Display and access Non-KDE applications

[jojotehhobo]

I installed the Kubuntu DVD and have lots of good applications on it. However, all I can access are the KDE applications and KDE information.

I right clicked on the menus and installed the applet called Non-KDE applications but it won't do anything until I give it a path to the executable and/or a command line argument (optional). I don't know where to go from here so I'm stuck. I like KDE but my current configuration wastes the major part of the install by denying me access to it. At least I have access to the menus', a problem that many people seem to have.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
jojo

[jojotehhobo]

Re: Display and access Non-KDE applications

I looked up another entry in the forum and found that one way to help would be to run kappfinder in the Konsole shell. ~$ kappfinder. When I first tried this the application kappfinder wasn't installed so I ran sudo apt-get install kappfinder and got it to install.
I then ran kappfinder and got an error message:

X Error: BadDevice, invalid or unintialized input device input device 169
Major opcode: 145
Minor opcode: 3
Resource id: oxo
Failed to open device

So I am a step ahead of where I was in the initial post but still at an impasse. Does anyone know what the error message means? And what I can do next?
regards, Jojo

[integr8e]

Re: Display and access Non-KDE applications

Check out this post (I found it by googling "X Error: BadDevice, invalid or unintialized input device input device 169").

[Snowhog]

Re: Display and access Non-KDE applications

Specifically, if you attempted to run kappfinder in a console without prefacing it with kdesu this would explain the error. kappfinder is a GUI application, and if it is going to be started from a console shell, must be done so with the command:

kdesu kappfinder

Otherwise, just start it from the K Menu, as it should have a menu entry there.

[jojotehhobo]

Re: Display and access Non-KDE applications

Thanks for the replies, both integr8e and Snowhog. I'll try both suggestions and let you know what happens.
regards, Jojo 8)

[jojotehhobo]

results of suggestionsRe: Display and access Non-KDE applications

Hi:
I tried the kdesu kappfinder and a window opened up in which I typed in my password and scanned the system. It found about 18 KDE applications but didn't find the non-kde applications I was looking for. I know they are there because I see them listed in a folder called lib which i copied to my personal home folder. So I still have the problem of figuring out a way to get the shortcuts to these non-kde applications copied to the menu folder somehow. Is there another process to do that?

I didn't try commenting out the non functional lines in the posting by integr8r. They don't seem to do much harm and commenting them out seemed a little bit beyond where I am now.

I'd be much obliged if there was a way to get all the non-kde applications copied to the menu. At this time I don't even know how to locate the path to what in Windows is called the executable or startup instruction. Perhaps if I got that I could make a shortcut to a special menu list. Thanks again.

[Fintan]

Re: Display and access Non-KDE applications

What are the non-kde apps you are looking for.
Are they installed?
Or just an a list?

To be specific:
I installed spicebird (great app. by the way):
http://www.spicebird.com/

I downloaded it and followed the instructions for installing.

I then made a new entry in kmenu and pointed the "command" to /home/spicebird/spicebird-beta/spicebird

added the icon and saved the menu.

As far as I know you will have to do this for every non-kde app you install.

[jojotehhobo]

Re: Fintan on Display and access Non-KDE applications

Thanks for the reply Fintan. Most of the non-KDE applications are installed. I installed the KDE DVD 4.3 gb distribution and have lots of applications in all categories. I like to have a lot of different tools so I can replicate all I can do in Windows and then some and it is fun learning to use new software.

The good news is that they all installed and are available in a folder marked lib. Their are about a hundred of them. The bad news is that I don't know how to get them listed in a menu or get them started.

Your technique might give me an option and I will try it. I'll let you know how it works out later today or tomorrow. In my case I won't have installation instructions since the applications came with the DVD installation distro. Any help as to how to find the command to point to would be appreciated.

On another note I've installed a Ubuntu DVd and haven't had this problem, so I think it would behoove KDE to fix up their menu to solve this problem automatically if they want to get any sort of market penetration. Half-assed geeks such as I may be willing to kill a few hours doing this sort of stuff but for most people it will fall below the threshhold of acceptability. Indeed, even I would much rather spend my struggle time with things that enable neato capabilities or which involve things one might expect to learn. I don't think that involves developing a menu of installed applications.

Thanks for your reply.
regards,
Jojo