<!DOCTYPE book PUBLIC "-//KDE//DTD DocBook V3.1-Based Variant V1.0//EN" [
  <!ENTITY % addindex "IGNORE">
  <!ENTITY % English "INCLUDE">
  <!ENTITY % ents PUBLIC "-//KDE//ENTITIES Documentation V1.0//EN">
  %ents;
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<book lang="&language;">
<bookinfo>

<title>An Invitation to &kde;</title>

<authorgroup>
<author>
<surname>The KDE Team</surname>
</author>
</authorgroup>

<date>10/7/2000</date>
<releaseinfo>2.0</releaseinfo>

<copyright>
<year>1999</year><year>2000</year>
<holder>The KDE Team</holder>
</copyright>

<legalnotice>&FDLNotice;</legalnotice>

<abstract>
<para>An introduction to the K Desktop Environment</para>
<para>Quick Start Guide to &kde;</para></abstract>

<keywordset>
<keyword>KDE</keyword>
<keyword>quick start</keyword>
<keyword>introduction</keyword>
</keywordset>
</bookinfo>

<chapter id="introduction">
<title>Introduction</title>

<para>This document is a brief introduction to the K Desktop Environment. It
will familiarize you with some of the basic features of &kde;.</para>

<para>This guide is far from covering all aspects of the K Desktop or even most
of them. It will only describe some of the most basic ways to accomplish a few
of the most common tasks.</para>

<para>We assume that you are already familiar with at least one graphical user
interface, for example <trademark>CDE</trademark>, <trademark>Geos</trademark>,
<trademark>GEM</trademark>, &NeXTSTEP;, &Mac;, <trademark>OS/2</trademark> or
&Microsoft; &Windows;. So we will not explain the usage of the mouse or the
keyboard but concentrate on hopefully more interesting things. </para>

</chapter>

<chapter id="an-overview-of-kde">
<title>An Overview of &kde;</title>

<para>This section is for users who prefer to learn by exploring and want only a
brief orientation to get started. Later sections provide a more thorough
introduction to the environment, with helpful hints and shortcuts. If you are
impatient to get started, skim this section, go play for a bit, then come back
and peruse the other sections of this guide as needed.</para>

<para>Note: &kde; provides a highly configurable desktop environment. This
overview assumes that you are using the default environment.</para>

<sect1 id="the-kde-desktop">
<title>The KDE Desktop</title>

<para>A typical KDE desktop consists of three areas:</para>

<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>A <interface>panel</interface> at the bottom of the screen, used
to start applications and switch between desktops. Among other things, it
contains the Application Starter, a large "K" icon which displays a menu of
applications to start when clicked. </para></listitem>
<listitem><para>A <interface>taskbar</interface> at the upper-left corner of the
screen, used to switch between and manage currently running applications. Click
on an application on the taskbar to zip to the application.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>The <interface>desktop</interface> itself, on which frequently
used files and folders may be placed. KDE provides multiple desktops, each of
which has its own windows. Click on the numbered buttons on the panel to switch
between desktops.</para> </listitem>
</itemizedlist>

</sect1>

<sect1 id="ready-set-go">
<title>Ready, Set, Go!</title>

<para>Here are a few quick tips to get you up and running.</para>

<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>To start an application, click on the "<guiicon>K</guiicon>"
button on the panel (called the <link linkend="starter">Application
Starter</link>) and choose an item from the menu.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Click the icon that looks like a folder with a picture of a
house on the panel to access the files in your home directory using <application>Konqueror</application>, KDE's File Manager utility.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Choose <menuchoice><guimenu>Application
Starter</guimenu><guisubmenu>System</guisubmenu><guimenuitem>Terminal</guimenuitem></menuchoice>
to get a Unix command prompt, or press
<keycombo><keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>F2</keycap></keycombo> to get a mini
command prompt window to execute a single command.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Choose the <guiicon>KDE Control Center</guiicon> item on Application Starter to configure KDE.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Press
<keycombo><keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>Tab</keycap></keycombo> to switch between
apps and <keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>Tab</keycap></keycombo> to
switch between desktops using the keyboard.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Use the <mousebutton>right</mousebutton> mouse button to access
context menus for the panel, desktop, and many KDE applications.</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

