This is a simple exercise: click on the desktop with the right mouse button. In the menu, select New->Program. Enter the title of the program, and it will appear on the desktop.
You might want to change the new icon's properties, so click on the program name with the right mouse button , and select Properties. In the dialog, you should at least change the program to execute and the icon. That's it.
There are two steps involved:
Make sure you are allowed to mount/unmount the device. Normally, only root is allowed to mount/unmount devices. If you are not running KDE as root (and you should not, by the way), you must set the right for users to mount a device in /etc/fstab. This means to add the option user to the options of the filesystem you want to mount.
For example, to mount the floppy, your /etc/fstab should include:
/dev/fd0 /floppy msdos noauto,user,sync 0 0 |
Create a .desktop file for the filesystem. An example for a device .desktop file is:
# KDE Config File [KDE Desktop Entry] UnmountIcon=3floppy_unmount.xpm MountPoint=/floppy Icon=3floppy_mount.xpm Dev=/dev/fd0 ReadOnly=0 FSType=default Type=FSDevice Comment=Floppy Disc |
It is possible to use a screensaver instead of a background image. To do this, call any screensaver with the -inroot parameter, for example kswarm.kss -inroot &. Most screensavers will look best if you set the background color to black. However, using a screensaver as background might eat some CPU and X time....
The icons can be found only in $KDEDIR/share/icons or $HOME/.kde/share/icons. To use icons stored in other locations, you must either copy them into one of the above-mentioned fixed KDE locations or make symlinks.
Try changing the permission and/or ownership of the directories and files in $KDEDIR/share/applnk. Alternatively, you can create a trusted group (e.g., friends) and try chgrp -R friends $KDEDIR/share/applnk; chmod -R g+w $KDEDIR/share/applnk and make all your trusted users members of friends. Note that you would still need superuser privileges to do the above, however. If it is impossible for you to obtain root privileges, then you would have to settle for editing your personal menu.
Mouse wheel support comes with Qt™ 2.0 and above, so KDE based on that will automagically support the use of the mouse scroll wheel. If you are using an older KDE, however, in order to use the scroll wheel with KFM, KEdit, and non-KDE applications like Emacs, try getting IMWheel from http://solaris1.mysolution.com/~jcatki/imwheel/. You might also find the information in http://www.inria.fr/koala/colas/mouse-wheel-scroll/ useful.
The Templates folder holds items that you can create easily anywhere (on the Desktop or in a file manager window) by selecting New from the context menu (right click menu) of the place you want the item to be.
You can put both files and directories in the Templates folder, and they will automagically appear in the New submenu. When you select them from the submenu, they are copied to the current location.
This is exactly like opening the Templates directory and copying the items from there directly, only it is slightly easier. By default, the Templates directory is populated with only .desktop files. These files are there to allow you to immediately begin creating devices, programs, URL links, and new MIME types, but you can put anything you want there.
System sound currently does not work on non-FreeBSD and non-Linux® systems. This is being worked on. If you use FreeBSD or Linux®, you have found a bug, so please report it.
KDE pre-1.1 and above comes with a program called kstart. You can use it in a .kdelnk (.desktop for KDE 2) file like this:
Name=Netscape Exec=kstart "netscape" -window ".*Netscape.*" -desktop 2 -maximize BinaryPattern=netscape; Icon=netscape.xpm Path= Type=Application Terminal=0 |
Or just run the following: kstart "netscape" -desktop 2 -activate.
Use a shell script to do it. The script should look something like this:
kwmcom desktop2 (or desktop3, desktop4, whatever) netscape |
Please note that the above example has the (undesirable) effect of leaving you in desktop 2 while it is executing and also once it has finished executing.
![]() | On the off chance you have not used shell scripts, they are basically just text files you have run chmod +x on. They are the Linux® version of the DOS batch file, but, of course, better. |
6.10. I have played with the fonts section in the KDE Control Center but the fonts are still way too small. What can I do?
Many users use the 75 dpi fonts as the default. If you have installed the 100 dpi fonts, make sure your XF86Config file has those fonts in the path before the 75 dpi fonts. Here is a step-by-step procedure on how to do it:
Open /etc/Xll/XF86Config using your favorite editor.
Near the top of the file is a several-row listing of fonts: type1, speedo, etc., and at the bottom there are two entries: 75dpi and 100dpi. Reverse their order. And while you are at it, move the Type 1 fonts to the bottom of the list (or somewhere below the 75 and 100 dpi fonts). That makes an improvement too!
Yes. Just add the applnk for the required command to $KDEDIR/share/applnk, or use kmenuedit.
Yes. Simply edit $KDEDIR/bin/startkde and replace kfm with kfm -w. If that does not work, here is another way. Add the following lines to $HOME/.kde/share/config/kfmrc:
[Paths] Trash=/home/me/Trash/ Desktop=/home/me/Desktop Templates=/home/me/Templates/ Autostart=/home/me/Autostart/ |
The effect is to take Trash, Templates, and Autostart and put them into your home directory instead of your $HOME/Desktop directory. You will have to restart KDE, and you may have to delete the icons from the desktop the first time. Please make sure you move anything you have in Autostart into $HOME/Autostart before deleting it from the desktop. And then you will have a nice, clean desktop with no "My Computer" sort of look.
Yes. Open the KDE Control Center and select Desktop (under Look and Feel in the left hand pane, then the item General. Here you can type in new paths for these items, and KDE will automatically move them to the new location.