In KDE 4 there are some great ways of managing those desktops. One of my favorite ways is using Active Edge Screen Actions to enable the Compiz Cube to switch workspaces. But the Active Edge Screen Actions can be used for much more than just switching workspaces. Let’s take a look at this feature and see just what it can do.

What are Active Edges?

To put it simply, Active Edges are locations on the screen where you can place the cursor and an action will occur. As the name implies, we’re dealing with the edges of the screen — specifically, the four corners and the center spot of each edge (center left, center top, center right, center bottom). That means there are eight different locations where an action can be set. When the cursor hovers over that location (the timing can be specified in the settings) the action configured will happen.

What actions can be configured? Any of the following:

• No Action.
• Show Dashboard.
• Show Desktop.
• Lock Screen.
• Prevent Screen Locking.
• Present Windows — All Desktops.
• Present Windows — Current Desktop.
• Desktop Grid.
• Desktop Cube.
• Desktop Cylinder.
• Desktop Sphere.
• Flip Switch — All Desktops.
• Flip Switch — Current Desktop.

For actions such as Desktop Grid/Cube/Cylinder/Spere and Flip Switch, those must be set up to work before the Action Edge can be set up. But once the action is working, it can be associated with an Action Edge.

Configuring an Action Edge

Figure 1

To do this click K > Computer > System Settings > Workspace Behavior > Screen Edges. When that new window opens (see Figure 1), right-click on one of the eight edges. When you do that a pop-up menu will appear where you can choose the action you want to associate with the edge. Select the action you want, and click Apply.

Once configured, test the Action Edge out. Remember, there is an Activation Delay for the edges. By default that delay is 150 milliseconds, so that action will not happen instantly.

A small conflict

You will notice, in this same screen, you can set edge flipping and window tiling. The Edge Flipping feature can be set up to flip to activate when either only dragging a window or always. Here’s the problem, if you have edge flipping and window tiling both set up, the window tiling will allow the edge flipping to work, but it’s a bit confusing and you could wind up with a tiled window instead of a flipped edge. I would recommend either one or the other. Also, if you configure Edge Flipping to be always on, you will lose four of your Action Edges (top/bottom center, right/left center).

Final thoughts

I’m a big fan of using multiple workspaces and Action Edges in KDE. These features do a great job of making your work more efficient and organized.

Version

The version of KDE I will be using in this article is the version shipped with openSUSE 11.4 (KDE 4.6). Anyone that has experienced this KDE release will know how well it performs. Dolphin is no exception. Under KDE 4.6, Dolphin is quite the solid file manager. And, of course, you will need not install a single piece of software, as Dolphin will be pre-installed with the KDE desktop.

Split screens

Figure 1

One of the cool features of Dolphin is the ability to split the screen in just about any way you need. As you can see, in Figure 1, the default Dolphin screen displays a single pane. But what if you want to manage files and folders from within a single window? You can easily do this by splitting the screen.

To split the current Dolphin screen simply click on the Split icon in the Dolphin window. This will then split the current working pane (see Figure 2). You can also change the view of the individual pane. Say in one pane you wanted an icon view and on one you wanted the detailed view. Simply select the pane you want to change and then select the view you want for that pane. To close the split view simply select the pane you want to close and click the Close icon.

Preview

Figure 3

Dolphin has a great way to preview files, built right into the file manager. From the main toolbar simply click the Preview button and file previews will be toggled on. Figure 3 shows Dolphin with Previews turned on.

You can adjust Preview settings from with the Dolphin Settings window. Click Settings > Dolphin Settings > General > Preview and you can then define what file types you want to show previews for as well as define the file sizes allowed for previews.

Services

Figure 4

You can add new features to Dolphin very easily. From within the Dolphin Preferences window click on Services and then click the Download New Services button.

From this new window, see Figure 4, you can add on any number of features, such as: Get Youtube videos, print selection, post image to tumblr, scan with ClamAV, DropBox service menu, and much more. To install these services, simply click the Install button associated with the service you want to install.

Adjust View properties

From within the View menu you can open the Adjust View Properties window where you can further refine the viewing modes of Dolphin. This allows you to:

• Show folders/files in groups.
• Show hidden files.
• Apply view properties to specific folders or sub-folders.
• Add additional information to be shown.
• Set the default view mode.
• And more.

Final thoughts

Many complained with Dolphin was made the default  file manager in KDE, but Dolphin is quite the powerful, and flexible file manager. Give some of these tips a try and you might find yourself not missing Konqueror as the default manager as much.

What’s new?

There is a lot to be said in this category. The openSUSE 11.4 release offers the following updates:

KDE Plasma Desktop 4.6: openSUSE might well be the first distribution packaging the most recent KDE desktop by default. Although KDE 4.5 probably brought to the users the single most amount of bug fixes ever, 4.6 does a great job of upping the performance ante once again. KDE 4.6 is an incredibly solid desktop that any user would be happy to have as their default.

You will also find better KDE to Firefox integration in the 4.6 release. As well KPackageKit has become the default update applet.

Web browsers: Speaking of Firefox, openSUSE 11.4 ships with Firefox 4.0 and the latest release of Konqueror (The version of Konqueror installed is the Webkit version.)  But don’t think you are limited to those two browsers. You can now easily add Chromium to your desktop through the Add/Remove Software tool! Before you try to add Chromium, you will have to enable to community repos by following these steps:

1. Open YaST2.
2. Click on Configuration.
3. Select Repositories.
4. Click the Add button.
5. Click Community Repositories and click Next.
6. Check Main Repository (Contrib) and click OK.

Now you can search for Chromium and install it.

Office tools: I was pleasantly ssurprised to find LibreOffice pre-installed on openSUSE 11.4. I believe openSUSE might be the first of the distributions to ship with LibreOffice as the default office suite! You will also find the standard KDE office tools along side LibreOffice.

Multi-media: Banshee 2.0 has been added and is used as the default media player in openSUSE. In order to have this on your desktop by default, you will need to download the full DVD install and not the Live CD. If you do install from the Live CD you will be able to install Banshee from YaST2 by simply searching for “banshee” (no quotes) and installing. I would, however, suggest installing from the full DVD, in order to get the complete openSUSE experience.

