Novell LINUX ENTERPRISE DESKTOP 11 - KDE 17-03-2009 User manual

SUSE Linux Enterprise
Desktop
www.novell.com11
March17,2009 KDE User Guide

KDE User Guide
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Contents
About This Guide vii
Part I Introduction 1
1Getting Started with the KDE Desktop 3
1.1 LoggingIn............................ 3
1.2 Exploring the Desktop Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 Leaving Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.4 Switching Desktops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2Working with Your Desktop 15
2.1 StartingPrograms......................... 15
2.2 Using Dolphin File Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.3 Moving Text between Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.4 Finding Data on your Computer or in the File System . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.5 Accessing Removable Media and External Devices . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.6 Using Virtual Desktops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.7 Managing Internet Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.8 Exploring the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.9 E-Mail and Scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.10 InstantMessaging......................... 30
2.11 Managing Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.12 Opening or Creating Documents with OpenOfce.org . . . . . . . . . 31
2.13 Viewing PDF Files and Other Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2.14 Taking Screen Shots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.15 Displaying, Decompressing, and Creating Archives . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.16 Creating CDs or DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.17 Viewing and Managing Digital Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

2.18 Managing Your Music Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.19 For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3Customizing Your Settings 37
3.1 The Personal Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.2 Conguring Desktop Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.3 Conguring the Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.4 Conguring KDE Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.5 Conguring System and Security Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Part II Managing Files and Resources 57
4Viewing PDF Files and Other Documents with Okular 59
4.1 ViewingPDFFiles......................... 59
4.2 Annotating a PDF File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
4.3 For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5Accessing Network Resources 63
5.1 General Notes on File Sharing and Network Browsing . . . . . . . . . . 64
5.2 Accessing Network Shares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
5.3 Sharing Folders in Mixed Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
5.4 Managing Windows Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
6Searching with Kerry 73
6.1 Searching Using Kerry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
6.2 ConguringKerry......................... 75
7Managing Print Jobs 77
7.1 Starting Print Jobs in KDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
7.2 Monitoring Print Jobs in KDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
8Managing Passwords with KWallet Manager 81
8.1 StartingKWallet ......................... 81
8.2 Managing Your Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
8.3 Adjusting KWallet Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
8.4 Copying Your Wallet to Another Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

9Controlling Your Desktop’s Power Management 87
9.1 Using the Battery Monitor Widget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
9.2 Saving Power by Using Proles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
9.3 Conguring Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
9.4 For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

About This Guide
This manual introduces the KDE 4 desktop of SUSE® Linux Enterprise Desktop. It
helps you perform key tasks. It is intended mainly for end users who want to make ef-
cient use of KDE in everyday life.
Many chapters in this manual contain links to additional documentation resources. This
includes additional documentation that is available on the system as well as documen-
tation available on the Internet.
For an overview of the documentation available for your product and the latest docu-
mentation updates, refer to http://www.novell.com/documentation or to
the following section.
1 Available Documentation
We provide HTML and PDF versions of our books in different languages. The following
manuals for users and administrators are available on this product:
GNOME User Guide (↑GNOME User Guide)
Introduces the GNOME desktop of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop. It guides you
through using and conguring the desktop and helps you perform key tasks. It is
intended mainly for end users who want to make efcient use of GNOME desktop
as their default desktop.
Application Guide (↑Application Guide)
Learn how to use and congure key desktop applications on SUSE Linux Enterprise
Desktop. This guide introduces browsers and e-mail clients as well as ofce appli-
cations and collaboration tools. It also covers graphics and multimedia applications.
Deployment Guide (↑Deployment Guide)
Shows how to install single or multiple systems and how to exploit the product
inherent capabilities for a deployment infrastructure. Choose from various approach-
es, ranging from a local installation or a network installation server to a mass de-
ployment using a remote-controlled, highly-customized, and automated installation
technique.

