5.2. Settings

The KDE desktop can be customized according to your preferences and needs. Control Center in the main menu opens the configuration dialog for your KDE desktop. The following section introduces a number of modules.

5.2.1. Peripherals

This opens the configuration dialogs for the mouse, keyboard, and printer administration.

5.2.1.1. Keyboard

Keyboard repeat

Keeping a key pressed causes the associated character to be printed repeatedly as long as the key is pressed. The option is activated by default.

Key click volume

If you want to hear a sound when a key is clicked, activate this option and adjust the volume with the slider.

Use sticky keys, slow keys, or bounce keys

These options are the same as those listed in Section 5.2.5.3. “Accessibility”, where they are described in detail.

NumLock on KDE startup

Here, determine whether the number pad of your keyboard should be active when KDE is started.

5.2.1.2. Mouse

The mouse configuration comprises three tabs:General, Advanced, and Mouse Navigation. The configuration options of the General tab are:

Button Mapping

Here, specify right-handed or left-handed use of your mouse.

Icons

Determine how the system should react to clicks and double-clicks. The default setting for the KDE desktop is a single click for opening files or folders and a mouse pointer that changes its appearance when it is moved over icons. If you want icons to be selected automatically in addition to the single click, activate the respective option and set the delay for this selection. To use double-click for opening files and folders, select Double-click to open files and folders (select icons on first click). Finally, set the size and color of the pointer and the visual feedback on activation.

Configuration options of the Advanced tab:

Pointer Acceleration and Pointer Threshold

The pointer acceleration defines the relation between the movement speed of the input device (mouse) and the speed of the pointer on the screen. The higher the selected factor is, the more difficult it is to control the screen pointer. The threshold (in pixels) specifies the distance the pointer must cover before the indicated pointer acceleration is activated. In this way, control the mouse pointer easily when covering small distances and cover large distances on the screen with small movements.

Double Click Interval

Here, set the maximum interval between two mouse clicks that should still be interpreted as a double-click.

Drag Start Time and Drag Start Distance

The object selected with a click is moved if you move it by the distance in pixels specified in Drag start distance within the period specified in Drag start time.

Mouse Wheel Scrolls By

If you have a wheel mouse, specify the number of lines the image should scroll per wheel “tooth”.

To be able to navigate the mouse pointer with the arrow keys of the number pad, activate this function under Mouse Navigation and customize the parameters according to your needs.

5.2.1.3. Printers

The printer administration module mainly consists of three parts. The top frame lists all printers available in the network. The center part features a configuration and information zone comprising four tabs. The lower part indicates the current print system type. The following description only covers the configuration part.

[Important]Important

The configuration options relevant for your daily work with the system can be accessed under Jobs and Instances. Information and Properties mainly provide information or are used for system administration.

Depending on which printer is currently selected in the overview, view and modify status and model information and configuration options in the following four tabs at the center of the dialog window:

Information

This tab provides general and unmodifiable information about the printer, such as the printer type, its status, location, and designation.

Jobs

This tab corresponds to KJobViewer, described in Section 5.4.5. “Monitoring Print Jobs”.

Properties

All settings related to the printer are available here: general information, drivers, interfaces, separator pages, quotas, and user accesses.

Instances

Depending on the document type, you may have diverse requirements for the printouts (page format, duplex printing, orientation, print quality, and banners). Combine the characteristic settings for each type in instances. To create a new profile, select New and enter a name for the profile. Click Settings... to open a configuration dialog in which to specify these settings. To save the settings and exit the dialog, clickOK. To define one of your custom profiles as the default for this printer, click Set as Default. Your default profile is used when printing from applications. You can only switch between the individual profiles in the printer administration module.

5.2.2. Desktop

Under Appearance, set the standard font, font size, background colors, and underlining on the desktop. Under Window Behavior, configure the behavior of the windows and their activation. For example, set the focus to follow the mouse. In this case, you do not need to click a window to activate it.

The taskbar in the panel displays the applications currently started on your system. In this module, determine to what extent started programs and virtual desktops should be displayed in the taskbar and which actions should be associated with mouse clicks in the taskbar.

Under Panels, set the position and size of the panels and configure their hiding mode. You can also place additional menus in the panel. If the standard number of virtual desktops is not sufficient, set up additional virtual desktops under Multiple Desktops and assign them names.