</sect1>
</chapter>

<chapter id="launching-applications">
<title>Launching Applications</title>

<sect1 id="starter">
<title>Using the Application Starter and the Panel</title>

<para>On the bottom of the screen you find the desktop panel.  You use the panel
to launch applications. Have a look at the button on the left with a large K.
This button is called the <guiicon>Application Starter</guiicon>. It has a small
arrow on the top to indicate that it will pop up a menu if you click on it. Just
do it! The popup offers you easy access to all KDE applications installed on
your computer system.</para>

<sect2>
<title>Customizing the Panel</title>

<para>If you use one application or tool very often, then you may want to have
even faster access to it, of course. In this case, you can add a single
application, or an entire sub-menu of the Application Starter menu, as a special
quick-launch button onto the panel. If you want to reach the "Find Files"
directly via a launch button, simply choose <menuchoice><guimenu>Application
starter</guimenu> <guisubmenu>Panel Menu</guisubmenu>
<guisubmenu>Add</guisubmenu> <guisubmenu>Application</guisubmenu>
<guimenuitem>Find Files</guimenuitem></menuchoice> (By this we mean that you
should first click the <guimenu>Application Starter</guimenu>, then select
"<guisubmenu>Panel Menu</guisubmenu>" where the small arrow to the right
indicates that another menu will pop up. In this menu, choose
"<guisubmenu>Add</guisubmenu>", then "<guisubmenu>Application</guisubmenu>", and
in the next sub-menu, "<guimenuitem>Find Files</guimenuitem>".).</para>
	
<para>Note that you can move all items of the panel around with the
"<guimenuitem>move</guimenuitem>" command of the context menu. Just click with
the <mousebutton>third</mousebutton> mouse button (the
<mousebutton>third</mousebutton> mouse button is normally the
<mousebutton>right</mousebutton> button, but if you have configured your mouse
differently, for example for left-handers, it might also be the
<mousebutton>left</mousebutton> one). A menu will pop up where you can choose
"<guimenuitem>Move</guimenuitem>". Now move the mouse and see how the icon
follows while still staying on the panel. When you are done, simply hit the
first mouse button (by default the left one). As you have may have noticed,
there is also a menu entry "<guimenuitem>Remove</guimenuitem>" in case you are
tired of a certain launch button on your desktop.</para>

</sect2>

<sect2>
<title>Using Context menus</title>

<para>This leads us to another interesting topic: in many places, you can click
the <mousebutton>right</mousebutton> mouse button to display a
<interface>context menu</interface> with choices that are applicable to the item
you clicked. It is therefore always a good idea to try out the
<mousebutton>third</mousebutton> mouse button on something, if you do not know
what to do with it. Even the background of the desktops has such a menu!</para> 

</sect2>

<sect2>
<title>Other Panel features</title>

<para>There are other interesting things possible with the panel. One
may be important if you have a low resolution on your monitor: it is
the "hide-and-show"-function, activated by clicking on the textured bar on the
left edge of the panel.</para>

<para>By the way, if you are not sure what a certain button does in KDE, just
move the mouse pointer over it and wait for a short while: KDE has a built-in
mini context help, called "tooltips", which explains the functionality of such
controls in a few words.</para> 

</sect2>
</sect1>

<sect1 id="want-command-line-back">
<title>But I want my command line back!</title>

<para>Just calm down, there is nothing to fear. KDE does not want to take your
beloved (and sometimes very effective) command line away from you. You can move
your files with the desktop, but you can also use the Unix commands you are
accustomed to.</para>

<para>KDE provides a very sophisticated command line window called
<application>konsole</application>.  Choose <menuchoice><guimenu>application
starter</guimenu> <guisubmenu>System</guisubmenu>
<guimenuitem>Terminal</guimenuitem></menuchoice> to start it. This may
be something you want on your panel!</para>
  
<para>Sometimes, you only want to enter one command on the command line. In
these cases, you do not need a full-blown terminal. Just hit
<keycombo><keycap>Alt</keycap> <keycap>F2</keycap></keycombo> and you get a
small command line where you can enter one command. The command line window will
disappear afterwards, but it remembers your command. When you pop up this window
(which we call "<application>minicli</application>" by the way) and hit the
<keycap>Up-arrow</keycap>, you can browse through all the commands you have
previously entered.  Also, you can enter <abbrev>URL</abbrev>'s in
<application>minicli</application> to open a
<application>Konqueror</application> window with the specified
<abbrev>URL</abbrev>. A final tip: to display a Unix man page, enter
<command>man:<replaceable>command</replaceable></command> in
<application>minicli</application>, where <replaceable>command</replaceable> is
the name of a Unix command.</para>