Over all take

I have to say I was quite pleased with how well openSUSE runs. Not only is it quite stable, it’s also lightning fast. The only problem I came across was with the effects engine. The machine I tested on is able to use all visual effects in both Ubuntu and Elive, but openSUSE seemed to not be able to run KDE with visual effects running. So effects had to be turned off. Outside of that small issue, the experience with openSUSE 11.4 has been quite good.

Who’s it for?

Would I recommend openSUSE for a new Linux user? No. But if you are comfortable in the Linux environment, openSUSE and KDE 4.6 will be a welcome change. If, however, you are a new user who really wants to cut their teeth on something with a bit more power than Ubuntu, openSUSE might be just the distro you are looking for.

Update

It has been brought to my attention, by one of the GNOME contributers, that Ubuntu 11.04 will now offer a classic GNOME option in the log in menu. This will not be the default option, but it will allow new users to select the traditional GNOME desktop. Hopefully this will be enough for users who do not appreciate the changes Unity brings.

Distributions

Probably the biggest knee-jerk reaction will be users migrating to other distributions. Ubuntu Linux is probably going to see the largest amount of users jumping ship. Why? Ubuntu Unity. Although users will be able to install an alternative desktop, many users who choose Ubuntu aren’t at that level of ability. Remember, Ubuntu is the Linux of choice for most new users. And when a new user is greeted with the completely different (and less effective) desktop of Unity, they will abandon the distribution in favor of, say, Kubuntu, Linux Mint or PCLinuxOS. My guess is another option will make itself available soon after the initial release of 11.04. Someone is going to create a spin of Ubuntu with the traditional GNOME desktop.

This will, however, be prime time for other distributions to sway new users. I fully plan on offering up more Linux content geared toward those distributions as this happens.

Desktops

There is one particular desktop that will probably see more gain as a result of the migration to the new GNOME 3 and Unity desktops. That desktop is KDE. Remember, KDE went through it’s major evolution quite some time ago and has now settled into a very stable, reliable desktop that is as polished as anything GNOME has ever released. KDE will gain serious ground with the new GNOME.

Other desktops that stand to gain new users are Xfce and Enlightenment. Although Enlightenment does vary quite a bit from the standard desktop, it can be configured to look and behave in similar fashion. Xfce enjoys the same ability. Both heavily rely on panels and menus similar to the traditional desktop. Both are also very light weight and are deeply rooted in Linux’ past.

Growing pains

I don’t want to come across as being against the new desktop metaphors. I embrace change. I think GNOME 3 has a lot of potential to be something the desktop has yet to be. And when touchscreens are the standard, a new desktop aligned with the changes GNOME is bringing to the table, will be a must. Remember when KDE 4.0 first hit the desktop it was a disaster. The main reason for that was KDE 4.0 was an entire rewrite of the code base. When it was first released it was nothing but a bug hunt in the making. GNOME 3 will not suffer this same fate. The jury is still out on how Unity will fare upon first release, but it will not be on par with GNOME 3.

Ultimately the immediate reaction will be for new users to jump ship. But I would ask that new to Linux users give these desktops a chance before they do. And, after a trial period, you do not like what you see, install a new desktop on your system and try that out. That’s the beauty of Linux – there are so many options available to you. If you don’t like Unity, try GNOME 3. If you don’t like GNOME 3, try KDE 4.6. If you don’t like KDE 4.6, try Enlightenment. Eventually you will find that desktop that really speaks to you.

Thankfully there are handy tools out there that allow you to edit menus or even create new menus. One of those tools is 9menu. This tool is a simple command that allows you to create individual, moveable menus on your desktop that can run applications or run commands. This tool enables you to create temporary menus on your desktop to serve whatever purpose you need. Let’s take a look at how to install and use 9menu.

Installation

I will demonstrate how to install 9menu on a Ubuntu system. Although you may not find 9menu in the Ubuntu Software Center, you are able to, by default, install 9menu from the command line (or Synaptic). To install from command line do the following:

1. Open up a terminal window.
2. Issue the command sudo apt-get install 9menu.
3. Enter your sudo password.
4. Accept any dependencies.
5. Wait for the install to complete.

With the installation done, you are ready to begin work.

Usage

You will notice there is no entry for 9menu in the menus. That is because the usage (creation of menus) of 9menu is command line only. The standard use is:

9menu -label 'LABEL' SPACE DELINEATED LIST OF COMMANDS

Hopefully the above sample makes sense. Let’s take a look at an actual working example. Say you want to create a 9menu for the following apps: Evolution, Firefox, Empathy, and Gwibber. To do this the command would look like:

9menu -label 'Net Tools' evolution firefox empathy gwibber

Figure 1

The command above will generate a menu that looks like that in Figure 1. If you click on any of the entries show, the application will run.

Of course 9menu has plenty of options to use at the command line. There are two very nice options that are nearly “must haves” for the efficiency of 9menu:

-popdown

-teleport

The popdown option will iconify the menu as soon as one of the buttons is clicked. When iconified the menu will live in your panel where you can un-iconify it by clicking whatever key combination your desktop uses to cycle through applications.

The teleport option means that when a menu appears (either from creation or uniconifying) it will automatically appear underneath your cursor. So to use both of the above commands with our sample it would look like:

9menu -popdown -teleport -label 'Net Tools' evolution firefox empathy gwibber

I like to run the 9menu command from the run dialog (click Alt-F2 to open this) so I don’t have a terminal window open. If you would rather run it from the command line, add the & at the end of the command so you will be returned to your command prompt. You can then exit out of your terminal if you like.

Final thoughts

The ways to transform, configure, or make efficient the Linux desktop seem to be limitless. The 9menu tool adds yet another level of efficiency to your desktop, quickly and easily.

What is KDE

Interestingly enough, there has always been speculation about what “KDE” stood for. Quite some time ago (circa 2000) I spoke with one of the lead KDE developers who informed me that “KDE” stood for “KDE Desktop Environment”. Linux always loves its recursive acronyms.

KDE is a complete desktop environment which means nearly all of the bundled components are fully aware of one another.