5.2.3. Sound & Multimedia

Here, perform all settings for the playback of audio CDs and for the sound system. Under System Bell, switch from system notification to a system bell and specify the volume, pitch, and duration of the bell.

By default, system notifications are used. Use this module to determine how the system should inform you in the event of a problem, when a task is performed, or if an event requiring your immediate attention occurs.

In the upper part of the dialog, select the application for which to configure the system notifications. As soon as you select a program, all events the application can send to the user are listed in the lower window. Determine the notification type for each notification in the Actions dialog.

The standard view of the system notification dialog only offers the activation of a Play a sound check box for audible notification. Click More Options to access other action modes. You can log the notification to a file, execute a program, or show the message in a pop-up window. In the lower part of the dialog under Quick Controls, globally activate or deactivate the actions for all programs.

5.2.4. Appearance & Themes

This item features all fine tuning options for the appearance of your desktop.

5.2.4.1. Screen saver

The module for selecting and configuring the screensaver consists of three parts. Select a suitable screensaver from the list to the left. The preview to the right shows how the selected program looks. Use Setup and Test to test the screensaver in the running system and configure it.

Start screen saver automatically

For the screensaver to be activated automatically, select this check box and specify the time (in minutes) after which the screensaver should be activated.

Require password to stop screen saver

The screensaver can block your workstation and require a password for the release.

Priority

Use the slider to set the priority of the screensaver in relation to other processes. If you use a graphically complicated screensaver that generates a high processor load, set the priority higher to achieve a smooth display quality. In this case, the priority of other processes is reduced accordingly. However, if you frequently let your machine work while you do other things, you should refrain from running a complex screensaver with a high priority.

5.2.4.2. Colors

Use this module to manage and edit color schemes for your desktop. Select one of the many existing schemes. The preview window displays all desktop elements in the defined colors. To change the color of one or several widgets, select the name of the widget from the drop-down menu under Widget Color and click the color bar below to choose a suitable color in the color editor. Finally, adjust the contrast settings and save the modified scheme under a name of your choice. To apply this scheme globally, activate Apply colors to non-KDE applications.

5.2.4.3. Window Decorations

Select a decoration style for your application windows from the list under the General tab. Click Apply to test the selected style. To position or move individual elements of the title bar, activate Use custom titlebar button positions and rearrange the elements under the Buttons tab. If additional configuration options are available for the selected style, access these under the Configure tab.

5.2.4.4. Background

Determine a background for your desktop. By default, your modifications are applied to all virtual desktops. To configure the backgrounds separately for the individual virtual desktops, deactivate Common Background. The effect of your configuration can be seen in the preview at the top right of the dialog window.

The background colors can be selected under the Background tab. To modify the color components, click the color bar next to Color 1 or Color 2 to open a color editor. Here, change the color settings as desired or use the pipette to adopt a color from any desktop element or a loaded image or web page. Select special gradient effects under Mode.

To use an image as a background for one or several backgrounds, activate Single Wallpaper. Then select the scaling mode or the position of the wallpaper on your desktop and designate a suitable wallpaper with the drop-down menu or the Browse... button. Alternatively, drag and drop image files from your file manager (see Section 5.3. “Konqueror as a File Manager”) or the desktop to the preview image. For wallpaper variety, activate Multiple Wallpapers and proceed with the further configuration using Setup Multiple....

The Advanced tab features some special settings that usually do not need to modified.

5.2.4.5. Fonts

All fonts and font attributes used on the desktop can be configured here. Click Choose... then specify your settings in the dialog that opens. By default, antialiasing is activated for all fonts. To deactivate or customize antialiasing, select the respective check boxes.

[Tip]Tip

Changes to the antialiasing settings are only applied to newly-started programs. Programs already open are not affected by the changes.

5.2.4.6. Style

Here, select the style for all widgets (elements of the graphical interface) in KDE applications. The configuration contains three tabs. Select the style under Style, using the preview in the lower part of the window. Use Effects to configure various GUI effects and transparency types, if supported by the respective style.

5.2.5. Regional & Accessibility

5.2.5.1. Country/Region & Language

The settings in this module only apply to KDE applications. Other applications, such as OpenOffice.org, may need to be configured separately. All regional system settings can be configured under five tabs.

