2.2 Configuring Your Desktop with the Control Center
With KDE, you can personalize your desktop to a very high
degree. You can change a variety of settings, such as the desktop
background, screen saver, fonts, keyboard and mouse configuration,
and sounds. Adjust these settings with the modules of the KDE
Control Center. Start the Control Center from the main menu by
selecting or press
F2
and enter kcontrol.
The sidebar provides different categories with a subset of
settings each. Just click a category icon and explore the
possibilities provided there. You can always return to the
higher-level category by clicking . For an
overview of all categories, switch to a tree view. Change the view
by selecting
Clicking an item displays the corresponding settings on the
right. Change the settings as desired. No changes take effect
until you click . If you have changed an
option then decide that you want to leave the settings as they
were, click to discard the changes. Reset
all items on the page to the default values by clicking
. Changing some settings may require
root permissions. Log in as root if prompted to do so.
The following sections introduce the major categories and
contain procedures for some common changes you may want to apply
to your KDE desktop. Detailed information about the settings of
each category is provided by the button on
each page of settings or in the help center.
2.2.1 Appearance & Themes
This category lets you change the way your KDE desktop and
applications look. You can access a number of settings.
holds options for the background
of your desktop, such as colors, pictures, or slide shows. If
you configured multiple virtual desktops, you can set different
options for each. See Section 2.2.2,
Desktop.
lets you manage and edit color schemes
for your desktop. There are a variety of color schemes installed
by default, but you can also create your own color scheme using a
predefined scheme as starting point.
With , all fonts and font
attributes used on the KDE desktop can be configured. You can
also modify antialiasing settings. By default, antialiasing is
activated for all fonts. Antialiasing is a software technique
for diminishing jagged edges that should be smooth. Although it
reduces the jagged appearance of the lines, it also makes them
fuzzier. To deactivate or customize antialiasing, select the
corresponding options.
In the section, control the icon
style for the entire KDE desktop. Icons are used on the desktop,
panel, and toolbars of applications. You can choose icon themes,
adjust icon sizes, assign effects to icons (for example, you can
make them semitransparent or colorize them), and configure
settings for each of the different places icons are used.
allows you to modify what
kind of cursor and taskbar feedback you want for starting
applications. For example, instead of a bouncing cursor
indicating that an application is loading, you can set a
blinking cursor.
A screen saver automatically appears if you do not use your
computer for a specific time. In the
section, change the screen saver
or configure the time-out before it starts.
In the section, you can
change the splash screen that displays on KDE start-up.
holds options for user interface
elements (called widgets) in KDE, such as buttons, menus, and
scroll bars. You can choose a certain style and see a preview of
it.
With , choose, install, or
modify configuration sets (themes) for your KDE desktop.
provides options for the
title bar of the windows and the style of the borders around
windows.
Changing Your Desktop Background
If you want to change your desktop background, for
example, proceed as follows:
-
Start the Control Center from the main menu or press
F2
and enter kcontrol.
-
Click .
-
In select the
virtual desktop to which the changes should apply.
-
If you want to change the picture on the background,
click and select one of the
pictures provided by the list. To use a custom
picture, click the folder button beneath the list and select
an image file from the file system.
-
Choose a certain for your
picture in the group.
-
If you do not want a certain picture on the background,
click .
-
From the group, click the left
button below to select the color
for your background. For a multicolor background,
set to an option other than
and click the right button
below to select a second color.
-
When all options are set according to your wishes, click
.
2.2.2 Desktop
The settings configure the
appearance and behavior of your KDE desktop.
In , configure options such as
showing or hiding desktop icons, showing tool tips, and icon
layout. You can also specify if you want to see previews of
particular file types on the desktop and which devices have
icons.
In , increase or reduce
the number of virtual desktops to use and enter a name for each
desktop. By default, two virtual desktops are configured on your
system. You can switch between the desktops with the desktop
previewer in the panel or by using the mouse wheel.
controls panel options such as size,
position, length, and display. You can also change the
appearance of the panel with transparency, background images,
and icon zooming. Because the main menu is also part of the
panel, also configure various menu options here, including the
applications shown in your main menu.
In the section, configure options
such as whether to show windows from all desktops on the
taskbar, grouping of similar tasks, and what action on the
taskbar your mouse buttons trigger.
customizes the default KDE
window manager, kwin. Here, control what happens when windows
are moved, clicked, or resized. You can bind actions to certain
keys and mouse events.
lets you customize
settings that only apply to some windows. It only takes effect
if you use KWin as your window manager.
Configuring the Main Menu
If you want to configure your main menu,
proceed as follows:
-
Start the Control Center from the main menu or press
F2
and enter kcontrol.
-
Click .
-
Click the tab.
-
You can define whether you want to see the applications
names or the descriptive text (or both) in the main menu.
Select from , ,
, and .
-
If you want to change a menu item, click . The K Menu Editor shows a list of menu
items on the left.
-
Click the item in the list and change its options on
the right.
-
You can add new menu items, submenus, or separators
with the menu or the
toolbar.
-
To cut, copy, paste, or delete objects in the main
menu, use the menu or the icons
in the toolbar.
-
To apply your changes in the K Menu Editor, click .
-
To apply all of your changes in the
tab and close the KDE Control
Center, click .
2.2.3 Internet & Network
The category
helps you configure Internet and networking options.
Two sections deal with how to manage your Bluetooth devices and
services: and
. To learn more about
Bluetooth, refer to “Bluetooth” (Chapter “Wireless Communication”, ↑Deployment Guide). In the
section, KDE lets you change the
time-out values for different connections.
is useful if you want to
invite other people to your desktops. Only let trustworthy users
take part in your session.
allows you to configure Samba
(Windows) and NFS (UNIX) file sharing. The settings can only be
changed if you are an administrator. If you log in as root, you
can add, change, or remove folders to share with others.
