| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop Documentation Chapter 1. Getting Started with the KDE Desktop / 1.3. Desktop Components | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1.2. Logging Out | 1.4. Managing Folders and Files with Konqueror |  | |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop Documentation Chapter 1. Getting Started with the KDE Desktop / 1.3. Desktop Components | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2. Logging Out | 1.4. Managing Folders and Files with Konqueror | | |
The graphical desktop environment should not pose any problems for former Windows* or Macintosh* users. The main components of the desktop are the icons on the desktop and the panel at the bottom of the screen.
Desktop icons represent files, directories, applications, functions, and removable media, like CDs or DVDs.
The desktop has the following icons by default:
Contains files and folders that have been deleted. For information about using the trash can, see Section 1.3.4, “Managing the Trash Bin”.
Displays information about hardware, network status, operating system, hard disks, common folders, and removable devices. For more information, refer to Section 1.3.3, “Accessing Removable Media”.
Displays network services you can access. Some of the services might require authentication. To learn more, refer to Chapter 9, Accessing Network Resources.
Opens KJobViewer, which displays print jobs you have sent to printers. See Section 12.4, “Starting Print Jobs in KDE” for more information.
Opens the Firefox Web browser. For more information, refer to Chapter 15, Browsing with Firefox.
Opens a new OpenOffice.org document. For an introduction to this office suite, refer to Chapter 3, The OpenOffice.org Office Suite.
The panel (in KDE also called “Kicker”) is a bar, typically located at the top or the bottom of the screen. It is designed to provide information about running applications or the system and easy access to some important functions or applications. If you hold your pointer over an icon, a short description is displayed.
The panel typically consists of the following areas:
By default, the left end of the panel has an icon that opens the main menu (in KDE also called K menu), similar to the start button on the MS Windows desktop. The main menu has a well-ordered structure for accessing the main applications. It also contains menu items for major functions like logging out or searching for applications. For more information, see Section 1.3.1, “Accessing the Main Menu”.
Next to the main menu icon, find the quick launcher. It holds some icons for the most important functions or applications to enable you to start them without going through the main menu. It also contains an icon for the Help Center, which provides online help for your system.
Next to the quick launcher, find the desktop previewer, which shows your different desktops. These virtual desktops enable you to organize your work. If you use many programs simultaneously, you might want to run some programs in one desktop and other programs in the other desktop. To switch between desktops, click the desktop symbol in the panel.
The taskbar is located next to the desktop previewer. By default, all started applications and open windows are displayed in the taskbar, which allows you to access any application regardless of the currently active desktop. If you click a window title in the taskbar, the application is moved to the foreground. If it is already in the foreground, clicking minimizes the application.
The rightmost part of the panel usually holds the system clock, the volume control, and several other helper applications.
To learn how to configure the appearance and behavior of your desktop, including the main menu, desktop icons, or the panel, refer to Section 2.2, “Configuring Desktop Objects” and Section 2.4, “Configuring the Panel”.
Open the main menu by clicking the icon to the far left of the panel. Alternatively, press Alt-F1. The main menu is subdivided into these sections: , (a menu with all applications sorted according to categories), and . Applications that you start most often appear in the section.
The function-oriented menu structure makes it easy to find the right application for your purpose even if you do not know the application names yet. If you already know the name of an application (or at least a part of its name) but are not sure how to start it from the main menu, you can use the search function provided in the section.
Just type a part of the application name into the search field without pressing the Enter key afterward. If the application is installed on your system, the menu structure leading to this application is highlighted in the main menu.
The following section provides information about a number of actions that can be triggered from the main menu.
Lists the most recently opened files or folders. When you select a document, the application to view or edit this document is started. You can also clear the history of documents.
Gives quick access to some places often needed, such as your
home directory or media devices.
Opens a dialog where you can enter an command to start the application. The name of the command is often (but not always) the application name written in lowercase. You can use autocompletion of the command by typing the first letters then pressing →|. If the command was executed before and can be uniquely identified, it is completed to full length.
