KDE/Install

From openSUSE

openSUSE gives you the choice of several installations. Whatever desktop environment (DE) you have installed -- be it GNOME, Xfce, or another -- it is very simple to install KDE as well. You can of course have multiple desktop environments installed on any machine, but you can only be logged into one at a time.

Below is a guide on installing KDE presuming you selected the GNOME desktop environment or another DE on the original openSUSE install.

Installing the Packages

Head over to YaST's Software Management module. Once it's loaded, change the Search drop-down menu option to Patterns:

As you can see, openSUSE neatly organises your packages into Patterns which are collections of different packages, making it trivial to install particular groups. In this case, we want to install KDE, so right-click on KDE Desktop Environment and select Install:

Now simply hit Accept and watch it install.

Log into KDE

Once the installation of all those packages has finished, all you need to do now is Log out, and from the Login Manager, change your Session to KDE.

Now simply enter your username and password to log into KDE!

Other

Using Zypper instead of YaST

Instead of using YaST to install the packages as above, you can use Zypper, the command line tool for package management in openSUSE:

zypper install kde --type pattern

..which will install the kde pattern which provides the standard KDE Desktop Environment on openSUSE.

In openSUSE 10.3 you have to type:

zypper install --type=pattern kde

If "No valid solution found"

If it says "no valid solution found with just resolvables of best architecture", try disabling all online repositories first (in YaST... Community Repositories). Then go back and use yast software management with the "patterns" filter as described above. This way you are getting the original sources.

Using KDM instead of GDM

Though you don't need to, you might also consider changing your Login Manager (or Display Manager) if you decide to use KDE. GNOME uses GDM (the GNOME Display Manager), and the KDE login manager is KDM. You can use either to login to KDE, GNOME, Xfce, or any other type of session, but there is one advantage to using KDM if you use KDE: you will be able to Restart your Computer into another Operating System if you do so.

So below are the simple instructions to follow to achieve this. Head over to YaST and hit the System category on the left. Now click on the /etc/sysconfig Editor module:

The configuration tool will now start up:

Now, on the left, head over to Desktop -> Display Manager -> DISPLAYMANAGER:

There should be one entry field, with gdm inside it. Change gdm to kdm. Now simply log out and you should have KDM as your display manager!