Features

By default, Xournal presents you with a notebook background. You can change that to a blank page, a a plain ruled page, or a graphing grid.  To do this, click the “Journal” menu, then “Paper Style”, and then choose the one you like. To change the paper color, click “Journal” and then “Paper Color”.

There are several input styles:

1. Pen – basic handwriting tool.
2. Eraser – to remove writing.
3. Highlighter – for highlighting text.
4. Text – to type in regular print.
5. Ruler – to draw straight lines.

Xournal also has support for graphics tablet features, such as pressure sensitivity and automatic eraser detection. All of these features can be configured under the “Options” menu. To scroll through multiple pages, click “View” and “Continuous”, and to create a new page, click the up arrow in the bottom left corner, next to the page number.

Background Selection

Xournal has another feature which lets you select any background you want, rather than the four it provides. Start with a new document and:

1. Click “File” and “New”.
2. Click the “Journal” menu.
3. Click “Load background”.
4. Select a background (preferably a wallpaper or scanned document that will cover the entire page).

Now, you can write directly on that new background. If you select “background screenshot” instead, it will show your desktop. Click on whatever you want to take a screenshot of, and it will import a picture of it into Xournal.

PDF Annotations

One very useful Xournal tool is its PDF annotation capabilities. To annotate a PDF:

1. Click File
2. Click Annotate PDF
3. Choose a PDF file.
4. Use the pen tool, highlighter, or ruler to make annotations.

With a graphics tablet, annotating becomes just like editing a physical document on your desk. The advantage is the undo feature. A simple Ctrl-Z will take you back to the last time you lifted the pen. When you are finished with it, you can export it back to PDF format.

Selection Rectangle

The selection rectangle gives you the power to move something even after it has been drawn, written, or typed. For example, you might have circled some text but then realized that the circle was not quite where you wanted it. Click the “selection rectangle” button and then draw a rectangle completely around the part you wish to move. You will then be able to drag it to a new location. It will let you select as many objects as you want, as long as they are completely inside the selection rectangle.

Xournal is easy to setup and use, and best of all, it is free software. With Xournal in your computing arsenal, nothing will be safe from your pen.

Tablet Note-taking Made Easy with Xournal originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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Kate is a multi-document interface (MDI) text editor, available for both KDE 3 and 4. It runs on multiple Linux and Unix-like platforms, Mac OS X, and  Windows. It also includes a component called KatePart, which runs inside numerous other KDE applications, including Quanta+ (on KDE 3 only), KWrite, Konqueror, and Kdevelop. Kate provides syntax highlighting for over 120 text formats, making it perfect for whatever programming language you choose.

HTML Editing

Kate will highlight HTML markup and underline errors, particularly when you forget to close a tag.  It will also group text within tags, so that you can see what content is where. It will display folding markers, small arrows on the side, that you can use to collapse or expand a tag and its contents. To toggle folding markers, press F9. For that reason, if you are coding in XHTML, make sure to use the XML highlighting rather than HTML.  It will then appropriately mark single tags that are not closed with arrows.

To enable XML highlighting:

1. Click Tools in the main menu
2. Navigate to “Highlighting”, “Markup”, and finally to “XML”.

You can also do the same for PHP and other web scripting languages. Kate will generally highlight all of these, so you can usually leave the settings at the default.

Kate includes a dynamic word wrap feature, useful for documents with large amounts of text. Toggle it on or off with F10. Press F11 to toggle line numbers, and you will notice that a wrapped line has symbols indicating that it is still part of the previous line.

Multiple Documents

With Kate, you can edit multiple documents at once. The left-hand column will display the list of currently opened files, and you can move through them by clicking on the file you want to edit, by clicking the forward or back buttons, or by holding the Alt key and pressing the left or right arrow. Control+S will save your current document, and Control+L will save all open documents.

Sessions

Kate has a handy feature called “Sessions” that allows you to pick up work right where you left off the last time you were editing. For example, you might have eight documents for a particular project. Rather than having to open each document one at a time every time you want to work on them, you can save a Kate session that will automatically open those documents when activated. To save a session:

1. Click Sessions
2. Click Save As…
3. Give your session a name.

The next time you want to return to that project, just open the session you saved.

Remote Editing

There are times when you need to edit a document quickly right on the server. While you could SSH into the server and use whatever text editor is available from the command line, you will miss some of the many benefits of Kate. Furthermore, if you have a shared hosting account, you might not even have access to SSH.  With Kate, you can open a document live on the server via FTP, SFTP, and any other protocol supported by KDE. To accomplish this, do the following:

1. Login to your web server using the normal method. You can use Dolphin or Konqueror.
2. Navigate to the folder containing the file you want to edit.
3. Right click on the file and open it with Kate.
4. Repeat those steps for multiple files if necessary.

Find

Kate’s find feature is very useful with long documents. To activate it, press Control-F. It will open a dialog at the bottom of the window. You can find each instance individually and scroll through the results with the “Next” and “Previous” buttons, or click “Options” and “Highlight all” to see all results highlighted at once.

Click the arrow on the far right to expand the find dialog further, and it will add a “replace” feature. With it you can find a tag or piece of content and replace every instance of it with something else or nothing at all.  Kate will also remember your searches so that you can perform them again by pressing the down arrow on the right side of the search box.

I have only touched the surface of the many features available in Kate. The best way to find out exactly what Kate can offer you is to try it out for yourself. I highly recommend it, not only for KDE users, but for anyone. Kate is available through any Linux distribution that offers KDE.

Using Kate As a Web Editor originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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For those users who use a desktop operating system and expect a graphical experience, opening a terminal window is not a normal thing to do. That does not mean they are incapable of learning it. They are just more comfortable with a visual interface.

There are many control panel tools and settings dialogs in KDE that make it easier for graphical-minded users to get things done. Here are five stand-alone applications that will help you stay informed about your computer’s status and health.

1. KInfoCenter

It is just what it says. It provides users with information about their systems. There are categories for graphics cards, PCI devices, memory, CPU, and many others. If you are ever unsure about what devices you have or what system settings you currently have, KInfoCenter is a good place to start.

2. KDiskFree

This is a very useful tool for those of us who manage to fill up our hard drives rather quickly. You can monitor disk usage on both fixed drives and currently connected removable ones.

3.  KDE Partition Manager

Need to format a drive, resize a partition, or create a swap partition? KDE Partition Manager can do it all. It depends on the trusted disk “Parted” libraries, so users can know they are getting reliable results

4. KSystemLog

Linux documents every major occurrence on your system. You just have to know where to look for that documentation. For convenience, KSystemLog will collect that information for you and display it in a window, all with the click of a button.  KSystemLog monitors your log files, updating them periodically. It currently supports system log, kernel log, authentication log, daemons’ logs, CUPS (printer) log, X.org log, and others.

5. Ksysguard

KDE 4 includes a handy little task manager that you can access by pressing Control+Escape or by clicking the button on Krunner. For those of us who used KDE 3, however, we need something a little more robust. Ksysguard monitors processes, provides stats, and includes graphs, updated in real time. Processes and programs can be monitored, filtered, and killed, when necessary. As with previous versions, users can add new tabs, placing customized sensors on each tab. Sensors include CPU cores, uptime, partition usage, log files, memory, and much more.

