KDE/Introduction to KDE4

From openSUSE

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Welcome to KDE4

openSUSE 11.1 uses KDE 4.1 as its KDE desktop. There are several changes to the default desktop compared to KDE3. The most important is the Plasma desktop shell. While most KDE 4 applications are ports of their KDE 3 predecessors, Plasma is a completely new development which combines the previous desktop and panel pieces. As result widgets can be placed both on the desktop and the panel.

Start Menu

KDE 4 features an application launcher menu developed in openSUSE. It is designed to offer fast access to frequently used applications and to let you find others easily using built-in search. You can switch back to the original expanding menu by right-clicking on the start menu button and selecting "Switch to Classic Menu Style". You can get the new menu back in the same way.

Panel Toolbox

To activate the Panel Settings mode, hover the opposite end of the panel to the application launcher and click on the panel toolbox icon. If your desktop has been locked to prevent accidental changes, the panel toolbox icon is hidden. Right-click anywhere on the desktop or panel and select "Unlock Widgets" then. In the settings mode you can also rearrange panel items.

Icons on the Desktop

The Folder View applet of KDE4 allows to display the content of a directory, and can be positioned anywhere on the desktop. You can have as many Folder Views as you need to suit your workflow. They can even display the contents of network shares or the results of live searches. To revert to the previous style, right-click on your desktop, select "Desktop Settings", and change the Desktop Activity Type to "Folder View".

Compositing (desktop effects)

Compositing desktop effects are enabled where hardware and drivers support it, with a basic default setup. Automatic checks confirm that compositing works before enabling it on the workspace and may suspend it in case of problems. If there are problems that are not automatically detected, it is possible to use Shift+Alt+F12 to temporarily suspend and resume compositing or disable it permanently in the Configure Desktop->Desktop->Desktop Effects configuration module. The KDM login manager also offers a KDE failsafe session that will not activate compositing.

Learn more about KDE at KDE UserBase