tdebase/doc/faq/install.docbook

<!-- <?xml version="1.0" ?>
<!DOCTYPE chapter PUBLIC "-//KDE//DTD DocBook XML V4.2-Based Variant V1.1//EN"
 "dtd/kdex.dtd">
-->

<chapter id="install">
<title>Installation instructions</title>

<para>These are the generic installation instructions for the K
Desktop Environment.  Please complement your reading with the
<filename>README</filename>s and <filename>INSTALL</filename>s that
come along with the package.  Please read them carefully and try to
help yourself out if anything goes wrong.  If you need further
assistance, consider joining the &kde; mailing lists
(see our web site instructions for joining the &kde;
<ulink url="http://www.kde.org/mailinglists/">mailing
lists</ulink>) or newsgroups.</para>


<qandaset>


<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>To the would-be converts</para>
</question>
<answer>

<para>So you have heard the rumors. Or you have seen the screenshots.
And you are dying to get hold of &kde;.  But you know next to nothing
about this whole <quote>alternative OS</quote> business.  Don't worry!
You only need to do some (well, maybe not some) reading, that's
all!</para>

<para>&kde; does not run on any version of &Microsoft; &Windows; or OS/2 (yet).  To run
&kde;, you need to have a &UNIX; system. Please refer to <xref
linkend="platform"/> for more details.</para>

<para>Decide on a platform and set it up for your system. This
<acronym>FAQ</acronym> can not help you with this, since &kde;<ulink
url="http://www.kde.org"> runs on many &UNIX;</ulink> platforms. </para>

<!-- Taken out because we can not help with all platforms and KDEisnotLINUX -->

<para>Finally, you are ready to commence the &kde; installation.
Please start reading from the next section.  To get &kde;, please
refer to <xref linkend="where-to-get-kde"/>.  Last but not least, if
you encounter any problems while installing &kde;, please do not
hesitate to make use of the &kde; <link 
linkend="mailing-lists">mailing lists</link> and <link
linkend="newsgroups">newsgroups</link>.  But do bear this in mind: no
question is too silly to ask, but some are too silly to answer,
especially when they are already answered in this <acronym>FAQ</acronym>.</para>
<para>Good luck and have fun!</para>

</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>What kind of hardware do I need to run &kde; ?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>To run &kde; it is recommended that you have at least a pentium II processor, 64MB of memory and 500MB of free disk space for a basic installation. While &kde; may run on slower configurations than this, performance can be severely impaired. Generally, if your computer runs an &X-Server; already with other desktop environments or window managers it's probably fast enough to run &kde;.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>Available package formats</para>
</question>
<answer>


<para>You can find several kinds of binary and source packages for
different distributions and operating systems on the &kde-ftp;.  The
binary packages are not made by the &kde; Team, but by the
distributors themselves, or some dedicated individuals. Please refer to
<ulink url="http://dot.kde.org/986933826/">&kde; Package Policy
Explained</ulink> for information about the &kde; Package Policy. The
only <quote>official</quote> release is the source tar.bz2
packages. Please refer to the <filename>README</filename>s and
<filename>INSTALL</filename>s in the several binaries folders. For
a list of the available packages for a release, refer to the relevant
info page. For the latest release this is the <ulink
url="http://www.kde.org/info/3.4.1.php">&kde; 3.4.1 Info
Page</ulink>.</para>

</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question id="prerequisites">
<para>Prerequisites</para>
</question>
<answer>

<!-- rewrite to make it more general, pointing to the according webpages? -->

<para>For &kde; 3.4.1, you need the &Qt; library version 3.3 or greater.  
Please make sure you download the correct &Qt;.  You will
also need the header files, if you want to compile &kde;
yourself.  They are all available, at no cost, from <ulink
url="http://www.trolltech.com/products/download">http://www.trolltech.com/download</ulink>.
In addition, there are optional libraries that might improve &kde; if
installed on your system.  An example is OpenSSL which will enable
&konqueror; to browse web pages securely and is needed in a version
>=0.9.6.  These should be provided by your distributor; if not, ask
for an update.</para>