Administration Guide (↑Administration Guide)
Covers system administration tasks like maintaining, monitoring and customizing
an initially installed system.
Security Guide (↑Security Guide)
Introduces basic concepts of system security, covering both local and network se-
curity aspects. Shows how to make use of the product inherent security software
like Novell AppArmor (which lets you specify per program which les the program
may read, write, and execute) or the auditing system that reliably collects informa-
tion about any security-relevant events.
Virtualization with Xen (↑Virtualization with Xen)
Offers an introduction to virtualization technology of your product. It features an
overview of the various elds of application and installation types of each of the
platforms supported by SUSE Linux Enterprise Server as well as a short description
of the installation procedure.
In addition to the comprehensive manuals, several quick start guides are available:
Installation Quick Start (↑Installation Quick Start)
Lists the system requirements and guides you step-by-step through the installation
of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop from DVD, or from an ISO image.
Linux Audit Quick Start
Gives a short overview how to enable and congure the auditing system and how
to execute key tasks such as setting up audit rules, generating reports, and analyzing
the log les.
Novell AppArmor Quick Start
Helps you understand the main concepts behind Novell® AppArmor.
Find HTML versions of most SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop manuals in your installed
system under /usr/share/doc/manual or in the help centers of your desktop.
Find the latest documentation updates at http://www.novell.com/
viii KDE User Guide

documentation where you can download PDF or HTML versions of the manuals
for your product.
2 Feedback
Several feedback channels are available:
• To report bugs for a product component or to submit enhancements requests, please
use https://bugzilla.novell.com/. If you are new to Bugzilla, you
might nd the Bug Writing FAQs helpful, available from the Novell Bugzilla home
page.
• We want to hear your comments and suggestions about this manual and the other
documentation included with this product. Please use the User Comments feature
at the bottom of each page of the online documentation and enter your comments
there.
3 Documentation Conventions
The following typographical conventions are used in this manual:
•/etc/passwd: directory names and lenames
•placeholder: replace placeholder with the actual value
•PATH: the environment variable PATH
•ls,--help: commands, options, and parameters
•user: users or groups
•Alt,Alt +F1: a key to press or a key combination; keys are shown in uppercase as
on a keyboard
•File,File >Save As: menu items, buttons
•Dancing Penguins (Chapter Penguins, ↑Another Manual): This is a reference to a
chapter in another manual.
About This Guide ix

Part I. Introduction

1
Getting Started with the KDE
Desktop
This chapter assists you in becoming familiar with the KDE desktop of your SUSE®
Linux Enterprise Desktop. If you have not yet installed your system, refer to Chapter 3,
Installation with YaST (↑Deployment Guide) or to Installation Quick Start (↑Installation
Quick Start).
KDE stands for K Desktop Environment and is an easy-to-use graphical user interface
graphical user interface that communicates with the underlying Linux system to access
and manage les, folders, and programs. It has many applications designed to help you
in your daily work. KDE also offers many choices to modify your desktop according
to your needs and wishes. Read more about conguring your desktop in Chapter 3,
Customizing Your Settings (page 37).
The following description is based on the default conguration of the KDE 4 desktop
shipped with your product. If you or your system administrator has modied the defaults,
some aspects may be different, such as appearance or keyboard shortcuts.
1.1 Logging In
If more than one user account is congured on your computer, usually all users must
authenticate—unless Auto Login is congured for a certain user. Auto login logs the
user in to the desktop environment automatically on boot. This feature can be enabled
or disabled during installation or at any time using the YaST user management module.
For more information, see Chapter 9, Managing Users with YaST (↑Deployment Guide).
If your computer is run in a network environment and you are not the only person using
the machine, you are usually prompted to enter your username and password when you
Getting Started with the KDE Desktop 3

start your system. If you did not set up your system and your user account yourself,
check with your system administrator for your username and password.
The appearance of the login screen depends on the product you use and on the desktop
environment installed on your system. The login process is managed by an application.
For KDE, it is KDM. If the GNOME desktop is additionally installed on your system,
it may be GDM.
To start a normal login, enter your username and password. If desktops other than KDE
are installed, you can select which desktop environment to start by clicking the Session
Typing menu item at the bottom of the login screen. Press Enter to proceed. For infor-
mation on how to log out or switch to another desktop, see Section 1.3, “Leaving Your
System” (page 11) and Section 1.4, “Switching Desktops” (page 13).
Figure 1.1 A KDM Login Screen
If your system administrator has created an encrypted home directory for you (which
is useful as a protection against theft or unauthorized removal of the hard disk), your
home directory is mounted on login. After login, you can directly access the data as
usual—without entering another password.
4KDE User Guide

