
<chapter id="first-impressions">
<title>First Impressions </title>

<epigraph>
<attribution>Origin unknown</attribution>
<para>You see to sea to see all that you can see is sea</para>
</epigraph>

<para>First impressions are so important -- this is not only true for Agatha
Christie's famous thriller <quote>The Mousetrap</quote> -- but also for &kde;. As we mentioned
before, &kde; is supposed to be the most intuitive, easy to learn user interface
available. In fact, we will have reached our goal when users no longer need this
book in order to work with &kde;, causing the authors to lose their (unpaid and
voluntary) jobs as documentors. </para>

<sect1 id="starting-kde">
<title>Starting &kde; </title>

<para>When you boot a &UNIX; system, one of two things should happen (that is, if the 
system works correctly; everything else is an undocumented third case).  Either 
you stay in text mode and get a login prompt or you are presented with a
graphical login  window.  In the former case, you must log into your system and
type: </para>

<screen>  
<command>startx</command>  
</screen>

<para>If the installation was successful, the &kde; desktop should appear after a
few seconds of initialization. </para>

<para>If a graphical login window is presented, then all that should be required
is your login name and password.  Assuming the &kde; installation was successful,
&kde; should start without further intervention. </para>

<para>If you have not done so already, we recommend changing your X
display manager from <application>xdm</application> to &kdm;, which
includes the same functionality, but with the advanced features of the
K Desktop Environment. </para>

</sect1>

<sect1 id="desktop-components">
<title>Desktop Components </title>

<para>After everything has come up, take some time to explore the new environment.  
If you have already worked with <emphasis>&Windows;</emphasis>, 
<emphasis>OS/2</emphasis> or <emphasis>&MacOS;</emphasis>, many things should look 
familiar to you.  The main visible parts of &kde; that you will see are the desktop 
itself, and the panel.</para>


<sect2 id="kde-logout">
<title>Panel </title>

<para>When you start &kde; for the first time, the panel is situated at the bottom
of the screen. From here, you will start your programs and switch between the
virtual screens. </para>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>&kicon; button</term>
<listitem><para>The &kicon; button is one of the most important
places on your &kde; desktop. From here, you can start all &kde; applications
installed. Later, when you learn how to use <link linkend="adding-programs">the
K Menu Editor</link>, you can also add other programs here as well. To start a
program, just click on the button. You will see a list of different categories,
plus some special entries. Whenever you move your mouse over an entry that has
an arrow to the right, a new menu will appear. When you find the program you
want to start, just click on it with the <mousebutton>left</mousebutton> mouse
button.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>Virtual Desktop buttons</term>

<listitem><para>When you start &kde; for the first time, note the four buttons
labeled, appropriately enough, <guilabel>One</guilabel>, <guilabel>Two</guilabel>,
<guilabel>Three</guilabel> and <guilabel>Four</guilabel>.  These
represent your four <emphasis>desktops</emphasis>.  Just click one of them.
Don't worry; though they have <quote>disappeared</quote>, any open windows are still active
(just take a look at the task list!).  Using multiple desktops is one of the
most powerful features of &kde; and the &X-Window;. Instead of placing one
window over another, as you would when using &Windows; or OS/2, you can say <quote>Well,
on the first desktop, I will write the &kde; User Guide.  On the second desktop
I'll run the <abbrev>sgml2latex</abbrev> compiler and see my results while
compiling my linux kernel on the third desktop, and reading my email on the
fourth.</quote> </para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Icon bar</term>
<listitem>
<para>Some people are so lazy that they consider even the two or three  
motions through the application's menu to be too much (me included).  For them,
additional buttons can be placed next to the desktop buttons; for example, 
shortcuts to your home directory, to your trashcan, to the
<application>Konsole</application> terminal  
emulator and to the documents you use often. For information on how to add  
icons to the taskbar, read <link linkend="icons-add">Adding icons to your
taskbar</link>. </para>
<para>&kde; by default installs several commonly used buttons, including links to
&khelpcenter;, &kwrite; and &kcontrol;.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Time and date</term>
<listitem><para>At the far right end of the &kde; panel, you can always see  
the time and date.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>The task list</term>
<listitem>
<para>In another section of the panel, find a button for each open window. Just
click on the button corresponding to the windows you want to open.  Another
click will minimize the window.  A <mousebutton>right</mousebutton> mouse button
click will give you a menu allowing you to move the window to another desktop,
manipulate it's size, or close the application.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>

