trying out KDE, need advices...

jinn · 2006-04-16 13:01:43

I am a gnome user. I need to know why kde users really use kde instead of gnome, so I decided to try out kde.

I ran pacman -S kde and installed about 219mb of software. As a long time gnome user I know which gnome programs are good and which ones I should use, but I am totally lost in good programs for kde, for example whats the equivalent of gaim in KDE? There are tons of stuff I feel I need to learn until I can grasp KDE and its good stuff.

please let me know from your experience what is good in KDE about anything. I am a laptop user So I would highly appreciate battery and powersaving stuff like gnome-power-manager.

I also need to know the keyboard shortcuts.. whats bugging me most is how tha hell do I switch desktops without using the mouse...

I also need to know about file managers.. when installing kde it didnt install any file managers, and installed krusader as it was the only one for KDE in pacman.. when clicking the a folder on my desktop I get "open with" window and I write in krusader, but nothing happens..

Or for example when trying to configure the panel, I right click and and choose "configure panel" I get an empty window with nothing to configure or anything..

All advices are welcome!

Neuro · 2006-04-16 13:41:38

I am a gnome user. I need to know why kde users really use kde instead of gnome, so I decided to try out kde.
I ran pacman -S kde and installed about 219mb of software. As a long time gnome user I know which gnome programs are good and which ones I should use

Well, 219MB is a lot, that's true. Unfortunately KDE comes in packages of huge sizes, which are pretty hard to split. It's not Arch dev's fault that they are so big, they come like that from the KDE project.

I am totally lost in good programs for kde, for example whats the equivalent of gaim in KDE? There are tons of stuff I feel I need to learn until I can grasp KDE and its good stuff.
(...)
I also need to know about file managers.. when installing kde it didnt install any file managers, and installed krusader as it was the only one for KDE in pacman..

Propably, by installing the heavy 219mb bundle of packages, you got most of the following applications.

I use Konqueror as my file manager. Instead of Gnome's split approach, KDE uses the extensive KPart interface. Konqueror acts like a interface-for-all application. It can be a file browser, a web browser (does the job pretty well), a photo album viewer, and by using various other KParts, it can read PDFs, archives etc.

The same goes for Kontact, it's a cross-application which merges many PM application KParts: KMail (email client), KAddressBook (address management), Akregator (RSS reader) etc.

As for the replacement for Gaim, Kopete does a pretty good job, at least that's what I've heard, haven't used it myself.

For image viewing I prefer Kuickshow, for it's power and simplicity. However, KDE comes with some other apps for this task - try them out to see what suits you best.

If you have a big collection of MP3s, Amarok is really the app for you (you'll need a separate pacakge for it). IMHO, it's the best music organizer/player out there. However, if you need a small app just for playing audio files form time to time, you're better off with Noatun or even xmms

If you take photos from time to time, Digikam (separate package) is the best app for photo management in KDE.

I also need to know the keyboard shortcuts.. whats bugging me most is how tha hell do I switch desktops without using the mouse...

If you're looking for extensive use of keyboard shortcuts, KDE allows you to do almost everything with them. Check out Control Center > Regional $ Accessibility > Keyboard Shortcuts for a list. I don't know what the defaults are, but you can easily declare your own. Also, if you poke around, you'll find that you can assign shortcuts in many other areas of KDE.

Or for example when trying to configure the panel, I right click and and choose "configure panel" I get an empty window with nothing to configure or anything..

Well, that means something got screwed up in your system. Any other abnormal symptoms?

Phew.. that's one long post Hope I've helped you somehow.

jinn · 2006-04-16 14:08:29

thanks alot Neuro! youve covered what I needed to know most for now, really appreciate it!

I just needed to restart the system, and everything was in place. configuring the panel and everything works.

I also need some tips on panels, if you guys use 1 panel or more, and any other configs that you think is good.

Cheers
Jinn

sweiss · 2006-04-16 18:56:49

If you know the player Rhythmbox from Gnome, KDE's equivalent is Juk.