</sect1>
</chapter>

<chapter id="working-with-windows">
<title>Working with Windows</title>

<para>If you have not already done so, start an application using the <link
linkend="starter"><guiicon>Application Starter</guiicon></link>, like
"<guimenuitem>Find Files</guimenuitem>".</para> 

<sect1 id="window-what-now">
<title>A window! What now?</title>

<para>Well, usually people work <emphasis>inside</emphasis> windows, but
sometimes you may want to manipulate windows. Here's a quick overview of some of
the most common window-related functions:</para>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>Move a window</term>
<listitem><para>Drag the window's titlebar, or hold the <keycap>Alt</keycap> key
down and drag anywhere in the window.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Resize a window:</term>
<listitem><para>Drag the window's border, or hold the <keycap>Alt</keycap> key
down and drag with the <mousebutton>right</mousebutton> mouse button anywhere in
the window. </para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Maximize a window</term>
<listitem><para>Click the maximize button in the titlebar (the square, next to
the X) to make the window fill the screen, or if the window is already
maximized, to shrink it back to it's original size.  Clicking with the
<mousebutton>middle</mousebutton> maximizes the window vertically: the
<mousebutton>right</mousebutton>, horizontally.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Iconify a window</term>
<listitem><para>Click the iconify button in the titlebar (next to Maximize) to
hide the window.  Get it back by clicking on the window's icon in the
taskbar.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Switch between windows</term>
<listitem><para>Aside from the usual mouse click to switch to another window,
you can use <keycombo><keycap>Alt</keycap> <keycap>Tab</keycap></keycombo> to
switch windows.  See below for more techniques.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>

<sect2>
<title>Titlebar buttons</title>

<para>KDE windows have some pretty standard buttons on their titlebars which
give you fast access to some common operations. The default button layout looks
like this:</para>
 
<para>On the left side:</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>a menu button. This usually shows a mini icon
for the application. Click on it to get a window operations menu. 
Shortcut: <keycombo><keycap>Alt</keycap> <keycap>F3</keycap></keycombo> opens
the window menu. </para></listitem>
<listitem><para>a sticky button, with a picture of a tack. What the heck is
this? Stay tuned! </para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

<para>On the right side:</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>an iconify button. </para></listitem>
<listitem><para>a maximize button. </para></listitem>
<listitem><para>a close button. This closes the window. Shortcut:
<keycombo><keycap>Alt</keycap> <keycap>F4</keycap></keycombo>.</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

</sect2>

<sect2>
<title>Switching between windows</title>

<para>Now that we know how to deal with windows we encourage you to open some
other windows with the panel since we will now discuss how to switch between
different windows. Since this is such a common activity, KDE offers several ways
to do it; pick your favorite!</para>

<para>Many window systems require you to click the mouse in another window to
begin using it. This is KDE's default behavior, termed "ClickToFocus" focus
policy. But you can also configure your desktop in a way that moving the mouse
pointer onto a window will activate it. This is called "FocusFollowMouse". If
you select this policy using the <link linkend="configure">KDE Control
Center</link>, the window under the mouse pointer is always the active one. It
doesn't necessarily come to the front automatically, but you can still click
onto the titlebar or the border of a window or -- a KDE special -- you can use
the <keycap>Alt</keycap> key and click the <mousebutton>middle</mousebutton>
mouse button anywhere on the window to raise it.</para>

<para>Here are some other methods to switch windows:</para>

<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>Pick a window from the <emphasis>window list</emphasis> menu. To
open the menu, click the <mousebutton>middle</mousebutton> mouse button on an
empty area of the desktop, or click the icon with several windows on the
panel.</para></listitem> 
<listitem><para>Hold down the <keycap>Alt</keycap> key and press
<keycap>Tab</keycap> to cycle through the windows.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Use the taskbar (see below).</para></listitem></itemizedlist>

</sect2>
</sect1>

<sect1 id="using-taskbar">
<title>Using the Taskbar</title>

<para>The <interface>taskbar</interface> displays a list of small icons, one for
each window on the desktop. In the default KDE setup the taskbar is located
inside the panel, but it can also be located at the top or the bottom of the
screen.</para> 