There are many others tools that can make your Linux experience easier. If you have a favorite, feel free to post it in the comments. For me, after having worked as a Linux system admin for many years, I still occasionally love to open up Konsole and hack away the command line.

5 System Administration Tools for KDE originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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Setup

Lancelot is now part of KDE and should be available for installation in any KDE-based distribution (or distributions with the option for full KDE installation). To enable it:

1. Right click on the desktop or panel and click “Unlock Widgets”.
2. Right click on your current menu and click “Remove…”
3. Right click on the desktop and click “Add Widgets”.
4. Drag the Lancelot widget onto the panel.

You will see another widget called “Lancelot Part”, but leave that one alone for now. Like most panel widgets, you can configure it by right-clicking on the icon and clicking “Lancelot Launcher Settings”. “Show categories…” will display a button for each Lancelot category. “Show only menu launcher icon” does just what it says.

One unique feature of Lancelot is the “No-click activation”, which allows you to navigate through the menu without clicking the mouse button. It is in the settings under “Menu” and the “General” tab. To activate an item, move your mouse pointer over the little arrow that appears when you highlight it. In my case, there is apparently something about clicking that feels more manly, so I disabled the “No-click”.

Categories

There are four Lancelot categories: Applications, Computer, Contacts, and Documents. In “Applications”, you can add your favorite menu items to the favorites column simply by right-clicking on the icon and clicking “Add to Favorites”. When you navigate through each column, Lancelot stays there even if you close the menu, which is handy if you intend to open several applications within that section. It also produces a breadcrumb trail at the top so that you can track back to any spot.

“Computer” will show you the standard “Places” items that you have setup in Dolphin, “System” items, which you can edit, and a list of removable and fixed drives. “Contacts” displays new email messages (through Kmail and Kontact) and online Kopete contacts.   “Documents” shows your most recent documents in various formats. Early versions of Lancelot did not allow the user to clear the “recent documents”, but that feature has now been added.

Lancelot Part

I had a very good reason for telling you to leave the Lancelot Part alone. If you were to drag it from the “Add Widgets” dialog, you would find that it does nothing. Any section within a Lancelot category can become a widget, utilizing Lancelot Part. For example, make sure that your widgets are unlocked, and then try dragging the “Places” section from the “Computer” category onto an open area of your desktop. You will now have a handy shortcut menu for all of your bookmarked places.

You can do the same with any of the Lancelot categories. You can also add multiple sections to one Lancelot Part. Just drag a second section onto the current one you just made. It is resizeable and has some configuration settings. In addition, any folder can be made into a Lancelot Part simply by dragging it to the desktop.

Lancelot Search

Lancelot is integrated with Krunner. That means anything the user can search for in Krunner can also be found in Lancelot. That includes applications, nepomuk tags, indexed documents, contacts, bookmarks, and file folders. It will also perform numerous Krunner functions such as the calculator and unit convertor.

Lancelot works very well for those users who like a lot of functionality, and it delievers on its promises. If you are the type who prefers simplicity, however, Lancelot is not for you. The myriad of categories and menu columns can be daunting. Furthermore, I have noticed a slight delay in opening the menu on slower machines, so those of you on netbooks and low-powered desktops will probably prefer a more minimal menu. On my desktop, I enjoy Lancelot in its full glory, and it integrates nicely with KDE’s “Air” Plasma theme. I recommend you give it a try.

Lancelot: An Alternative KDE Menu originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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Installation

As with previous Kubuntu versions, you can install it from the desktop of the running live CD. The interface for the installation now follows KDE 4’s Oxygen Air theme and has new graphical representations of several options.

Booting and Login

Booting is faster than ever, and the new KDE Air theme login window is the default.

KDE 4.3

If you have been following my weekly posts, you already know about many of the features new in KDE 4.3. While it has been available in the 9.04 Jaunty backport repositories for some time, it will now be the default KDE version with 9.10.  Just to recap, here are some of the features new with KDE 4.3:

New Krunner features and layout

• New desktop effects, including the slide back feature
• New KDE games, including an Egyptian mummy theme
• New system tray that includes an improved notification system
• Several new plasma widgets, including one for Google Calendar

OpenOffice.org Integration

In previous versions, OpenOffice integrated with KDE 3 themes or not at all. Now, with OpenOffice.org 3.1, it is well-integrated with KDE 4 widgets and themes.

K3b

One of KDE’s most universally loved applications was one of the last to be ported to KDE 4. Kubuntu includes an early version of K3b that is fully KDE4-based. K3b is a CD and DVD burning program. It is not clear how stable this version is, and I did not have any CDs to test it.

Amarok and Codecs

Kubuntu has long suffered from the codec discrimination that nearly all Linux distributions have endured.  Proprietary codecs that cannot be packaged with a free operating system have often left users disgruntled, sometimes even blaming the distribution developers. It has always been relatively easy to install codecs with Kubuntu, but now, starting Amarok will give you a notice that you may want to install certain additional software packages. Check the ones you want and then click “Install Selected“. This is all processed through the new update notifier, which is integrated with Kpackagekit.

Kpackagekit

This is the application installation and management software for Kubuntu. Like its predecessor Adept and the GTK version Synaptic, Kpackagekit relies on apt-get as a backend and uses the repositories listed in Apt’s sources. In Karmic, installation is even easier, and it is fully integrated with the update system and KDE’s notification system.

USB Startup Disk

Kubuntu provides an easy-to-us KDE-based program to create a Kubuntu startup disk.

Web Browser

Kubuntu has always been about options. In fact, the very existence of Kubuntu could be considered an Ubuntu option for a KDE-based distribution. Konqueror is still the default web browser for the latest Kubuntu, but the developers have added some options. For those that want a slim, lightweight, Webkit-based browser, Arora is now in the official repositories. For those die-hard Firefox fans, Kubuntu now includes a handy installation program.  When you click “Firefox installation” in the “Internet” menu, you are presented with an installation screen.

Overall, Karmic Koala looks more polished than any previous Kubuntu version and probably any other KDE-based distribution to date. Nevertheless, it is still in Beta at least for another week, and an honest review will have to wait.  With this preview, however, you have a glimpse of what is on the horizon.

Preview of Kubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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Copy/Move

KDE is a typical graphical interface, and lends itself to dragging and dropping.  If you want to copy or move a file quickly, just drag it from one folder to another. With Dolphin, press F3 to bring up a split window, Control-N to open a whole new window, or Control-T to open a new tab. You can also drag files to any point in Dolphin’s breadcrumbs, to a folder on the Places panel, or to a Folderview on your desktop.You can also drag images from your web browser to a folder, if your browser supports it (both Konqueror and the latest Firefox do).

When you let go of the button after dragging, KDE gives you an options window: Move here, Copy here, Link here, Cancel.  You will also notice shortcut keys listed beside each.  If you hold the shortcut key while dragging a file, it will automatically choose the corresponding action.  “Link here” creates a symbollic link to your file, rather than copying or moving it.