Originally (up to the KDE 3.5 release) KDE was a very standard desktop with a taskbar, start menu, desktop icons, etc. When 4.0 was released KDE was completely rebuilt. Although it still contains the standard items, KDE 4 now offers many other features that might be considered more advanced. To take a look at these features, see the KDE 4.5 content here on Ghacks.net. Let’s now take a look at the different pieces that make up the basic KDE 4.5 desktop.

Panel

As you would expect, KDE has a panel. Unlike GNOME, KDE has only ONE panel. The KDE 4.5 panel is used as you would expect it. This panel contains the following:

• Start Menu: Where you launch applications (including System Configuration tools).
• Winlist: Where applications are minimized.
• Notification area: Small area of the panel that contains dock-able applications (such as the clipboard, interactive sound icon, battery status, clock, etc).
• Pager: This is a feature unique to UNIX variants. This tool allows you to have more than one workspace at a time.

You can add items to the Panel but, unlike GNOME, you are limited to only adding application launchers.

Menus

KDE has but one menu on the panel – the “K” menu. From this menu you can launch applications, add applications to favorites, open up the system settings or open your file manager (Dolphin) to various locations (such as Home, Network, Root, or Trash).

You will also find a desktop menu when you right-click anywhere on the desktop. This menu allows you to do the following:

• Run a command.
• Add widgets.
• Add a panel.
• Switch between your desktop activities.
• Lock widgets/screen.
• Log out.
• Open up the desktop configuration tool.

You will notice, missing from the above menu is the ability to create new items such as Launchers and files. These have been replaced by widgets.

Windows

As I mentioned in the GNOME article, I am not speaking of Microsoft Windows. Very much like GNOME, you will notice your applications nicely housed within windows that look very much like anything you have ever used in any other environment. At the top right you will see three buttons for Minimizing, Maximizing, and Closing your windows. You will also notice a button in the top left corner (not the application icon) that allows you to pin that window to all workspaces. Typically, when you open up an application on a Linux workspace, that application is only visible to the workspace it was opened in. If you click this button that application will then be visible on all workspaces.

Run dialog

Figure 2

If you know the command you want to run, but do not know where to find the launcher within the menu, you can always open up the run dialog (see Figure 2) and enter your command there. To open the Run Dialog click the Alt-F2 keys together. Type your command and hit Enter and the command will run.

KDE Kontrol Center

Figure 3

Just like GNOME, KDE has a control center. This control center (see Figure 3) is a one-stop-shop for all of your KDE configuration needs. To open up this tool click Start > Computer > System Settings. From here you just need to click whatever it is you need to configure.

The Cashew

An odd little name for a very useful tool. In the upper right corner of your screen there is a small icon, commonly referred to the “Cashew”. When you click on this icon the rest of your screen will fade out and a menu will appear. On this menu you can:

• Add Widgets
• Switch desktop activities
• Shortcut settings (for keyboard shortcuts)
• Desktop settings
• Lock widgets

You may wonder why the “Lock Widgets” entry. This is simple. If you want to make sure your current state of widgets (as well as the panel) are not accidentally changed. If your widgets are locked you have to unlock them in order to make any changes.

Final thoughts

There are a number of topics that were mentioned in this article that you should take the opportunity to further read up on. One in particular is Desktop Activities. Once you feel comfortable using the KDE desktop, you should definitely learn how to take advantage of this outstanding feature.

In this article I am going to show you the steps in both Fedora 13 and Ubuntu 10.04 to get this combination back. It’s actually an easy process, you just have to know the precise places where to look for the configurations.

A word of warning

The main reason why the distributions removed this combination is they didn’t want unsuspecting users to accidentally kill their running X server. I get this. But for those of us who aren’t so prone to accidentally killing the X Server, having this back is a good thing. For those who are prone to mistakenly hitting combinations like CTRL-ALT-Backspace, well, you might want to leave this feature disabled.

Fedora and Ubuntu 10.04 in GNOME

Figure 1

Let’s first take care of Fedora 13. First I will show you how to do this in the GNOME environment. It’s done the same way in both distributions. The first thing you need to do is click System > Preferences > Keyboard. In this new window click on the Layout tab and then click on the Options button. In this new window (see Figure 1) expand the entry for Key sequence to kill the X server. Once you expand that you will see the entry for Control + Alt + Backspace. Make sure that entry has its checkbox checked and then close the window.

You can now close the Keyboard preferences window and you can now enjoy having CTRL-ALT-Backspace back.

But what if you are a KDE user? Let’s take a look.

KDE

Figure 2

The process of gaining this behavior back in KDE is equally simple (though not as quick). The first step is to click Start > Computer > System Settings which will open up the System Settings window. Now click on Regional & Language. In this new window you must first click the Keyboard tab and then check the box for Enable Keyboard layouts (see Figure 2). Once you have done that you can then click on the advanced tab.

In this new window expand the entry for Key sequence to kill the X server and then make sure Control + Alt + Backspace is checked. Once done with that click Apply and then you can close the System Settings window.

You now have your CTRL-ALT-Backspace back in KDE!

Final thoughts

I do get why the distributions saw to it to disable this feature. But I am glad they made it possible to bring it back. And now, for those of you who want it, you can have the ability to kill and restart your X server with a three-finger salute!

And in this article I am going to show you how to enable and use tiling feature in KDE 4.5. After that, it’s up to you to decide if this feature helps to make your work more or less efficient.

What is tiling?

The tiling effect will always make sure your windows do not overlap. This allows you to make the absolute most out of your screen real estate. This also allows you to move windows around and always have them take up remaining free space on a desktop. Tiling can take some time to get used to, but once you do, you will come to depend upon it to make your PC use as efficient as possible. Figure 1 shows a sample of how tiling works on the desktop.

Installation

There is no installation involved for the tiling feature. So long as you have KDE updated to 4.5 you are ready to go. NOTE: You can not have Emerald or Compiz enabled for this to work. If you want effects and tiling you will have to use KDE’s built-in effects.

Enabling

Figure 2

To enable tiling click Start > Computer > System Settings > Window Behavior. In this new window click on the Window Behavior section and then click the Advanced tab. In this section (see Figure 2) make sure the Enable Tiling check box is checked and then click Apply.

