Guide To KDE: The Other Linux Desktop

This guide is meant to introduce the so-called "power users" of computers with an introduction to KDE, including the option (and freedom) that it provides. If you fall into one of the following categories, this guide is for you: You're a Windows user, but are turned off by the new Windows 8 look and Start Screen. You're looking for an OS that works kind of like Windows 7, but even better. You're a new Linux user, and have been trying out Ubuntu. But Unity, the Dash, Scopes, and Lenses just aren't your thing. Where's the "Start" button?

Guide To KDE: The Other Linux Desktop

By Aaron Peters, http://www.two-mutts.com/Edited by Justin Pot

This manual is the intellectual property ofMakeUseOf It must only be published in itsoriginal form Using parts or republishingaltered parts of this guide is prohibited withoutpermission from MakeUseOf.com

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Table Of Contents

1 Introduction

2 Getting the KDE Software Compilation

3 Using KDE

4 KDE Base Applications

5 Other KDE SC Packages

6 Additional Packages and Applications

7 Conclusion

MakeUseOf

1 Introduction

Welcome to MakeUseOf's "Guide to KDE:

The Other Linux Desktop." This guide is

meant to introduce the so-called "powerusers" of computers with an introduction toKDE, including the option (and freedom) that itprovides If you fall into one of the followingcategories, this guide is for you:

You're a Windows user, but are turnedoff by the new Windows 8 look and StartScreen You're looking for an OS thatworks kind of like Windows 7, but evenbetter

You're a new Linux user, and have beentrying out Ubuntu But Unity, the Dash,Scopes, and Lenses just aren't yourthing Where's the "Start" button?

You're an intermediate Linux user, andnow you have a taste for customization

So you're looking for a way to configure

your own, great-looking desktop, withlots of shiny gadgets everywhere.

You're an old-school Linux user who'sjust now (begrudgingly) installing X, andyou need to pick a desktop You'd ratherjust use emacs for everything, but youadmit sometimes colors are nice

In this guide we'll provide an overview of theKDE desktop environment, let you know how

to get it and install it, introduce the variouspieces of the base system (i.e the desktop),and finally describe how to perform somecommon tasks with the applications that comewith it

But first, a little background on KDE

1.1 What is KDE?

KDE, or more correctly "the KDE SoftwareCollection," is a project founded in 1996 byMatthias Ettrich to provide a full-featureddesktop environment for free software

operating systems (including Linux) At thetime, there were a number of programs

(referred to as "window managers") providing

a graphical user interface (GUI) for theseOSes, but none in particular were leading thepack

KDE was an attempt to recreate the

functionality of packages such as the

Common Desktop Environment (CDE), whichwas the default GUI for many

commercial/proprietary versions of Unix But italso sought to standardize the pieces

(widgets) that make up the applications Forexample, if a user opened an application atthe time to send an e-mail, that programmight have to open libraries of widgets todraw the windows, provide graphics for thebuttons, edit the text, print the e-mail, andsend the e-mail, all from different projects andwith the inconsistencies that entails KDE wasmeant to create a desktop environment withsome consistency, targeted at the end user

So at this point, we've used the term "desktopenvironment" a number of times What theheck does that mean?

1.2 What is a "Desktop Environment"?

On a Linux system (as well as other free,Unix-like software systems), there's a "stack"

of software that ultimately displays a GUI forthe user:

Note: image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

At the lowest level, the Linux kernel andits drivers talk to the computer's display,and tell it when to light up pixels, andhow

The X-Window System (or X11, or

simply X) coordinates the lighting ofthese pixels to draw windows The

"background" is referred to as the "rootwindow," and other programs open intheir own windows on top of it

A window manager arranges all these

"X-windows," and allows for things such

as clicking on the title bar of one program

to "raise" it above another

Toolkits provide commonly used pieces

to programs, such as menu bars,

buttons, file dialogs, and the "frames" forthe window manager to use to decorate

Lastly, a desktop environment will

provide a window manager (or work with

an existing one), use a common toolkitacross its applications, and provide

countless other useful elements, frombasic tools such as application menus,lists of programs currently running, and away to manage files to advanced onessuch as a full-featured "control center"-style application

Desktop environments are a great example onthe "standing on the shoulders of giants"philosophy that makes the free softwarecommunity so great So how does KDE fit intothat community?

Here’s a comparison of some of the maindesktop environments for Linux, if you’recurious

1.3 KDE in the Linux Community

KDE serves several important roles in theLinux community:

It is one of the most successful freesoftware projects around, and serves asproof of the benefits of free software.