Another way to copy or move is to use shortcut keys. Simply select the files you want to copy and press Control-C, or select the files you want to move and press Control-X. Then, paste them in the new location, just like pasting text in a word processor, by pressing Control-V.

Another feature that many found useful in KDE 3 is the “Copy to…” context menu.  To enable this:

1. Click “Settings” and “Configure Dolphin”
2. Click “General”
3. Click “Context Menu”
4. Check “Show ‘Copy To’ and ‘Move To’ commands.

Now, when you right click on a file, you will notice the “Copy To” option in the menu. Navigate through the menu to the place where you want to copy the file and click “copy here”. The same method will work for “Move To”.

Rename

There are three easy ways to rename a file:

1. Select the file and then click “File” and “Rename…”.
2. Right click on the file and click “Rename…”
3. Selet the file and press F2.

Batch Rename

There are times when you might need to rename multiple files at once. KDE makes it easy.

1. Select all the files you want to rename.
2. Press F2.
3. It will ask for a new name:  “New name # (# will be replaced by ascending numbers).
4. Leave the “#” and enter the prefix you want for each filename.

Archives

To create an archive in KDE:

1. Select the files you want to archive.
2. Right click and click “Compress”.
3. Select the type of archive:  ZIP, RAR, or  ZIP/TAR

By default, when you click on an archive, Dolphin will open it in Ark archive manager. In previous versions of KDE, you could navigate into the archive as if it were a folder. To enable this feature:

1. Click “Settings” and “Configure Dolphin”.
2. Click “Navigation”.
3. Check “Open archives as folder”.

To extract an archive:

Right click and click either “Extract Archive Here – Autodetect Subfolder, Extract Archive To, or Extract Archive Here.”

The “autodetect subfolder” will create a subfolder for the archive if one is not already present inside of it.  This will keep your archived files from mixing in with your other files.

As you can see, KDE makes it easy to manipulate your files, and there are many methods to get work done. If there are any methods that I missed, feel free to add them to the comments section.

The Many Ways to Copy, Move, Rename, and Archive in KDE 4 originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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Dolphin is intended to be a simplified file manager, stripping away some of the common Konqueror file management features. Many of the features can be re-enabled, and some new features are unique to Dolphin. Here is a basic guide to all things Dolphin.

Breadcrumbs vs. Location Bar

Konqueror has a web-browser-style location bar that allows you to type in the file path you want to reach. Dolphin introduced a feature to KDE called breadcrumbs. Each folder in a path hierarchy is a button that you can use to navigate back any number of steps. If you prefer the location bar method or ever need to type a path in directly, move your mouse to the end of the path until the mouse pointer turns into a cursor selection. Then, just click.  To revert back, click the check. You can also turn the location bar on by default in the settings. To toggle back and forth, you can also use Ctrl+L.

View Modes

There are three view modes in Dolphin, just like Konqueror: icons, details, and columns.  Use shortcuts to switch between them:  Ctrl+1, Ctrl+2, and Ctrl+3, or click “View” and choose the view mode you want.

Panels

A new feature introduced in Dolphin is the panel.  There are four possible panels: Places, Folders, Information, and Terminal. There are three settings, and you can display all three, two, one, or even none of them. You can also drag the  panel to either side of the window or stack two on top of each other. To add all three to the same panel, right click and check the ones you want to appear.  Tabs will appear allowing you to cycle through them.

The Places panel gives you clickable links to the folders you specify. To add a folder, just drag it over to the Places panel. Once it is there, you can edit it or remove it. Alternatively, to add a folder, right click on it and click “Add to Places“. Dolphin is integrated with other KDE applications, and the “places” you set in Dolphin will be available in file open and save dialogs in other applications.

Press F4 to bring up a terminal panel at the bottom of the window. It will automatically be set at the point where you currently are in Dolphin. Anytime you navigate to a different location within dolphin, the terminal will change to that directory. This is very useful if you have navigated through several folders and need to do some terminal work there.  Instead of having to type in the full path, it will take you there.

File Associations

When you click on a file, does it open the application you want? In a previous post, I explained how to change file associations in KDE, but Dolphin also allows you to do this on the fly. For example, suppose you have three video players installed, and VLC is set to default. But when you click on Quicktime files, you want SMplayer to open instead. Simply right click on the file, click properties, and then click the wrench icon to the far right of the current file type description. This will open up the normal file associations dialog that you would get through the longer process of going through System Settings, but the changes will still be applied to all files of that type.

Ultimately Dolphin is a preference, and some will still prefer the more powerful Konqueror. Others will appreciate have a file manager separate from their browser.  There are many other features to try with Dolphin. Experiment and try new things. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Master Dolphin in KDE 4 originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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In KDE, shortcut keys are customizable for each and every application, and you can also customize global shortcuts that affect the desktop, window manager, command interface, and other features. What follows is a brief guide to using KDE shortcuts, but first I am going to press “Ctrl-S” to save my work.

Global Shortcuts

1. To start the KDE shortcut configuration, find System Settings in the menu, or press “Alt-F2″, type “systemsettings“, and press enter.

2. Click “Keyboard & Mouse” in the Computer Administration section.

3. Click “Global Keyboard Shortcuts“.

4. Select the KDE component you wish to edit. For example, select “Run Command Interface” to edit Krunner settings.

5. Click on an action, and it will expand a section showing you the default shortcut and the option to make a custom one.

6. Select “Custom” and then click the button next to it.

7. It will then wait for you to press a key or keystroke combination. If the shortcut is already assigned, it will warn you about that. Otherwise, it will assign the new shortcut key.

8. Click Apply.

Application Shortcuts

Another handy shortcut feature of KDE is that you can assign shortcuts to an application or command. The example I am going to demonstrate solved a problem for me. I have a Mac Pro, but I Linux on it as my main OS. The CD-ROM/DVD drive has no button to open it. That is controlled by the keyboard, which worked fine when I used an Apple keyboard. When I got tired of the Apple keyboard and bought one I liked better, I needed to assign a key for opening the CD tray.

1. Right click on the K-Menu icon on the panel.

2. Click “Menu Editor”

3. Find the application you want to edit or click the “new” button to add a new command (For new commands, follow the normal procedures for adding a command to the menu).

4. Click the “Advanced” tab.

5. Where it says “Current shortcut key”, click the button next to it.

6. Enter the key combination you want.  For my eject command, I used “Fn-F10″.

7. Click “Save”.

Finally, whenever you are in a KDE application, you can assign shortcuts by doing the following:

1. In the application’s menu, click “Settings”.

2. Click “Configure Shortcuts”.

With application shortcuts, you have the option of assigning alternates so that two different shortcuts can execute an action. You can also assign a global shortcut to an application that will work even when another application has focus. For example, you can set media controls, such as volume, to be controlled even when you are not in KMix.  You can export any of your shortcut settings and import them on another computer, giving you the ultimate flexibility. Now press the shortcut to bookmark MakeTechEasier.com, and enjoy.

How to Configure Custom Shortcuts in KDE originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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Digikam is a free and open source photo management software package for KDE. Many KDE-based Linux distributions either come with Digikam installed or have it available in their repositories. With Digikam, you can import photos from your digital camera or flash memory, organize and tag them, rate them, edit them, and export them to various services or custom galleries.

