The K Desktop Environment

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9. Configuring KDE

9.1 How do I set the language to be used by KDE?

There are two ways to set the language KDE uses in the messages it will display:

Using the KDE Control Center

In the KDE Control Center (kcontrol), there is the entry Desktop|language. You can select three languages, according to your preferences. If KDE can't find a translation in to first language, it will fall back on the second or third. If there is no appropriate translation at all, the default language will be used. This will usually be English.

Using kcontrol is the preferred way of choosing the language.

Using the LANG environment variable

The second method uses the standard locale setting on your system. To change the language, simply set the environment variable LANG accordingly.

For example if your shell is bash, execute the following:

export LANG=de

9.2 Is there any keyboard switcher for international keyboards for KDE?

KDE 1.1 (and above) comes with kiKbd (for International KeyBoarD), which has a cool interface and permits you to create new national keyboards.

9.3 How do I replace the standard Linux text login screen with the KDE login screen?

First, you need to change to the "xdm runlevel" (runlevel 5 on RedHat systems) by editing your /etc/inittab file. In the file, you should have a line saying:

id:3:initdefault:

Change it to:

id:5:initdefault:

Now at the end of the file, comment out the following line:

x:5:respawn:/usr/bin/X11/xdm -nodaemon
and replace it with:
x:5:respawn:/opt/kde/bin/kdm -nodaemon
(the location of kdm may differ on your systems, though)

For changes to take effect immediately, type "init 5" at the shell prompt. Please note that it is risky to initiate a graphical login without checking beforehand whether it works. If it fails to work, you'd be in for a hard time getting back....

9.4 How do I replace KWM with another KDE-compliant window manager like Blackbox and Window Maker?

First, download the source code and compile them. You would probably need to specify some option when you execute the configure script in order to produce KDE-compliant binaries. Read the README and INSTALL files for instructions. Then simply replace the 'kwm' command in the startkde script with the command that runs the new window manager and you're done.

Blackbox

Blackbox is yet another addition to the list of window managers for X. It is built with C++, sharing no common code with any other window manager (even though the graphics implementation is similar to that of Window Maker). Blackbox became KDE compliant at its 0.50.2 release. Please visit Blackbox's Website for further information. You might also find this website KDE + Blackbox = KBB! useful.

To use Blackbox with KDE, first download the source code and run:

$ ./configure --with-kde
$ make
# make install
(the "with-kde" flag enables KDE support)

Next, replace the 'kwm' command in the startkde script with 'blackbox'. Save the new script as, for example, '/usr/local/kde/bin/startbb' and change the bottom line of your $HOME/.xinitrc file so that it runs the new script instead of the old one. Fire up X and you're away. (KDM and XDM users would probably need to edit $HOME/.xsession instead.)

Window Maker

Window Maker is an X11 window manager designed to give additional integration support for GNUstep applications. It tries to emulate the elegant look and feel of the NeXTSTEP(tm) GUI. It is relatively fast, rich in features, and easy to configure and use. Window Maker becomes KDE compliant at its 0.50.0 release. Please visit the Official Window Maker Website for further information.

9.5 How do I change the Red Hat Linux logo bootup screen image?

Redhat uses xbanner to display its logo, so to disable it, just comment out the line calling xbanner from the configuration file xdm reads, which is /etc/X11/xdm/Xsetup_0 (may vary). If you want something else to run there, put it in instead, for example:

/opt/kde/bin/kdmdesktop

9.6 I'd like to click the left mouse button anywhere on the desktop and have the 'K' menu displayed.

First, edit $HOME/.kde/share/config/krootwmrc and add the following two lines:

[MouseButtons]
Left=Menu
Then restart KDE.

9.7 How do I use the three extra keys on my Windows keyboard in KDE?

You may have to configure your X server via xmodmap to bind the keycodes of the Windows keys to useful X key symbols (xev is your friend!).

First, create a file $HOME/.Xmodmap containing the entries:

keycode 115=F13
keycode 117=F15

Then run

xmodmap ~/.Xmodmap

This sets the 'Start' key to emit F13 and the 'Windows' key to emit F15. Next, fire up the KDE Control Center and go to Keys->Global Keys. Set 'Pop-up system menu' to F13 and 'Window operations menu' to F15. That's it.

Please note that the numbers 115 and 117 may depend on the keyboard. If you aren't sure, please check using xev. In addition, the above procedure requires KDE 1.1 and above.

As a side note, kikbd is able to do this too, but keymaps have to be edited. The advantage of kikbd is that one can choose whether to use these mappings on several custom keymaps and have them hotswappable.

It would be interesting to make a little script which will automatically do the keymaps modifications on demand. Kikbd should be able to read/understand user-side keymap files.

9.8 After installing KDE, the Red Hat start menu disappears!

Just run the command:

wmconfig --output kde

This will put the Redhat-specific icons into your KDE menu. If you run this from within KDE, you will need to restart your panel. They are installed by default into the "applnk" folder after you run that command, but then you can copy and paste them wherever you like with the KDE Menu Editor.

9.9 Where do I find information regarding KDE themes?

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

9.10 How do I change Mime Types?

First, open a KFM window and choose Edit->Mime Types. In mime type tree find the type you want to change (e.g. text/english or image/gif), click the right mouse button, select Properties, choose the Binding tab and set Default Application to whatever you want.

9.11 KDE (kdm) doesn't read my .bash_profile!

Well, xdm (and kdm) doesn't run a login shell, so .profile, .bash_profile, etc. are not sourced. When the user logs in, xdm runs Xstartup as root and then Xsession as user. So the normal practice is to add statements in Xsession to source the user profile. Please edit your Xsession and .xsession files.

9.12 How do I use TrueType Fonts under KDE?

You need to install TrueType Font support to your X Window System. Please take a look at fonts.themes.org for the fonts, and xfstt or X-TT for the font servers.

If you've a bunch of TrueType fonts from MS Windows, edit the XF86Config file to get the fonts from the font folder. Then just tell KDE to use these new fonts with the font administrator utility.

However, many KDE 1.0 applications use a font dialog that does not use the font list of KDE. But there is a workaround: edit the rc files of the rebellious applications directly.

9.13 Is it possible to enter, show and work with the Euro Symbol in KDE?

Yes and no. For details, look here: http://monitor.blvk.ch/euro/.

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