Also, look for the desktop working tips thread I started some time ago. It has some KDE specific tips which can make your life easier.

rdoggsv · 2006-04-17 02:41:03

sweiss wrote:

If you know the player Rhythmbox from Gnome, KDE's equivalent is Juk.
Also, look for the desktop working tips thread I started some time ago. It has some KDE specific tips which can make your life easier.

totally agree with u , sweiss those tips really makes your life easier , most of all the ones with the shortcuts !!

and about Juk maybe he would like amarok more

sweiss · 2006-04-17 17:21:46

Don't let that thread disappear.
Discover your desktop!

Bralkein · 2006-04-17 18:35:10

To expand upon what Neuro said about file browsing in Konqueror:

By default, Konqueror does not use a two-panel view mode, but it actually supports horizontal and vertical splitting of the view pane. You can do this via the "Window" menu at the top. It's really good in many situations. For example, if you are looking at a website with some cool images that you want to save to disk, you can simply split the view in half, navigate to your images folder in one of the views, then drag and drop the pictures from the site into your folder. Also, if you prefer two-pane file management, then you can open Konqueror up in file-managment mode, split the view, then press Settings->Save View Profile. Once you have done this, every time you open Konqueror to manage files, it will be laid out like how you left it.

The shortcut keys for multi-pane use are not set up very well, but of course it's easy to change this. I use Alt-s to split sideways, Alt-d to split down and Alt-x to close the active view. This works very well for me.

Some other stuff:

Since KDE installs so many packages by default, the K-Menu can look cluttered. I think the best thing to do here is to go through the K-Menu once, trying all of the applications. Then you can edit the K-Menu (just right click on it and choose the option, as you may know) and sort it all out. I didn't like the K-Menu very much to begin with, but once you sort it out, put everything into good categories, delete stuff you'll never need, etc. it can become very useful.

In KDE Control Centre->Regions & Accessibility->Input Actions you can do lots of cool stuff. You can assign keyboard shortcuts and mouse gestures to different actions, including DCOP calls. DCOP calls are very useful, because they allow you to call certain functions inside DCOP-enabled programs. There is a DCOP browser program that lets you explore the exposed functions available from running programs. Lots of cool potential here!

Also, check out the Alt-F2 run dialogue. It's pretty useful for many things.

Basically, with KDE the message is to explore and try out new things. There is so much flexibility that even though I have been using it for a long time now, it still astounds me. I didn't even intend for this post to be this long, it has just become this way because I really, really like KDE

emuranch · 2006-04-17 23:47:06

Don't forget to give Amarok a spin. It is widely considered to be one of the best music players around.

Also, I'm a huge fan of Kate. It recognizes programming syntax and has a built in terminal (which I use to edit and run my Matlab/Octave code all in one tidy window).

Like someone said above, Kopete is the Gaim replacement, and I think it is actually better than Gaim. Definately more attractive (I like the iChat theme) and it does a nice little word bubble trick with incomming messages if you don't already have a chat window open. Doesn't support direct connect in AIM though... but the system tray icon has a transparent background, and I'm a sucker for looks.

And my favorite feature: when you right click on a file or link, you get a nice menu with options like "save to" built right in instead of opening a seperate "save" window. This works with making archives too... there's an option to zip the folder up in one easy click.

Arch Linux

#1 2006-04-16 13:01:43

trying out KDE, need advices...

#2 2006-04-16 13:41:38

Re: trying out KDE, need advices...

#3 2006-04-16 14:08:29

Re: trying out KDE, need advices...

#4 2006-04-16 18:56:49

Re: trying out KDE, need advices...

#5 2006-04-17 02:41:03

Re: trying out KDE, need advices...

#6 2006-04-17 17:21:46

Re: trying out KDE, need advices...

#7 2006-04-17 18:35:10

Re: trying out KDE, need advices...

#8 2006-04-17 23:47:06

Re: trying out KDE, need advices...

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