Translations by Heikki Mäntysaari

Desktop Configuration

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The Ubuntu Documentation Project

This section contains information on how to configure your desktop, layout, and themes.

The great thing about KDE is the ability to customize just about every aspect of the desktop environment. Wallpapers, themes, widgets, color schemes, splash screens and more, the options for customization are endless.

<ulink url="http://www.kde-look.org">KDE-Look.org</ulink> is the number one location to find customized settings for your KDE desktop. Some of the applications within KDE even allow you to connect directly to KDE-Look and download a new configuration or image.

The easiest way to run programs automatically when KDE starts is to use the <emphasis>Session Management</emphasis> feature of KDE. You can setup KDE exactly the way you'd like it to start every time you login.

Another method to do this is to copy the desktop entry of the application you want to autostart from <filename>/usr/share/applications</filename> to the <filename>~/.kde/Autostart</filename> directory.

Login automatically to KDE when the computer starts

It is possible to login a user automatically when the computer boots. This is not recommended for most computers, as it is not secure and may allow other users access to your information.

Click on the <guibutton>Administrator Mode...</guibutton> and enter your user password to gain administrator privileges.

Select the <guibutton>Convenience</guibutton> tab. Check the <guilabel>Enable Autologin</guilabel> and select the user to autologin from the drop down menu and select an appropriate time delay.

Ensure that your system has the ability to restart KDE via the keyboard.

Select the <guibutton>Display</guibutton> icon.

Press the <guibutton>Apply</guibutton> button and close out of <application>System Settings</application>.

Press <keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>Backspace</keycap></keycombo>

Start a Program Manually

Sometimes it can be useful to start a program manually, for example when the program does not have an entry in the menu. This is easy to do with the <application>KRunner</application> application.

Open <application>KRunner</application> application by pressing <keycombo><keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>F2</keycap></keycombo>

Automatically turn on NumLock when KDE starts

Under the <guilabel>Keyboard</guilabel> section, locate the subsection titled <guilabel>NumLock on KDE Startup</guilabel>, enable the <guibutton>Turn On</guibutton> checkbox. Click on <guibutton>Apply</guibutton> to save your settings.

The change will take effect the next time you log in to KDE. If you want to test it right away, turn off NumLock and restart KDE (see <xref linkend="restartwithoutreboot"/>).

Handle help:/ links in Firefox like Konqueror

<application>Firefox</application> is not installed by default so in order for this to work you will have had to previously installed <application>Firefox</application>. Please refer to the <ulink type="help" url="help:/kubuntu/add-applications/">Adding Applications</ulink> documentation for more information on installing applications.

<application>Konqueror</application> is able to handle help:/ <acronym>URL</acronym>s by default. <application>Firefox</application> is also able to handle these the same way however it requires you to manually edit the configuration of <application>Firefox</application> to do so. The following procedure will aide you in such configuration.

In the address bar type <userinput>about:config</userinput> and press the <keycap>Enter</keycap> key.

<mousebutton>Right</mousebutton> click on the list and select <menuchoice><guimenu>New</guimenu><guimenuitem>Boolean</guimenuitem></menuchoice>. Type <userinput>network.protocol-handler.external.help</userinput> as the <guilabel>Preference Name</guilabel> and <userinput>true</userinput> as the <guilabel>Value</guilabel>. Press the <guibutton>OK</guibutton> button when complete.

<mousebutton>Right</mousebutton> click again on the list and select <menuchoice><guimenu>New</guimenu><guimenuitem>String</guimenuitem></menuchoice>. Type <userinput>network.protocol-handler.app.help</userinput> as the <guilabel>Preference Name</guilabel> and <userinput>khelpcenter</userinput> as the <guilabel>Value</guilabel>. Press the <guibutton>OK</guibutton> button when complete.

Kubuntu comes with the <application>KDE Menu Editor</application>, so you can customize your menus and add entries for applications that don't automatically appear after they are installed. To add, remove, or modify an entry, refer to the following procedure.

In <application>KDE Menu Editor</application>'s left-hand pane, choose the submenu the new entry should appear in.

Choose <menuchoice><guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>New Item</guimenuitem></menuchoice> or press the <guibutton>New Item</guibutton> button. In the <guilabel>New Item</guilabel> window, choose a <guilabel>Name</guilabel>. Then add the <guilabel>Description</guilabel>, <guilabel>Comment</guilabel>, and <guilabel>Command</guilabel>. Select the icon by clicking on <guilabel>Icon</guilabel>. The <guilabel>Command</guilabel> will usually be the package name, <guilabel>Name</guilabel> is what will appear on the menu, and the <guilabel>Comment</guilabel> will appear in the tooltip that appears near the menu entry. <guilabel>Icons</guilabel> are chosen from <filename>/usr/share/icons/icon_theme</filename> directory by default, or can be chosen from anywhere in your files.

To change the order of menu entries, click and drag the entry in the <application>KDE Menu Editor</application> window.

Install Extra Fonts

This section describes how to install extra fonts from the Kubuntu archives.

For <emphasis role="bold">international fonts</emphasis>, install the following packages (please refer to the <ulink type="help" url="help:/kubuntu/add-applications/">Adding Applications</ulink> documentation for help on installing extra applications):

For <emphasis role="bold">Microsoft TrueType core fonts</emphasis>, install the <application>msttcorefonts</application> package (please refer to the <ulink type="help" url="help:/kubuntu/add-applications/">Adding Applications</ulink> documentation for help on installing extra applications).

For <emphasis role="bold">Ghostscript fonts</emphasis>, install the <application>gsfonts-x11</application> package (please refer to the <ulink type="help" url="help:/kubuntu/add-applications/">Adding Applications</ulink> documentation for help on installing extra applications).

If you prefer to download individual fonts by hand, you can install them easily by opening <application>Konqueror</application> and typing <userinput>fonts:/</userinput> into the location bar. Then you can install the font, either system-wide or for personal use by dragging and dropping into the respective folders.