</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>Description of the base packages</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>The base distribution currently consists of twenty
packages.  Some are required, while others are optional.  Each package
is available in each of the aforementioned package formats.</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>kdelibs</term>
<listitem>
<para>Required</para>
<para>This package contains shared libraries that are needed by all
&kde; applications.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>kdebase</term>
<listitem>
<para>Required</para>
<para>This package contains the base applications that form the core
of the K Desktop Environment like the window manager, the terminal
emulator, the control center, the file manager, and the panel.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>&arts;</term>
<listitem>
<para>Required</para>
<para>The &arts; sound server.  A powerful, network transparent sound
server.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>kdeaddons</term>
<listitem>
<para>Optional</para>
<para>Various plugins for &kate;, &kicker;, &knewsticker;, &konqueror; and &noatun; </para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>kdeartwork</term>
<listitem>
<para>Optional</para>
<para>Additional wallpapers, themes, styles, sounds ...</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>kdebindings</term>
<listitem>
<para>Optional</para>
<para>Various bindings for other languages, including &Java;, Perl, Python, ...</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>kdegames</term>
<listitem>
<para>Optional</para>
<para>Various games like &kmahjongg;, &ksnake;, &kasteroids;, and
&kpatience;.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>kdegraphics</term>
<listitem>
<para>Optional</para>
<para>Various graphics-related programs like &PostScript; previewer,
&DVI; previewer, and a drawing program.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>kdeutils</term>
<listitem>
<para>Optional</para>
<para>Various desktop tools like a calculator, an editor and other
nifty stuff.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>kdemultimedia</term>
<listitem>
<para>Optional</para>
<para>Multimedia applications like a &CD; player and a mixer.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>kdenetwork</term>
<listitem>
<para>Optional</para>
<para>Network applications.  Currently contains the instant messaging client &kopete;, the
download manager &kget;, and several other network-related programs.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>kdepim</term>
<listitem>
<para>Optional</para>
<para>Personal information management tools. Contains the email client &kmail;, the newsreader &knode; and other related programs.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>kdeadmin</term>
<listitem>
<para>Optional</para>
<para>System administration programs.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>kdeedu</term>
<listitem>
<para>Optional</para>
<para>
Educational and entertaining applications for &kde;'s younger users.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>kdeaccessibility</term>
<listitem>
<para>Optional</para>
<para>
KDE accessibility programs such as a screen magnifier and speech synthesizer front end.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>kdetoys</term>
<listitem>
<para>Optional</para>
<para>Toys!</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>kdevelop</term>
<listitem>
<para>Optional</para>
<para>A complete Integrated Development Environment for &kde; and Qt</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>kdewebdev</term>
<listitem>
<para>Optional</para>
<para>Web development applications. Contains such applications as &quanta;, an integrated web development environment and other applications useful in web development</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>kdesdk</term>
<listitem>
<para>Optional</para>
<para>KDE Software Development Kit. Contains a collection of applications and tools used by KDE Developers.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
	
<para>&arts; and then kdelibs should be installed before everything
else, and kdeaddons last. The other packages can be installed in any
arbitrary order.</para>

<para>Most package management tools will let you put all these
packages in one folder and install them all at once, figuring out
the dependencies as they go.</para>