Locale

Use the drop-down menu to select the desired country from the list. Settings, such as the language, numbers, currency, time, and date are automatically set to suitable values. A preview of all current regional settings is displayed in the lower part of the dialog. For example, to use the regional settings for the US but use Spanish as the system language, click Add Language to select this language and add it to the list of available system languages. To remove a language, mark it in the list and click Remove Language.

Numbers

To use different number settings than the default settings associated with the country selected under Locale, configure the decimal symbol, thousands separator, positive sign, and negative sign in this dialog. The decimal symbol and the thousands separator for currencies are configured separately under the Money tab. The default setting on a US system is “.” for the decimal symbol, an optional “,” for the thousands separator, no entry for the positive sign, and “-” for the representation of negative numbers.

Money

Configure all currency-related settings that should differ from the default settings for the selected system language in this dialog. For example, on a US system, the currency symbol is “$”, the decimal symbol is “.”, thousands are separated with a “,”, and the number of fraction digits is “2”. The position of the currency symbol and the prefix for positive and negative amounts is arranged in such a way that the currency symbol precedes the prefix and the amount.

Time & Date

Here, enter the time format, the date format, the short date format, and the first day of the week. A detailed explanation is displayed if you click the “?” symbol in the title bar then the respective menu item.

Other

This tab features the setting for the default paper format and measurements. On a US system, the default paper format is “US Letter” and the imperial system is used for measurements.

5.2.5.2. Keyboard Shortcuts

This module comprises two tabs. Use the Shortcut Schemes tab to select an existing layout or create new keyboard layout schemes. The Modifier Keys tab provides an overview of the special keys available on your keyboard.

Your system offers a number of predefined shortcuts for specific tasks arranged in schemes. Use the Shortcut Schemes tab to manage all shortcuts on your system. By default, the following schemes are available on your system:

  • Windows Scheme (With Win Key)

  • Mac Scheme

  • KDE Default for 3 Modifier Keys

  • KDE Default for 4 Modifier Keys

  • Windows Scheme (Without Win Key)

  • Unix Scheme

To change the scheme used on your system, select one of the listed schemes and adopt it globally (Global Shortcuts, Shortcut Sequences, and Application Shortcuts) or assign shortcuts to individual actions and save them as a custom scheme.

To create a new shortcut for an action or modify an existing shortcut, select the tab for the respective area (e.g., Global Shortcuts) and click the action to assign (e.g., Show Taskmanager). The section Shortcut for Selected Action is then activated in the lower part of the dialog. Three radio buttons offer the basic configuration options none, default, and custom.

Existing schemes are write-protected, allowing restoration of the default values at any time. Save your own modifications by clicking Save... at the top right and entering a name for your custom scheme. The new scheme is then listed in the selection menu.

[Tip]Tip

Under Application Shortcuts, you can only configure standard actions available in all applications. Program-specific shortcuts must be configured in the program itself via Settings+Configure Shortcuts.

5.2.5.3. Accessibility

The settings in this module facilitate the access to the system for users with hearing problems or motor disorders. This module contains the Bell and Keyboard tabs.

Audible bell

System bells can be communicated to the user in a visible or in an audible form. The default setting is the audible variant with Use System bell. To configure a specific sound, activate Use customized bell and use Browse... to select a suitable sound from the list.

Visible bell

For system bells to be communicated visually, activate Use visible bell. If no other modifications are performed, the screen is inverted when a system bell rings (Invert screen is activated by default). The duration of the visual bell can be adjusted with the slider. Instead of the inversion, the screen can be set flash. To do this, activate Flash screen and select a suitable color in the color editor by clicking the color bar.

Sticky Keys

Some shortcuts require a key to be held down (this is the case with Alt, Ctrl, and Shift) while the second part of the shortcut is entered. If sticky keys are used, the system considers these keys to be pressed continuously even if they are only pressed once.

Slow Keys

Here, determine if and to what extent the system delays the output of characters on the screen when a key is pressed. The longer the interval adjusted with the slider is, the longer a key can be pressed without triggering a repeated output of the respective character on the screen.

Bounce Keys

If you activate this option, pressing a key twice is only interpreted as two characters if the interval selected with the slider has elapsed. If a key is pressed twice inadvertently, this will be ignored.