Miscellaneous questions

KDE Frequently Asked Questions
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# Chapter 13. Miscellaneous questions

13.1. Why does KDE use Qt™?
13.2. Why does KDE not use gtk, xforms, xlib, whatever?
13.3. But Qt™ isn't free, is it?
13.4. How do I mount filesystems (e.g. my CD-ROM drive) in KDE?
13.5. Does KDE have terminal emulators with transparent background?
13.6. Is there a way to get various kinds of information about my drive contents: free space, directory size, etc.?
13.7. How can I get Backspace to work correctly under KDE?
13.8. How do I create icons for non-KDE applications that I can put in the K menu? Where do these icons (or kdelnk) go?
13.9. What about KDE programs that do not have icons? How do I get them into the menu?
13.10. Does KDE have a graphical FTP client?
13.11. How do I exit KDE?
13.12. Is there a program that checks for new mails at my ISP if and only if I am online?
13.13. Is it really necessary to upgrade to the latest version?
13.14. How do I copy and paste in KDE?
13.15. How do I convert the default Red Hat® menus into a menu in the K menu?
13.16. What is CVS?
13.17. Does KDE support dual screen (Xinerama)?
13.18. How do I check which version of KDE I am using?
13.19. Can I write commerical software for KDE?
13.20. Why does KDE Control Center report my KDE version as 2.0pre even though I have downloaded the newest version?
13.21. How do I go about creating themes and icons?
13.22. Is KLyX dead?
13.23. How can I get to know about development updates?

13.1. Why does KDE use Qt™?

Qt™ is a very sophisticated toolkit that provides everything that is needed to build a modern user interface. Qt™ is written in C++, thus allowing object-oriented development which ensures efficiency and code reuse in a project the size and scope of KDE. In our opinion there is no better toolkit available for UNIX® systems and that it would have been a grave mistake to try to build KDE on anything but the best.

13.2. Why does KDE not use gtk, xforms, xlib, whatever?

There are a number of toolkits available. To provide a consistent user interface and to keep used resources such as memory to a minimum, KDE can use only one of them. Qt™ was selected for the reasons mentioned above.

13.3. But Qt™ isn't free, is it?

It is! As of September 4, 2000, version 2.2 of the Qt™ libraries were licensed under the GPL, thereby fulfilling all aspects of "free software".

13.4. How do I mount filesystems (e.g. my CD-ROM drive) in KDE?

To mount your CD-ROM drive, first, you (as root) need to add the following line to `/etc/fstab`:

     /dev/cdrom     /cdrom     iso9660  ro,user,noauto,unhide

Please make sure that you have a soft link from `/dev/cdrom` to whatever /dev/hd? your CD-ROM drive is (assuming you are using an ATAPI CD-ROM drive). You should see something like this when you ls -l /dev/cdrom:

     lrwxrwxrwx   1 root     root            8 Jul 28 22:21 /dev/cdrom -> /dev/hdb

The above would be done with ln -s /dev/hdb /dev/cdrom (as root). Last but not least, make sure a valid mount point exists for the CD-ROM drive to be mounted on, for example:

     % ls -la /cdrom
     total 2
     drwxrwsr-x   2 root     cdrom        1024 Sep 14  1995 ./
     drwxr-xr-x  24 root     root         1024 Dec  1 21:00 ../

Now you can mount it from the command prompt by typing mount /cdrom. Or if you prefer, create a KDE device link to your CD-ROM drive and place it on your desktop. Clicking on it will automatically mount the drive for you. Okay, concerning the question of how to make a KDE device link to your CD-ROM drive, please look to the KDE User Guide for the answers.

More information on mounting filesystems can be found by running man fstab and man mount respectively.

13.5. Does KDE have terminal emulators with transparent background?

Yes and no. Konsole has the ability to simulate transparency by redrawing the background of the window inside the Konsole window. This gives the illusion of transparency, but if you place Konsole on top of another window, the transparency is lost. Eterm should work fine under KDE if you desire more complete transparency.

13.6. Is there a way to get various kinds of information about my drive contents: free space, directory size, etc.?

The KDE control panel will let you look at each drive and will give you information concerning free space, space used, etc. To determine how large a single directory is, you should use the du command. Details about its usage can be found by typing man du at a command prompt. If you just want to know how much space the directory takes up, simply type du `-h `directory``).