</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>Installation instructions for the different package
formats</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para><important>
<para>Please do not forget to read the <filename>README</filename> and <filename>INSTALL</filename> files if they are available.</para>
</important></para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>Installation of the Debian packages</term>
<listitem>
<para>The Debian packages install in accordance with the upcoming <acronym>FHS</acronym> (File
Hierarchy Standard).</para>
<procedure>
<step performance="required"><para>become superuser</para></step>
<step performance="required"><para>run <command>dpkg <option>-i
<replaceable>packagename.deb</replaceable></option></command> for
every package you want to install.</para></step>
</procedure>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Installation of the <acronym>RPM</acronym> packages</term>
<listitem>
<procedure>
<title>To install binary <acronym>RPM</acronym>s</title>
<step performance="required"><para>become superuser</para></step>
<step performance="required"><para>execute <command>rpm <option>-ivh
<replaceable>packagename.rpm</replaceable></option></command></para></step>
</procedure>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Installation of the source <filename>.tar.bz2</filename> files</term>
<listitem>
<para>Since there are always changes and updates to the way &kde; is compiled, please
refer to <ulink url="http://developer.kde.org/build/index.html">Download and Install from Source</ulink> for the most up to date installation instructions for the source packages. 
</para>
<para>The general approach should work in most cases though.
</para>
<para>The source <filename>.tar.bz2</filename> package installs into <filename
class="directory">/usr/local/kde</filename> by default.  You can
override this setting by using the <option>--prefix</option> option of
the <filename>configure</filename> script.</para>
<procedure>
<step performance="required"><para>unpack the packages with <command>tar <option>jxvf
<replaceable>packagename.tar.bz2</replaceable></option></command></para></step>
<step performance="required"><para>change folder to the package folder: <command>cd
<replaceable>packagename</replaceable></command></para></step>
<step performance="required"><para>configure the package: <command>./configure</command>
<note><para>Some packages (notably kdebase) have special configuration
options that might be applicable to your installation.  Type
<command>./configure <option>--help</option></command> to see the
available options.</para></note></para></step>
<step performance="required"><para>build the package: <command>make</command></para></step>
<step performance="required"><para>install the package: <command>su <option>-c "make
install"</option></command> (if you aren't already root).  If you
already are, just type <command>make
<option>install</option></command>.</para></step>
</procedure>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>Post-installation procedures</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>First of all, please make sure that you have added &kde;'s binary
installation folder (&eg; <filename
class="directory">/usr/local/kde/bin</filename>) to your <envar>PATH</envar>
and &kde;'s 
library installation folder to your <envar>LD_LIBRARY_PATH</envar> (only
necessary on systems that do not support rpath; on &Linux; &ELF;, it 
should work without).  This environment variable may be called
differently on some systems, &eg; it is called
<envar>SHLIB_PATH</envar> on &IRIX;.  Then set the environment variable
<envar>KDEDIR</envar> to the base of your &kde; tree, &eg; <filename
class="directory">/usr/local/kde</filename>.
<caution>
<para>Please bear in mind that it is unwise to set
<envar>LD_LIBRARY_PATH</envar> blindly.  In the vast majority of cases it is
unnecessary and can do more harm than good.  There is a web page
written by <ulink url="mailto:barr@cis.ohio-state.edu">Dave
Barr</ulink> explaining the evils of <envar>LD_LIBRARY_PATH</envar> and it can be
found at <ulink
url="http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/~barr/ldpath.html">http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/~barr/ldpath.html</ulink>.</para>
</caution>
</para>
<para>Even though you can use most of the &kde; applications simply by
calling them, you can only benefit fully from &kde;'s advanced
features if you use the &kde; window manager and its helper
programs.</para>
<para>In order to make it easy for you, we have provided a simple
script called <filename>startkde</filename> which gets installed in <filename
class="directory">$<envar>KDEDIR</envar>/bin</filename> and is therefore in your
path.</para>
<para>Edit the file <filename>.xinitrc</filename> in your home folder (make a backup
copy first!), remove everything that looks like calling a window
manager, and insert <command>startkde</command> instead.  Restart the &X-Server;.  If you use
&kdm;/<application>xdm</application>, you will have to edit the file <filename>.xsession</filename> instead of
<filename>.xinitrc</filename>.  And if there is no <filename>.xinitrc</filename> or <filename>.xsession</filename> in your home
folder, simply create a new one with just one line containing
<command>startkde</command>.
<note>
<para>Some systems (notably &RedHat; &Linux;) use <filename>.Xclients</filename>
instead.</para>
</note></para>
<para>This should present you with a new shining &kde; desktop.  You
can now start to explore the wonderful world of &kde;.  In case you
want to read some documentation first, there is a highly recommended 
<ulink
url="http://www.kde.org/documentation/quickstart/index.html">Quick Start
guide</ulink> available.  Furthermore, every application has an online
help that is available via the <guimenu>help</guimenu> menu.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>


