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459 lines
19 KiB
459 lines
19 KiB
<chapter id="all-about-your-desktop">
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<title>All About Your Desktop</title>
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<epigraph>
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<attribution>Little Red Riding Hood</attribution>
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<para>Grandma, what big eyes you have!</para>
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</epigraph>
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<epigraph>
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<attribution>The Wolf</attribution>
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<para>The better to see you!</para>
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</epigraph>
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<para>The more you see, the more efficiently you can use your
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desktop. &kde; gives you the opportunity to make the desktop look and
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work the way you prefer, enabling you to work faster and more
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productively. It even gives you the opportunity to be warned if a wolf
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is trying to eat you, or (if you happen to be a granny) alert you when
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Little Red Riding Hood is on her way to bring you the goodies. Now
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that's service. </para>
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<sect1 id="the-autostart-folder">
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<title>The Autostart Folder</title>
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<para>Before I discovered the Autostart folder, my daily startup
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routine with &kde; consisted of the following: Start &kde;, start
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&kedit;, start &konsole;, start &Netscape;, and start &kscd;. This
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took time I could have spent better. Native &kde; programs left open
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at the end of a session will save their state and reappear when you
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login again, but there are some programs (like &Netscape;) that will
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not. You can use the <filename>Autostart</filename> folder for these
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programs.</para>
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<para>To launch programs when &kde; is started, do the
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following:</para>
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<procedure>
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<step>
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<para>Open the <filename>Autostart</filename> folder. By default this
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folder is at <filename
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class="directory">$<envar>HOME</envar>/.kde/share/autostart</filename></para>
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</step>
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<step>
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<para>Open a &konqueror; window and browse to the program you want to
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add. If you don't know how to do this, it was covered in <xref
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linkend="the-filemanager-screen"/></para>
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</step>
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<step>
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<para>Drag and drop the desired program from the &konqueror; window
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on to the <filename class="directory">autostart</filename> folder.
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When asked, choose <guimenuitem>Link</guimenuitem> to create a
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symbolic link rather than a full copy, as this saves a great deal of
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disk space.</para>
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</step>
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<step>
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<para>Repeat the above steps for every program you want started when
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&kde; is launched. Remember, you don't need to add native &kde;
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applications, just leave them open when you log out, and they will
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open up again as if nothing had happened, the next time you log in to
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&kde;.</para>
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</step>
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<step>
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<para>Restart &kde; if you want to see the autostart function in
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action.</para>
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</step>
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</procedure>
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<para>Your programs should have launched automatically when &kde;
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restarted. If you want to add something special (e.g., you want to see
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a certain web site when your system goes up), read <link
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linkend="using-templates">Using templates</link>. The procedures
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described there work for any folder, so you can also apply them to
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the <filename>Autostart</filename> folder, as well.</para>
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</sect1>
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<sect1 id="adding-programs">
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<title>Adding Programs and Shortcut Icons to Your <guimenu>K</guimenu> menu and Panel</title>
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<para>The &kde; <guimenu>K</guimenu> menu and &kicker; are not limited
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to the setup you find right after installing &kde;. The &kde; panel
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is designed to be extended, and there are two main ways of doing that:
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Adding new programs, and adding shortcut icons.</para>
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<sect2 id="menu-items-add">
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<title>Adding menu entries</title>
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<para>&kde; comes with a great many applications already in the menu.
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Depending on your operating system and distribution, this could
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include many non-&kde; applications. &kde; also includes an
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application that will search your hard drive for more applications,
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and add them to the menu for you. Try pressing <keycombo
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action="simul"><keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>F2</keycap></keycombo> and entering
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<userinput>kappfinder</userinput> to see it in action —
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operation is very straightforward.</para>
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<para>&kappfinder; is clever enough, but it doesn't know about every
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application there is. Or perhaps you simply don't want to have all
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those applications in the menu, and just want to add a single extra
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program.</para>
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<para>To add your favorite programs to the &kde; menu, you can use
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the <application>KDE Menu Editor</application>. To start it, use the
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<guimenu>K</guimenu> menu and choose
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<menuchoice><guimenuitem>System</guimenuitem><guimenuitem>Menu
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Editor</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.</para>
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<para>A window will open showing the existing <guimenu>K</guimenu> menu
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on the left, and an empty menu entry dialog on the
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right</para>
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<para>For this example, we will be adding an entry for the
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<application>Gimp</application> under the
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<guisubmenu>Graphics</guisubmenu> submenu. If you already have a
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<guimenuitem>Gimp</guimenuitem> entry there and don't want a new one,
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you can still follow through this example, but just don't click the
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<guibutton>Apply</guibutton> when you are done.</para>
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<procedure>
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<step><para>Navigate down the left hand tree to the
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<guisubmenu>Graphics</guisubmenu> entry.</para></step>
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<step>
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<para>Click on it once with the <mousebutton>left</mousebutton> mouse
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button to expand the entry.</para>
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</step>
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<step>
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<para>Click the icon labeled <guiicon>New Item</guiicon> in the
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toolbar, or choose <menuchoice><guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>New
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Item</guimenuitem></menuchoice> in the menu bar.</para>
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</step>
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<step>
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<para>In the dialog box that pops up, enter the name you want your new
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menu entry to have. For this example, enter
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<userinput>Gimp</userinput>.</para><para>Then press
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<guibutton>OK</guibutton> in the dialog.</para>
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</step>
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<step>
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<para>Click on the new <guimenuitem>Gimp</guimenuitem> menu entry that
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was created for you under the <guisubmenu>Graphics</guisubmenu>
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submenu. The menu entry dialog to the right will now change to be
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mostly empty, except for the name you already gave.</para>
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</step>
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<step>
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<para>Fill in an optional <guilabel>Comment</guilabel>. You might
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like to put <userinput>An image editor</userinput> for the example.
