KDE4 FAQ

The default desktop/windowsmanager in OpenSUSE 11.3 is KDE4. Update to OpenSUSE 11.3

PLEASE NOTE:

In case you run KDE4 for the first time and you have updated from KDE3, it can make sense to start from scratch and clean up all your old KDE settings (see the first point below)

How to clean up your KDE settings

To (re-)move your old KDE settings rename your KDE settings folders in your home directory. Start a konsole/terminal and type:

mv ~/.kde  ~/.kde.`date +%F`
mv ~/.kde4 ~/.kde4.`date +%F`

Now logout and login again. KDE4 will start with the default settings.

What's new in KDE4?

• The new Plasma Desktop (link) with Panel (link), Widgets (link) and Activity (link). Click on the upper right corner (Tool Box) of your desktop to configure
• The new Panel (replaces kicker). Click on the very right side of the panel to configure (Panel Tool Box)
• The new Pager showing your virtual desktops. Right click on the Pager to configure
• 

• dolphin is the new File Manager (replaces konqueror as file manager)
• okular is the new universal Document Viewer (based on kdpf and replaces kpdf, kdvi and kghostview)
• gwenview is the new Image Viewer (replaces kview and kuickshow)
• systemsettings for configuring KDE4 (replaces kcontrol of KDE3)

What's the Plasma Desktop?

The Plasma Desktop is the name of the default workspace (desktop interface) for KDE4 (like Aqua for Macintosh). It includes the Desktop (configured as Activity) and the Panel (taskbar). Plasma's main components are Widgets.

What are Widgets?

Widgets are small applications (applets) that live on the desktop. Widgets can take on a variety of functions, ranging from displaying your desktop folder, showing a clock, displaying your plugged in devices, etc.

What's an Activity in KDE4?

An Activity in KDE4 is sets of widgets that have their own wallpaper.

I don't see the cool desktop effects of KDE4?

On a konsole start the program systemsettings. Or from the KDE menu choose Configure Desktop. Choose from Look & Feel Desktop Desktop Effects and check the box Enable desktop effects. To activate more effects go to the tab All Effects.

KDE4 seems to be slow?

On a konsole start the program systemsettings. Or from the KDE menu choose Configure Desktop. Choose from Look & Feel Desktop Desktop Effects. Usually I disable the effects related to the windows minimization (slow redesign) and move (transparence), but if your system is very old, disable Desktop Effects completely.

Change how the icons are displayed on your desktop

Right click on your desktop. From the menu choose Folder View Activity Settings Select Activity As activity type choose Folder View Press Apply.
You can now close the Desktop Folder on your desktop by right clicking on it and choose Remove this Folder View. Now the icons are placed on the desktop like in KDE3.

How to change the desktop background?

Right click on your desktop. From the menu choose Folder View Activity Settings Select Wallpaper and change your desktop background.

How can I have different backgrounds on my virtual desktops?

The background (wallpaper) of a desktop is defined by its Activity Settings. In order to have different backgrounds, you need to define for each of your virtual desktop a separate Activity. Right click on the Pager and choose Configure Virtual Desktops.... Check the box Different activity for each desktop. Now on each virtual desktop configure its activity by clicking on the upper right corner on the Tool Box or by right clicking on the desktop. Select Folder View Activity Settings and choose a wallpaper.

How to change the screensaver?

In a konsole/terminal start the program systemsettings. Or from the KDE menu choose Configure Desktop (it's under Favorites). Choose from Look & Feel Desktop and go to Screen Saver

How to change the appearance of the mouse pointer?

On a konsole start the program systemsettings. Or from the KDE menu choose Configure Desktop (it's under Favorites). At the bottom under Computer Administration click on Keybaord & Mouse. Choose Mouse and go to Cursor Theme. Take for example DMZ as new theme. Press Apply.

How can I make a window active when moving with the mouse over it?

On a konsole start the program systemsettings. Or from the KDE menu choose Configure Desktop (it's under Favorites). Choose from Look & Feel Window Behavior. Select Window Behavior and change Policy to Focus Follow Mouse and tick the box Raise, with the following delay

Where is the "Show Desktop" button?

Right click on the panel and choose Panel Options or directly Add Widgets.... Or on the right side of the panel click on the Panel Tool Box and select Add Widgets.... Add widget Show Desktop (under group: Windows and Task). Double click on the widget Show Desktop to put it into the panel.

How to put application icons in the panel?

In the KDE menu search for the application you want to put into the panel. Instead of starting the application with a left click, right click on it and from the menu cooose Add to Panel. About how to move the icon inside the panel see next point.

How to change the font in the konsole (terminal)?

Open a terminal (konsole). In the menu go to Settings Edit Current Profile... Click on the Appearance tab. At the bottom choose Edit Font.... Select a font. For example Droid Sans Mono size 10 points. Finally press Ok and Apply.

How to move icons/widgets in the panel?

Right click on the panel and choose Panel Options and choose Panel Settings. Or on the right side of the panel click on the Panel Tool Box symbol.
While the Settings window is opened, move the cursor to the icon/widget on the panel, click on it and move to the desired location and click again. Close the Panel Settings window after the move.

How to adjusting the thickness of the panel?

On the right side of the panel click on the Panel Tool Box. A toolbar pops up. Click the "Height" button but DO NOT RELEASE the mouse button. Now move the mouse, this causes the height of the panel to grow or shrink.

How to change the background of the panel?

On a konsole start the program systemsettings. Or from the KDE menu choose Configure Desktop (it's under Favorites). Choose from Look & Feel Appearance. Select Style and choose the workspace tab. Select a them for your workspace which will be applied to the panel.

How to configure the pager?

The pager shows you the virtual desktops. The pager is a widget and can be added to the panel or to the desktop. To configure the pager located in the panel, right click on it and choose Pager Settings or Configure Virtual Desktops.

How to turn off the annoying system beep?

• Start kmix, in case you don't see a loudspeaker symbol in the panel
• Click on the loudspeaker symbol in the panel
• Click on Mixer Settings Configure Channels...
• Look for the channel Beep and move it with the mouse to Visible channels. Press OK
• Now in the Mixer view there should be a channel Beep. Mute the channel Beep by checking the box. Close mixer.

Kile opens my JabRef .bib file read-only?

Kile uses per default UTF-8 as encoding. Your JabRef .bin file may uses another encoding like ISO-8859-1. (Note: the .bib file is an ASCII file and the encoding should be defined in the second line). It's recommended to use UTF-8 as encoding. To convert your .bib file, open it with JabRef. In the menu choose File Database properties. As Database encoding choose UTF-8. Finally save the database in JabRef.
Now you can open the .bib file in kile with default encoding UTF-8.
IMPORTANT: If you have ever open the .bib file in kile with the wrong encoding, kile will always open this file read-only. Either you rename the .bib file and open it with the correct encoding. Or you edit your kile settings with a normal text editor. Open ~/.kde4/share/config/kilerc search the entry for you file and change ReadWrite=false to ReadWrite=true.

How to get more help for KDE4?

In the KDE menu under Favorites start Help. Or in a konsole/terminal run the command khelpcenter.
Recommended: Have a look at An introduction to KDE hosted at the KDE UserBase