Three popular services that Digikam can handle are Flickr, PicasaWeb, and Facebook. The first two are social photo sites, and the last is a social networking site. All three support photo plugins used by Digikam. This makes uploading photos quick, easy, and painless.

I am operating under the assumption that you already have accounts on the services you want to use. If not, you will need to register and activate whichever accounts you want before you proceed.

Preparing Digikam Photos

If you are preparing to use Digikam for the first time, you need to tell it where your photos are stored. When you first start it, it will pop up a window asking for your pictures directory. Once selected, it will remember that selection and always work within that directory until you change it.

Flickr

To export your photos to Flick, do the following:

1. Select the album and images you wish to upload.
2. Click “Export” in the menu
3. Click “Export to Flickr”
4. It will open your web browser and ask you to login to Flickr. If you are already logged in, you can skip this step.
5. After you are logged in, go back to Digikam and click “Yes”.
6. Under “Upload Options” you can select a PhotoSet or create a new one.
7. Create tags or check “Use Host Application Tags” to use your Digikam/KDE tags.
8. Select any other options you want and then click “Start Uploading”.

PicasaWeb

Google offers a Linux download for their Picasa software, but it is not native Linux software and does not integrate well into the rest of KDE like Digikam. Fortunately, you can still upload pictures to your PicasaWeb account without using Picasa desktop software. To export your photos to PicasaWeb, do the following:

1. Select the album and images you wish to upload.
2. Click “Export” in the menu
3. Click “Export to PicasaWeb”
4. It will open your web browser and ask for your Google login. If you are already logged in, go back to Digikam.
5. Click “Yes”.
6. Choose the album you want to use or create a new one.
7. Add tags for the images or click “Export Application Tags” to use Digikam’s.
8. Click “Start Uploading”

Facebook

People who use Facebook often want to share their photos, and Facebook has a complete photo album component with albums, tags, and other common features. By default it relies on a Java-based upload application that does run well on Linux from my experience. To use Digikam to upload Facebook photos, do the following:

1. Select the album and images you wish to upload.
2. Click “Export” in the menu
3. Click “Export to Facebook”
4. It will open your web browser and ask for your Facebook login. If you are already logged in, Facebook will tell you that you can close the window and return to Digikam.
5. Back in Digikam, click “Yes” in the dialog box.
6. Choose an album, select “auto create”, or click “New Album” to make a new one.
7. Click “Start Upload”.

There are other plugins for Gallery (free software that you can install on your own website), and SmugMug (which requires a paid account). You can also use Digikam to create a static HTML gallery for use online or offline.

Regardless of the service you choose, once you have it setup in Digikam, you can easily upload new photos whenever you take them.  With KDE 4, tags and ratings carry over into other applications, integrating your user experience both locally and on the web.

How to Use Digikam to Export Photos to Flickr, PicasaWeb, and Facebook originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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Xaralx, now known as Xara Xtreme for Linux, is a free and open source image editing program for Linux. It is based on the commercial Xara imaging editing software for Windows, and is primarily used for vector image creation and editing. Over the next few weeks, I will provide some handy tips that you can use in Xara. The first is an easy way to slice an image into whatever shape you want. As with any vector image editing, the resulting shape will be an object that you can move, rotate, add to a larger image, and treat like a normal shape.

Install Xaralx

Xaralx is available through many Linux distribution repositories. For Ubuntu, simply install it through Synaptic or enter from the command line:

sudo apt-get install xaralx

You may also want to install extras:

sudo apt-get install xaralx-examples xaralx-svg

Import an Image

1. Start xaralx from the menu.

2. Click “File” and “Import“.

3. Find an image you want to use and click “Open“.

Feel free to resize the image or make other changes before your proceed.

Slice the Image

1. Click the rectangle tool, ellipse tool, or quickshape tool (for all other types of shapes — it requires some additional customization).

2. Click in the white space and drag to create your shape.

3. Click the select tool (the first one shaped like a mouse pointer).

4. Drag your shape over top of the image, positioning it however you want to slice it.

5. Click the transparency tool (the wine glass icon).

6. A new toolbar will appear.  On the right, drag the transparency bar about halfway so that the shape is translucent.  This way you can make sure you have it positioned over the image the way you want it.

7. With the shape still selected, hold Shift and click on the image underneath so that both are selected.

8. Right click on top of the shape, select “Combine Shapes” and click “Slice (cut) Shapes“.

The top shape should disappear leaving a cut-out of your image in that shape. Drag it away from the remaining shape and delete the leftover if you wish.

Export the Image

It is always a good idea to save the whole page for future use, but to save the image only, you need to export it.

1. Select the newly sliced image.

2. Click “File” and “Export…”

3. Select the file type. (If you want the area surround your image to be transparent, select “.png”. PNG is also useful if you intend to manipulate the image further in Gimp).

4. After you have selected the file format and destination folder, click “Save”.

Other Techniques

If you are interested in the reverse of what you just did, instead of clicking “Slice“, just click “Subtract Shapes“. Your shape will behave like a cookie cutter, removing that area from your image. If you click “Intersect Shapes“, it will automatically cut out the part that you want and discard the rest.

Once you have sliced your image, you can use any of the other features available in Xara or export the image to another program. In the coming weeks, I will introduce you to some of the features Xara has. Many of its features are similar to Inkscape (a very popular vector graphics editor), while some are unique and welcomed additions to Linux. Although the Linux version is somewhat different from the Windows one, many of the techniques are the same. Experiment and see what you can produce.

How to Slice Images with Xara Xtreme originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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1. WebFolder (webdav)
2. FTP
3. Microsoft Windows network drive (using Samba)
4. Secure shell (ssh)

Each one has its slightly unique features and requirements, and in this post, you will learn about each one.

There are two ways to start KNetAttach. One, which we already discussed, is to go to remote:/ in Dolphin or Konqueror. Then, simply click on Add Network Folder. The other method is to press Alt-F2, type “knetattach” and press Enter.

WebFolder

WebFolder relies on WebDAV, which allows you to create and use web-based folders. Many remote file storage services rely on this technology. To connect to a web  folder:

1. Select WebFolder from the “Add Network Folder” list and click “Next“.
2. Give it a name; something you will only use for identification.
3. Enter your username.
4. For Server, it is usually a full web address like http://webdav.yourdomain.com
5. Enter a folder name only if required by your host.
6. Check “use encryption” if HTTPS is available.
7. Check “create an icon for this remote folder” to use the connection again in the future.
8. Click “Save and Connect“.

It will prompt you for your password.  If you elect to save your password, it is a good idea to use Kwallet, which is enabled by default.

FTP and SSH

Connecting to FTP is nearly identical to other connection methods.

1. Give the connection a name.
2. Enter the username (Often, this is a full email address if you use shared hosting. Check with your host). If it is public FTP, usually the username is “anonymous”.
3. Enter the server (Usually just the domain name, like suchandsuch.com or ftp.suchandsuch.com).
4. Only change the port if specified by your host. 21 is the default.
5. Click “Save and Connect“.

