[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread] 

List:       kde-promo
Subject:    [kde-promo] tweaking KDE
From:       ingo wagener <ingo.gb () gmail ! com>
Date:       2006-12-13 8:56:48
Message-ID: 200612130956.48562.ingo () german-connection ! org
[Download RAW message or body]

Right lads and lasses, I hope I've found the right tone and length and would 
be very grateful if you could give it the once over and either congratulate 
or hit me in the face :)

Update on screencasts: managed to install Istanbul (Gnome app with sound), 
still a little tweaking to be done, but reckon I'll have it up and running by 
the end of the week.

Anyway, here goes...

Working Across Applications With KDE

Here is a simple scenario which – in the old days – had me running riot! You 
have three applications open and need to edit here, paste there, check in the 
third one which in the meantime has all but disappeared again – fiddling with 
the mouse, back to the keyboard, back to the mouse... With most proprietary 
operating systems this is not only foolhardy but downright masochistic. Know 
the feeling?

On a Linux box running on KDE, however, you can sit back and let the desktop 
do the work for you. Seriously. There is the always handy "keep above others" 
window function. This way can you can have a small app (such as an add-on 
dictionary, thesaurus or a calculator) open and available at all times. Stick 
it somewhere where it does not bother the main app. Even a change of focus 
won't have it disappear into the dark abyss of the desktop but keep it right 
there for everyone to see. This function can be evoked in a number of ways: 
for a one off simply right click on the window title (or thereabouts), click 
on "advanced" and select the function. Easier in the long run is to invoke 
the relevant window button via the KDE Control Center (Appearance – Window 
Decorations – Button tab). This is especially useful if you arranged it so 
that the focus follows your mouse, i.e. the window below your mouse is 
activated automatically (well, and if you don't like you can turn it off!). 

Another handy feature is automatic vertical or horizontal maximisation. Try a 
middle click on the restore button of a small window and, hey presto, your 
window is maximised vertically. Now have a go right-clicking the same button 
and and it is also maximised horizontally. Finally, you can easily adjust 
snap zones so that even if you do not move a window exactly next to the other 
one, it just snaps onto it.

Confused? Use the "search" function in the KDE Control Center to find exactly 
what you need for your desktop. 

These are just some very basic but very handy tools which combined enable one 
to work properly even across a number of applications. Alternatively, if you 
have found something else that you simply cannot do without, please write me 
a mail and your top tip will appear in the next article. 

There are other countless possibilities of tweaking KDE to suit exactly your 
needs. Even listing them would go beyond the scope of this article and, 
admittedly, finding one's way through the tweaking jungle can be quite a 
task. Top tip is to adjust one thing at a time and see whether you like 
it/suits your needs. 

The next article will deal with Konqueror with a special focus on bookmarks 
and the best invention since sliced bread, mouse gestures.

Ingo Wagener
 
_______________________________________________
This message is from the kde-promo mailing list.

Visit https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-promo to unsubscribe, set digest on \
or temporarily stop your subscription.


[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]