click the right mousebutton on any free space in Kicker and choose Add and then Legacy Application. Choose the application you want to add. In the newly appearing window, you can append an optional command line, have the aplication 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 an icon by clicking middle mouse button if you have one.

## 3.1.2. 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. Omitting this menu, it will be added as a file manager URL.

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 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.

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.

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

## 3.1.3. Special Icons

Some icons in Kicker have a special meaning. They are added by choosing them from the submenu Add 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 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, what will restore your minimized apps, or reactivate an application from the taskbar.

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 the name of a desktop will switch to that one, clicking an application will also activate it.

## 3.1.4. Adding Applets

Kicker comes with a set of applets like the taskbar or the mini-pager. Those can be added either from the submenu Configure Panel of the K Menu or from the context menu by choosing Add and then Applet.

Applets can be moved by dragging them with holding the left mouse button mouse button, or the middle mouse button mouse button, or by choosing Move from the context menu. They can be removed by choosing Remove from the context menu.

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

## 3.1.5. 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 handles on the left or top side of the extensions. The child panel can also be dragged by clicking with the left mouse button on any empty space on it. You can remove extensions by clicking Remove in their context menu, usually located in the move handles.

More about extensions can be read in the extensions section.

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Using Kicker |  | Configuring Application Buttons