It is the default desktop environment for anumber of Linux distributions, giving them

a powerful, modern UI

It supplies the community with lots of freeapplications – from games, to musicplayers, to office programs Even if youdon't use KDE as your desktop

environment, you're still free

(encouraged, even!) to take advantage ofits apps

It provides developers who aren't formalmembers of the project with a great headstart for developing their applications.They don't need to worry about drawingtheir own buttons or coding their own filedialogs the KDE libraries provide all ofthis

So now that you know what KDE is all about,

how do you go about getting it? Let's take alook at ways you can take this desktop for atest drive.

2 Getting the KDE Software

Install KDE in your existing Linux

distribution, as an alternative to yourexisting desktop environment

KDE's cross-platform Qt toolkit also works onother, non-Unix platforms, and it's possible foradvanced users to get these applications bythe following methods:

The KDE project provides an installer toadd KDE applications to Windows

You can also install these applications onMac OS X via the macports , fink, or

Homebrew projects as described here

(between them, macports tends to have

the more updated version)

Neither of these methods are exactly easy touse or stable, so keep that in mind: theeasiest way to try KDE is within Linux Solet's explore how to get a KDE environment

on Linux you can explore

2.1 Pre-Installed KDE Distributions

There are a number of distributions thatprovide and integrate KDE out of the box,including the following (all of which are part ofMakeUseOf's list of Best Linux Distributions:

by creating a Live USB drive For instructions

on how to create and boot these, you canrefer to these MakeUseOf articles describingthe process:

For Windows, using Linux Live USBCreator

For, Mac OS X using these instructions

to boot a Linux live USB on a Mac

For Linux, using Live USB Install

While making a Live CD is also an option, thesize of the image files have begun to exceedwhat CDs can typically hold Using a USBdrive is your safest bet, and more portable Afinal alternative is to create a virtual machinewith one of the KDE-based distributions Ifyou're new to virtual machines, read abouthow MakeUseOf explains and highlights twovirtual machine programs that run on Linux.But which distribution to select? Let's take alook at a few

2.1.1 Kubuntu

Kubuntu combines the extensive Ubunturepositories with an up-to-date KDE desktopenvironment If you're using Ubuntu and want

an Ubuntu-based option, but don't want toinstall it on your main system just yet, getting

a Kubuntu Live CD/USB is the easiest way totry it out You can head over to the Kubuntuwebsite to see what it's all about

Pros: Uses the common Ubuntu

repositories Provides an almost-vanillaversion of KDE (good for avid

customizers)

Caveats: No longer officially supported

by Canonical, the corporate developer ofUbuntu (but rather by Blue Systems, whoalso supports the KDE version of LinuxMint) Provides an almost-vanilla version

of KDE (for new users, it may seem alittle bland)

Note: As the author is an avid Kubuntu user, the instructions in this guide will be for that distribution by default.

is still well-supported, meaning it's rare to runinto a problem finding a native package forthird-party applications (i.e those that aren'tdistributed by Fedora itself) Visit the FedoraProject to pick up a copy

Pros: Widespread package support

"Rawhide" distribution with rolling

Pros: Adds polish to an already polished

frequent release cycle similar to others such

as Ubuntu and Fedora (described below).You can easily grab the KDE version of thelive CD

Pros: Up-to-date and optimized KDEpackages Custom "YaST" systemsettings application.

Caveats: Smaller package selection.Less regular release schedule Custompackage manager (Zypper)

2.1.5 Honorable Mentions

Distrowatch lists over 100 distributions thatoffer KDE (some as default, some as anoption) Some other popular alternatives are:

Debian GNU/Linux: One of the lived distributions, it forms the foundation

longest-of Ubuntu You can install KDE once thebase installation is installed

Mageia: A fork of one of the oldest focused distributions (Mandriva)

KDE-PC-BSD: Based on FreeBSD (a Unix-like

OS similar to Linux), this aims to be theBSD for the non-technical user

All told, you'll have no problems if you selectany of the above options to try out KDE Ifyou're wondering what makes one distributionbetter/worse/different compared to others,this MakeUseOf article about the differencebetween Linux distros can help explain.

2.2 Installing KDE in Linux

If you're already using Linux and have harddrive space to burn, you can easily install theKDE desktop right now There's no risk indoing so – it won't "take over" your desktop –

it will simply appear as an option the next timeyou log in (we'll cover how this appears inyour display manager in a later section).You can often find a metapackage, or apackage that will install other packages, forKDE using your preferred software manager.Look for one that says "KDE Desktop," orsimply "KDE." The corresponding packagesand their command-line install commands arelisted below for Ubuntu, Fedora, Linux Mint,

These quick commands will install the

following items for you:

KDE base system, including libraries andthe Qt toolkit

The KDE Plasma Desktop shell, includingbasic items such as applications menu,system tray, and desktop

Many base applications, such as a filemanager, web browser, utilities

(calculator, etc.), and system

configuration tools

We'll explore all these parts of the systemone at a time in the next section

3 Using KDE

3.1 Logging In

The first step to using KDE once it's installed

is logging out of your current desktop session.Once you do so, you'll be directed to the loginmanager (often called the "display manager")for the system Depending on your system,you might have the KDE greeter (or theme)installed

If not, you can still get to KDE with yourexisting display manager This is LightDM on

an Ubuntu system, with the default Unitytheme

If you had no other desktops previously, youmay not have had the ability to select a

"session," but you should now How it

appears will depend on your login managerand distribution, but there should be a button

or drop-down that allows you to select a

"KDE"-titled session On a default Ubuntu

installation it's a little white Ubuntu logo.