<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>Should I remove old version xyz before installing a new
one?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>In principle, this is not necessary.  <acronym>RPM</acronym> and Debian packages
should take care of all dependencies.</para>
<para>If you compile the source code yourself, you should take more care.
Instructions for running two different versions of &kde; on the same system are
given at <ulink
url="http://developer.kde.org/build/kde2-and-trinity.html">http://developer.kde.org/build/kde2-and-trinity.html</ulink>.
However, please note that running two different versions of &kde; from source
can lead to problems if you are not careful. </para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question id="startkde">
<para>How do I start &kde;?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>The most comfortable method to start &kde; is to use the
<filename>startkde</filename> script.  Simply put the line
<command>startkde</command> at the end of your <filename>.xsession</filename>
file (or your <filename>.xinitrc</filename> or <filename>.Xclients</filename>
file if you are not using &kdm; or <application>xdm</application>).  Please
also remove the lines that start your previous window manager.  If there is no
<filename>.xsession</filename>, <filename>.xinitrc</filename>, or
<filename>.Xclients</filename> in your home folder, simply create a new one
that contains just one line: <command>startkde</command>.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
<!-- Still needed?
<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>Whenever I start &kde;, it complains about "shadow passwords".
Why?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>When your system uses shadow passwords, the screensaver can only
run properly if the suid bit is set.  This bit gives the screensavers
root privileges, which are needed to access the shadow passwords.
<caution><para>The screensavers might be configured to secure the
machine until the password is entered.</para></caution></para>
<procedure>
<title>Setting the suid bit on the screensavers</title>
<step performance="required"><para>become root</para></step>
<step performance="required"><para><command>chown root
$<envar>KDEDIR</envar>/bin/*.kss</command></para></step>
<step performance="required"><para><command>chmod u+s
$<envar>KDEDIR</envar>/bin/*.kss</command></para></step>
</procedure>
<para>Alternatively, if you compile &kde; from source, you can use
<command>./configure <option>with-shadow</option></command> to
configure kdebase.  Then the suid bit is set automatically during
<command>make install</command>.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
-->
<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>Is it possible to install &kde; in my home directory?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>Yes, you can install &kde; in any folder you want.  What you
have to do depends on the kind of packages you want to install:</para>
<procedure><title>Source packages</title>
<step performance="required"><para>Configure and install the package using <command>configure
<option>--prefix=<replaceable>/home/me</replaceable></option>;
make; make install</command> to install into <filename
class="directory">/home/me</filename>. Replace <replaceable>/home/me</replaceable> with your home directory, generally defined in <envar>$HOME</envar></para></step>
<step performance="required"><para>Add the following to your init files.  Please note that if
it is not necessary for you to set <envar>LD_LIBRARY_PATH</envar>, it
is better to leave it out.</para>

