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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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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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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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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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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With KDE 4, Autostart and KCron are now both integrated into System Settings. To start either one, simply click on the K menu and then click System Settings. Next, click the “advanced” tab. Under the Advanced User Settings section, you should see Autostart, and under the System section, make sure that you see Task Scheduler. On my Kubuntu system, Task Scheduler was not installed, so I had to start kpackagekit and install the kcron package.

Running applications at KDE startup

To run an application at KDE startup, follow these simple steps:

1. In System Settings, click Autostart.
2. Click Add Program.
3. Select the application that you want to run (for this example, I will select KRandTray, as it is an application that will start in the system tray).
4. Click OK.

That is all it takes. You can remove the check from the Enable box anytime you do not want KDE to start with that application.

To run a script on or before KDE startup, follow these simple steps:

1. Click Add Script.
2. Type the full path to the script or click the folder to browse your computer for it. (for the example, I am choosing a script I made called startxrandr).
3. Check or uncheck the Create as symlink box.  (If unchecked, it will make a copy of the script in your ~/.kde/share/autostart directory).
4. Click OK.

Running periodic tasks

Most Unix-like operating systems have a feature that allows the user to run scripts and services on a schedule.  For example, if you want a log file to be purged at midnight every night, you can schedule a script to do that.  Scheduled tasks are called “cron jobs” because they are handled by a program called Cron, and the schedule is controlled in a configuration file called crontab.  In a previous article, MTE taught you how to schedule cron jobs in GNOME.  Now, you will learn how to do it in KDE.

To schedule a task in KDE, follow these simple steps:

1. Open System Settings, click the Advanced tab, and then click Task Scheduler.
2. Decide whether you want to run a Personal Cron (affecting only your user space) or a System Cron (affecting all users on your system and for which you will need root permissions).



3. Click New Task.
4. Enter the command, browse, or begin typing the path (i.e. /usr/bin/), and it will show you a list of commands in that folder in a drop-down menu.
   (For this example, I am selecting a script called my-sync-script.sh that will sync my Google calendar with KOrganizer.)
5. Next, you simply decide when you want the task to run.  Selecting every day will gray out day and month selection, or you can specify a certain month, day, hour, and minute.
   ( For my example, I want it to run every day at 3:30 PM right before I leave work.)



6. Click OK.

You can also use the Task Scheduler to setup environment variables.  In the example image, I have setup one to force KDE into realizing that the system is connected to two monitors (KDE_MULTIHEAD=true).

That is all it takes.  With two simple graphical tools, you now have the power to run applications, commands, and scripts whenever and as often as you want.

How To Automate Tasks In KDE originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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When Google Gadgets were released for Linux, many people once again praised Google’s support of free and open source software, but there was just one problem. The two major desktop environments for Linux, GNOME and KDE, both already had desktop widget components that were better integrated into their overall desktops. Fortunately, the Google developers were well aware of this and built in the interoperability that would allow the GNOME and KDE developers to seamlessly integrate the two.

With the release of KDE 4.2, Google Gadgets became fully integrated into Plasma. You can add them to your desktop with a few clicks of your mouse, unless you happen to be a Kubuntu user. For reasons that are outside the scope of this article, Kubuntu developers decided to remove the Google Gadget code from Plasma.  Being the stubborn hackers that we are, however, we are going to get them back.  This will require a little compiling of software, but I will walk you through each step.

All of these steps assume that you have the latest Kubuntu version 9.04 “Jaunty Jackalope”. It might work with earlier versions, although I make no guarantees.

The good news is that the Google Gadgets libraries are still in the kdebase source. You just have to rebuild the kdebase-workspace package.

1. The first thing that I recommend doing is creating a working directory:

Start Konsole and type:

mkdir kde4-build
cd kde4-build

2. Install the Google Gadgets library packages:

sudo apt-get install libggadget-qt-1.0-dev
sudo apt-get install libggadget-1.0-dev

3. Install the kdebase-workspace source package and its dependencies:

sudo apt-get source kdebase-workspace
sudo apt-get build-dep kdebase-workspace

4. Next, you will need to configure the kdebase-workspace source to prepare it for building:

cd kdebase-workspace-4.2.1a
cmake .