Click the logo, and select KDE from the list

You can tell you'll be directed to KDE by thelittle white logo, which is now updated to theKDE logo.

Log in with your username and password, andyou're off and running The first thing you'llsee is the progress window as the

components of the desktop are loading

Once that's complete, you'll see a shiny newdesktop Let's take a look at some of theparts of the desktop as it comes out-of-the-box in the next section.

3.2 An Overview of the KDE Desktop

3.2.1 The Desktop

If you're familiar with the "Windows"-style ofdesktop layouts, things should look fairlyfamiliar Most of the screen is the desktopbackground, where you can place things(including, but not limited to, a background,links to files, and other fun widgets) It

operates a little differently than Windows orMac desktops, however, in that the defaultdesktop doesn't hold those things directly (at

least not by default) Instead, you can place

things on the desktop that will hold all thosethings (this is typically a Folder View Widget).Out of the box the Kubuntu desktop contains

one of these widgets, which reads "Thisfolder is empty." We'll explain how to getthings to show up here a little later.

3.2.2 The Panel

There's also a Panel at the bottom of thescreen with controls, and a desktop

background Out of the box most KDE

desktops will start you out with the Panelelements in the sections below

3.2.3 The "K" Menu

The "K" menu at the far left of the Panel ismuch like the "Start" menu in that other OS Itallows you to browse through all your installedGUI applications But where other systemswill often group these by manufacturer orapplication, KDE does contain some

categories to allow you to organize things a

We'll visit some of the programs within each

of these groups in a later section, but know inthe meantime you can use the "K" menu toget to them It's also useful to note that thismenu doesn't contain icons for command-lineapplications, but if you find yourself usingthese you can create new menu items for that(we'll cover that later as well)

It also contains tabs for maintaining a

"Favorites" list of your most frequently-usedapplications, links to key settings and

locations on your computer, a list of used documents or files, and the buttons foryou to log out, reboot, or power off yourcomputer

recently-3.2.4 Activities

Many users are familiar with the concept of

"virtual desktops," or multiple copies of thecomputer desktop that exist in parallel Thisallows you to, for example, have some officedocument windows open on one screen whilealso having your mail and instant messengeropen on another, all "active" at the same timewithout the need to switch (i.e "Alt-Tab" or

"Command-Tab") between them Activitiesare similar, but more powerful: you can

choose to have different backgrounds/widgets

on the desktop between activities, and

configure certain applications only to openwithin selected Activities This feature can be

as powerful or simple as you choose to make

it We'll cover Activities in more depth later

3.2.5 Task Manager

The Task Manager is a list of currently

running applications, just like the one inWindows, and it functions in a similar way:

The Task Manager shows the icon andtitle of each application currently open.The "active" application (i.e the oneyou're using) is highlighted

Clicking on an application other than thecurrent one will make the selected one

"active."

Right clicking on an application gives youoptions to maximize it, minimize it, orclose it, among others

3.2.6 Widgets

KDE comes with all manner of widgets, most

of which you can place on a Panel or yourdesktop The "Show Desktop" widget picturedhere does exactly what you'd expect whenclicked, it lowers all windows so you can get

at your desktop links or files, and raiseseverything to where it was when clickedagain

Another example of a Widget is a QuickLauncher, or buttons on the Panel that willlaunch your favorite applications In the figurebelow a Quick Launcher is set up for Dolphin,KDE's file manager.

3.2.7 System Tray

The System Tray is also similar to the oneyou'd find in Windows or Mac OS Programsthat run in the background, ones that onlyrequire quick input/selections, or ones that aremore system-related will show as icons here.Left- or right-clicking on these will give you theoptions to work with them (which for someinclude opening in a regular window) Some ofthe important ones pictured here are as

follows:

1 The first icon will appear when updates

to your software are available It willlaunch the Muon Updater program (we'llcover this later), which allows you todownload and install all updated softwareautomatically

2 In addition to icons for the clipboard(indicated by scissors) and volume

(indicated by the speaker), there's alsoone to access all your removable media.This currently shows that the Virtual Box