I expected (as in KDE3) to right-click the desktop,
to be able to create an application-launcher, but
it’s not there?
What am I missing…there must be SOME way to do it?
TIA…
Dave
make sure widgets are unlocked and:
-
go into the menu, find the app you want to add to the desktop and then right click > add to desktop.
-
Bit harder, but works. Click add widget, find the generic icon. Drag it to the desktop. Go to your icon settings (right click on icon) and fill in the info, choose a picture and your done
-
copy your icons to the desktop folder.
1 is the easiest.
Yes, #1 I know about…but, I’m talking about a case when
there is NOT already one present in the menus.
#2: When I click ‘add widget’, I do NOT get anything that
allows me to ‘find a generic icon’…I get a list of
what look like ‘applets’ and I don’t want any of them.
So, I’m confused totally about this one.
#3. What do you mean by ‘copy my icons to the desktop folder’?
*
Still confused…
Dave*
See what happened in KDE4 is that the desktop is now controlled by something called “Plasma”. Everything that is on the desktop and panels is a “Plasma applet”. In KDE 4.0 plasma was not really finished so unfortunately there are quite a few missing features. In KDE 4.1 this has been fixed but I’m afraid for KDE 4.0 (and hence openSUSE 11.0) you’re stuck with these half-solutions.
quickshade’s solutions are correct. To explain a bit further:
#2: As I said only Plasma applets are allowed on the desktop in KDE4. To add an application icon to your desktop, you have to actually add a plasma applet that holds that icon. This plasma applet is called “Icon”. Add one of those and configure (right click and select configure icon) to get it to point at your application.
#3: He means copy the .desktop files to your /home/user/Desktop/ folder. A .desktop file in this case is basically a linux “shortcut” file. If you open up your /home/user/Desktop folder in Konqueror/Dolphin, you should be able to right click and create a new “Link to Application”. This should allow you to create a desktop file pointing wherever you want it to. This will then appear on your desktop because it is in your ~/Desktop folder. Note that this will not work in KDE 4.1!
LOL, see what happens when you try and give directions at 3 in the morning… anyways he explains it a bit better, to explain KDE 4.1, they have this sweet new folderview, which is a plasma applet that shows all the files in the place of your choice. The idea is that you could technically now create 2-3 folders of different programs and place a folderview of each one in separate desktops, meaning you could have a music desktop, a picture desktop and a kids desktop. I’ve been using it since they released it, and I like the possibility’s (tabs anyone??)
Ok, I understand now.
That said, #2 is broken. When you add such a plasma-icon,
it has two problems (on my 11.0 system):
(a)it only has 2 tabs, so you can’t specify the ‘cmd’.
(b)permissions/ownership is fouled up. (It OUGHT to
be owned by user’s acct, like it is if you create
it via #3 technique.)
#3: Yup, that works.
Bottom line, it’s becoming quite clear that KDE4
is definately still a work-in-progress, if they haven’t
even got this working yet.
It’s becoming clearer why Debian has decided to stay with
kde 3.5.9 in their next release. Luckily, 11.0 users can go back
and login as ‘kde3’ when they want the functionality that
they’re accustomed to. (11.0’s DEFAULT-login ought to be
KDE3, in my opinion…KDE4 is a time-waster and NOT ready
for prime-time.)
My 2-cents…
Dave
Just remember that you did choose to install KDE4, and it was clearly labelled as less stable than KDE 3.5 Oh and BTW, unlike with other distributions, there is no default login desktop environment. openSUSE is extremely careful not to show any preference for any desktop environment, Gnome or KDE, KDE3 or KDE4, or even Xfce!
But yes, it is universally agreed that KDE 4.0 is not quite production useable (including by KDE devs - although they insist that it wasn’t meant to be 
), but KDE 4.1 is shaping up well, don’t worry! Plasma is a huge change in the way we interact with our desktops, and there are big changes under-the-hood in other areas as well, so give it time … KDE 3.0 had major flaws as well but look at how good 3.5.9 is!
I agree that KDE 4.0.x is NOT ready for the masses…but I have been using it since 4.0.0 and it is quite usable now…and there seem to be many work-arounds to little irritating issues like this. 4.1 will be great…and I’m assuming that shortly after the 11.0 release that the KDE 4 repositories will let you easily upgrade to the 4.1 desktop once it’s released. I have never had a problem replacing KDE with newer versions…so I’ll keep my fingers crossed!
I’m waiting for openSUE 11 DVD so I can install 3.5.9:D KDE4 is just not for me. I hope KDE3 stays around for a while longer. I can understand the vision, but plasma should have been an option.
You can still install KDE 3.5.9 through the online repositories. I installed RC1 with KDE 4 to try out the packages. I then just installed the basic KDE 3 session packages so I can log in with a KDE 3 desktop, and I use mainly the KDE 4 apps.
Or you can add the KDE 4 repositories, and ugprade to the new KDE 4.1 beta packages, and the desktop is different yet again. The whole icons are Plasmoids on the desktop thing didn’t work out quite well. They are making a folder view Plasma applet, and supposedly when KDE 4.1 is released, all the right-click menus will work.
KDE 4.1 is way better than anything else right now. It just doesn’t have the polish that Opensuse used in 4.0.4. My 3 biggest complaints about KDE 4.1 are all going to be fixed, 1 was a terrible system tray, to which I’m told is going to be fixed real soon, 2 is raptor is not in yet along with tons of other features I want to test and finally…It’s not released yet.
I went to KDE 4.0 to get a stable krfb for the consol desktop, and I found it noce and prefered 4.0 instead of KDE 3.5.x.
Jan
Not true at all! I downloaded RC1 from the posting on distrowatch:
DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD.
Ditto for the new RC2 offering:
Index of /pub/projects/FactoryLiveCDs
The only choices are KDE4 and Gnome (LiveCDs).
It’s NOT like there is a choice for KDE3…KDE4
seems to be what they’re pushing for 11.0-KDE.
[In my view, this is wrong-headed, in that it
has the potential to disappoint first-time users
of openSUSE.]
My 2-cents…
Dave
The final version will include 3.5 on the DVD distributable and you can install it via the LiveCD (The KDE4 one).
Whilst I would’ve rather seen KDE3 as the LiveCD and KDE4 as an installable choice, this is how they decided to roll it out.
After using opensuse 11 w/KDE 4, I can say that KDE 4 has caused a lot of problems, more than I thought. I hope it will be easy to upgrade to KDE 4.1 when it comes out around August 1. Until then I’ll go back to sidux Linux, where KDE 3.5.9 works!
Yeah well 3.5.9 works on SuSE fine too :rolleyes:
where can I get KDE 3.5.9? I have only the live CD that comes with KDE 4.
… or I’ll wait until KDE 4.1 is available for install in August.
- vinoman2 wrote, On 06/27/2008 02:36 PM:
> where can I get KDE 3.5.9? I have only the live CD that comes with KDE
> 4.
Download the regular install DVD, it has Gnome, KDE3 and 4 (and others, of course)
Uwe
Simply as eating a cake - if you still have the KDE4 enabled system.
Go to YAST / Install Software, click on Filters and choose Patterns. From there choose KDE3 Base System and let it install - logout and you can choose KDE3 from the Sessions button at login.
Bang, you just installed a fully functional 3.5.9’er.
Thank you Chrysantine, Now I’m in a stable KDE 3.
For some reason opensuse was set to auto login when I installed it so I don’t get a choice in the splash screen to choose, so it went to KDE 3 this time which is fine. How do I set it so I have to use my username and password to login?
So when KDE 4.1 comes out in August, I assume we’ll be able to install it the same way?