To start a second session with a graphical user interface on your machine, select . Your current session remains active while you are taken to the login screen where you can log in as a different user. You can access the first session by pressing Ctrl-Alt-F7. To access a new session, press F8 instead of F7. Additional sessions can be accessed by pressing Ctrl-Alt-F9 to F12.
If you leave your computer you can prevent unauthorized access by others by locking your screen. After locking, a screen saver starts. Access to the session can only be regained with a password. To unlock, enter your normal login password.
Opens a dialog with several options: you can end the current session, turn off the computer, restart the computer, or cancel the logout. leaves your system running and restores the applications for your next login. If your system provides power management, you are also offered to suspend the computer, making the next system start much faster than a complete boot.
If you insert or connect removable media to your computer (such as CD-ROMs, digital cameras, or USB sticks), these are usually automatically detected. In KDE, a dialog appears, showing the medium type detected and offering several options of what to do with the new medium. The list of options depends on the type of medium inserted.
To view the data with a file manager, select and click . The Konqueror file manager appears, showing the contents of the removable device.
For the same action to be performed every time you insert a removable medium of that type, activate in the detection dialog before clicking .
If you insert or connect a removable medium to the system that has been encrypted with LUKS (Linux Unified Key Setup), KDE recognizes this and prompts for the password as shown in Figure 1.7, “Automatic Detection of an Encrypted USB Stick”. Enter the password to access the encrypted medium.
For information about encrypting removable media, refer to Section “Encrypting the Content of Removable Media” (Chapter 42, Encrypting Partitions and Files, ↑Deployment Guide).
Procedure 1.1. Configuring Removable Media Handling
In the autodetection dialog, you can also configure how KDE should handle several types of removable media. For example, if you know that a certain type of medium that you use often always contains photos, you can configure it to open an image viewer application automatically:
In the autodetection dialog, click .
A configuration dialog appears, showing a list of all available actions.
Click the drop-down list and select the type of medium for which to configure a certain action. The list of available actions now only shows actions applicable to the medium type selected.
Select the action to apply and click .
Click the tab and make sure the check box is selected.
Click to apply the changes and close the configuration dialog. Now every time you insert a medium of this type, the configured action is executed automatically and the autodetection dialog does not appear any more.
Procedure 1.2. Restoring Default Media Handling Options
To reset the action assigned to the type of medium and restore the default options, proceed as follows:
Start the KDE control center from the main menu by selecting .
In the left-hand navigation bar, click +. The configuration dialog appears on the right.
Click and . The next time you insert a medium, the autodetection dialog appears again, leaving you the choice of what to do with the medium.
KDE offers several ways to access removable media at any time. Clicking on the desktops opens a view as shown in Figure 1.9, “My Computer”.
If you start Konqueror as a file manager (see Section 1.4, “Managing Folders and Files with Konqueror”) and click
on the start window or enter media:/ in the location
bar, Konqueror displays the storage devices as shown in Figure 1.10, “Displaying Media in Konqueror”.
You can also name removable devices, such as USB sticks, with Konqueror. Right-click the USB stick in Konqueror and select . On the tab, enter a name in the input field and click . When inserting the stick the next time, Konqueror displays the name of the stick.
A small green arrow indicates that a medium has been mounted (integrated into your file system, which is necessary to access the data on the medium). In SUSE Linux Enterprise, you normally do not have to care about mounting removable devices because this is done automatically by default.
![[Note]](admon/note.png) | Removing Media Safely |
|---|---|
If you want to remove or disconnect a medium from your computer, make sure that the data on the medium is currently not accessed by any application or user. Otherwise risk a loss of data. To safely remove the medium, proceed as follows:
| |
The trash bin is a directory for files marked for deletion. Drag icons from the file manager or the desktop to the trash bin icon by keeping the left mouse button pressed. Then release to drop them there. Alternatively, right-click an icon and select from the menu. Click the trash bin icon to view its contents. You can retrieve an item from the trash if desired.
Files removed with are not moved to the trash bin, but deleted completely. To delete the files in the trash bin completely, right-click the trash bin icon then click .