13.7. How can I get Backspace to work correctly under KDE?

Try running xmodmap `-e 'keycode 22 = BackSpace'` and see if that fixes it (applications will have to be restarted for that to take effect). You should be able to just stick that into your X startup files like `.xinitrc`.

Or simply upgrade to XFree86-3.3.3.1-1 and above.

| Also, concerning the Backspace-Bug (Bug number: kb704): the bug is fixed somehow by putting the following line into `$`HOME`/.xinitrc`:
     xmodmap -  "keysym Delete = BackSpace"

13.8. How do I create icons for non-KDE applications that I can put in the K menu? Where do these icons (or kdelnk) go?

Create using your favorite image manipulator, for example, GIMP, and put them in `$`KDEDIR`/share/icons(/mini)` or `$`HOME`/.kde/share/icons(/mini)`. By the way, The KDE Icon Editor is being developed by the KDE team. More information can be found at http://w1.1358.telia.com/~u135800018/prog.html#KICONEDIT.

13.9. What about KDE programs that do not have icons? How do I get them into the menu?

Use kmenuedit.

13.10. Does KDE have a graphical FTP client?

Yes, and in KDE 1.x it is none other than your favorite file manager, KFM! You can drag and drop remote files into local directories. There is also a utility called KGet that allows resuming and queueing, but you need to use it in combination with KFM (you can drag-n-drop into KGet but cannot use it to browse FTP servers).

For KDE 2, please use Konqueror instead.

13.11. How do I exit KDE?

Simply click on the K button and select Logout. In addition, if you right click on an empty area of the desktop, you will be presented with a menu containing logout as one of the options.

| Ctrl+Alt+Backspace will also do the trick by killing the X server, but its use prevents session management.

13.12. Is there a program that checks for new mails at my ISP if and only if I am online?

Either KBiff or KOrn will do the job. If you are not connected, they will just sit there (idling).

13.13. Is it really necessary to upgrade to the latest version?

Not really. If you are happy with your KDE right now, there is absolutly no reason to change. If, however, you want a more polished environment, an increase in speed and the number of features, then you should upgrade.

13.14. How do I copy and paste in KDE?

The simplest method is to use your mouse:

1. Highlight the text you want to copy by holding down the left mouse button and dragging across the text.

2. Go to the destination area; depending on your configuration, you might need to click it using the left mouse button to give it focus.

3. Click the middle mouse button to paste. If you have a two button mouse and are emulating a three button mouse, push both buttons simultaneously.

13.15. How do I convert the default Red Hat® menus into a menu in the K menu?

Click on the K button and select System->Appfinder.

13.16. What is CVS?

It stands for Concurrent Versions System. It is a version control system and is based on RCS (Revision Control System), but offers more functionality. It is used to maintain source code under development. It will keep multiple versions of things (handy if you broke something and have to back up and get a clean old version), and allows people remote access over the Net to pick up the latest source code and even to check in new stuff if they have permission. It is also open source (you pay for support if you want it), and since it is free it is the system of choice for people writing more free products, such as KDE.

13.17. Does KDE support dual screen (Xinerama)?

You need to have the a multi-headed X server (e.g. MetroX or XFree86 4.0 and above) and a window manager that understands multi-headed display (e.g. Window Maker).

13.18. How do I check which version of KDE I am using?

Fire up your KDE Control Center. If there is no mention of a version on the first screen, you have version 1.0 (and it is time to upgrade!).

13.19. Can I write commerical software for KDE?

You can use the KDE libraries to write "commercial and closed source" as well as "commercial and open source" software. If you write open source software you can use the Qt™ free edition. But if you write closed source software you may not use the Qt™ free edition; you'd have to obtain the Qt™ professional edition from Troll Tech.

If you want more information, please contact Troll Tech directly.

13.20. Why does KDE Control Center report my KDE version as 2.0pre even though I have downloaded the newest version?

It is a bug and has since been fixed in the CVS.

13.21. How do I go about creating themes and icons?

Go see http://artist.kde.org.

13.22. Is KLyX dead?

Yes. But future versions of LyX will be GUI independent. Check the progress of the various GUI frontends here.

13.23. How can I get to know about development updates?

You might want to subscribe to the various KDE mailing lists available, especially kde-cvs, which lists all commits done to the KDE CVS repository. Check http://lists.kde.org if you want to read without subscribing.

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Useful tips |  | Not really KDE-related, but frequently asked nevertheless :-)