<para>The taskbar is very powerful: A simple click with the
<mousebutton>left</mousebutton> mouse button on the appropriate taskbar button
will bring you to the selected application immediately. Click an entry with the
<mousebutton>middle</mousebutton> mouse button  to iconify/deiconify a
window. Last but not least, the <mousebutton>right</mousebutton> mouse button
will pop up a context menu, with window operations for the selected
window.</para> 

</sect1>

<sect1 id="using-v-desktops">
<title>Using Virtual Desktops</title>

<para>Now, what was that "sticky" thing?</para>

<para>It may happen that you have more windows open than space on your
desktop. In this case you have three possibilities:</para> 

<orderedlist>
<listitem><para> Leave all windows open (cluttered desktop)</para></listitem>
<listitem><para> Iconify those windows which you do not need at present and use
the taskbar or <keycombo><keycap>Alt</keycap> <keycap>Tab</keycap></keycombo> to
switch between them (still a bit confusing and much work!) </para></listitem>
<listitem><para> Recommended: Do what a real operating system does if there is
not enough physical memory: Use virtual memory, in this case virtual
desktops. </para></listitem>
</orderedlist>

<para>Item 3 is the way to go! KDE can handle several different desktops, each
with its own windows. The default configuration provides four desktops.  You can
switch between the virtual desktops easily with a click on one of the desktop
buttons on the panel. Also
<keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>F1...F8</keycap></keycombo> will send you
to the corresponding desktop immediately, or
<keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>Tab</keycap></keycombo> will cycle
through the desktops. Finally, if you move the mouse to a corner of the screen
and hold it there briefly, KDE will switch to the desktop in the direction you
indicated.</para>

<para>Virtual desktops are very nice. But sometimes you want a window to
be present on <emphasis>every</emphasis> desktop. This could be for example a
small chat window or a alarm clock or whatever. In this case you can use the
above mentioned "sticky"-button which will pin the window on the background so
that it will appear on every virtual desktop.</para> 

<para>The sticky button can also be used to move a window from one virtual
desktop to another one: push the sticky pin on the window, switch to a different
desktop, and release the pin by pushing it again. It is easier if you use the
context popup menu of the window's entry in the taskbar (menu item
"<guimenuitem>Onto current desktop</guimenuitem>") or the "<guimenuitem>Send
to</guimenuitem>" option on the window operations menu.</para>

</sect1>
</chapter>

<chapter id="managing-your-files">
<title>Managing your files</title>

<para>A common metaphor of graphical desktops is the use of folders to represent
directories on your hard disk. Folders contain files and other folders. A KDE
application called <application>Konqueror</application>, the K File Manager,
uses this metaphor to help you manage your files.</para>

<sect1 id="using-konqueror">
<title>Using <application>Konqueror</application></title>

<para>The first time you start KDE, a window with lots of icons in it appears.
This is a <application>Konqueror</application> window displaying the files in
your home directory (the area where your personal files are stored). The
pathname of the folder is displayed under the window's toolbar. If you don't see
such a window now, click the icon on the panel that looks like a folder with a
picture of a house.</para>

<para>To open a file or folder, simply click it once with the left mouse button.
You can also choose <menuchoice><guimenu>Window</guimenu><guimenuitem>Show
Directory Tree</guimenuitem></menuchoice> from the menu to display the folder
hierarchy for more direct navigation. Or you can edit the path displayed under
the toolbar to get to a specific directory quickly.</para>

<sect2>
<title>Opening Files</title>

<para>KDE comes with a set of applications to view and edit many common kinds of
files, and when you click a file containing, say, a document or image,
<application>Konqueror</application> will start the appropriate application to
display the file. If it doesn't know what application to start to open a file
you clicked, <application>Konqueror</application> will prompt you for the name
of the application to run.</para>

<note><para><application>Konqueror</application> uses <link linkend="mime">MIME
types</link> to associate files with applications. </para></note>

</sect2>

<sect2>
<title>Dragging and Dropping Icons</title>

<para>To copy or move a file, simply drag its icon to the desktop, to another
<application>Konqueror</application> window, or to a folder icon.  When you release
the button, <application>Konqueror</application> displays a menu to allow you to
choose to copy, move, or create a link to the file.</para>

