The K Desktop Environment

5.2. The Elements of The Kicker Panel

5.2.1. Hide Buttons

The Hide Buttons

Hide Buttons are small vertical bars on the right and left border of the panel. Click on the left or right Hide Button and the panel will disappear. If you click the left button, you'll notice a vertical bar at the far right. Click on this bar, and panel will appear again. Conversely, if you click the right Hide button, you'll notice a vertical bar to the left; you can click it and panel will reappear.

5.2.2. Basic Icons

Basic Kicker Icons

Kicker initally has nine icons (you can add more icons later on, and you can also remove any of the nine icons). They can be displayed in three various sizes, depending on panel size. You can change panel size in the Kicker configuration window. The above screenshot shows these icons in normal size.

5.2.2.1. The K Button

Press the K button to display the Main menu. Right click the K button to edit the main menu. This will start the KMenuedit application.

5.2.2.2. The Window List Icon

Click the Window List icon to glance at list of running applications. Applications are grouped according to virtual desktops in which they are open.

5.2.2.3. The Home Icon

Click the Home icon to look into your home directory. Kicker will start Konqueror, your file manager and browser. You can find more information about Konqueror in its own documentation.

5.2.2.4. The Shell Icon

Click the Shell icon to start your preferred terminal emulator with your shell.

Tip

The default terminal emulator is called Konsole. If you want to use a different terminal emulator (like xterm, rxvt or kvt), you must be looged in as root. Only then you can right click the Shell icon, click Preferences and modify the Program Name field on the Execute page.

5.2.2.5. The Control Center Icon

Click the Control Center icon to start the KDE Control Center that can customize your KDE desktop behavior down to very fine details. Refer to the KDE Control Center online documentation for more information.

5.2.2.6. The Help Icon

Click on the Help icon to display the K Desktop Environment Help center.

5.2.2.7. The Advanced Editor Icon

Click on the Advanced Editor icon to launch Advanced Editor. This feature rich editor is suitable for configuration files, programs and scripts.

5.2.2.8. The Kandalf's Tips Icon

Click the Kandalf's tips Icon to display useful tips for novice KDE users. Each time you click this icon, Kandalf the Sorcerer will give you a single useful tip, so that you can master K Desktop Environment step by step. With the Kandalf window displayed you can check the Run on Startup checkbox to display a single tip each time you start the K Desktop Environment.

5.2.2.9. The Desktop Icon

Click the Desktop Icon to quickly display the current desktop by hiding the windows that clutter it. This icon acts as a toggle. Click it again to display the hidden windows.

You can use this icon to have a quick view of your desktop. This is very useful especially if your desktop contains shortcuts to programs or other useful control elements. Clicking the Desktop Icon is much faster than minimizing each window individually.

5.2.3. Other Icons

You can also place other icons on the panel: directory shortcuts, quickbrowsers, and application shortcuts. Grab more information in the Adding Icons section of Configuration chapter.