You will notice a drop down for the tiling layout. You have three possible options:

Columns: This will always layout your windows in columns. If there is no room on your desktop, the windows horizontal size will be resized to allow the addition of another column on the desktop.

Spiral: This will add new windows in a spiral fashion. This is one of the easier methods to use, however, the more windows you have open the smaller the new windows will become.

Floating: This is more free form and will probably suit a larger portion of people. This does not hold true to any hard and fast rules – it just places windows in the free space you have available.

Floating windows

Figure 2

You might be thinking that tiling can really be a problem when you need a window to be specific size all of the time. When you move windows around on a tiled desktop they are constantly changing sizes. To get around that, KDE has Floating Windows. A floating window is just that – not locked to any given position or size. To float a window right-click its title bar and select Float Window. You can now move that window anywhere you like (and it will retain its size). A floated window will overlap other windows (see Figure 2).

Final thoughts

Window tiling is something to get used to. It can be a bit frustrating at first, but once you get used to it, it will keep your desktop from getting out of control.

In this article I will introduce you to Kontact and help you decide if it is ready to usurp your current tool.

Installation

If you are using KDE 4 you will likely have Kontact installed. To find out go click on Start > Applications > Office and see if it is listed. You might also notice that the constituent parts of Kontact are also listed. That is because you can start each component individually and not have to fire up the who shebang. But let’s assume you do want to fire up the whole kit.

Features

Here’s what Kontact includes:

• Summary page: Shows the summary for everything you have upcoming.
• Mail: Your email client.
• Contacts: Your contacts.
• Calendar: Your personal calendar (integrates with the Akonadi server)
• To-do list: Your tasks.
• Feeds: RSS feeds.
• Journal: A personal journal
• Notebook: A simple note taking tool.
• Popup Notes: A reminder tool in the form of popup notes.
• Time tracker: Keep track of your time.

That’s a lot of features compared to your standard groupware suite. But does it measure up? Just about any user (especially users reading Ghacks) can walk themselves through an application like this and figure out just how to  use it. What I want to do is take a look at the KEY components (Mail, Calendar, Contacts, To-do) and see how it stacks up to the competition. Where does it hit, and where does it miss.

Mail

The biggest miss here is a lack of Exchange support. GNOME’s Evolution already has the ability to connect with multiple versions of Exchange. With Kontact I have found various solutions to this problem (most of which involve a shell script-type solution that no new user would want to try), but nothing built in. The only way you can connect to an Exchange server’s email component in Kontact is if the Exchange server has IMAP support turned on.

On the plus side, Kontact’s email cleint (Kmail) does have very nice integrated Anti-SPAM and Anti-Virus tools, each in the form of a simple wizard. You open this by clicking Tools > Anti-Spam Wizard or Tools > Anti-Virus Wizard.

Calendar

Again, the biggest miss here is the lack of Exchange integration. But I have also found Kontact lacking a simple Google calendar plugin.The problem is, This is not to say that Kontact’s calendar application isn’t worth using. It is. If you are looking for a single-user calendar application that doesn’t need to be easily shared, the Kontact Calendar is outstanding. But the minute you need to share that calendar, or add a Google or Exchange calendar, you will soon find the weaknesses of this tool.

The Calendar tool does have some unique features that might appeal to you. In particular are the Time Spent and Timeline views of the calendar. And , when in the Calendar application, you can choose to add new calendars and the list of possible calendars to add looks impressive. You can add from a Kolab server, OpenXchange server, GroupWise Server, local files, and more. But until Kontact has a simple solution for Exchange and Google, it’s missing out.

To dos

There’s not much you can do wrong with a to-do list. It simply a listing of what you need to do. Like most other to-do lists in groupware suites you can take an email and convert it into a task. And you can convert to do items into calendar items.

Verdict

I was hoping to be able to start using Kontact when KDE 4.5 hit the streets. But truth be told, the lack of integration with critical tools leaves Kontact wanting…seriously wanting. Kontact has a long, long way to go before it is ready for anyone in a business environment. A single user? Sure…Kontact is a great tool for you to use. But the minute you need integration you’re most likely going to have to return to Evolution.

In this article I am going to introduce you to the Klipper tool contained within the KDE 4.5 desktop.

Version

You may be using an earlier version of KDE, so the version of Klipper that you have access to may not be the same. If this is the case, you may be missing some features or some actions might be a bit different. The version of Klipper shipping with KDE 4.5 is version 0.9.7. To find out what version of Klipper you are using Right click the Klipper icon in your notification area and then click Help > About Klipper.

Features

• Multiple clipboard history entries.
• Actions support.
• Easy clipboard history clearing.
• User-configurable keyboard shortcuts.

And much more.

Basic usage

The basic usage is simple: You can cut and post normally as you would with any operating system (using Ctrl-c/Ctrl-v or the UNIX method of highlighting text to copy and click the middle mouse button to paste) or you can open up the Klipper history window and select what you want to paste. Let’s take a look at the steps for the latter.

1. 

   Figure 1

   Click on the Klipper icon in the notification area.

2. From the resulting pop up (see Figure 1) select which text you want to copy (once you’ve selected it, it’s copied).
3. Paste the selected text into the document you want.

Once you have copied a string of text from Klipper, that text remains in the history. This allows you to retain text that can be copied multiple times. This is a nice feature when you know there is text you need to have quick access to for multiple copy/paste instances.

Kipper history size

Figure 2

You can determine the amount of entries Klipper holds. By default it will contain only seven items. If you are a frequent copy/paster, you might want to hold more than that. To configure this click the Klipper icon in the notification area and select Configure Klipper. In this new window (see Figure 2). In the Clipboard history size change that number to how many entries you want to hold. Once you have done that, click OK to save your settings.

Actions

Figure 3

This is where the real WOW factor comes in with Klipper. With Actions you can perform various actions on selected contents of your clipboard history. All you need to do is to enable the actions in the Klipper pop up menu (see Figure 1). Once you have done that actions will be enabled. Let’s see them at work.

1. After you have enabled Actions in Klipper, Open up the Dolphin file manager.
2. Locate an image file (such as a .jpg file) and right click the file.
3. Click the Copy entry.
4. From the resulting Actions menu (see Figure 3) select which action you want to take on the now copied and selected Klipper entry.

