Configure your desktop

Configuring your desktop has changed a lot between KDE 3.5 and KDE 4. For those updating, a bit of explanation is needed.

Note

There is an ergonomical dead end / cûl de sac when setting up the desktop:

When you right-click with mousepointer on the desktop, you usually see the entry: Configure Desktop Alt-D , Alt-S . When you go in that menu, you can actually disable that entry. But then, you cannot re-enable it via GUI anymore! The way to get back that entry is to edit a text file, run

kate ~/.config/plasma-org.kde.plasma.desktop-appletsrc

and under section [ActionPlugins][0][RightButton;NoModifier] make sure the lines are present:

configure=true
configure shortcuts=true

After relogin, the menu entry has come back and you can modify the mousebutton settings et cetera in GUI fashion again.

Icons

Challenge: You want to place icons on your desktop (like: "watch TV" or "play pingus")

Solution:

• with KDE 3.5, right-click and choose "Create link to Application"
• with KDE 4 it is much more complicated:
  • the "Desktop folder" approach
    • start Konqueror, choose Help -> About KDE. Verify you have KDE 4.2 at least.
    • right-click onto your desktop, choose Desktop Settings -> Type -> Folder View
    • in 4.5 that becomes Desktop Settings -> Activity -> Type -> Folder View
    • right-click onto your desktop, choose Create new... -> Link to Application
  • the "drag and drop" approach
    • Open a file manager and drag the file you would like onto the desktop. It will appear there as icon.

Example

Let's assume you want an icon on your desktop that starts Konqueror:

• find out where the executable is located
  • start a konsole by Alt + F2 and then typing

    konsole

  • type

    which konqueror

    let's assume the response is

    /usr/local/bin/konqueror

  • point your konqueror to where you can find your executable, in this case /usr/local/bin
  • drag-and-drop konqueror onto your desktop

Now you can start konqueror by clicking onto the konqueror icon on your desktop

Plasma

Your desktop is now based on Plasma. This makes it possible to run widgets (sometimes referred to as plasmoids) on it, e.g. a clock that docks directly to your desktop and is not surrounded by a border. To add the "clock" widget, right-click onto your desktop and choose Add widget.... E.g. choose the Analog Clock Widget there.

Rearrange your Panel

Most of us are creatures of habit, and like our panel to show icons in a familiar order. Plasma appears to drop icons in a random order, but you can re-arrange them as long as you have KDE 4.1 or later. If you have the Panel Controller (which looks like a Cashew in a semi-circle) on the right hand edge of your panel, you can re-order or change the size and justification of the panel. See Can I move the applets on the panel?

Many more such hints are on the Plasma FAQ pages.

Access your files on a remote desktop

Under KDE3, if you had an fstab mount to a remote directory you got an icon on your desktop. This doesn't happen in KDE4, but there's an even better way to reach your files.

Create a folderview (right-click on desktop, Add Widgets -> Folderview). It will be pointing to your home directory by default, but click on the spanner on the handle, to get properties, and you can direct it to open in your remote home. If you keep your folder fairly small you'll be able to scroll down to the exact directory you need, and open it in Konqueror (which in some versions seems to be the default for remote directories. It may well be that this can be changed, too.)

More than one File Manager

Everything mentioned as possible in Konqueror can also be done in Dolphin. At first glance you might think Dolphin lacks features, but read the pages linked from the Dolphin page to learn the new features that make it so powerful.