<note><para>Note that if you choose to create a link, KDE creates a Unix
"symbolic link" (not a "hard link"), so if you move or delete the original file,
the link will be broken.</para></note>

<para>Many KDE applications also support drag and drop operations: you can drag
an icon onto a window of running application, or onto an icon of an application
that is not started, to have the application open the file. Try it!</para>

</sect2>

<sect2>
<title>Setting File Properties</title>
 
<para>To change file properties, such as its name and permissions, right-click
the icon and choose Properties from the menu.</para>

</sect2>
</sect1>

<sect1 id="archives-and-networks">
<title>Working with Archives and Networks</title>

<para>In the near past, you needed special software to access files on the
Internet. Not any more!</para>

<para>KDE supports a technology called "Network Transparent Access"
(<abbrev>NTA</abbrev>) which allows you to work with files  on the other side of
the earth as easily as those on your local hard disk.</para>

<para>For example, to access files on an FTP server, just choose
<menuchoice><guimenu>Location</guimenu><guimenuitem>Open
Location</guimenuitem></menuchoice> from a <application>Konqueror</application>
menu, and enter the <abbrev>URL</abbrev> of an <abbrev>FTP</abbrev> server.  You
can drag and drop files to and from the folders on the server just as if they
were on your local disk. You'll even be able to open files on the
<abbrev>FTP</abbrev> server without having to copy them to your local disk (KDE
does it for you when necessary).</para>

<note><para>Note that <application>Konqueror</application> uses anonymous
<abbrev>FTP</abbrev> access, which may restrict your access to files on the
<abbrev>FTP</abbrev> server.  If you have an account on the server, you can
supply your user <abbrev>ID</abbrev> as part of the <abbrev>URL</abbrev>, like
this:</para>
<screen>
<command>ftp://<replaceable>userid</replaceable>@<replaceable>server</replaceable>/<replaceable>directory</replaceable></command></screen>
<para><application>Konqueror</application> will prompt you for your password,
and if the login succeeds, you will have full access to your files on the
server.</para></note>

<para>If you are used to the <application>WinZip</application>(tm) utility on
MS-Windows(tm), then you will be happy to hear that KDE can look into tar
archives, too. It treats such archives just like a normal folder -- you can
browse into the archive, open files, etc. In general, accessing files on the
Internet and in archives should look and feel just like accessing files on your
local disk, except for delays imposed by the network.</para>
</sect1>

<sect1 id="using-templates">
<title>Using Templates to access Applications and Devices</title>

<para>One of the folders KDE places on your desktop when you  log in the first
time is called <guilabel>Templates</guilabel>. It holds a number of files with a
<filename>.kdelnk</filename> extension (not shown). These
<filename>kdelnk</filename> files are used to represent the following in
KDE:</para>

<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>Applications</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Printers</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Mountable Devices (<abbrev>e.g.</abbrev> floppy
drives)</para></listitem> 
<listitem><para>Internet resources (<abbrev>e.g.</abbrev> <abbrev>WWW</abbrev>
documents, <abbrev>FTP</abbrev> directories)</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

<para>Nearly every item in the Application Starter and on the panel refers to a
<filename>kdelnk</filename> file on disk. The <filename>kdelnk</filename> file
specifies what icon to display, as well as specific information about what the
icon represents (an application, device, or <abbrev>URL</abbrev>). You can drag
any <filename>kdelnk</filename> file to the panel to create a quick-launch
button.</para>

<sect2>
<title>Setting up printers</title>

<para>You can create icons for your printers so that you can print a file by
dragging it to a printer icon. Here's how:</para>

<procedure>
<step><para>Open the Templates folder located on the desktop. </para></step>
<step><para>Drag the Program icon in the folder to the desktop. Choose
<guimenuitem>Copy</guimenuitem> from the menu that appears when you drop the
icon.</para></step>
<step><para><mousebutton>Right</mousebutton> click the new icon, and choose
<guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem> from the context menu.</para></step>
<step><para>On the <guilabel>General</guilabel> tab, change the name to
<filename>Printer.kdelnk</filename>.</para></step>
<step><para>On the <guilabel>Execute</guilabel> tab, enter the following in the
first <guilabel>Execute</guilabel> field:</para>
<screen><command>lpr <option>%f</option></command></screen>
<note><para>This example assumes that you print using the <command>lpr</command>
command. If you use a different command, enter the one you
use.</para></note></step>
<step><para>Still in the <guilabel>Execute</guilabel> tab, click the icon that
looks like a <guiicon>cog</guiicon>, and select the <guiicon>Printer</guiicon> icon from the list that appears.</para></step>
</procedure>