You can also create your own Klipper actions, but this will require an understanding of the Qt regular expressions (beyond the scope of this article).

Final thoughts

Klipper is an outstanding clipboard tool. Once you start using it you will be amazed at how much you miss it when you go to other operating systems or other desktops.

In this article I am going to introduce you to the KDE Desktop Effects manager and how to use it to make your KDE desktop experience as sleek as it can be.

Installation

Fortunately there will be no installation. So long as you are using one of the more recent iterations of KDE (such as 4.4 or 4.5 – though I highly recommend you upgrade to 4.5) you will have this feature available to you.

Launch the settings tool and begin your journey

Figure 1

In order to launch the KDE Desktop Effects tool click Start > Computer > System Settings to open up the System Settings tool. Once you have that open look in the Workspace Appearance and Behavior section and click the Desktop Effects button. With that window open (see Figure 1), you are ready to go.

The first step is to enable the effects. To enable the effects all  you have to do is click the Enable desktop effects check box and then click Apply. This will immediate enable the effects. You are now ready to begin configuring.

General

On the General tab you can configure some important effects. You will want to leave the Common setting check boxes all checked and then you can set your effect for Window and Desktop Switching as well as animation speed. The Desktop Switching is comparable to how you switch in Compiz. If you select Desktop Cube Animation, as you would expect, you have an effect similar to the Compiz Cube.

All Effects

Figure 2

This is where you can really get granular with your effects (see Figure 2) . What you will want to do is scroll around until you see an effect you want to enable. To enable the effect check the check box to the left of the effect name. To configure the effect click on the “wrench” button to the right of the effect name.

Let’s take a look at the Desktop Cube configuration. To configure this click on the “wrench” button associated with Desktop Cube. In this new window (see Figure 3) you can configure the Appearance, Opacity, and Activation (short cut key combination) from the Basic tab and Caps, Additional Options, Zoom, and Sphere Cap Deformation from the Advanced tab.

One issue you might find is that, although you can set an image for the background (think Skydome from Compiz), you can not set an image for the caps. The only option you have is to set a Cap color. I’m not sure if this is just missing from the configuration window or an oversight on the part of the developers.

Final thoughts

For some, the difference between the built-in KDE effects and Compiz are minimal. To others, however, those differences are enough to keep them using Compiz. My experience has shown me that Compiz still seems a bit more stable than the newer KDE desktop effects. But there are some KDE desktop effects that might very well make you switch. I personally have switched my KDE 4.5 desktop over to using the built-in effects. The only drawback, from my perspective, is the inability to use Emerald as the window decorator. So if you are happy with the KDE window decorator then you should certainly make the switch from Compiz to the KDE Desktop Effects.

GPRename is batch renamer for both files and directories that is released under the GPL v3. It’s easy to install, and even easier to use. In fact, GPRename is so easy to use you will find the task of batch renaming (one that used to be a real pain) one of the easiest tasks you have. In this article I am going to show you how to install and use GPRename so you can start batch renaming all of those files and folders just waiting for a name change.

Features

The feature list of GPRename isn’t the most lengthy of lists, but what more do you need from a batch renamer than:

• Rename files and folders
• Case change
• Inserte/delete
• Replace/remove
• Numerical addition
• Preview
• Built in log

That’s pretty much the gist of the features. Let’s get on with the installation.

Installation

As you would expect, the installation of GPRename is simple:

• Open up your Add/Remove Software utility.
• Search for “gprename” (no quotes).
• Mark GPRename for installation.
• Click Apply to install.

That’s it. When the installation is complete, close the Add/Remove Software tool and get ready to rename.

Usage

Figure 1

To start the tool in GNOME click Applications > Accessories > GPRename. To start the tool in KDE click Start > Applications > Utilities > GPRename. Which will open up the main window (See Figure 1).

As you can see I have GPRename opened to the ~/Pictures directory which is displaying only three images (it’s a new account). With these three images I can demonstrate how this tool works. It’s actually quite simple. let’s say  you want to add the date to all of the file names in the directory. To do this follow these steps:

1. Select the files you want to rename.
2. Click on the Insert/Delete tab.
3. Select Insert.
4. Decide where you want to insert the first character of the date (remember position 0 is the first character).
5. 

   Figure 2

   Enter the data string you want to add in the text field.

6. Click Preview to view the changes (see Figure 2).
7. If the preview suits you, click the Rename button to make the changes.

Now let’s say you simply want to number the files in a directory. This is just as easy. To do this follow these easy steps:

1. Select all the files you need to make changes to.
2. Click on the Numerical tab.
3. Select the number you want to start with.
4. Set how you want the numbers to be incremented by.
5. If you want a character between the number and the file name (such as “_”) add it to the “and after” section (see Figure 3).
6. 

   Figue 3

   Make sure Keep Existing Names (either Before or After) is checked.

7. Click Preview to see the changes.
8. If the preview suits you, click Rename.

That’s all it takes to batch rename files with Linux.

Final thoughts

GPRename is an outstanding tool to use in place of writing shell scripts in order to rename multiple files in Linux. You won’t find an easier tool for this task (if you’re not already used to whipping up a shell script).

Although many tend to ignore the Notification Area, it’s a system that is often crucial to the efficiency of your desktop. In this article I am going to introduce you to the new and improved KDE Notification Area.

Before we start

If you are not using KDE 4.5, you can check out my article on upgrading to 4.5 (see ), you can also check out more about 4.5 in my articles: The KDE 4.5 Semantic Desktop, Using the KDE 4.5 Search and Launch Containment Activity, KDE 4.5 Desktop Activities Explained, and Update KDE to 4.5 and experience true improvement. Once you have KDE updated you can then start getting used to some of the new and/or updated features.

Speaking of updated features…back to the Notification Area.

I will assume you know what the Notification area is and does. And with that said…

The new look

Figure 1

With the new Notification area the KDE team chose a very clean set of monochromatic icons (see Figure 1). this makes the new look about as clean and integrated as any notification area has ever looked on a desktop. In Figure 1, the actual Notification Area starts from the right of the divider. The first icon in my Notification Area is the DropBox icon (directly left of the scissors). The bubble on the far right is the button to click to open up the Panel Tool Box (which allows you to configure the Panel).