5. You only need to compile the Google Gadgets script engine portion:

cd plasma/scriptengines/google_gadgets
make

6. Finally, just copy the Google Gadget binaries to their proper locations:

sudo cp ../../../lib/plasma_package_ggl.so /usr/lib/kde4/
sudo cp ../../../lib/plasma_scriptengine_ggl.so /usr/lib/kde4/
sudo cp plasma-packagestructure-googlegadgets.desktop /usr/share/kde4/services/
sudo cp plasma-scriptengine-googlegadgets.desktop /usr/share/kde4/services/
sudo cp plasma-applet-ggl-photos.desktop /usr/share/kde4/services/
sudo cp plasma-applet-ggl-rss.desktop /usr/share/kde4/services/

7. Restart KDE

When you log back into KDE, you should now have support for Google Gadgets.

8. Open the add widgets dialog as you normally would, click on “Install New Widgets”, and then click “Download New Google Gadgets”.

When you add Google Gadgets from the Gadget Browser, they will appear in the normal Plasma dialog, which you can then use to add to your desktop. If, for some reason, you do not see all 61 gadgets, you might need to start Google Gadgets independently once, close it, restart plasma, and then try again.

That is all it takes to get Google Gadgets up and running in Plasma on Kubuntu Jaunty.

* Portions of this article were adapted from the guide writen by Francesco Santini, released under a CreativeCommons-Attribution-3.0 license.

How to Integrate Google Gadgets With Plasma in Kubuntu originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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You would be hard-pressed to go anywhere or even watch television without hearing some reference to “Twitter”, “tweets”, or “tweeting”.  From your cousin in Iowa to Shaquille O’Neal, all types of people from all walks of life have taking a liking to Twitter.

Whether or not Twitter will become a technological standard as email or just a passing fad, remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that if you want to use Twitter while it is hot, you will probably want some type of client so that you do not always have to open your web browser and go to Twitter.com.

For KDE there are a few options, but there is one that I have found to be superior to them all.  Keep reading, or if Twitter has convinced you that you can only process 140 characters of information at one time, scroll to the end of this article.

KDE Twitter widget

Yes, KDE comes with its own Twitter widget. To get it, simply open the “add widget” dialog on the desktop and drag the widget called “Twitter Microblogging” to your desktop. You then must configure it. You can tell it to display a set number of updates and include the updates of people you are following. From that point on, anytime you want to post a tweet, you just type it into the box.

There are some limitations to this widget. For example, if you are like me and have a hard time keeping up with other people’s tweets because you are supposed to be writing articles like this one, you end up with a back log of tweets to read.

KDE Twitter widget will only display as many at a time as will fit on your screen.  It does not have scrollbars. Even displaying ten took up the length of my screen, and twenty made the widget taller than the screen. There also appears to be no way to view past replies or direct messages. These limitations make it useful for the occasional tweeter, but hardcore enthusiasts will want more.

Qwit

Despite its rather pessimistic name, this QT-based full-featured client might very well make you want to never quit Twitter.  The only trouble you might have with it is installing.

The developer’s site has a binaries for Windows, Mac OS X, and a generic debian package, which is x86 only. In addition it includes two pre-compiled Linux binaries, one for x86 and x86_64. I needed the 64-bit one, which I downloaded and ran without any problems.  I cannot predict whether or not it will work for all distributions or what dependencies it has.

It comes with a host of features:

1. Reply, forward, and direct message buttons for each tweet.
2. Tool tip notifications of new tweets (I actually find this quite annoying, but you may like it).
3. System tray icon.
4. A host of tabs down the left-hand side including: Search, Outbox, Inbox, Custom, Replies, Public, and Home.  With “Custom” you can apparently type in any twitter username and see their tweets.

The downside to Qwit, aside from the name, is that it is not a native KDE application but rather a pure QT application. In order to have it looking like a KDE app, you will need to install and run qtconfig-qt4 and then select your KDE style of choice.  Because it is not native KDE, you will miss standard KDE features such as in-line spell checking.  Aside from that, however, Qwit is a solid Twitter client worth considering.

Choqok

Like many other KDE applications, developed by people from various countries all over the world, I have no idea how to properly pronounce Choqok (an ancient Persian word for “sparrow”).  Then again, why do you need to pronounce it when you can just tweet it?