The only difference with SSH is usually the port number. In addition to connecting to remote hosts for a website, this is a good method to use for connecting two Linux computers on a local network for file transfer. Just make sure that both hosts have openssh server installed.

Microsoft Windows network drive

For a connection to Windows, you will need Samba running and configured on your computer. If you are unsure what server information to use, navigate to remote:/ and then click on “Samba Shares“. It will show you the current windows shares on your network. When you click “Save and Connect“, it will prompt you for a username and password only if the samba share requires it.

Network Services

There is a button in the remote:/ section called “Network Services”, and it allows you to connect to zeroconf services. The idea behind zeroconf (zero configuration) is to connect to networked computers, printers, and various devices without any expert configuration. Linux uses a free implementation called Avahi. Many distributions enable the avahi daemon by default. It allows you to quickly discover and connect to FTP, Samba, HTTP, CUPS, and other protocols.

The remote:/ KIO combined with KNetAttach provides users with a full networking experience. Once you are connected to one of the above-mentioned services, you can navigate through them just as you would through folders and files on your own computer. You can drag and drop, copy and paste, and even delete all in real time.  When you are finished, just close the tab or window.

How to Use ‘remote:/’ KIO and KNetAttach originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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In KDE file associations allow you to specify what actions occur when you click on various file types. They also offer alternate actions and embedding preferences. KDE provides an extensive list of media types to configure, all with default settings, although you can easily add more when necessary. In addition, KDE also has a separate settings component for certain default application types.

Default Applications

Some users only need to configure a few default applications and are really not concerned with specific file types.  To access these settings, do the following:

1. Click the K-menu

2. Start System Settings (or press Alt-F2 and type System Settings)

3. In the “Personal” section, click “Default Applications”

4. Choose the application type you want to configure.  For example: Web Browser.

5. The first setting will essentially open all web content in Konqueror.  If you use another browser, such as Firefox, click on “in the following browser:”..

6. Click on the “…” next to the text box.

7. Find your application, and click on it.

8. Click Apply.

You can repeat the same steps for any application type listed. Some of them, like File Manager, have a list of file managers you can choose, or you can pick another not in the list. You can even select a different window manager, if you prefer something with more desktop effects like Compiz, or something slimmer like Openbox.

File Associations

You can find the File Associations configuration in System Settings in the Advanced tab. It displays a tree view of known file types, listed under several categories, such as audio, image, video, and text. It also has a search box if you know exactly what you want to configure. Before you begin making changes, make sure you test the file types you want to use in your application. Nothing is worse than having to go back and reconfigure numerous file types.

For the purposes of this example, we will set the default video player that we want to use for most video types. By default, KDE 4 ships with a video player called Dragon Player. It uses the Phonon backend, which relies on either Xine or Gstreamer, and is easy to use. Dragon Player, however, is nowhere nearly as robust as Kaffeine from KDE 3, and it is like a child’s toy compared to more advanced players like KMplayer, SMplayer, or VLC. Therefore, one of the first things I would do on a new install is change the default video player by taking the following steps:

1. Click the plus next to “video” to expand its contents.

2. Starting scrolling through the list for video types you want to change.

3. Select a type, such as “quicktime”. It will show you the file patterns that it uses (such as *.mov and *.qt).

4. Under “Application Preference Order”, find your favorite video player. If you cannot find yours in the list, click “Add…” and find yours from the menu provided.

5. Select your video player and click “Move Up” repeatedly until it is at the top. The order of other players will be the order they appear when you right click on that video type. You can change that order however you like.

6. If you are also configuring Konquerer, click the “Embedding” tab and select the embedded player you want to play the file.  This will apply to sites such as Apple Trailers, which requires an embedded Quicktime player.

When you are satisfied, click “Apply”. Look through the list of files and find any other types you want to configure.  You might want to also click “Add…” at the bottom to add a new file type. Once you have all the file associations configured, be sure to test them to make sure they work as expected. With those tasks completed, you will be a few steps closer to complete customization heaven.

How to Configure File Associations in KDE originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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One of the many ways KDE makes our lives easier is by providing graphical interfaces for many of the  tasks that computer users want to perform. Web browsers typically accept certain protocols that connect them to resources, such as http, https, and ftp. In KDE, these are called KIO slaves, and nearly all KDE applications can interact with them.

What makes KDE unique is that there are over 50 KIO slaves available for use. These include everything from basic file management (file:/directoryname) to remote network management (remote:/). I have selected a few notable KIO slaves to demonstrate how they are used and have also included a list of useful ones at the end of this post.

1. applications:/ and programs:/

Both of these KIO slaves show a user the available applications on a computer. They are arranged in categories just like the K-menu, and you can navigate through the hierarchy simply by clicking on category icons until you reach the program you want to start. This is handy for people who have trouble with menus or prefer not to use them.  It is also convenient when you want to start multiple programs from the same category. You can use this protocol in both Konqueror and Dolphin file manager.

2. fish:/

Fish is a powerful network tool that allows you to connect to a remote computer via SSH. In order to connect, enter a string like the following into the navigation bar of Konqueror or Dolphin:

fish://username@hostname

It will prompt you for a password and even give you the option to save it. You can then manipulate, copy, and delete files on that computer as if it were a folder in your own file system. If you frequently connect to the same remote computers, however, KDE offers an even more powerful protocol called remote:/.

3. remote:/

With the remote KIO, you can setup multiple network connections and save them for later use. To start a new connection:

1. Enter remote:/ into the navigation bar in Dolphin or Konqueror.
2. Click “Add Network Folder”
3. You then have a choice of webdav, ftp, Microsoft Windows network drive, or ssh. Choose the one you want.
4. Enter the connection name, server, username, and password information as requested.
5. Click “Save & Connect”.

By default, it will create an icon with the connection name you chose. Anytime you want to connect to that remote computer again, just click on the icon.

4. man:/

Linux and other Unix-like operating systems have hundreds of commands with very complex settings that can be manually applied from the command line. A beginner will probably not need most of them, but if you find yourself needing to enter a command line string but are not sure how, you will need to read the command’s “man” (manual) page.

If you want to see the manual for the “fsck” command, you would normally open a terminal and type:

man fsck

With KDE, you can get a nice browser interface to the man page without searching for it online. In the Konqueror navigation bar, just type

man:/fsck

5. bookmarks:/

If you are like me, you do not like having to navigate through the menus of your huge collection of website bookmarks. Konqueror provides a nice interface for viewing your bookmarks. Just type:

bookmarks:/

The only drawback with this is that it assumes you use Konqueror as your browser.

KIO slaves not only work with Dolphin and Konqueror. For example, if you want to edit a PHP file on a remote server, you can enter the fish:/string directly into the “open file” dialog of Kate. It also works indirectly. You can open a remote connection in Dolphin, right click on a remote file, and open in a live editing window. When you are finished, click Save, and the remote file is changed. You can also initiate many KIO slaves through krunner (Alt-F2) The possibilities are numerous and rewarding.