<para>For csh or tcsh:</para>
<programlisting>
setenv KDEDIR /home/me

if ( $?LD_LIBRARY_PATH ) then
   setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH $KDEDIR/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
else
   setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH $KDEDIR/lib
endif

if ( ! $?LIBRARY_PATH ) then
   setenv LIBRARY_PATH $LD_LIBRARY_PATH
endif  
</programlisting>
<para>For <application>bash</application>:</para>
<programlisting>
KDEDIR=/home/me
PATH=$KDEDIR/bin:$PATH
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$KDEDIR/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
export KDEDIR PATH LD_LIBRARY_PATH LIBRARY_PATH
</programlisting></step>
</procedure>
<procedure><title><acronym>RPM</acronym> packages</title>
<step performance="required"><para><command>rpm</command> allows you to use the
<option>--prefix</option> option to select the folder you want to
install to.  For example, executing <command>rpm <option>-i
--prefix=<replaceable>/home/me
package.rpm</replaceable></option></command> will install the package
to <filename
class="directory">/home/me</filename>.</para></step>
</procedure>
<para><note>
<para>Although &kde; will run from a user folder, there are some
problems with programs that require suid root, &eg; the programs in
the kdeadmin package.  But since they are not meant to be run by users
in the first place, this is nothing to worry about.</para>
<para>However, on systems using shadow passwords, the screensavers
have to be suid root to enable password access for unlocking the
screen, so this option will not work.</para>
</note></para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para><command>startkde</command> fails with <errorname>can not connect to X
server</errorname>.  What is wrong?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>You probably tried to start the X server with <command>startkde</command>.  The X
server is started with <command>startx</command>.
<command>startkde</command> is the 
script that should be run from your <filename>.xinitrc</filename>, <filename>.xsession</filename>, or
<filename>.Xclients</filename> to activate the window manager and the necessary server
daemons for &kde;.  See also <xref linkend="startkde"/>.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>&kde; on &AIX;?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>
<!--
<para>If you have trouble building &kde; on
&AIX; check out Stefan Westerfeld's <ulink
url="http://space.twc.de/~stefan/kde/aix.html">Running &kde; on
Aix</ulink> page for lots of help on building &kde; on this
exceptional &UNIX; variant.</para>
-->
<acronym>IBM</acronym> now officially support &kde; on &AIX;. You can find
details at <ulink
url="http://www.ibm.com/servers/aix/products/aixos/linux/index.html">http://www.ibm.com/servers/aix/products/aixos/linux/index.html</ulink>.
There is also some older information at <ulink url="http://space.twc.de/~stefan/kde/aix.html">http://space.twc.de/~stefan/kde/aix.html</ulink>.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>&kde; on a laptop?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>If you can get &X-Window; to run on your laptop, you should not have any problem
getting &kde; to run on it.  In addition, you might find the following
links helpful:</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para><ulink url="http://www.linux-laptop.net/">http://www.linux-laptop.net/</ulink></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><ulink url="http://www.sanpei.org/Laptop-X/note-list.html">http://www.sanpei.org/Laptop-X/note-list.html</ulink></para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>I do not like the default &kde; folder after installation.  How
do I move it without breaking anything?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>Assuming the default is <filename
class="directory">/opt/kde</filename> and you want to move it to
<filename class="directory">/usr/local/kde</filename>, here's what
you have to do:</para>
<procedure>
<step performance="required"><para>change to superuser if you aren't already</para></step>
<step performance="required"><para><command>mv /opt/kde /usr/local/kde</command></para></step>
<step performance="required"><para><command>ln -s /usr/local/kde
/opt/kde</command></para></step>
</procedure>
<para>This will put all your &kde; files in <filename
class="directory">/usr/local/kde</filename> but everything is
still accessible from <filename
class="directory">/opt/kde</filename>.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>What files can I delete from my &kde; install folder?  Can all the
<filename>*.h</filename>, <filename>*.c</filename> and <filename>*.o</filename>
files be safely removed?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>There should not be any need to keep the <filename>.c</filename> and
<filename>.o</filename> files, but you might want to keep the
<filename>.h</filename> files, as they are used by includes if you ever want to
compile your own &kde; programs.  But if you wish to add patches to the source
programs as they become available (rather than downloading everything again),
then they should stay.</para> 
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>Will I lose my current settings when I upgrade &kde;?</para>
</question>
<answer>