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Text entered here will be shown as a tool-tip in the
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<guimenu>K</guimenu> menu.</para>
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</step>
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<step>
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<para>Enter in the box labeled <guilabel>Command</guilabel>, the
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command you would type on the command line to open your application.
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For this example, this is <command>gimp</command>. You may also enter
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any optional command line parameters if you wish. You can use this to
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make a menu entry that always opens a particular document or image,
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for example. Check the application's documentation to find out more
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about command line parameters.</para>
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</step>
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<step>
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<para>If you want the application to operate from a particular
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directory (for example, for <application>Gimp</application> to begin
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it's <guilabel>Load Image</guilabel> dialog in a particular place)
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enter this path in the box labeled <guilabel>Work Path</guilabel>.
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This is optional.</para>
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</step>
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<step>
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<para>If you wish to change the icon from the default
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<quote>unknown</quote>, click on the <guiicon>icon</guiicon> to the
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right of the dialog, to open a standard &kde; icon chooser.</para>
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</step>
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<step>
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<para>Some applications must be <guilabel>run in a terminal</guilabel>
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window (for example <application>Pine</application>). If this is the case,
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check the appropriate check box.</para>
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</step>
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<step>
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<para>If you want to run your application as a different user, check
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the box labeled <guilabel>Run as a different user</guilabel> and
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enter the appropriate user name in the text box.</para>
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</step>
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<step>
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<para>If you're happy with your menu entry, press
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<guibutton>Apply</guibutton>. If you would like to start over, press
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<guibutton>Reset</guibutton>.</para>
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</step>
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</procedure>
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<para>And that's all. You now have a new menu entry.</para>
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</sect2>
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<sect2 id="icons-add">
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<title>Shortcut Icons</title>
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<para>Although &kde; is much more comfortable than the average &UNIX;
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window manager, everyone wants a solution for a one-click way to start
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a program. Later, you will learn how to create links and files on your
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desktop, but this also has some disadvantages: sometimes all your
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desktops are filled up with windows, and you cannot reach your icons
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without minimizing all the windows that cover them. For commonly used
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programs, you can minimize this problem and speed access by creating
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shortcut icons on the &kde; panel.</para>
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<para>To create a shortcut on the &kicker; panel, you have some
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choices: Drag-and-drop, or via a menu. </para>
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<procedure>
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<title>Adding a shortcut icon with the menu</title>
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<step><para>Click on the <guiicon>K</guiicon> icon and choose <menuchoice><guisubmenu>Panel
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Menu</guisubmenu><guisubmenu>Add</guisubmenu><guimenuitem>Application</guimenuitem>
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</menuchoice>.</para></step>
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<step><para>You will see the top level of the <guimenu>K</guimenu> menu
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again. Go through the menus to find the entry for which you
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want to create the shortcut, such as <guimenuitem>Home directory</guimenuitem>
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or &konqueror;. Click on the program you want.</para>
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</step>
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</procedure>
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<para>A new icon will appear on the panel. Click on it, and the program will
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start.</para>
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<para>Adding a shortcut icon with drag-and-drop is even simpler - just
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drag any icon from your desktop, or a &konqueror; window, to an empty
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space on the panel.</para>
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<para>What happens when you drag an item to your panel depends on what
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kind of item it is:</para>
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<variablelist>
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<varlistentry>
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<term>If you drag a directory...</term> <listitem><para>A menu will
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pop up giving you a choice of <guimenuitem>Add as a File Manager
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URL</guimenuitem> or <guimenuitem>Add as a QuickBrowser</guimenuitem>.