Here are some other useful KIO slaves:

• tar:/, zip:/, gzip:/, bzip:/, bzip2:/ all allow you to navigate into archives like they are folders.
• fonts:/ shows installed fonts
• cgi:/ runs cgi programs without a webserver
• finger:/ provides information about a host name where “finger” is enabled.
• settings:/ is similar to applications:/ providing an alternative method of accessing system settings.
• smb:/ accesses and browses Samba shares.  This is also available through remote:/
• sftp:/ is a secure file transfer over SSH.
• desktop:/ shows the files inside the desktop folder.
• trash:/ shows the contents of the trash can.

A full list of working KIO slaves and some still under development is available by starting KInfoCenter in KDE.

A Quick and Easy Guide to KDE KIO slaves originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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Some commercial Linux software, particularly games, only provide 32-bit versions. In these rare cases, you will need to configure your 64-bit machine to run 32-bit software.

Install the 32-bit libraries

Because x86_64 processors are designed over x86 technology, they are still able to support 32-bit programs without any hardware emulation, like what you would need to run x86 programs in a PowerPC or Sparc environment.  In Linux, all you need to do is install the necessary software libraries to run the 32-bit software. Fortunately, many Linux distributions package these libraries for you. In Ubuntu, for example, the package is called ia32-libs. To install it, just open a terminal window and type:

sudo apt-get install ia32-libs

You can also install it graphically from within Synaptic or Kpackagekit on Kubuntu.

Once installed, applications like Skype and games like World of Padman should work without further configuration.

GTK Issues

When running 32-bit programs in a 64-bit environment, Ubuntu still looks for the default GTK engines. This will cause you to receive an error such as this: “wrong ELF class”. This type of error can be particularly annoying in applications like Chromium, the new open source version of the Google Chrome browser.

Ubuntu does actually install the default 32-bit version of the GTK engines in /usr/lib32/gtk-2.0, but what I discovered in my case was that GTK themes like the one I was using, qtcurve, were not found in this directory.  The result was really ugly GTK programs.

The quick solution was to do the following:

1. Find the 32-bit package of the theme you are using.  In my case, I searched ubuntu packages.

2. Download the package and extract its contents like you would a normal compressed file.

3. Find the library file for the theme. For qtcurve it was found at ~/download-directory/usr/lib/gtk-2.0/2.10.0/engines/libqtcurve.so.

4. Copy the library to the lib32 directory:

sudo cp ~/download-directory/usr/lib/gtk-2.0/2.10.0/engines/libqtcurve.so /usr/lib32/gtk-2.0/2.10.0/engines/

For Chromium this was all that was required because the Chromium startup script was already configured to look in /usr/lib32/gtk-2.0. If the startup script of the program you are running does not look there but instead looks to /usr/lib/gtk-2.0, you will need to modify the startup script or export an environment variable before starting it by opening a terminal window and typing:

export GTK_PATH=/usr/lib32/gtk-2.0
command-to-start-app

If there is no startup script for the program, you could create one with the above environment variable set.

If All Else Fails

I have found some applications, such as Boxee, refuse to behave nicely in a 64-bit environment under any normal circumstances, even with ia32-libs installed. The only viable alternative besides chucking your 64-bit machine or chucking the software is to run it in a chroot environment. This literally installs an entire 32-bit version of your operating system within a directory on your computer. It will take more space than simply installing a few libraries, but it ensures that all of the 32-bit components, including 3D graphics kernel modules, are installed.

You can read a guide to setting up a 32-bit chroot on Ubuntu Forums.

How to Run 32-bit Apps in 64-bit Linux originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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There are two ways to access Window Specific Settings. One is to right click on the title bar of the window you want to configure, click “Advanced“, and click “Special Window Settings“. The other is to start System Settings, click the “Window Behavior” button, and then click “Window-Specific“. From there just click “New…” to make a new rule.  In the second method you will have to manually specify the name of the window or click “Detect Window Properties” and click on the window you want to configure.

Geometry

You can set the exact size, position, desktop, and state of your window. For example, when you start Konsole, you might want it to always be a window of  “800,600″ size and want it to start on Desktop 2.

1.Tick the “Size” box and from the drop-down menu, select “Apply Initially“.

2. Tick the “Desktop” box, select “Apply Initially“, and then select “2:Desktop 2“.

3. Click OK.

There numerous possibilities just under the geometry tab. Play around with them and let us know your results.

Preferences

Keep above allows you to set a window to always be above other windows. Skip taskbar means that your window will not appear in the taskbar like normal windows.  With Closeable,  you can enable the close button on a window that might not normally allow it.

Workarounds

These settings override some default settings for your specific window. They are useful if you experience problems in a particular application because of global settings. For example, “Ignore requested geometry” will cause KWin to ignore the X geometry that an application expects. ”Maximum size” will prevent a window from getting any larger than the size you specify, something that might be useful for a netbook. “Block global shortcuts” is handy if you have an application (especially a non-KDE one) that has shortcuts that conflict with KDE global settings.

Kiosk

Here is an example of how you can put all of these features together. If you have children, run a library or run some other public place with computer terminals, you might want Firefox or another application to start fullscreen without any window manager features.

1. Right click on the window’s title bar, select Advanced, and click “Special Application Settings…”

2. Select the “Geometry” tab.

3. Tick “Fullscreen” and select “Force“.

4. Click the “Preferences” tab.

5. Tick “Skip taskbar” and select “Force“.

6. Tick “No border” and select “Force“.

The result will be a borderless, fullscreen window that is not accessible from the taskbar. If you do need to access the window’s settings, simply press “Alt-F3″ to bring up the window manager menu. KWin will let you select whole classes or types of windows to configure. If you want all dialogs to have the same functions, you can customize it to follow your whims.

Aside from these window-specific settings, KWin has a broad range of generation settings for focus stealing prevention, shading, shortcuts, desktop effects, and much more. Try them out, find what you like, and enjoy!

How to Set Special Window Settings with KWin originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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Illustrations

To insert an image in OpenOffice Writer, simply click “Insert->Picture->From File“.  Then, select the image that you want, and click OK.

By default, the text will wrap around  your picture. If you do not want this or want a different type of wrapping, right click on the picture and choose the appropriate wrap method from the wrap menu.

The next thing to consider is anchoring. By default, your image will be anchored to the paragraph.  That means that if text is inserted or delete above or below your paragraph, that picture will stay with the paragraph as it moves, even to another page. If your image is page-specific, you should right click, move your arrow to “Anchor” and click “To Page”.  You can also do all of this from the Graphics toolbar, if you have it enabled.

One final point to note is that your printing company may have specific requirements for images. Many will require an image to be 300ppi (pixels per inch). It is beyond the scope of this article to teach you about photo management, but you can read more about this issue.

Styles and Formatting

For most books, you will want the same font and font size throughout the entire book. You will also want the same indentation, margins, and other formatting. To begin, do the following:

1. Click on the Styles and Formatting button in the toolbar.

2. Right click on “First line indent” and click “New“. (That will create a style with indentation already set).

3. Give your style a name.

4. Click the Indents & Spacing tab. You can change the amount of indentation and line spacing (most books are single-spaced).

