Up until recently, I was mostly a GNOME user. I considered it faster, leaner, more intuitive... and certainly not as ugly as some say! No matter how hard I tried to like KDE, it would always feel a bit alien and I would always end up going back to GNOME. The tide has shifted lately, though, and I have found myself leaning towards KDE desktops more and more. I believe that is mostly a result of the incredible work the developers are putting in place to improve and polish the product, but also down to the fact that I have been learning more about its "secrets".
My current PCLinuxOS 2010.1 KDE SC 4.4.5 desktop
I would like to use this article for sharing some of those KDE "tricks", which are simply things that were not obvious to me initially, and have consequently helped me in customizing the environment so that it also felt like home. Hopefully you will also get some benefits from these little findings.
THE "TRICKS"
Note that I am using KDE SC 4.4.5, so results may differ if you are using a different version. For each little finding, I will try to include a screenshot to clarify what I am talking about or how to make it work. Similarly, I am sharing concepts that result from my experience. There are surely other ways to achieve the same goals, probably more effective, but this is what I use.
Adding application launchers to the panel
If you are coming from Windows, chances are your intuition will tell you to right click on a menu item, which should in turn allow for the addition of that launcher to the panel. The catch, which can get frustrating if you don't know about it, is that widgets need to be unlocked for this to work in KDE.
Adding launchers to your panel is easy as long as widgets are unlocked.
If your widgets are locked, you will only see one option available when right clicking on a menu item: "Add to favorites".
Modifying file properties and defaults
Say you are opening a video file with .mp4 extension by double clicking on the file. The default video player is not working very well, so you would like to have another video player be the default for the mp4 file format. You right click on the file to edit its properties, but can't seem to find where to modify the default file association.
The little wrench to the right is the key here!.
As you can see on the properties window here, there is a small wrench icon to the right of "file type" line. Clicking on that icon will bring another window, which is where file association can be configured.
Add/remove or change the order of default file associations here.
This is an easy and quick way of changing default file associations, but file association management in general can be managed from the KDE Control Center.
Change application icons system wide
Customizing an application icon in KDE is fairly simple if you know where to look. Once again, if you think like a windows user it can get messy, because right clicking on an icon usually does not do the trick. In my experience, the quickest and easiest way to do it is through the main menu editor.
The main menu editor provides an easy way to modify application icons.
Simply right click on the main menu icon and open the menu editor. Once in, simply select the application of your choice, modify the icon to your liking and save the setting. Once saved, that icon will apply system wide.
Change application keyboard shortcuts system wide
Another element that was confusing for me initially was customizing application shortcuts. GNOME provides a small and simple application this, easy and intuitive, but things are a little more complicated in KDE.
I initially assumed that keyboard shortcuts could be configured from the KDE Control Center, which does have a section dedicated to keyboard shortcuts, but frustratingly, that section does not cut it.
Application keyboard shortcuts are easily configured from the KDE menu editor.
Once again, the KDE menu editor is the answer. Similarly to how application icons were configured, keyboard shortcuts can be setup in the same window. Select the application you want to customize, but this time choose the "Advanced" tab. The bottom section on that tab is where the keyboard shortcut can be configured.
NOTE: Not sure why, but this does not work in Pardus 2009.2.
Desktop activity... What??
An element that is signature to KDE, which could be confusing if you are new to it, is the concept of desktop activity. Most of us are familiar with the Windows desktop concept, you know, icons all over the place and a wallpaper in the background. KDE offers interesting alternatives to that approach.
The KDE plasma desktop offers alternatives to the traditional desktop approach.
Right clicking on the desktop, the last option reads "Desktop Activity properties". After clicking on it, a popup window appears. There is a menu on the right, which by default is on wallpaper selection. The second option, "Activity", is the one we are after. There are four options available on the right applet, and depending on your distro of choice, one or the other may be the default. Some distros like PCLinuxOS set the desktop as a folder (similar to Windows), so you can see files and/or shortcuts on it. Should you choose to set it up as desktop, it will not display the contents of the desktop folder, but you could easily use the "folder view" plasma widget to achieve the same effect.
All in all, I like KDE creativity and innovation around a concept that has remained pretty much unchanged for a long time. I encourage you to try the different options available and have fun with them!