The new notification system

Figure 2

The notification system has been streamlined for 4.5. Instead of getting popup bubble notifications for every event, a popup menu-like window will appear giving you all of your notifications. And you can access these notifications at any time.  In Figure 2 you see a notification pop up as it happens. If you want to access those notifications after the fact, simply click the “i” icon,

Configuring the Notification Area

In order to configure the Notification Area you need to right-click the divider to the left of the Notification Area. When you do this you will see the System Tray Settings menu option. Click on that to open the configuration window.

Figure 3

From the configuration window (see Figure 3) you can configure what information to show, the visibility of each entry (if an entry is hidden, auto-hidden, or always visible), keyboard shortcuts (there are none by default), and you can share the widget across a network.

A good example of an entry is the Printer status icon. If you are one to always want to know what is going on with your printer, you could set the Printer Status to Always Visible. This way you could always have instant access to the print queue. Or, if there are entries you never need (such as Blutooth) you could set them to always hidden.

Final thoughts

We most always take the Notification Area for granted. This is especially true when the application is as clean and well designed as the KDE 4.5 Notification Area. KDE 4.5 has come a long, long way from it’s sketchy 4.0 beginnings. Now, KDE is as useful, streamlined, and responsive (if not more so) as that of GNOME and any other desktop available.

The Search and Launch Containment Activity was only recently introduced in the 4.5 branch and is a fairly significant in the KDE desktop. In this article I am going to explain this Activity and show you how to take advantage of it.

What is Search and Launch?

If you have experienced GNOME 3 yet then you have a fairly good example for what Search and Launch is. In the GNOME 3 desktop, when you have the Activities Menu open that is, effectively what Search and Launch is. The Search and Launch Activity allows you to search through your desktop for whatever you need to find and view, launch, or use the results. It’s a fairly amazing tool that will make your desktop experience all the more efficient. So much so, you might wander, with the Search and Launch Activity, why did the Developers keep the old Panel lying around.

Let’s see how to include Search and Launch on your desktop.

Adding a Search and Launch Activity

Figure 1

In order to add this activity click on the “cashew” in the upper right corner of your desktop and select Activities. When the Activities Panel opens click New Activity > Search and Launch Containment. If you are not immediately transfered to this new Activity, you can click Super-Tab to cycle through your activities until you reach the Search and Launch Containment. When you finally see it (Figure 1) you should not be surprised at how clean this Activity looks. And, as you would expect, it’s very simple to use.

Figure 2

In the center of your screen you have default menu buttons. If you click one of those buttons that menu will open up to reveal the launchers for that menu (see Figure 2).

Figure 2 shows the Internet menu opened to reveal all of its contents. When you click menus and launchers on the Search and Launch Activity page you get very clean and unobtrusive animations (click this link –> out).

At the top of the Search and Launch Containment you see a row of Favorites. You can add to this by finding the launcher you want to add and then clicking and dragging it to the Favorites Bar.

Configuring Search and Launch

Figure 3

If you click the Cashew for the Search and Launch (this will be in the upper left corner) you can click the Configure Search and Launch Containment. In this configuration window (see Figure 3) you can configure the background, the name of the activity, the mouse actions, enable/disable plugins, and what is included in the main menu.

For the menu inclusion you can add your various system and administration menus as well as remove any menus you might not use very often (or want people to see).

Final thoughts

The Search and Launch Containment Activity is quite an advancement on the KDE desktop. It seems as if they could very easily make the leap to where GNOME is going and use this as the primary interface for the desktop…just a thought.

This seemed like a redundancy in Linux, what with the existence of the pager and all. But as KDE grew a bit older and wiser, the usage of this feature become more and more clear. Now, in this Ghacks article I am going to help you to understand exactly why this feature is something you will certainly want to use to keep your desktop as organized as possible.

What this allows

Image this: You have a desktop for each of four activities (We’ll just say “A, B, C, and D”). This is simple to break down using the Linux pager. You would have Activity A on Desktop 1, Activity B on Desktop 2, Activity C on Desktop 3, and Activity D on Desktop 4. Now let’s say these activities become quite busy. You would then have a lot of windows open on each activity, making a veritable mess out of your efficient workspaces.

Now, take that idea and expand it with KDE Activities. Each Activity now has it’s own multi-dimensional workspace. Each Activity has however many workspaces you have defined on your desktop. So if you have four workspaces each of those activities will have four workspaces to use. As well, you can associate specific windows with specific Activities (or specific workspaces within a specific Activity). This allows you to organize your activities with much more control over the standard method.

Confused yet? Let me walk you through the process of creating an Activity, giving the activity a name, and then associating a window to an activity.

Creating an Activity

Figure 1

To create an activity hit Super-Q key combination, which will bring up the Activities manager pane (see Figure 1). From this panel click the New Activity button which will bring up a popup menu. In this popup menu you will have various types and numbers of Activities, depending upon your installation. Let’s make this simple, so select “Desktop”. This will add a new, standard, desktop activity on your machine. This activity will be named “Unnamed”. To rename that activity make sure you have the Activity selected you want to rename right-click the desktop and select Desktop Settings. In this new window select Activity and then give the Activity a new name. Once you have done that, click OK and your Activity will now have the proper name.

Associate windows with Activities

This is where it starts to become obvious how effective activities can be. Let’s say you have a desktop Activity associated with Writing. For that activity you use a word processor, a web browser, and some other random applications. To associate those windows with your new Activity right-click the title bar and then click Activities > Writing (Or whatever you have named your new Activity). Now that window will ONLY be visible on that particular activity. You can then open a completely different window (of the same application) and associate with a different activity.

Final thoughts

The concept of Activities isn’t the easiest to understand until you actually start working with it. But once you get the hang of it, you will certainly appreciate what it brings to the desktop. We go into more depth on the subject of Activities in future articles.

In this article I am going to show you how to upgrade both Fedora and Ubuntu so that your KDE becomes as snappy and reliable as it was back in the good ol’ days of 3.5.

Before we begin

You will want to make sure that your distribution is fully up to date. So use either your Update Manager or run an update from the command line. Once you have done this you are ready to go.