Use if you want to
browse a local network. It is like Network
Neighborhood.
Take into account that you may need some
additional software, especially the LISa daemon (see package
kdenetwork3-lisa).
In , you can customize proxy and
SOCKS servers. Normally, if your administrator does not tell you
to use this, it is probably not useful for you.
The settings in should only be
configured with YaST.
offers settings for the default
KDE browser, Konqueror. For example, you can customize fonts,
manage cookies, and determine Web behavior, such Web shortcuts.
For more information about how to use Web shortcuts, refer to
Section 13.5.2,
Using Web Shortcuts.
2.2.4 KDE Components
This category holds advanced KDE options, such as the
default application to open when clicking a link.
The module handles
basic tasks. You can change the default e-mail client, text
editor, messenger, terminal, and Web browser. Whenever a KDE
application needs to start an application of these types, it
always calls the default component set here.
KDE uses to
identify a file type and start an appropriate application. Here,
you can also choose which icon represents each file type and
whether to show files of a certain type in an embedded or a
separate viewer.
The module configures the
behavior of Konqueror as a file manager. Here, define which
fonts and font sizes to use, the path to your home directory, if
previews are allowed, and if quick copy and move actions are
allowed.
In , you can optimize the
performance of your KDE desktop.
An overview of all plug-ins of the KDE daemon is shown in
. This module shows two
different types: services invoked on start-up and services
called on demand. Normally, do not change the settings of this
module, because it is vital for KDE.
In , define how KDE
handles sessions on login and shutdown. By default, KDE
remembers your previous session and restores the applications
you were using the next time you login. You can define different
options here, such as excluding individual applications from
being restored.
lets you modify what spell
checker to use, what types of errors to check for, and the
default dictionary to use. The KDE spell checking system
(KSpell) provides support for several spell checking utilities:
the most commonly used are ASpell and ISpell.
For more information, see also ASpell and
ISpell.
2.2.5 Peripherals
This category holds settings for various devices that can be
plugged in to your computer, such as a digital camera, display,
keyboard, and mouse.
lets you configure support for
your digital camera. You can add your camera model and define
the type of port by which it is connected to your computer.
With , modify your display
options, such as screen size and power control if supported by
your display.
helps to check whether your joystick
is working correctly. You can adjust the calibration.
The section allows you to modify
basic keyboard settings such as keyboard repeat delay.
You can also adjust many
settings, such as actions to
trigger by single or double clicking, cursor themes, and
double-click intervals.
With , configure OBEX
connections for your devices, such as PDAs.
allows you to configure
bindings between your remote controls and KDE
applications.
2.2.6 Regional & Accessibility
This category holds regional settings as well as options for
handicapped users.
In , configure functions
that can help individuals with difficulties in hearing or motor
function. These include certain sound and keyboard options.
The
section lets you configure options that are specific for your
location, such as language, currency, and number and date
format.
In , configure mouse
gestures and keyboard shortcuts for starting applications and
running commands.
In the section,
find multiple layouts for different languages. If
is selected, you
can add and activate several keyboard layouts, such as English
and German, and switch between them. Fine-tune them in the
tab.
In the section, you
can define global KDE shortcuts. For an overview of the
currently active shortcuts, refer to the list of . You can also choose a different,
predefined shortcut scheme, such as a Windows or Mac scheme.
2.2.7 Security & Privacy
This category holds settings for personal security
certificates, KWallet, password treatment, and privacy settings.
To make KDE more secure, allows
you to configure SSL (secure socket layer). This is used in most
KDE applications as well as others. There is also a possibility
to manage your personal certificates.
allows you to configure the KDE
Wallet system, KWallet. It saves sensitive information, such as
passwords and form data, for several applications in a strongly
encrypted file, protected with a master password that you
define. For information about using KWallet, see Section 1.11.2,
Managing Passwords with KWallet Manager.
To change your personal settings, go to . Here, set a new name,
organization, e-mail address, SMTP server, or password.
The module manages personal Web
browsing data. For example, use it to clear the cache, delete
the history of visited Web sites, or remove unwanted cookies.
2.2.8 Sound & Multimedia
Use this category to perform all settings for the playback
of audio CDs and for the sound system.
In , configure encoding and
device settings.
With , configure aRts, KDE's
sound server. This allows you to hear your system sound while
simultaneously listening to a music CD.
With , switch from system
notifications (default) to a system bell and specify the volume,
pitch, and duration of the bell.
The section defines
how the system should inform you in the event of a problem, when
a task is performed, or if an event requiring your immediate
attention occurs. In the upper part of the dialog, select the
application for which to configure the system notifications. As
soon as you select a program, all events the application can
send to the user are listed in the lower window. Determine the
notification type for each notification in the
dialog.
The default view of the system notification dialog only
offers for audible notification.
Click to access other action
modes. You can log the notification to a file, execute a
program, or show the message in a pop-up window. In the lower
part of the dialog under ,
globally activate or deactivate the actions for all programs.
2.2.9 System Administration
This category offers options for central system tasks. Most
of the sections require root permission to make changes.
With , you can install
personal or systemwide fonts. To change system fonts, click
.
The module only
takes effect if you have installed the source of your kernel. It
is only useful if you are a developer compiling a new kernel and
want to customize some options.
configures the KDE login
manager, KDM. You can change the appearance, fonts used,
background shown, shutdown behavior, what users are displayed at
login, and some convenience issues for the login screen.
The section defines the paths to
some important directories for your data:
desktop, autostart,
and documents.