<para>No. In most cases &kde; will be able to transport your settings
intact.  You may need to reenter passwords in some applications (such
as &kmail; or &knode;) but most other settings will be safe.</para>

<para>There were mixed reports of results between some previous
versions of &kde;.  To be safe, you may like to back up your entire
&kde; configuration. </para>

<para>Settings are kept in the <filename
class="directory">$<envar>HOME</envar>/.kde</filename> or <filename
class="directory">$<envar>HOME</envar>/.kde2</filename> subfolder in your home
folder.  Copy your
old <filename class="directory">.kde</filename>/<filename
class="directory">.kde2</filename> folder to a backup location,
install &kde; 3.2, and then copy back any necessary mail and news
settings. That said, most people can make a direct upgrade, without
removing the old <filename class="directory">.kde</filename> folder,
 without a hitch.</para>
<para>You can override the use of <filename
class="directory">$<envar>HOME</envar>/.kde</filename> by setting the
$<envar>KDEHOME</envar> variable.</para> 
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry id="greyscreen">
<question>
<para>I upgraded &kde; and it seemed to go fine, but when I start it,
I get a blank gray screen, and nothing happens.  There are errors in
the console about DCOPserver.  What's going on?</para>
</question>

<answer>
<para>
&kde; uses several temporary files during its operation.
These are usually to be found in the following locations:</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para><filename>~/.DCOPserver-*</filename> (there are usually two of these; one is a symlink to the other)</para></listitem>
<listitem><para><filename>~/.kde/socket-<replaceable>hostname</replaceable></filename></para></listitem>
<listitem><para><filename>~/.kde/tmp-<replaceable>hostname</replaceable></filename> which is normally a symlink to the next file:</para></listitem>
<listitem><para><filename>/tmp/tmp-kde-<replaceable>USER</replaceable></filename></para></listitem>
<listitem><para><filename>~/.kde/socket-<replaceable>hostname</replaceable></filename> which is also normally a symlink to:</para></listitem>
<listitem><para><filename>/tmp/ksocket-<replaceable>USER</replaceable></filename></para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

<para>If the symlinks get broken, usually because a
<command>cron</command> or shutdown script is emptying out the
<filename class="directory">/tmp</filename> folder, then strange
things will happen.  These files, and the symlinks, will all be
created automatically at the start of &kde; so you can safely remove
them <emphasis>while &kde; is not running</emphasis>.</para>

<para>If you are only getting a gray screen when you start &kde;, or if you get an error message telling you to <errorname>Check your installation</errorname>, then shut down X and delete all the files listed above, then try to restart X.</para>

<para>Normally (&ie; when not upgrading between &kde; versions) it's
quite safe to leave these files intact, and you may shave a few
seconds off your &kde; startup time by doing so.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>Compiling kdebase gives me a <errorname>bin/sh: msgfmt: command
not found</errorname> error!</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>You need the &GNU; <application>msgfmt</application> which is
part of the &GNU; i18n package <application>gettext</application>.
You should be able to download it from any 
&GNU; mirror.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>How do I uninstall &kde; applications compiled from
source?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>You can uninstall your programs by typing <command>make
uninstall</command> in the folder where you did <command>make
install</command>.  If you have already deleted that folder,
then there is only one way, and it is not good: go to <filename
class="directory">$<envar>KDEDIR</envar>/bin</filename> and start deleting files
one by one.</para>
<para>If you expect to find yourself in this situation, you might want to
consider a program such as &GNU; <application>stow</application>, found at
<ulink url="http://www.gnu.org/software/stow/stow.html">http://www.gnu.org/software/stow/stow.html</ulink>.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question id="gif">
<para>What is up with &GIF; support?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>This has to do with issues with Unisys' &LZW; patent.  &GIF;
support is turned off from &Qt; 1.44 onwards by default. When you want to use
&GIF;s and have the relevant license, recompile &Qt; with &GIF; support.
<command>./configure <option>-gif</option></command>.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
</qandaset>
</chapter>