NOTE: Connecting to an Active Directory Server
To access shared network resources, you can also authenticate a KDE client
machine against an Active Directory server. For further details, refer to Chap-
ter 5, Accessing Network Resources (page 63). If your machine is congured
for this kind of authentication, the login screen also provides an additional
eld. In this case, proceed as follows during login:
1. Select the domain from the list.
2. Enter your Windows* username.
3. Enter your Windows password and press Enter.
1.2 Exploring the Desktop
Components
After logging in to KDE for the rst time, you see the KDE desktop. It consists of the
following basic elements:
Figure 1.2 Example KDE Desktop
Getting Started with the KDE Desktop 5

Desktop Icons and Desktop Folder Desktop icons represent les, directories, ap-
plications, functions, and removable media, like CDs or DVDs. Click an icon on the
desktop to access its associated program or application. By default, your desktop icons
are shown in a Desktop Folder, a transparent region of the screen showing the contents
of the Desktop folder in your home directory. If you drag an icon from the Desktop
Folder and drop it on another part of the desktop, it appear as widget that you can tilt,
enlarge or minimize. Widgets are small applications that can be integrated into your
desktop. Right-click to open a context menu to access the icon properties, or to remove
the icon. For more information, see Conguring Widgets (page 42).
Desktop Context Menu: Right-click an empty area on the desktop to access the
context menu for conguring the appearance of the desktop, adding panels or widgets
to the desktop, locking the widgets in their current position, or for leaving the current
session or locking the screen.
KDE Panel: The panel (in KDE also called “Kicker”) is a bar, typically located at
the top or the bottom of the screen. By default, the panel of your KDE desktop consists
of the following areas (from left to right): quick launcher with the main menu icon on
the left and further program icons, pager (desktop previewer), taskbar, and system tray.
You can add or remove icons in the panel and customize the appearance of the panel
as well as its location on the desktop. If you hold your mouse pointer over an icon in
the panel, a short description is displayed.
Quick Launcher: The quick launcher contains the main menu button and some
larger icons that are shortcuts to frequently used programs, folders, and functions.
Main Menu Button: Use the icon at the far left of the panel to open a menu holding
a search function at the top and several tabs at the bottom. The Applications tab shows
all installed programs in a function-oriented menu structure which makes it easy to nd
the right application for your purpose even if you do not know the application names
yet. For more information, refer to Section 2.1.1, “Using the Main Menu” (page 15) .
Pager (Desktop Previewer): Between the quick launcher and the taskbar, nd a
miniature preview that shows your virtual desktops (if not congured otherwise, they
are numbered). SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop allows you to organize your programs
and tasks on several desktops, which minimizes the number of windows to arrange on
the screen. To switch between the virtual desktops, click one of the symbols in the
pager. For more information, refer to Section 2.6, “Using Virtual Desktops” (page 28).
6KDE User Guide

Taskbar: By default, all started applications and open windows are displayed in
the taskbar, which allows you to access any application regardless of the currently active
desktop. Click to open the application. Right-click to see options for moving, restoring,
or minimizing the window.
System Tray: This rightmost part of the panel usually holds some smaller icons,
including the system clock displaying time and date, the volume control, and several
other helper applications such as the device notier, informing you about recently
plugged or inserted devices such as USB sticks, external hard disks, cameras, CDs, or
DVDs. For more information, refer to Section 2.5, “Accessing Removable Media and
External Devices” (page 27).
The integration and handling of desktop objects has changed from KDE 3.x to KDE 4,
which now uses a new desktop and panel interface tool called Plasma. Plasma supports
desktop widgets (also called “plasmoids”), similar to Apple’s dashboard widgets. Learn
more about the key desktop objects in the following sections.
1.2.1 Locking and Unlocking Desktop
Objects
With KDE 4, desktop elements can be locked in their current position to prevent them
from being moved around on the desktop. As long as the desktop elements are locked,
you cannot add, move, or remove any objects to and from your desktop.
To lock or unlock the desktop elements, right-click an empty space on the desktop and
select Lock Widgets or Unlock Widgets.
Figure 1.3 Unlocking Desktop Objects
Getting Started with the KDE Desktop 7