Installing on Kubuntu was a breeze. The Universe package repository includes version 0.4.  If you want the latest version, 0.5, you can get it at Christian Mangold’s PPA. Once installed, you will notice the attractive blue bird head icon.  Just click on it, and you are ready to tweet. Like Qwit, Choqok includes a host of features:

1. A timer for updates.
2. You can set the number of tweets visible at one time.
3. Reply and favorite buttons that appear with a mouseover.
4. Home, Reply, Inbox, and Outbox tabs across the top.
5. An easy direct message box.
6. An advanced searching tool.
7. Configurable colors and appearance.
8. Support for Identi.ca
9. Secure https connection option.
10. Automatic URL shortener.
11. KDE-integrated notifications.
12. A system tray icon.

Choqok is my KDE twitter client of choice. It has not disappointed me. If you skipped the entire article just to read this part, shame on you; Twitter has corrupted you. If you read the entire article, there might be hope for you yet.

The Best KDE Twitter Client originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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One of the most innovative and simultaneously controversial features of KDE 4 is the Plasma widget, Folderview. Simply put, it allows a user to display the contents of a file system folder within a widget on the desktop.

Beyond just displaying files on your computer, Folderview can be used to launch applications, display remote file systems, filter large folders for particular types of files, or serve as a traditional desktop.

Application Launcher

Folderview is a great way to display icons of the applications you use most on the desktop, in an organized fashion. Instead of having them mixed in with documents, shortcuts, and various other icons like on traditional desktops, they can be in their own box. I prefer to have mine in a long rectangle stretched across the length of my panel. Here is how to do it:

1. Create a new Folderview widget by right clicking on the desktop and unlocking your widgets (if necessary). Then, click “Add widgets”. Another easy way to create a Folderview is to simply drag an existing folder to the desktop.

2. Find the Folderview widget and drag it onto the desktop wherever you want it to be. You can also resize it however you like. Even if you want it very small, a scroll bar will appear if there is more than one icon.

3. It will have most likely displayed your desktop files by default. So, you will need to change the location. Right click on the Folderview titlebar and click “Folderview settings”.

4. From the settings, you can “specify a folder”. Instead of choosing a folder you already have, create a new one called “Apps” or “Applications”. Click “OK”.

5. Now, to get application icons into your Folderview, all you have to do is drag icons from your K-menu. It will ask you to copy or link. Click “copy”. You can also open Dolphin and go to “programs:/”. This will list all of the programs in your menu. You can then drag them to Folderview.

The names of the application icons will have the “.desktop” extension. If you find this unsightly, as I did, simply rename the files, deleting the “.desktop”. You are then left with a nice, neat, desktop application launcher.

Remote File Systems

Nearly all KDE applications can utilize its kio-slave technology, and Plasma is no exception. With it, you can seamlessly connect to other computers with FTP, SSH, and Samba. To connect to an FTP server, you simply type:

ftp://username@server.com

For a secure connection, use sftp instead of ftp. For Samba, use smb.

To use this feature in Folderview in order to have an open connection to a remote computer visible on your desktop, just edit the Folderview settings and specify the URL.

Filtering Folders

Suppose you have a folder filled with documents, but you only want OpenDocument Text (.odt) files to be visible. It is easy with Folderview:

1. Open the Folderview setings

2. Click “Filter”

3. Click “Show Files Matching” from the drop-down menu.

4. Click on the file types of your choice.

You can also use this to exclude certain file types by selecting “Hide Files Matching” from the drop-down menu.

Traditional Desktop

If you prefer to have a traditional desktop as found in KDE 3, Gnome, Windows, and Mac OS X, Folderview can help with that too.

1. Right click on the desktop.

2. Click “Appearance Settings”.

3. The first drop-down menu says “Type” next to it. Click it and change it from “Desktop” to “Folder View”.

After you click OK, the Folderview will have expanded over the entire desktop and will behave like it did in KDE 3.

The uses and features of Folderview are only limited by the uses and features of KDE. As KDE 4 continues to mature, Folderview will continue to grow into a useful and powerful desktop tool.

How to Get The Most Out Of KDE4’s Folderview Widget originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

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