Adding the repositories

As I said, I am going to be showing you how to do this in both Fedora and Ubuntu. This means we’ll be dealing with apt and yum repositories. The first thing you have to do, in order to make your package manager aware of the new KDE updates, is to edit your repositories. Let’s first do this in Fedora.

For Fedora you will create a new repo file in /etc/yum.repos.d. We’ll call this file kde.repo. The contents of this file will be:

# kde.repo, v2.1

[kde]
name=kde
mirrorlist=http://apt.kde-redhat.org/apt/kde-redhat/fedora/mirrors-stable
gpgkey=http://apt.kde-redhat.org/apt/kde-redhat/kde-redhat.RPM-GPG-KEY
#gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-kde-redhat
enabled=1

[kde-testing]
name=kde-testing
mirrorlist=http://apt.kde-redhat.org/apt/kde-redhat/fedora/mirrors-testing
gpgkey=http://apt.kde-redhat.org/apt/kde-redhat/kde-redhat.RPM-GPG-KEY
#gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-kde-redhat
enabled=1

[kde-unstable]
name=kde-unstable
mirrorlist=http://apt.kde-redhat.org/apt/kde-redhat/fedora/mirrors-unstable
gpgkey=http://apt.kde-redhat.org/apt/kde-redhat/kde-redhat.RPM-GPG-KEY
#gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-kde-redhat
enabled=1

Now, the Ubuntu version is a bit different. Open up a terminal window and issue the command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/beta && sudo apt-get update

With the repositories in place you are almost ready to begin. But first you have an extra step in Fedora.

Enabling the repositories

Figure 1

In Fedora you need to fist make sure you have the repositories enabled before the system will be aware there is an update. To do this click on the start button and then enter “kpackage” in the search string. KPackageKit will pop up. Click on that entry to start up the tool you need.

Within this tool you will want to click on the Settings “tab” (see Figure 1) and then scroll down until you see KDE Testing and KDE Unstable. Check both of those and click Apply. Once you have done that you are ready to check for updates. To do this click on the Software Updates “tab”. You should see numerous updates available, all pertaining to KDE 4.5. You are ready to update.

Updating

You are already in the location you need to be in for Fedora. Click the Select All Updates button in KPackageKit and then click Apply. The update process should now begin.

If you are updating KDE in Ubuntu, from the terminal window, issue the command:

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

If, however, you are installing KDE for the first time, issue the command:

sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Completing the upgrade

Once your upgrade (or install) is complete all you need to do is log out and log back in. You can open up the Dolphin file manager and click Help > About KDE to see that, in fact, you are now running KDE 4.5. Enjoy the experience!

In the meantime, let’s take a look a some Plasmoids that are sure to make your desktop a bit better. If you’re not familiar with Plasmoids, they are small little applications, widgets if you will, that live on your desktop. Plasmoids range from the simple “Hello World!” to some very complex tools. Some of the Plasmoids you will see listed might seem, well, worthless while others are very handy. In this article we’ll avoid the worthless and introduce you to a couple of these really handy Plasmoids.

How to add a Plasmoid

If you look at the top right of your KDE desktop you will notice a small bubble with a reverse comma. If you click on that a menu will pop up containing a few entries. One of those entries is Add Widgets. When you click the Add Widgets entry what looks like a new panel will pop up at the bottom of your screen (see Figure 1). From this you can scroll around and, when you see a Plasmoid you like, drag and drop it to your desktop. Simple.

Now, let’s take a look a couple of the Plasmoids.

Web Slice

Figure 2

This Plasmoid has a simple purpose – show a web page on your desktop. It uses the Konqueror rendering engine and does a fine job of previewing web pages. When you first load a web page with Web Slice it’s nearly impossible to read (it’s so small), but you can handily resize it with the drag-bar at the bottom of the widget (see Figure 2).

Web Slice also features a bookmarks system and, from within the preferences window, network sharing (you can share the widget across a network), and auto-refresh. The auto-refresh feature is handy if you are just wanting to watch a particular page for changes.

File Previewer

This widget is very handy. What this allows you to do is drag and drop files from the Dolphin file manager  into the widget for preview purposes. It uses the KDE preview tool which can show just about any type of file.

Figure 2

As you drag files into the File Previewer you will see they remain on the left side with a scroll bar that allows you to scroll through the files you’ve added. If you hover your mouse over a file it will preview in the right side of the Plasmoid (see Figure 3).

If your Previewer is too small, the right-side previews will be too small to actually view. If you enlarge the Previewer the thumbnails will eventually get large enough to be seen. If you do not want to enlarge this Plasmoid such that the previews can be seen in the window, you can just double click a file in the previewer and it will open up a separate preview window displaying your file.

Final thoughts

The KDE desktop keeps getting better, and so does its Plasmoids. The two you have been shown here are only a tiny portion of an ever-expanding set of tools available for the KDE desktop.

But in order for you to use KDE you will in, in many cases, have to install it post-distribution install. Of course, if you’re not interested in installing KDE after you have installed the OS, you can always download the Fedora KDE spin. This will install, by default, the KDE desktop. If, however, you want the best of both worlds, you will need to install the KDE desktop manually…that’s where this article comes in play. In this article I will show you how to install the KDE desktop on Fedora 13 using both the command line and the Add/Remove Software tool.

Pre-installation

Before you run through the steps of install KDE manually, it would be a good idea to make sure your system is fully up to date. To do this click on System > Administration > Software Update. If the updater finds anything to update, go ahead and let that happen. Once the system is updated you are ready to go. NOTE: If your kernel is updated you might be required to do a system restart. Go ahead with that restart BEFORE you install KDE. NOTE 2: All of the below will need to have super user privileges. For the command you will need to first su to the root user.

Installing KDE using command line

Let’s start with the command line version first. You might think this is as simple as issuing the command yum install kde. It’s not. But it’s not as challenging as trying to figure out every software package to install and then list them all out via command line. For that yum has the groupinstall option, which will install an entire group of packages. If you are curious to see what groups are installed and available you can issue the command:
yum grouplist

This will first list all of the groups you have installed followed by a listing of all the groups available. In the list of groups available you will see “KDE Software Compilation” which is what you want to install. To do this issue the command:
yum groupinstall "KDE Software Comilation"
and hit Enter. This will download and install the entire KDE desktop for you.