Find how to add, remove and congure widgets and change numerous desktop elements
in Chapter 3, Customizing Your Settings (page 37).
1.2.2 Desktop Icons
By default, the Desktop Folder showing the contents of the ~/Desktop folder, displays
the following icons by default:
My Computer
The My Computer icon is very useful for viewing the most important information
about your hardware, network status, disks (hard disks, removable media, and ex-
ternal devices), operating system, and some common folders at one glance. For
example, nd processor type and speed listed there, information about your RAM
and the current swap status, or your graphics card. OS Information lists the most
important information about your operating system such as the Kernel version in-
cluded, the current user, version number and type of the operating system, and the
KDE version number. SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop ships with a number of
further tools (either graphical or command line tools) that you can use to get more
detailed information about your system. If you need detailed hardware information
about your system, use the YaST hardware probing, described in Section “Probing
Your Hardware” (Chapter 5, Setting Up Hardware Components with YaST, ↑De-
ployment Guide).
Firefox
Opens the Firefox Web browser. For more information, refer to Chapter 18,
Browsing with Firefox (↑Application Guide).
Ofce
Opens a new OpenOfce.org document. For an introduction to the ofce suite,
refer to Chapter 1, The OpenOfce.org Ofce Suite (↑Application Guide).
1.2.3 Panel Icons
The quick launch area of your panel as shipped with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop
includes the following icons by default:
8KDE User Guide

Figure 1.4 Panel: Quick Launch Area
Main Menu Icon
Opens the main menu, similar to the Microsoft* Windows start menu.
Device Notier Icon
Informs you about recently plugged or inserted devices such as USB sticks, external
hard disks, cameras, CDs, or DVDs. For more information, refer to Section 2.5,
“Accessing Removable Media and External Devices” (page 27).
Dolphin Icon
Opens Dolphin, the default le manager.
Apart from the larger icons in the quick launcher, the panel also holds a number of
smaller icons in the system tray area on the right:
Figure 1.5 Panel: System Tray
Klipper
KDE's clipboard tool that “remembers” the last entries you have moved to the
clipboard. To view the clipboard contents, click the Klipper icon or press Ctrl +
Alt +V. The most recent entry is listed on top and is marked as active with a black
check mark. To insert the active clipboard entry again, move the mouse pointer to
the target application, then middle-click. For more information, see Section 2.3,
“Moving Text between Applications” (page 24).
KMix
Your desktop's default mixer, KMix helps you to control sound on your desktop
after your sound card has been detected and congured with YaST, the central tool
for installation and conguration of your system. By default, clicking the KMix
icon in the system tray shows the master controller with which to increase or de-
crease the overall volume. For more information, refer to Section “Mixers”
(Chapter 23, Playing Music and Movies: amaroK, Kaffeine and More, ↑Application
Guide).
Getting Started with the KDE Desktop 9

openSUSE Updater
Helps you keeping your system up to date. When you connect to the Internet, the
openSUSE Updater automatically checks whether software updates for your system
are available. The applet icon changes color and appearance depending on the
availability of updates for your system. For detailed information about how to install
software updates with openSUSE Updater and how to congure openSUSE Updater,
refer to Chapter 1, YaST Online Update (↑Administration Guide).
KNetworkManager
If you manage your network connection with NetworkManager and have enabled
the use of NetworkManager in YaST, the KNetworkManager icon also appears in
your system tray be default. Use it to change and congure network connections.
For detailed information, refer to Chapter 23, Using NetworkManager (↑Adminis-
tration Guide).
Clock
For information about the current date and time, click the clock in the system tray
or hove your mouse pointer over the clock. You can change the clock settings (such
as appearance or additional data to be displayed) from the context menu available
upon right-click. If you need to update the system time, start YaST and select System
>Date and Time. Refer to Section “Clock and Time Zone” (Chapter 3, Installation
with YaST, ↑Deployment Guide) for more information.
Lock Screen
Locks your screen and starts the screen saver. Access to the session can only be
regained with a password.
Log Out
Logs you out and ends your current KDE session. If not congured otherwise in
the KDE 4 Personal Settings, (see Adjusting the Session Handling (page 55), the
session manager will restore the currently open windows by default next time you
log in to KDE.
Cashew Icon
Give access to panel conguration options. For more information, see Customizing
the Panel (page 46).
Of course, you can also change the way your KDE desktop looks and behaves to suit
your own personal tastes and needs. To learn how to congure individual desktop ele-
10 KDE User Guide