Desktop Tips

This section offers some tips for using and customizing the desktop.

Run programs automatically when KDE starts

  1. The easiest way to run programs automatically when KDE starts is to use the Startup and Shutdown feature of KDE. KDE can be set up to be exactly right with every login.

  2. Go to System Settings by going to Kickoff Application LauncherComputerSystem Settings. from the System Administation section at the bottom.

  3. Another method to start programs automatically with login is to copy the desktop entry of the application from /usr/share/applications to the ~/.kde/Autostart directory.

Login automatically to KDE when the computer starts

It is possible to log a user in automatically when the computer boots. This is not recommended for most computers, however, as it is not secure and may allow other users access to private information.

  1. Go to System Settings by going to Kickoff Application LauncherComputerSystem Settings.

  2. Under the System Administation section, select the Login Screen.

  3. Select the Convenience tab. Check Enable Autologin, select the user to autologin from the drop-down menu, and select an appropriate time delay.

Start a Program Manually

Sometimes it can be useful to start a program manually, such as when the program does not have an entry in the menu. This is easy to do with the KRunner application.

  1. Open KRunner application by pressing Alt+F2

  2. Enter the name of the program to run and press the Enter key.

Automatically turn on NumLock when KDE starts

  1. Open System Settings by going to Kickoff Application LauncherComputerSystem Settings. In the System Settings window, select the Input Devices option.

  2. Under the Keyboard section, click on the Hardware tab, locate the subsection titled NumLock on KDE Startup, enable the Turn On checkbox. Click on Apply to save the settings.

The change will take effect with the next log-in to KDE. To test it right away, turn off NumLock and restart KDE.

Edit Kickoff Application Launcher

Kubuntu comes with the KDE Menu Editor, so menus can be customized and entries added for applications that don't automatically appear after they are installed. To add, remove, or modify an entry, use the following procedure:

  1. Open KDE Menu Editor by right-clicking on Kickoff Application Launcher icon (the KDE Menu) and choosing Edit Applications.... If the Kicker is locked, KDE Menu Editor can be opened by pressing Alt+F2 and typing kmenuedit followed by pressing the Enter key.

  2. In KDE Menu Editor's left-hand pane, choose the submenu the new entry should appear in.

  3. Choose FileNew Item or left-click the New Item button. In the New Item window, choose a Name. Then add the Description, Comment, and Command. Select the icon by clicking on Icon. The Command will usually be the package name, Name is what will appear on the menu, and the Comment will appear in the tooltip that appears near the menu entry. Icons are chosen from /usr/share/icons/icon_theme directory by default, or can be chosen from any directory.

To change the order of menu entries, click and drag the entry in the KDE Menu Editor window.

Install Extra Fonts

This section describes how to install extra fonts from the Kubuntu archives.

  1. For international fonts, install the following packages (please refer to the Adding Applications documentation for help on installing extra applications):


    xfonts-intl-arabic
    xfonts-intl-asian
    xfonts-intl-chinese
    xfonts-intl-chinese-big
    xfonts-intl-european
    xfonts-intl-japanese 
    xfonts-intl-japanese-big
    xfonts-intl-phonetic

  2. For Microsoft TrueType® core fonts, install the ttf-mscorefonts-installer. package.

  3. For Ghostscript fonts, install the gsfonts-x11 package (please refer to the Adding Applications documentation for help on installing extra applications).

Individual fonts can be installed easily by opening Konqueror and typing fonts:/ into the location bar. The font can then be installed, either system-wide or for personal use, by dragging and dropping into the respective folders.