Installing KDE using the GUI

Figure 1

This is equally as easy as the command line. To install KDE using the GUI click System > Administration > Add/Remove Software. In this GUI tool you will want to click Package Collections from the left pane (see Figure 1).

When you are in the Package Collections scroll down until you see KDE Software Compilation. Mark KDE Software Compilation for installation then click Apply to install. That’s it.

Final thoughts

KDE has come a long way and is certainly worth giving a go. If you use Fedora you are only moments away from the KDE desktop.

AllTray is a tool that is available for UNIX-like systems that allows you to place applications that do not have a native icon for the notification area into the notification area. This makes those apps much more readily available and not in your way. In this article I am going to show you how to install and use AllTray in Fedora 13.

A word of warning

If you run Emerald as your window decorator you will not be able to use AllTray. If you try to use AllTray with Emerald running it will not see any open application as native. Instead you need to be running the default window manager. AllTray CAN work with GNOME, KDE, and Xfce (I haven’t tested it beyond that).

Installation

The installation of AllTray is simple. You can do this either from the Add/Remove Software tool or from the command line. You can also, if you choose, install from source. To install from the Add/Remove Software tool follow these steps:

1. Open the Add/Remove Software tool.
2. Search for “alltray” (no quotes).
3. Mark AllTray for installation.
4. Click Apply to install.

To install from command line do the following:

1. Open up a terminal window.
2. su to the root user.
3. Enter the command yum install alltray.
4. Close the terminal window.

To install from source do the following:

1. Download the latest from the AllTray Download Page.
2. Open up a terminal and cd to the directory containing the download.
3. Unpack the download with the command tar xvzf alltray-XXX.tar.gz (Where XXX is the release number).
4. Change into the newly created directory with the command cd alltray-XXX (Where XXX is the release number).
5. su to the root user.
6. Issue the command ./configure
7. Issue the command make
8. Issue the command install

That should do it. One way or another AllTray is installed. Now let’s see how this tool is used.

Usage

Figure 1

You will find a menu entry for AllTray in Applications > Accessories. When you click on that entry a small box will open instructing you to click on the window you would like to dock (see Figure 1).  Your cursor will also turn into a cross-hair. Once this has happened, click on the window you would like to add to the notification area and that application will immediately dock itself.

Figure 2

When the application is docked all you have to do to bring it back is to single click on the application icon. Figure 2 shows both Firefox and The Gimp docked.

To place an application that you’ve docked back into the notification area all you have to do is minimize or close the application. The application will be waiting there for you to instantly come back to life.

In order to completely close the docked application all you have to do is right-click the notification area icon and select Exit.

Final thoughts

AllTray is a really handy tool to have for those applications you want quick access to but don’t want to have your desktop cluttered with open or minimized windows. Give AllTray a try…you will find yourself using it more than you think.

But there are certain advanced configurations that I want to illustrate that might not be as obvious to the new-to-Xfce user. This time around we’re talking about the Window Manager Tweaks tool.

First off – what is a Window Manager

That question is simple to explain, but must be explained so you know what exactly this tool works with. A window manager is the piece of the desktop puzzle in charge of drawing, decorating, and manipulating the windows you see. So that pretty boarder around Firefox you see – that is handled by the Window Manager. In the case of Xfce the window manager is xfwm.

The Window Manager Tweaks tool does just what you would expect – tweaks the Xfce window manager. In what way does it tweak it? The broader picture looks like this:

• Cycling: How you want to cycle through your open windows.
• Focus: How you want window focus to be handled.
• Accessibility: How you access your windows.
• Workspaces: How you access your workspaces.
• Placement: Smart placement.
• Compositor: If you want to use compositing and how you want it used.

Now, let’s take a look at each of these more closely.

Cycling

With this feature you can configure four settings. Of these only one will not be set by default: Cycle through windows on all workspaces. This option can be useful if you deal with a lot of workspaces. If you enable this option all open windows will be included in the cycling process. If you do not include it, only those windows on the current working workspace will be included. I prefer to enable this option.

Focus

This is not the same as the standard window manager settings where you can enable such features as “focus follows mouse”. In fact the features in this tab either do not really work all that well or have no practical use. Even though Focus stealing prevention is a good idea, only applications that follow the _NET_WM_USER_TIME standard will adhere to this feature.

Accessibility

The best feature in this tab is the Key used to grab and move windows. When you press the configured key you can click anywhere on a window and drag that window around. Another nice feature in this tab is the Hide frame of windows when maximized. Although the space gained isn’t much, by losing the window frame you have a much closer to “full screen” effect without losing your titlebar.

Workspaces

From this tab I like to set Use the mouse wheel on the desktop to switch workspaces. This means I do not have to drag my mouse all the way down to the pager to switch workspaces. There is also two wrapping features you might want to set:

Wrap works spaces depending on the actual desktop layout: Wrapping workspaces means you can take a window and drag it to the left or right to move it to the next adjacent workspace.

Wrap workspaces when the first or last workspace is reached: If you have four workspaces and you drag a window to workspace four, in order to get that window back to workspace 1 all you need to do is continue dragging to the right. So the left edge of workspace 1 is adjacent to the right edge of workspace four (or your first and last if you have more than four).

Placement

There is a really nice feature in this tab called Smart Placement. You can set it so that windows open either always in the center of your screen or centered on your cursor. Add this to the mouse menu (right click anywhere on the desktop) where you can start an application without having to go to the start button and you can dictate where all of your windows are to open.

Compositor

This feature, of course, is only available to those with the hardware to support compositing. If you’ve read me enough you know I am a big fan of compositing. In this tab you can set the opacity of:

• Window decorations.
• Inactive windows.
• Windows during move.
• Windows during resize.
• Popup windows.

From this tab you can also set shadows for:

• Regular windows.
• Popup windows.
• Dock windows.

Final thoughts

As you can see, Xfce 4 has started to really challenge the big boys in features. Add to that the lighter footprint and lightning fast speed and you have the makings of an outstanding replacement for either KDE or GNOME.