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Choosing the first will create an icon that opens a &konqueror;
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window, starting at this directory, while choosing the latter will
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open that directory as a menu from the Panel.</para></listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term>If you drag a shortcut from your desktop...</term>
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<listitem><para>It will be copied to the panel.</para></listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term>If you drag a document...</term>
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<listitem><para>A link will be made on the panel, leaving the original in
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place. Clicking on the resulting icon will open that document in the default
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application.</para></listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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</variablelist>
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<para>In any case, if you want to move the icon, click on it using the
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<mousebutton>right</mousebutton> mouse button and choose
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<guimenuitem>Move.</guimenuitem> Move the icon to the position you
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want and press the <mousebutton>left</mousebutton> mouse button. If
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you wish to remove the icon, click on it using the
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<mousebutton>right</mousebutton> mouse button and choose
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<guimenuitem>Remove</guimenuitem>. You can also move the icon by
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clicking with the <mousebutton>middle</mousebutton> mouse button, and
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dragging it to it's new location.</para>
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</sect2>
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</sect1>
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<sect1 id="creating-new-files-on-your-desktop">
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<title>Creating New Files On Your Desktop</title>
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<para>Your desktop can be an efficient place to work. Every time you
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start &kde;, you can see the complete files, folders and &URL;s which
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you often use.</para>
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<para>There are two ways to create and edit files on your desktop. In
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any application, you can say that you want to save your work in the
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Desktop subfolder of your home directory. For example, my home
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directory is <filename class="directory">/home/stupiddog</filename>,
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so my Desktop directory is <filename
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class="directory">/home/stupiddog/Desktop</filename>. Everything you
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save there will be put on your desktop.</para>
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<para>If you want to move existing files to your Desktop, the best way
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to achieve this is to use &konqueror;. Open a file manager window and
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drag the files you need to your desktop. You can choose to copy them
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if you want to keep all your common stuff on the desktop now, or you
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can create symbolic links to the real files. Everything you change in
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the link files will be automatically updated in the originals. For
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more information on how to use drag & drop and the file manager,
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see the chapter <link linkend="moving-files-with-drag-and-drop">Moving
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files with drag & drop.</link></para>
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</sect1>
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<sect1 id="using-templates">
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<title>Placing Links on Your Desktop</title>
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<para>Placing files on your desktop may shorten the paths you need to
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enter. However, sometimes it would be nice if you could start &kedit;
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with a commonly edited file already opened in it. And how often do you
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find yourself frustrated after browsing through endless lists of
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bookmarks to find a site you visit often? Wouldn't it be nice if
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everything necessary to deliver you to that site was done
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automatically after clicking a single icon?</para>
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<sect2 id="using-mimetype">
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<title>Using Templates</title>
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<para>Templates provide a convenient mechanism for performing tasks
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such as those outlined above. Templates can also be used to associate
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particular file extensions with a specific application. When a file
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ending in a known extension is double-clicked, the application
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associated with that extension is automatically started. In short,
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<emphasis>templates</emphasis> help you get the most out of
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&kde;.</para>
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<para>Example: You want to put an icon for visiting the &kde; web site
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on your desktop.</para>
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<procedure>
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<step><para><mousebutton>Right</mousebutton> click on an empty space in the
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desktop.</para></step>
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<step><para>Choose <menuchoice><guisubmenu>Create
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new</guisubmenu><guimenuitem>Internet Address (URL)</guimenuitem></menuchoice>
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from the context menu.</para></step>
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<step><para>A dialog box will open where you can type in the address you are
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making a shortcut to.</para></step>
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<step><para>A new icon will be created on your desktop.</para></step>
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</procedure>
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<para>Your new Internet shortcut can be customized like any other
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shortcut icon. <mousebutton>Right</mousebutton> click on the icon and
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choose <guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem>, and you can change the
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icon, or the name of the shortcut as you wish.</para>
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</sect2>
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<sect2>
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<title>Using &MIME; Types</title>
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<para>&MIME; Types are very powerful. Employing them, you can easily
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customize your system such that clicking on a file of a specific type
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starts the application with which that file type has been associated.