</sect2>
<sect2>
<title>Using Windows </title>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>Window menu</term>
<listitem>
<para><mousebutton>Right</mousebutton> mouse button clicking in the title bar of
the window (where you see the application's name), you can see a window manipulation 
icon. This is the same menu you see if you <mousebutton>right</mousebutton>
click on an application's icon in the panel taskbar.  When you click on it, a
context menu containing commands to manipulate the window is
presented. The available commands are as follows:</para>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Move</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>Lets you move the window with your mouse. Click on the
<mousebutton>left</mousebutton> mouse button when you have the window where you
want it to be.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Size</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>Enables you to make the window smaller or larger. Move your
mouse around and click when you are satisfied with the new
size.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Minimize</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>Hides the window, leaving only an icon in the
taskbar.  Notice that the window title in this icon is now shown in
(parentheses).  To bring the window to the desktop again, click the
icon.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Maximize</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>This will expand the window to the largest size possible. Note
that &kde; will take the size of your <emphasis>virtual desktop</emphasis>, which
means that the window could be bigger than your screen. </para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Shade</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para><quote>Roll</quote> up the window, leaving only the titlebar visible. You can
achieve the same effect by double clicking in the titlebar.  To display the
entire window again, select <guimenuitem>Shade</guimenuitem> again, or double
click in the titlebar.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Always on Top</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>Selecting this will keep this window on top of all other
applications, even when it does not have the focus.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Save Settings</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>Stored the current settings for this window (position, size,
whether it should always stay on top of all other windows &etc;.). This
configuration will then be loaded the next time the window gets opened.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Decoration</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>Allows you to change the look, and in some cases the position,
of all the windows in &kde;. This changes the window decoration widgets, including
the titlebar buttons, but also including things such as checkboxes and buttons
within dialogs, scrollbars, and the titlebar itself. The default is
&kde; 2.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>To Desktop</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>Enables you to send a window to another desktop. Choose the
desktop where you want the window to be. The window will disappear at once. To
see your window again, select the appropriate <guiicon>Desktop Button</guiicon>
on the &kde; <application>Panel</application>.  Selecting <guimenuitem>All
Desktops</guimenuitem> will make the window <quote>sticky</quote> - it will display on all
desktops at once, so you can alway see this window.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Close</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>This will close the window. Sometimes the application will allow
you to save your work, but in some cases (<abbrev>e.g.</abbrev>, old X11
applications) this does not work. It is best to close an application with its
own commands, using this menu item only as a last
resort.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Sticky button</term>
<listitem><para>This button looks like a thumb tack.  It performs the same 
operation as selecting <guimenuitem>All Desktops</guimenuitem> in the
<guimenu>Window  Menu</guimenu>, but requires fewer steps to
invoke.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Title bar</term>
<listitem><para>The title bar containing the name of the window can be
double-clicked in order to shade it. Use the <mousebutton>right</mousebutton>
mouse button: The <guimenu>Window menu</guimenu> will reappear, allowing you to
(un)maximize, iconify, move, resize, (un)sticky the window, to move it to
another desktop (this works faster than the method with the sticky button).
When a program does not react anymore, you can close (which will sometimes give
you the opportunity to save your work) it. </para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guibutton>Iconify</guibutton>, <guibutton>maximize</guibutton> and
<guibutton>close Buttons</guibutton></term>
<listitem><para>To the right of the title bar, there are two buttons that can
also be used to iconify or maximize the window (this is faster than using the  
window manipulation menu). Iconified windows can be brought back with a click on
the taskbar. </para>
<para>At the far left of the titlebar (with the default window decoration) is a
button to close the window.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>

<para>To move a window, place the cursor on the title bar and hold down the
<mousebutton>left</mousebutton> mouse button.  Without releasing the mouse
button, move the window to the location of your choice, then release the mouse
button. If you want to resize a window, move the mouse cursor to the window
border you wish to change.  Once you have reached the correct spot, the cursor
will change from an arrow to a bracket and an arrow.  Hold down the
<mousebutton>left</mousebutton> mouse button and drag the side in question to
the location you wish, then release the button.  Note that you may drag sides or
corners (which will adjust the size in two dimensions at once.)</para>

<para>Using the menu bar of each &kde; window is easy. Just click on what
 you want to do, and it will be done.</para>

<para>Below the menu bar, there is a set of tool symbols you can use to
execute commands. Whenever you move over them, an active picture will be
marked.  But the menu bar can do even more for you. Notice the textured
stripe on the left of the menu and icon bars? Depress your
<mousebutton>right</mousebutton> mouse button and a context menu will
appear, allowing you to put the menu bar on the
<guimenuitem>top</guimenuitem>, <guimenuitem>left</guimenuitem>,
<guimenuitem>right</guimenuitem>, or <guimenuitem>bottom</guimenuitem>
of the window. You can also hide the menubar by selecting
<guimenuitem>Flat</guimenuitem></para>

</sect2>

<sect2>
<title>Getting Help </title>

<para>Help is available basically everywhere: On the desktop, just use the
<mousebutton>right</mousebutton> mouse button and choose <guimenuitem>Help On
Desktop</guimenuitem>. On the &kde; panel, open the application menu and choose
<guimenu>Help</guimenu>. Every &kde; program has a help menu. All help is
<acronym>HTML</acronym>-based, so using the help system is as easy as using your favorite web
browser! </para>

</sect2>
</sect1>
</chapter>
