Customizing KDE

Alexey Eremenko "Technologov"

$Revision: 02 $

$Date: 2007-04-05 $

About

This article get you all the way, from very simple to the more interesting and advanced ways of customizing your KDE experience. KDE is one of the two major desktop environments, or GUIs for Linux, and I see KDE as the best choise on any platform.

Customizing Resolution

While this feature is not only KDE-related, but also X-related, I have decided to put it here, because this is a KDE plugin after all. Here I will talk about KRandRTray.

Screenshot:

  1. Start KRandRTray. This can be found in Start -> Applications -> System -> Desktop Applet

  2. It will appear in KDE's system tray, at the right corner, near the clock.

  3. Right-click on it and choose any resolution supported on your system.

  4. Note: on some systems, some resolutions may be hidden and not available from KRandRTray. In this case, you must customize your X-window-system, not KDE, therefore it is not within the scope of this article.

Customizing KDE Start Menu's side-image

[Warning]Warning

This will only work for KDE menu, not for SUSE Menu, even if you're running KDE.

Screenshot before this procedure:

Screenshot after this procedure:

After installing openSUSE, I took the default background from SUSE Linux 9.1 and got the logo off there. Here is the procedure:

  1. Install "findutils-locate" package and locate "kside.png". You'll also need "kside_tile.png".

    You should find those files at: /opt/kde3/share/apps/kicker/pics/

    You will need to replace those files on your openSUSE. Make sure you stay within gray-colors and don't change the resolution!

  2. Start The GIMP (bundled with openSUSE)

  3. Copy the logo to temp file. (and modify it of course...)

  4. Add a gradient (the green color was used from the SUSE logo)

  5. Use "Good Times" or "Sans" font, size 20, and added a text using The GIMP.

  6. Save as PNG. Prior to saving, make sure you have rotated it correctly.

  7. Back up original: "kside.png" and "kside_tile.png" from /opt/kde3/share/apps/kicker/pics/.

  8. Copy results to /opt/kde3/share/apps/kicker/pics/.

  9. Restart the side-icon: KDE Control Center -> Desktop -> Panels -> Show side image -> Edit -> uncheck -> Apply -> check -> Apply

    For some hard cases X-restart may be required.

Customizing Quick Launcher Applet

This feature will allow to save some desktop estate by grouping quick-launch buttons.

Screenshot before this procedure: (old method, by adding applications directly to KDE panel)

Screenshot after this procedure: (new method, by adding applications to Quick Launcher, which is a KDE Applet)

  1. Right-click on your taskbar

  2. click on "Add applet to panel", choose "Quick Launcher" and click "Add to panel"

  3. Now, a new applet appeared on your Taskbar, and you can add new applications to it by right-clicking on it.

Our next goal, is to add "Show Desktop" icon there. Since it is not an application, but an applet, you cannot do it easily. We will create a new application button, called "KDE desktop", and use DCOP, KDE's inter-process communication system to achieve the desired effect.

  1. Right-click on start button, and choose "Menu Editor".

  2. File -> New Item

  3. Item name: "Show KDE Desktop", then press "OK" button.

  4. Click on the icon, right near the name and description fields.

    This will allow us to choose custom icon for our new menu button. I recommend you to stick with standard KDE show desktop icon.

  5. Choose icon: System Icons -> Filesystem -> desktop . This is the standard KDE show desktop icon.

  6. In the command field, type: "dcop kicker kicker toggleShowDesktop"

  7. Uncheck "Enable launch feedback" checkbox, as this will slow down KDE.

  8. Save and quit from Menu editor.

  9. Now you can add "Show KDE Desktop" to your "Quick Launcher".

Short KDE recommendations

Taskbar Right-click -> Configure Panel... -> Taskbar -> "Group Similar Tasks"=never This will ease your navigation on desktop.

Going Fullscreen: With KDE's Window Manager, KWin, any application can become a full-screen one. With default KDE configuration (keyboard style: KDE3), use: Screen. Alt+F3 -> Advanced -> Full Screen Do the same procedure again to go back. Make sure you don't miss the key :)... Alt+F4 is so near...

Thanks

Benji Weber (b.weber@warwick.ac.uk, 05.04.2007) from openSUSE community, for explaining me about KDE's QuickLauncher.

For More Information

KDE Home Page: http://www.kde.org

Wikipedia about KDE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kde