<para>Now you should be able to drag a file to the Printer icon and have it
printed on your default printer.</para> 
</sect2>

<sect2>
<title>Mounting devices</title>

<para>Unix provides access to storage devices other than the primary hard disk
through a process called <emphasis>mounting</emphasis>. KDE uses
<filename>kdelnk</filename> files to  allow you to easily mount, unmount, and
access files on secondary storage devices such as floppy drives and CD-ROM
drives.</para>

<para>As an example, here are the steps needed to create an icon to access
files on a floppy disk:</para>

<note><para>Many systems require you to be logged in as
<emphasis>root</emphasis> to mount and unmount devices.</para></note>

<procedure>
<step><para>Open the Templates folder located on the desktop. </para></step>
<step><para>Drag the Device icon in the folder to the desktop. Choose
<emphasis>Copy</emphasis>from the menu that appears when you drop the
icon.</para></step>
<step><para>Right-click the new icon, and choose
<guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem> from the context menu.</para></step>
<step><para>On the <guilabel>General</guilabel> tab, change the name to
<filename>Floppy.kdelnk</filename>.</para></step>
<step><para>On the <guilabel>Device</guilabel> tab, enter
<filename>/dev/fd0</filename> as the <guilabel>Device</guilabel>.</para></step>
<step><para>Click the <guilabel>Unmounted Icon</guilabel> and select the picture
of a floppy disk without the green light.</para></step>
</procedure>

<para>Now, place a properly formatted floppy in the drive and click the
<guiicon>Floppy</guiicon> icon to have KDE mount the floppy drive and display
the files on the disk. Before removing the disk from the drive, right-click the
Floppy icon and choose <guimenuitem>Unmount</guimenuitem> from the menu.</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>
</chapter>

<chapter id="configure">
<title>Configuring your desktop</title>

<para>If you do not like something about the way the desktop looks or operates,
you can probably change it. KDE is very configurable and you can change almost
every aspect of the appearance and the behavior of your desktop. Unlike many
other Unix desktop environments, you do not have to edit cryptic configuration
files, either (but you can if you really want to)!  You use the <application>KDE
Control Center</application>, a special program for configuring your
desktop.</para> 

<sect1 id="using-kde-control">
<title>Using the <application>KDE Control Center</application></title>

<para>Launch the <application>Control Center</application> from the <link
linkend="starter">Application Starter</link>. A window with two panes appears,
displaying a list of modules in the left pane.</para> 

<para> Open a module by clicking its name; a list of submodules will appear.
Then, click one of the submodule category names to edit its configuration in the
right pane.</para>

<para>Changing the configuration is fairly straightforward. A help button is
available on each configuration panel to explain settings that are not obvious.
Each panel has buttons labeled <guibutton>Ok</guibutton>,
<guibutton>Apply</guibutton>, and <guibutton>Cancel</guibutton>, which work as
follows:</para>

<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para><guibutton>Ok</guibutton> applies configuration changes and
closes the  configuration panel.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para><guibutton>Apply</guibutton> applies configuration changes and
leaves the current panel open so you can make other changes.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para><guibutton>Cancel</guibutton> closes the current panel without
applying changes.</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

<note><para>If you make changes on one configuration panel and move to
a different module without clicking <guibutton>Ok</guibutton> or
<guibutton>Apply</guibutton> first, your changes will be lost.</para></note>

</sect1>

<sect1 id="configuration-modules">
<title>Configuration Modules</title>

<para>Here is a brief overview of the configuration modules:</para>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>Applications</term>
<listitem><para>Contains settings for <application>Dr. Konqui</application> (the
software crash manager,) and the <application>Login
Manager</application>.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Browsing</term>
<listitem><para>Contains settings for the File Manager.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Look &amp; Feel</term>
<listitem><para>Contains settings related to the appearance and behavior of the
desktop, such as background color/image, window colors, screen saver, fonts, and
language. </para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Information</term>
<listitem><para>Displays information about memory usage and the system
<abbrev>CPU</abbrev></para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Peripherals</term>
<listitem><para>Contains settings for the keyboard and mouse.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Personalizations</term>
<listitem><para>Here you can set your e-mail information, country and language
settings, and password retention options.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Power Control</term>
<listitem><para>If your display supports power saving features, you can set them
here.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Sound</term>
<listitem><para>Configure how your system emits sounds</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>System</term>
<listitem><para>Set your system's date and time here</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>