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For example, all <literal role="extension">.mod</literal> files could
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be set to start &noatun;, <literal role="extension">.html</literal>
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files could open a &konqueror; window showing the file, and a
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<filename>core</filename> file can be viewed with the &khexedit; by
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simply clicking on the <filename>core</filename> file.</para>
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<warning>
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<para>Although &MIME; types are very powerful, they are not without
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dangers. Playing around with &MIME; types as the system administrator
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(<systemitem class="username">root</systemitem>) can damage a &kde;
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system so severely that it cannot be restarted! In this example, you will
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create your <emphasis>personal</emphasis> &MIME; style, which is only
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relevant for you. It will only affect other users if you copy or move
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it to <filename
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class="directory">$<envar>KDEDIR</envar>/share/mimelnk</filename>.</para>
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</warning>
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<para>To link a certain file type with a particular application:</para>
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<procedure>
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<step><para>Make sure the application you want to start this file type
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has an entry in the <guimenu>K</guimenu> menu.</para></step>
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<step><para>In &konqueror; find or make a file with the extension you
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wish to link.</para></step>
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<step><para><mousebutton>Right</mousebutton> click on the file, and
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choose <guimenuitem>Edit File Type</guimenuitem> from the context
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menu, or choose <menuchoice><guimenu>Edit</guimenu><guimenuitem>Edit
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File Type</guimenuitem></menuchoice> in the &konqueror; menu
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bar.</para></step>
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<step><para>Add file masks for the application by clicking the
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<guibutton>Add</guibutton> button, and entering the file pattern you
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want. Remember that &UNIX; is case sensitive, so you may need to add
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variations - <userinput>*.mp3</userinput> may need
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<userinput>*.MP3</userinput> added as well, for example. Add as many
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masks as you like in this way.</para></step>
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<step><para>Add a description if you like. This is
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optional.</para></step>
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<step><para>In the section labeled <guilabel>Application Preference
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Order</guilabel>, press the <guibutton>Add</guibutton> button. A
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miniature copy of the <guimenu>K</guimenu> menu will
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open, where you can choose the application you want files of this type
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to be opened with.</para></step>
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<step><para>Sometimes, you may want to use a different application to
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open this file type. For example, you might like to use &kate; to
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open text files you wish to edit, and &kedit; for text files that you
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just want to take a quick peek into. You can add more applications in
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the same way as you did in the last step, and you can change the
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preferred order using the <guibutton>Move Up</guibutton> and
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<guibutton>Move Down</guibutton> buttons.</para></step>
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<step><para>If you're satisfied with your choices, you can click the
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<guibutton>Apply</guibutton> button to save your changes without
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closing the dialog box. This gives you the opportunity to test in the
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&konqueror; window that your file association is correct. You can
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choose <guibutton>OK</guibutton> to save your changes and close the
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dialog box, or <guibutton>Cancel</guibutton> if you have changed your
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mind and just want to close the dialog box.</para></step>
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</procedure>
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<para>Be sure to try your new association by opening a directory
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containing a file of the type you just selected. Click on the file,
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and the program needed to edit it should start.</para>
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<note>
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<para>
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&MIME; types are a way of describing the contents of files. You may
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be used to using file extensions for that purpose, and you may know
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that on &UNIX; systems the file extension often bear little or no
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relation to the contents of the file. On the other hand, it may be
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vital - for example, some implementations of <command>gunzip</command>
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won't operate on files that aren't named <literal
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role="extension">.gz</literal>.
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</para>
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<para>
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&MIME; types naturally make use of filename patterns, but not
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necessarily the extensions - you can set up any filename pattern you
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like. For example, if you always want to open any files relating to a
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particular client with &kate;, and you make a habit of naming the
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files with the client's name at the beginning so that they naturally
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group in the &konqueror; window, then you can set up a filename
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pattern that matches
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<literal>^<replaceable>clientname</replaceable>*</literal>. Then any
|
|
files that have <replaceable>clientname</replaceable> at the beginning
|
|
(the <literal>^</literal> character means <quote>starts
|
|
with...</quote>) and without any regard to the rest of the filename.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</note>
|
|
</sect2>
|
|
|
|
</sect1>
|
|
|
|
<sect1 id="using-the-trashcan">
|
|
<title>Using the Trash Can</title>
|
|
|
|
<para>Under normal circumstances, deleting a file under &UNIX; is
|
|
something which cannot be undone. However, with &kde;, you can choose
|
|
<guimenuitem>Move to Trash</guimenuitem> instead of
|
|
<guimenuitem>Delete</guimenuitem>. This will move the file into the
|
|
<filename class="directory">Trash</filename> Folder, which, by
|
|
default, is accessible as an icon on your desktop. In the <filename
|
|
class="directory">Trash</filename> Folder, you can always recover
|
|
deleted files. Remember to empty the trashcan now and then by clicking
|
|
on it using the right mouse button, then choosing <guimenuitem>Empty
|
|
trashcan</guimenuitem>, otherwise you might run out of disk space
|
|
because the files still need space. Note, however, that once you empty
|
|
the <filename>Trash</filename> Folder, the files contained therein are
|
|
lost forever.</para>
|
|
|
|
</sect1>
|
|
</chapter>
|