5. Click the Alignment tab. Most books have justified alignment.

6. Click the Text Flow tab.  Because your book will be justified, you will want hyphenation at the end to make the words flow nicely. Orphan and Widow control will keep single lines from ending up by themselves.

7. Click the “Font” tab and select the font, typeface, and size that you prefer. You can also select your language here.

8. Click the “Drop Caps” tab. If you want to display drop caps at the beginning of a paragraph, you can set that here.

Once you have your style the way you want it, click OK.  You will now have a style that you can apply to any text in your document.  By default, each paragraph will start with the previous style that you were using. You can even tweak that setting in the Organizer tab.

Exporting

Most professional printers will not accept Open Document Text (.odt) format. While that might change in the future, for now you will have to rely on other formats.  While some printers allow you to export to Microsoft Word document format, you should avoid this if you can.  Chances are, your styles and formatting will be altered in the conversion. The safest bet is to export in PDF or PS format.

OpenOffice.org has built-in support for PDF exporting.  Just follow these easy steps:

1. Click “File”

2. Click “Export as PDF”

3. Keep it on “Lossless compression”. You should leave the other settings as they are unless you have been specifically told to change something.

4. Click “Export”.

5. Choose a file name and location and click OK.

If you need to export a PostScript (PS) file, use this method:

1. Click “File” and “Print”

2. Check the “Print to file” box.

3. Click “Print”

4. Choose the location and file name.

5. Click OK.

With the skills you have learned in this series, you now have a basic understanding of book layout using OpenOffice.org.  There are other typsetting features, such as frames, that you may want to consider.  There are also typesetting applications like Scribus for more layout-intensive projects (such as magazines).  Depending on what you want to accomplish, there are free software tools available for your needs.  In the end you will have quality work at an affordable cost.

Further reading:

Positioning graphics within the text

Using frames for page layout

How to Layout a Book with OpenOffice.org: Part 3 originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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There are a couple of things you should consider before proceeding:

1. If you are submitting your book to a publisher, they normally do not expect you to format the book or do any typesetting. That is their job. They just want the raw manuscript. In some cases, they may even insist that you use a particular generic font and not change default margins. Make sure you read their submission guidelines.

2. One of our readers mentioned that he usually formats his books after he finishes writing. This is undoubtedly the best method in most cases. What we created in Part 1 was a basic template that you can use without any further formatting needed before you start writing. Furthermore, if you are working for the publisher or are the publisher, the author might be someone else. In that case, you will take his or her text and prepare it.

Page Numbers

Basic page numbering is very easy in OpenOffice.org.  Just click Insert->Footer, and then click Insert->Fields->Page Number.  You can then left, center, or right align it. What that will give you is a page number at the bottom of every page (or at the top if you choose “Header” instead of footer).

In most non-fiction books, however, the page numbers are right aligned on the recto and left aligned on the verso. The result is that page numbers are always on the farthest ends of the pages away from the spine. The second problem to tackle is that page numbers normally start with the text, whereas the default numbering will start with your title page. This is where OpenOffice.org’s sophistication comes in handy. While it is easy to add page numbers, the available variations are extensive.

As I mentioned above, this particular part of layout is something that you must do after the book is completely finished, edited, reviewed, and ready for printing. Otherwise, you will most likely be wasting your time and will have to go back and make changes.

1. There are three page layout buttons at the bottom of your window. The first shows you one page at a time. The second shows you pages side-by-side, and the third specifically shows you mirrored pages like that of a book.  Click the third, and you should now have the title page by itself and then two pages mirrored throughout the rest of the document.

2. Count the pages preceding your first page of text. In my example, I have six.

3. Insert a header or footer. All of your page-number work will be performed there.

4. Go to your first page of text before proceeding so that you can see the results. Then,  click Insert->Fields->Other.

5. Under Type, select Page, leave it on Page numbers, and As Page Style.

6. This is the important part.  Under Offset enter the number of pages you just counted with a negative sign in front of it. In my example, I entered “-6″.

7. Click Insert. If your first page of text now has the number 1, you are good to go. If not, undo and recount until you are satisfied.

8. When you are satisfied, click Close.

9. Click on Format->Page.

10. Choose the Header or Footer tab, and un-check “Same content left/right“.

11. Click “OK” and scroll down to pages 2 and 3.

12. Highlight the number “3″ and right align it. Page 2 should still be left aligned.

Now all of your pages should alternate their page numbers properly. There is an alternative method of accomplishing this same task. You can read about both methods here.

Paragraph Styles

Another beautiful feature of OpenOffice.org is its extensive use of page and paragraph styles. You can even create styles for specific characters. Click on the “Styles and Formatting” button or simply press F11, and you will see a sidebar with all of the currently available paragraph styles. You can create a style and format it however you see fit. To begin with a style that is already created, right click on it and then click “New”. This will copy that style and allow you to build from it.

This is where you can control indentation, line spacing, alignment (which you will most like want to justify), text flow (books usually hyphenate at the end of lines), fonts, and much more. It is completely up to you or whoever is setting publication guidelines for you.

Give your style a name and select the “Next Style” drop-down menu. This allows you to identify which style the next paragraph will use. You could conceivably have two alternating styles or just the same style automatically applied whenever you start a new paragraph.

I have made a document with everything I have done available for download so that you can actually see and play with my changes. In Part 3, we will cover illustrations, more in-depth style techniques, and export formats.

How to Layout a Book with OpenOffice.org: Part 2 originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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There is a long list of reasons why you might need to prepare an OpenOffice.org document in book form, and once you have learned how to do it, you will have a useful skill that you or people you know may need in the future. You can use this method for both print publications and e-books.

1. Start OpenOffice.org Writer with a regular blank document template.

The first thing you will need to do is set the size of your book. In my personal experience, it helped me tremendously with writing to be able to see each page at a normal book size rather than the 8.5″x11″ college essay size.  Suddenly, writing one hundred or two hundred pages will not take so long or seem so daunting.

2. Click “Format” in the menu and then click “Page…”

3. Enter in your custom width and height.

The current format will be “Letter”.  Many non-fiction paperbacks will be 6″x9″, while fiction paperbacks are often smaller sizes, such as 5.25″x7.5″. If you are doing this purely for effect, then it it entirely up to you. If you have to meet certain printing press specifications, follow them precisely.

There are lead  pages that always proceed the actual text of a book. If you are preparing a book for printing, they will be crucial. Bookstores rely on that information for stocking, and libraries rely on it for cataloging.

4. Create a title page.

There is no particular format set in stone, but a title page should include at least the title of the book and statement of responsibility (author’s name). If available, it should also include the publisher and place of publication. This is the place to be creative. You can use whatever font style and size you want. Create a manual page break at the end of the title page.

5. Create the title page verso.

This is the page directly on the other side of the title page and usually contains more detailed publication information, including copyright, ISBN, and CIP (cataloging in publication) data.

6. Click “Format” and “Paragraph”.

Click on the “Alignment” tab, and change it to “Justified”. From this point on, you will want your text to be justified.

7. Insert another page break, and you can enter any number of optional pages such as a dedication.

This can include a half title page with just the title or title and author’s name on the second to last page before the text. The final page before the text will be blank, and the text should begin on the recto or right-hand side.

