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    Some basic KDE4 questions

    Hey there,
    So, I've got KDE4 up and running, and it's quite nice and pretty. However, I've run into a few minor catches. They don't interfere with the system, but they're causing some minor irritation.

    The first is: How do I add a program to the startup? As I'm running on a laptop, a wireless connection is quite important and whatnot. Knetworkmanager is great for that, but it's not picking up at startup.

    The second question is: How do I set up my laptop volume buttons to sync with Kmix? Every time I press any of the buttons, volume up/down, mute, etc., it says that Kmix is not running. It then opens the program, but it still won't let my laptop buttons deal with volume. Interestingly enough, with Amarok, the next, stop, pause and previous buttons all function just fine. PARTIALLY SOLVED.

    Third: On Konqueror. I like it, it's clean, it's fast. But how do I find/install extensions for the program? It'd be neat to get the Kstumble working with it, and I downloaded the package, but I can't figure out how to install the thing. In addition, simply finding extensions and plugins has been a pain. Also, it's having this weird quirk that when I'm writing in text, it will occasionally drop the cursor back at my pointer, which is often in a different position than the space where I was writing. ABANDONED

    Fourth: Also on Konqueror. The spell-checker is being a memory hog. How do I disable it?

    Fifth: It feels like KDE4 itself is eating up a lot more memory than it should. Running on a Core-2 duo processor, with 2 gigs of memory and a 7400 nvidia card, I feel like the desktop and GUI shouldn't be chugging. While this primarily happens with the desktop effects on (And I can understand that the effects will eat memory until they're coded a bit more elegantly), it also happens whenever I have just a few programs going. I have the nvidia-new package installed, along with the nvidia kernel common package (They came bundled into KDE), but am I missing something here, or is this something that's just going to be improved over time?

    Sixth: Fiddling with the taskbar. How do I move icons around, and add more options? While I certainly like the customization options, I can't move the items around, resulting in my system tray being on the left and the kstart being on the right. Not a travesty or anything, but being a Windows convert, it's kinda like an English native trying to read right to left. SOLVED

    Seventh: I'm wondering if I'm missing any other programs/updates. Some of the programs I'm still running under, such as Amarok, are still native KDE3. Is this normal for now, as the transition moves over? SOLVED

    Eighth: Dolphin. Two things: The first is that when I'm using external storage or so, or a CD, it opens KDE3 Dolphin by default. How do I fix this? The other is - How do I add some default actions to the menu to do with different programs/folders? I liked being able to click into a terminal easily, or extract a .rar with one click.

    Ninth: Ark. What the hell happened here? First, I can't extract the containing folder at all. I have to click child folders, which just extracts a mess of files into wherever I set the destination. Second, it no longer unrars .rar files.

    I'm sure I'll have some others, but that's it for now.

    #2
    Re: Some basic KDE4 questions

    I'll try #5.

    I agree, with your hardware KDE4 should not seem slow. It's pretty fast on mine, which is kinda similar.

    If you can open KMenu>System>Nvidia Settings and tell what driver it is running, that might shed some light. I suspect you might do better, in that area, but let's see.

    Also, if you open the Konsole (Alt-F2 "konsole") and run
    Code:
    top
    it will show what is hogging the resources. Sometimes on laptops you have to change the power-saving settings, as it is always trying to go slow on the electricity. Run kpowersave and set it for "performance".

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Some basic KDE4 questions

      kmix:

      kmenu > Computer > System Settings

      Under the General tab > Keyboard & Mouse > Keyboard Shortcuts

      For 'KDE Component:' select 'kmix' and change the correct volume control for your laptop. Double click on the arrow to the right of the volume control you need to change. This will open a menu, click on the 'Custom' button then press either the 'Volume +' or 'Volume -" as required. Then select 'Apply'

      Mike
      http://monte48lowes.blogspot.com

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Some basic KDE4 questions

        Originally posted by Ecopirate

        Sixth: Fiddling with the taskbar. How do I move icons around, and add more options?
        You don't.

        Presumably the KDE4 devs have this capability on the short list of features to be added.

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Some basic KDE4 questions

          Originally posted by Ecopirate

          Seventh: I'm wondering if I'm missing any other programs/updates. Some of the programs I'm still running under, such as Amarok, are still native KDE3. Is this normal for now, as the transition moves over?
          Amarok is not a KDE app, per se. It happily runs on Gnome too. But, if you open Adept Manager and look at your favorite KDE apps, you'll find a KDE4 version for a lot of them, if they weren't installed by default. Kopete KDE4, for example. Only Adept and perhaps a couple of others don't have a KDE4 version yet.

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Some basic KDE4 questions

            The taskbar icons stay where you put them. To get them where you want them....

            Remove widget from taskbar.
            Use 'Add widget' from Plasma Kidney
            Drag widget to the location on the taskbar you want it... and drop it.

            Note: You might have to remove almost all of them, then add the ones you want, starting from outside edge (right or left) and keep adding towards the center.

            Mike
            http://monte48lowes.blogspot.com

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Some basic KDE4 questions

              Originally posted by monte48lowes
              The taskbar icons stay where you put them. To get them where you want them....

              Remove widget from taskbar.
              Use 'Add widget' from Plasma Kidney
              Drag widget to the location on the taskbar you want it... and drop it.

              Note: You might have to remove almost all of them, then add the ones you want, starting from outside edge (right or left) and keep adding towards the center.

              Mike
              Yep, that is what I did and it worked well.

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Some basic KDE4 questions

                Or, starting from the fresh installation, open Kmenu, pick your app, right-click it and choose "Add To Panel" and they will go to the panel in right-to-left sequence.

                So, from right to left, I have Dolphin, Amarok, Gimp, VMWare Player, KCalc, Firefox, Adept Manager, Google Earth, and Konsole.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Some basic KDE4 questions

                  Awesome! Thanks for the help thus far.

                  Also, I've run into the source of the chugging problem: it appears that my nvidia card isn't even enabled, which is odd, given that it works fine in KDE3. What packages should I be looking for to get it working here?

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Some basic KDE4 questions

                    Also: the shortcuts for Kmix don't appear to be working. Anything else to try in that area?

                    Update: Solved...Partially? They seem to function in Amarok, or when I'm using any program that actively uses sound, but outside of that, still no dice.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Some basic KDE4 questions

                      Another update: I've abandoned Konqueror. It chugs, and a number of online apps I've been trying to use aren't compatible with it, sadly. That, and I like stumble. However, I have one more problem. I have 20/20 sight, and so that makes the GARGANTUAN text being used by Firefox's menu bars kinda redundant, and a waste of space. I've noticed this also happens with OpenRPG, a python program. Does anyone know how to fix this? I've tried system settings and preferences from Firefox, but neither work.

                      Update: Solved. Using the appearance menu, I forced changed the Force Font DPI to 96 DPI and it solved the problem.

                      Comment

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