<para>Go ahead!  Explore the configuration possibilities and discover the
flexibility of KDE.</para>

</sect1>
</chapter>

<chapter id="logging-out">
<title>Logging out</title>

<para>We sincerely hope that using the KDE gives you so much fun and pleasure
that you never want to log out. But if you do, simply choose
<menuchoice><guimenu>Application starter</guimenu>
<guimenuitem>logout</guimenuitem></menuchoice>. </para>

<sect1 id="session-management">
<title>Session Management</title>

<para>When you log out, KDE remembers which applications you had open, as well
as where all the windows were located, so that it can open them for you the next
time you log in. This feature is termed <emphasis>Session Management</emphasis>.
KDE-aware applications will restore themselves to the state they were in when
you logged out: for example, <application>KEdit</application> remembers which
file you were editing. </para>

<para>Non-KDE applications do not memorize their state on logout, and KDE will
warn you to make sure that you have saved any important data in them when you
start to log out.</para>

<para>To illustrate session management, choose <menuchoice> <guimenu>Application
starter</guimenu><guisubmenu>Applications</guisubmenu>
<guimenuitem>Editor</guimenuitem> </menuchoice> to start
<application>KEdit</application>. Open a text document to edit. Now log out and
back in. You will observe that <application>KEdit</application> will be restored
to the exact same position on the screen, including the right virtual desktop
and the document we left open in <application>KEdit</application> before we
logged out is opened again automatically.  <application>KEdit</application> will
even remember whether you had unsaved changes to your document before you logged
out and will save them to the file you were working on if you choose
<guimenuitem>Save</guimenuitem> from the <guimenu>File</guimenu> menu.</para>

</sect1>
</chapter>

<chapter id="kde-an-exciting-journey">
<title>KDE an exciting Journey</title>

<para>We hope you enjoyed this brief tour of the K Desktop environment and that
this unique desktop environment will help you get your work done faster and more
comfortably than ever.</para>

<para>Please remember that the KDE project is not a commercial venture, but
rather a project run by volunteers from all over the world. We would  like to
invite you to join the KDE project and become part of this unique network of
people. If you are a programmer you might consider helping us write KDE
applications. If you are an artist or have experience with graphic design,
consider creating icons sets, color schemes,  sound schemes and logos for KDE.
If you enjoy writing we would love for  you to join our documentation project,
KDP.</para>

<para>As you can see there are many ways in which you can help. You are
cordially invited to  join this world-wide network of people dedicated to making
KDE the best desktop environment for any computer. Please visit  <ulink 
url="http://www.kde.org">www.kde.org</ulink> for more  information.</para>

<para><emphasis>Welcome aboard on this exciting journey, </emphasis></para>
<para><literal>Your KDE Team</literal></para>
</chapter>

<chapter id="advanced-topics">
<title>Advanced Topics</title>

<sect1 id="mime">
<title>Mime Types</title>

<para>KDE comes with a number of MIME types predefined, but you can add your own
MIME types by choosing <menuchoice><guimenu>Settings</guimenu>
<guisubmenu>Configure</guisubmenu> <guimenuitem>File Associations</guimenuitem>
</menuchoice> in a <application>Konqueror</application> window. </para>

</sect1>

</chapter>
<chapter id="credits">
<title>Credits</title>
<sect1 id="authors">
<title>Authors</title>

<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>Matthias Ettrich
<email>ettrich@kde.org</email></para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Kalle Dahlheimer <email>kalle@kde.org</email></para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Torben Weiss <email>weis@kde.org</email></para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Bernd Wuebben <email>wuebben@kde.org</email></para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Stephen Schaub <email>sschaub@bju.edu</email> -
Editor</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Robert Williams <email>rwilliams@kde.org</email> -
Editor</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

&underFDL;

</sect1>
</chapter>
</book>

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