8. Insert a page break and begin your text.

Most books will begin with a chapter number, chapter name, or both.

In part 2, you will learn how to properly align page numbers and format paragraphs. You are now well on your way to preparing your book for publication. Writing a book can be a very rewarding experience, even if you have no intentions of publishing. With OpenOffice.org, free and open source software, you have all the tools you need to make it happen. Happy writing!

How to Layout a Book with OpenOffice.org: Part 1 originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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2. How to Layout a Book with OpenOffice.org: Part 3
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There are several ways to record inbound and outbound audio in Linux, but Skype Call Recorder (SCR) is specifically designed for Skype. It is a free and open-source application with which you can record calls in MP3, Ogg Vorbis, or WAV format. It supports manual and automatic recording, which can be configured for specific callers.

Installation

1. Go to the Skype Call Recorder website.
2. Scroll to the download area on the main page. Packages are available for Ubuntu (x86 and x86_64), Debian, Asus Eee PC (running Xandros), RPM-based (x86 and x86_64), Arch Linux, a Gentoo ebuild and a source code tarball.
3. Download and install the Skype Call Recorder package for your system. It should then appear in your application menu.

Preparation

1. Start Skype.
2. Open your application launcher menu and start Skype Call Recorder. If you cannot find it, you can manually start it by running the command “skype-call-recorder“.
3. Skype should pop up a window saying “A program “SkypeCallRecorder” is trying to connect to Skype”.  Click “Yes“. If you want, you may also check “Remember this selection”.
4. Right click on the new icon in your system tray area and click “Preferences“.
5. Select whether you want it to automatically record every call, ask before recording, or not at all. From this tab you can also edit “per-caller recording”.
6. Click the “File Names” tab and select the folder where you want SKR to save your files.
7. Click the “File Format” tab and select the format you prefer. Ogg Vorbis is an open format and less lossy than MP3, but MP3 is more widely available for playback on portable devices. WAV will be uncompressed but will produce a large file if you have long calls. You can raise the MP3 bitrate to improve quality.
8. When you are satisfied with your preferences, click “Close”.

Making a call

Assuming you have already used Skype, your audio mixer settings should be ready to record calls. If not, you need to make sure you have “mic” or microphone set to record and that “capture” is enabled. To test it, you can use a regular sound recorder to record your own voice.

1. Start a Skype call the way you normally would. Click on a contact or enter a number.
2. The call will ring as it normally does, but when the person on the other end answers, a window will appear asking you if you would like to continue recording. Select “Yes“, and your call will now be recorded until you hang up.
3. After you end the call, check the folder you specified for your phone call file. You should be able to listen to it in whatever music player you prefer.

That is all it takes to record your Skype calls. Anytime you want to record calls, it will be configured and ready to go.

*Note: Please be advised that it is illegal in some countries to record calls without the consent of the other party. Even if it is not in your country, it is considered ethical by most people to inform the other person that you are recording them.

How to Record Skype Calls in Linux originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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Many KDE 3 users depended on Krun, a simple yet effective application used to execute commands. Executed simply by pressing “Alt-F2″, it was much easier to start applications using it, rather than navigating through a launch menu or opening a terminal window. The only catch with Krun was that you had to know the exact name of the command you intended to launch.  With the advent of KDE 4, that has all changed.

Krunner operates independently of the Plasma desktop system as a standalone application. It includes a ton of features that make it useful beyond simple command launching.  It has retained many of the features present in KDE 3 and greatly expanded them. We would fail to do it justice if we did not give it a top ten list.

10. Calculator

Do you need to figure out how much money you have left for groceries after subscribing to three MMORPGs?  Just press “Alt-F2″ or right click on the desktop and press “run command”. To use Krunner as a calculator, type the = sign and then enter the equation.  For example, type “=890*12″, and it will output a calculator icon and the answer: “10680″. Simply select the answer to calculate the next equation with it. KDE 3 had a similar calculating feature that automatically opened Google’s calculator.  With this you can calculate multiple times without leaving the Krunner window.

9. Spellchecker

If you are anything like me, you are obsessed with spelling things correctly and yet could not spell to save your life.  If you happen to be typing a blog post in OpenOffice.org or using Firefox’s spellcheck feature, you will be safe. But if you are in the middle of one of those MMORPGs and need to spell “elemental” correctly, hop into windowed mode and press “Alt-F2″. Then type “spell:” followed by  your best attempt at spelling the word you need. Krunner will offer suggestions.

8. Unit converter

Are you planning to visit any country outside of the U.S. and cannot understand why people “don’t speak American”?  KDE will rescue you again. Open Krunner and enter a number and any unit you can imagine. By default, it will convert that unit to meters. Add “in” or “as” followed by another unit, and it will immediately output the conversion. For example, type “5 miles in cm” and it will output: “804672 centimeters”.

7. Contact finder

Whenever you need to shoot off a quick email, just type in the name of a person in your address book (You must use Kaddressbook for this work). Krunner will pull up any names close to what you type and display: “Mail to so-and-so”.

6. Website launcher

Krunner can launch any website you type in your default browser. It will also use konqueror shortcuts. For example, to search Google Images, enter: “images: pandas”. It will display its function before you press enter: “Search Google Image Search for pandas”. It can also launch bookmarks and browser history.

5. Location launch

Are you tired of navigating through file folders? Just type in the folder you want to reach in Krunner. If you want to open your Music folder, just type “Music”. It is really that simple.

4. Desktop search

You know you typed a paper two years ago on tectonic plate shifting, but you just cannot find it. If you are using Strigi, KDE’s desktop search system, Krunner can find it. Type in any search terms you want and let the desktop searching do the rest.

3. Task manager

A slimmed down version of ksysguard, KDE’s task manager is available as a component within Krunner. Users can access it by clicking on the second icon from the left in the Krunner window or by pressing Ctrl-Esc anywhere within KDE. It is quick and easy, allowing you to monitor CPU and Memory usage. You can also kill applications at will. Use with care.

2. Application search

Suppose you want to launch a card game but cannot remember the name. Just type in “card” into Krunner, and your card game applications will appear. You can also begin typing the name of an application, and Krunner will display all the applications that start with those letters while you are typing.

1. Command launcher

Even with all of the new features, nothing beats the original. Krunner is still a command launcher and still keeps a history of commands you have launched, which you can display either by beginning to retype them or opening the drop-down menu. Therefore, you only have to type “kdesudo kate /etc/X11/xorg.conf” once, and Krunner will remember it the next 20 times you want to tweak your X server.

Perhaps the greatest thing about Krunner is that it is extensible. Many of the plugins mentioned above were authored by users who were not on the original Krunner development team. Anyone can write a plugin, making the possibilities endless. Any plugins you do not like can be disabled, so KDE 3 purists can return it to command-launching-only status anytime they like. That is also useful on slower machines. With each release of KDE, however, Krunner will be even faster, with more awesome features to add the list.

*Note: These features are presented as they currently appear in KDE 4.3, scheduled to be released at the end of July 2009.

10 Awesome Features of Krunner in KDE 4 originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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