Moving panel icons
Once again, if you come from a Windows background, you may be used to moving panel icon positions by simply clicking and holding the left mouse button, then dragging the icon to whatever position you desire.
Once again, moving panel icons can be a bit frustrating if you don't know how.
That concept works in Windows even with the taskbar locked, so it can get confusing in KDE if you simply assume the same. In this case, unlocking widgets is once again the key to making it work. Once widgets are unlocked, the functionality is pretty similar to that of the Windows taskbar, but I think there is an easier way to achieve the same end result. Simply click on the KDE icon on the left edge of the panel, which will allow for panel properties modification. Among other things, this allows for rearranging all panel elements, including the system tray, the main menu and obviously any launchers. Once you are done rearranging your controls, close that edit applet and lock your widgets again.
Customizing the main menu icon
Most distros include their own signature icon for the main menu, which are OK sometimes, but since I like to customize the hell out of everything, it doesn't last long.
I usually set my main menu icon to proudly show KDE colors.
Just right click on the main menu icon and select "Application launcher menu properties". A popup window will appear, with a few items on menu on the left. Select the second entry, "options", and simply customize the icon to your liking.
Changing the KDM theme
KDM themes (basically, the login screen look&feel) are often customized to the distro style and branding, which you may or may not like. In my opinion, the best KDM themes are downloadable from KDE-LOOK.ORG or through KDE itself, and it is good fun to change your login page every now and then.
Customizing the login page is really simple.
In recent versions of KDE, you can edit your KDM settings from the KDE Control Center. Access the System section and open the "Access manager". You should be prompted for admin credentials before you can change anything, but once you are in, click on the "theme" tab to customize it to your liking.
Keeping your panel from getting overcrowded
An element that is often part of the default panel setup in KDE is "Smooth Tasks", which is basically the portion of the panel in which open an minimized windows are docked.
I love keeping my panel from looking like a subway station at rush hour.
I have found that the KDE default Smooth Tasks setup docks all open windows on the panel, regardless of which desktop the sit in. In other words, if you have a 4 desktop setup and open one application on each desktop, all four will be docked on all desktop panels by default. I personally don't like this configuration, I prefer keeping each panel docking only the applications open on that particular desktop.
If you like that approach as well, simply right click on the window docking area of the pannel and select "Smooth Tasks properties". A popup window will appear with a number of options available. The section "Filters" at the bottom is the one that matters for this specific topic. In my experience, you need to tick both "Show current desktop tasks only" and "Show current screen tasks only" for the trick to work.
Custom workspace themes
KDE distros usually come with standard or custom workspace themes. In other words, the panel and plasma widgets style is either one of the "classics" available from KDE (Oxygen, Air, etc.) or the distro's own design. Someone new to KDE may think that's all there is to it, but as in most things KDE, there are tons of options available.
I have found that many of the themes available for download are awesome!.
Access the KDE Control Center "Style" menu and choose the second tab on the right applet, "Worspace". You will see a number of different workspace themes previews, but the interesting bit is downloading others. Click on the button at the bottom and download your favorite themes from the many available.
NOTE: Because many of those themes are community efforts, sometimes they are not uploaded to the right locations, but to file managers like Rapidshare or even Dropbox. When that happens, those themes can't be downloaded this way. Fortunately, there are many beautiful themes that do work.
Customize your system tray
Once again, KDE is an extremely flexible and customizable environment, one characteristic that is translated into its system tray configuration as well. You can in fact select which widgets make it to the system tray, if they should show or hide, etc.
Customize your system tray with a few clicks.
Right click on the system tray area and select "system tray properties". As usual, we get a popup window with a menu on the left. Select "plasma widgets", which should display the elements that can be customized on the right applet. If you have not unlocked your widgets, you may see all entries greyed out, effectively not in editable state, which can be confusing. Again, unlock widgets before you edit the system tray properties and you should have no problem personalizing its configuration to your liking.
HOPE IT HELPS!
KDE is a great desktop manager with some great features, but some of them are not exactly intuitive, specially if you come from a different OS and make incorrect assumptions. The "tricks" I shared on this article helped me overcome some of my early frustrations and be much more comfortable using KDE... Hope they help you too!
Thanks for reading!
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