Desktop Tips
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Desktop Tips

This section details some tips for using and customising the desktop.

Run programs automatically when KDE starts

  1. The easiest way to run programs automatically when KDE starts is to use the Session Management feature of KDE. You can setup KDE exactly the way you'd like it to start every time you login.

  2. Choose Application LauncherSystem SettingsAdvancedSession Manager from the Advanced tab on the top and then under Advanced User Settings section. Click the Session Manager button on the right. Ensure that the Restore manually saved session checkbox is enabled.

  3. Launch all the applications you want running everytime you log in. Once you have everything set to your satisfaction, click choose Application LauncherSave Session. Every time you start KDE, you will return to this configuration.

  4. Another method to do this is to copy the desktop entry of the application you want to autostart from /usr/share/applications to the ~/.kde/Autostart directory.

Login automatically to KDE when the computer starts

It is possible to login a user automatically when the computer boots. This is not recommended for most computers, as it is not secure and may allow other users access to your information.

  1. Go to System Settings by going to Application LauncherFavoritesSystem Settings. Under the Advanced tab select the Login Manager.

  2. Click on the Administrator Mode... and enter your user password to gain administrator privileges.

  3. Select the Convenience tab. Tick the Enable Autologin and select the user to autologin from the drop down menu and select an appropriate time delay.

Restart KDE without rebooting the computer

Procedure 1. Restart KDE via keyboard

  1. Ensure that your system has the ability to restart KDE via the keyboard.

    1. Open System Settings by going to Application LauncherFavoritesSystem Settings.

    2. Select the Display icon.

    3. Select the checkbox that is labeled "Ctrl+Alt+Backspace restarts the xserver".

    4. Press the Apply button and close out of System Settings.

  2. Save and close all open applications.

  3. Press Ctrl+Alt+Backspace

Procedure 2. Restart KDE via the command line

  1. Save and close all open applications.

  2. Open Konsole by going to Application LauncherSystemTerminal (Konsole). At the command prompt type the following and press the Enter key (if asked for a password, type in your user password followed by the Enter key):

    sudo /etc/init.d/kdm restart
    

Start a Program Manually

Sometimes it can be useful to start a program manually, for example when the program does not have an entry in the menu. This is easy to do with the KRunner application.

  1. Open KRunner application by pressing Alt+F2

  2. Enter the name of the program you wish to run, and press the Enter key.

Automatically turn on NumLock when KDE starts

  1. Open System Settings by going to Application LauncherFavoritesSystem Settings. In the System Settings window select the Keyboard & Mouse option.

  2. Under the Keyboard section, locate the subsection titled NumLock on KDE Startup, enable the Turn On checkbox. Click on Apply to save your settings.

The change will take effect the next time you log in to KDE. If you want to test it right away, turn off NumLock and restart KDE (see the section called “Restart KDE without rebooting the computer”).

Handle help:/ links in Firefox like Konqueror

Firefox is not installed by default so in order for this to work you will have had to previously installed Firefox. Please refer to the Adding Applications documentation for more information on installing applications.

Konqueror is able to handle help:/ URLs by default. Firefox is also able to handle these the same way however it requires you to manually edit the configuration of Firefox to do so. The following procedure will aide you in such configuration.

  1. Start Firefox by choosing left Application LauncherInternetWeb Browser.

  2. In the address bar type about:config and press the Enter key.

  3. Right click on the list and select NewBoolean. Type network.protocol-handler.external.help as the Preference Name and true as the Value. Press the OK button when complete.

  4. Right click again on the list and select NewString. Type network.protocol-handler.app.help as the Preference Name and khelpcenter as the Value. Press the OK button when complete.

Edit Application Launcher

Kubuntu comes with the KDE Menu Editor, so you can customise your menus and add entries for applications that don't automatically appear after they are installed. To add, remove, or modify an entry, refer to the following procedure.

  1. Open KDE Menu Editor by right clicking on Application Launcher icon (the KDE Menu) and choosing Menu Editor. If you have locked your Kicker, you can also open KDE Menu Editor by pressing Alt+F2 and typing kmenuedit followed by pressing the Enter key.

  2. In KDE Menu Editor's left-hand pane, choose the submenu the new entry should appear in.

  3. Choose FileNew Item or press the New Item button. In the New Item window, choose a Name. Then add the Description, Comment, and Command. Select the icon by clicking on Icon. The Command will usually be the package name, Name is what will appear on the menu, and the Comment will appear in the tooltip that appears near the menu entry. Icons are chosen from /usr/share/icons/icon_theme directory by default, or can be chosen from anywhere in your files.

To change the order of menu entries, click and drag the entry in the KDE Menu Editor window.

Install Extra Fonts

This section describes how to install extra fonts from the Kubuntu archives.

  1. For international fonts, install the following packages (please refer to the Adding Applications documentation for help on installing extra applications):


    xfonts-intl-arabic
    xfonts-intl-asian
    xfonts-intl-chinese
    xfonts-intl-chinese-big
    xfonts-intl-european
    xfonts-intl-japanese 
    xfonts-intl-japanese-big
    xfonts-intl-phonetic

  2. For Microsoft TrueType core fonts, install the msttcorefonts package (please refer to the Adding Applications documentation for help on installing extra applications).

  3. For Ghostscript fonts, install the gsfonts-x11 package (please refer to the Adding Applications documentation for help on installing extra applications).

If you prefer to download individual fonts by hand, you can install them easily by opening Konqueror and typing fonts:/ into the location bar. Then you can install the font, either system-wide or for personal use by dragging and dropping into the respective folders.

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