K Desktop Environment
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# 4.2. Desktop Components

After everything has come up, take some time to explore the new environment. If you have already worked with Windows 95 or OS/2 Warp 4, many things should look familiar to you. The three main parts of a KDE desktop are the desktop itself, the panel, and the task list.

## 4.2.1. Panel

When you start KDE for the first time, the panel is situated at the bottom of the screen. From here, you will start your programs and switch between the virtual screens.

K button

  The "K" button is one of the most important places on your KDE desktop. From here, you can start all KDE applications installed. Later, when you learn how to use the K Menu Editor, you can also add other programs here as well. To start a program, just click on the button. You will see a list of different categories, plus some special entries. Whenever you move your mouse over an entry that has an arrow to the right, a new menu will appear. When you find the program you want to start, just click on it with the left mouse button.

Virtual Desktop buttons

  When you start KDE for the first time, note the four buttons labeled, appropriately enough, "One", "Two", "Three" and "Four". These represent your four desktops. Just click one of them. Don't worry; though they have "disappeared", any open windows are still active (just take a look at the task list!). Using multiple desktops is one of the most powerful features of KDE and the X Window System. Instead of placing one window over another, as you would when using Windows or OS/2, you can say "Well, on the first desktop, I will write the KDE User Guide. On the second desktop I'll run the sgml2latex compiler and see my results while compiling my linux kernel on the third desktop, and reading my e-mail on the fourth."

Icon bar

  Some people are so lazy that they consider even the two or three motions through the applications menu to be too much (me included). For them, additional buttons can be placed next to the desktop buttons; for example, shortcuts to your home directory, to your trashcan, to the kvt terminal emulator and to the documents you use often. For information on how to add icons to the taskbar, read Adding icons to your taskbar.

  KDE by default installs several commonly used buttons, including links to KHelpCenter, KWrite and the KDE Control Panel.

Time and date

  At the far right end of the KDE panel, you can always see the time and date.

The task list

  In another section of the panel, find a button for each open window. Just click on the button corresponding to the windows you want to open. Another click will minimize the window. A right mouse button click will give you a menu allowing you to move the window to another desktop, manipulate it's size, or close the application.

## 4.2.2. Using Windows

Window menu

  Right mouse button clicking in the title bar of the window (where you see the applications name), you can see a window manipulation icon. This is the same menu you see if you right click on an applications icon in the panel taskbar. When you click on it, a context menu containing commands to manipulate the window is presented. The available commands are as follows:

  Move

    Lets you move the window with your mouse. Click on the left mouse button when you have the window where you want it to be.

  Size

    Enables you to make the window smaller or larger. Move your mouse around and click when you are satisfied with the new size.

  Minimize

    Hides the window, leaving only an icon in the taskbar. Notice that the window title in this icon is now shown in (parentheses). To bring the window to the desktop again, click the icon.

  Maximize

    This will expand the window to the largest size possible. Note that KDE will take the size of your virtual desktop, which means that the window could be bigger than your screen.

  Shade

    "Roll" up the window, leaving only the titlebar visible. You can achieve the same effect by double clicking in the titlebar. To display the entire window again, select Shade again, or double click in the titlebar.

  Always on Top

    Selecting this will keep this window on top of all other applications, even when it does not have the focus.

  Decoration

    Allows you to change the look, and in some cases the position, of all the windows in KDE. This changes the window decoration widgets, including the titlebar buttons, but also including things such as checkboxes and buttons within dialogs, scrollbars, and the titlebar itself. The default is KDE2.

  To Desktop

    Enables you to send a window to another desktop. Choose the desktop where you want the window to be. The window will disappear at once. To see your window again, select the appropriate Desktop Button on the KDE Panel. Selecting All Desktops will make the window "sticky" - it will display on all desktops at once, so you can alway see this window.

  Close

    This will close the window. Sometimes the application will allow you to save your work, but it some cases (e.g., old X11 applications) this does not work. It is best to close an application with its own commands, using this menu item only as a last resort.

Sticky button

  This button looks like an empty circle. It performs the same operation as selecting All Desktops in the Window Menu, but requires fewer steps to invoke.

Title bar

  The title bar containing the name of the window can be double-clicked in order to shade it. Use the right mouse button: The Window menu will reappear, allowing you to (un)maximize, iconify, move, resize, (un)sticky the window, to move it to another desktop (this works faster than the method with the sticky button). When a program does not react anymore, you can close (which will sometimes give you the opportunity to save your work) it.

Iconify, maximize and close Buttons

  To the right of the title bar, there are two buttons that can also be used to iconify or maximize the window (this is faster than using the window manipulation menu). Iconified windows can be brought back with a click on the taskbar.

  At the far left of the toolbar (with the default window decoration) is a button to close the window.

To move a window, place the cursor on the title bar and hold down the left mouse button. Without releasing the mouse button, move the window to the location of your choice, then release the mouse button. If you want to resize a window, move the mouse cursor to the window border you wish to change. Once you have reached the correct spot, the cursor will change from an arrow to a bracket and an arrow. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the side in question to the location you wish, then release the button. Note that you may drag sides or corners (which will adjust the size in two dimensions at once.)

Using the menu bar of each KDE window is easy. Just click on what you want to do, and it will be done. But the menu bar can do even more for you. Notice the textured stripe on the left of the menu and icon bars? Depress your right mouse button and a context menu will appear, allowing you to put the menu bar on the top, left, right, or bottom of the window. You can also hide the menubar by selecting Flat

Below the menu bar, there is a set of tool symbols you can use to execute commands. Whenever you move over them, an active picture will be marked. You can also put the toolbar wherever you want: left, right, top, bottom

## 4.2.3. Getting Help

Help is available basically everywhere: On the desktop, just use the right mouse button and choose Help On Desktop. On the KDE panel, open the application menu and choose Help. Every KDE program has a help menu. All help is HTML-based, so using the help system is as easy as using your favorite web browser!

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