SUSE LINUX U SER G UIDE
10. Edition 2004 Copyright © This publication is intellectual property of Novell Inc. Its contents can be duplicated, either in part or in whole, provided that a copyright label is visibly located on each copy. All information found in this book has been compiled with utmost attention to detail. However, this does not guarantee complete accuracy. Neither SuSE Linux GmbH, the authors, nor the translators shall be held liable for possible errors or the consequences thereof.
Contents I Configuration 3 1 The KDE Desktop 5 1.1 Desktop Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1.1.1 The Desktop Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1.1.2 The Trash Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 1.1.3 CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, and Floppy Disks . . . . . . . . . . . 8 1.1.4 The Printer Icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1.1.5 The Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.4 2 1.4.1 Creating an Image Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 1.4.2 KInternet — Connecting to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 1.4.3 The Download Manager KGet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 1.4.4 SuSEWatcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 1.4.5 The Clipboard Klipper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 1.4.6 Monitoring Print Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 1.4.7 Formatting Floppy Disks with KFloppy . . . .
2.3 2.4 II 3 2.2.9 Accessibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 2.2.10 Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 2.2.11 Sound (system alerts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 File Management with Nautilus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 2.3.1 Navigating in Nautilus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 2.3.2 File Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 2.3.3 Configuring Nautilus . .
4 5 A Practical Example: Monthly Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 3.6.3 Creating Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 3.6.4 Importing Spreadsheet Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 3.7 Creating Graphics Using OpenOffice.org Draw . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 3.8 Creating Presentations with OpenOffice.org Impress . . . . . . . . . 74 3.8.1 Creating Presentations with the AutoPilot . . . . . . . . . . 74 3.8.2 Adding a Slide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6 7 III 8 Scheduling with KOrganizer 91 6.1 Starting KOrganizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 6.2 Configuring KOrganizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 6.3 Using the Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 6.3.1 Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 6.3.2 Attendees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 6.3.3 To-Do Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9 The Web Browser Galeon 9.1 Optimized for the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 9.2 Efficient Surfing with Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 9.3 Smart Bookmarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 9.4 Settings and Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 9.5 For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 10 The Mozilla Web Browser 10.
12 KMail — The KDE Mail Application 133 12.1 KMail and Kontact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 12.2 Mail Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 12.3 Access Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 12.4 Configuring KMail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 12.4.1 Defining Your User Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 12.4.2 Setting up Network Connections . .
13.4 13.5 13.6 13.3.3 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 13.3.4 Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 13.3.5 Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 E-Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 13.4.1 Configuring Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 13.4.2 Mail Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 13.4.
IV Multimedia 173 15 Sound in Linux 175 15.1 The ALSA PCM Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 15.2 Mixers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 15.3 15.2.1 gamix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 15.2.2 qamix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 15.2.3 KMix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 15.2.4 The GNOME Mixer Applet . . . . . . .
15.10 MIDI Playback without a WaveTable Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 15.10.1 The Sound Font Synthesizer fluidsynth . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 15.10.2 Configuration of timidity++ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 15.10.3 Starting timidity++ with the Graphical Interface . . . . . . . 199 15.10.4 The ALSA Server Mode of timidity++ . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 15.11 AlsaModularSynth — Synthesizer and Effect Processor . . . . . . . 200 15.11.1 Synthesizer Patch Examples . . . . . . . . . . .
17 K3b — The KDE Burning Application 215 17.1 Creating a Data CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 17.2 Burning CDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 17.3 Creating an Audio CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 17.4 Copying a CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 17.5 Writing ISO Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 17.6 For More Information . . . . . . .
Opening an Existing Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240 20.3.3 The Image Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240 20.4 Saving Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240 20.5 Editing Images: Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 20.6 20.5.1 Changing the Image Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 20.5.2 Selecting Parts of Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 20.5.
21.1.8 Archives and Data Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263 21.1.9 mtools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 21.1.10 Cleaning Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 21.2 21.3 21.4 Users and Access Permissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 21.2.1 File System Permissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 21.2.2 Modifying File Permissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267 21.2.
Welcome Congratulations for selecting SUSE LINUX. A few clicks are all that is needed to prepare the installation, which takes fifteen to twenty minutes. After configuring the users and their passwords and selecting the screen resolution, your SUSE LINUX system is ready for use. If you are familiar with earlier versions of SUSE LINUX, you will notice how much the configuration with the system assistant YaST has been expanded and simplified.
. The chapter about OpenOffice.org now includes a section discussing the migration of MS Office documents to the OpenOffice.org formats. . The chapter about GNOME has been updated to reflect the current version. . The chapters about the KDE desktop, KOrganizer (schedule manager), KAddressbook (contact organizer), KMail, and about synchronizing handhelds with KPilot have been updated to match the current version of KDE.
Part I Configuration
1 The KDE Desktop The KDE Desktop The KDE desktop offers an intuitive graphical interface. The following sections show you how to make efficient use of KDE’s features and how to customize the desktop to meet your personal needs. This is followed by an introduction to the file manager Konqueror and a brief description of some small but useful utilities. 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Desktop Components . . . . Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . Konqueror as a File Manager Important Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.1 Desktop Components The main components are the icons on the desktop and the panel at the bottom of the screen. The mouse is your most important tool. Click a symbol or an icon once to start the associated program or the file manager Konqueror. If you rightclick an icon, different menus appear, depending on the program. As well as the icons, there are two desktop menus. 1.1.
‘Run Command. . . ’ This menu item opens a window in which to enter a com mand manually. The command is executed after pressing Enter . ‘Undo’ Use this item to undo the last action. For example, if you have just created a new directory on the desktop, clicking this item reverts the creation so the directory disappears. 1 The KDE Desktop ‘Bookmarks’ The bookmark editor allows you to create, group, change, or delete bookmarks. The bookmarks are used by the browser and file manager Konqueror.
‘Logout’ Log out of your system if you are not going to use the system for some time. 1.1.2 The Trash Bin The trash bin is a directory for files marked for deletion. Drag icons from the file manager or the desktop to the trash bin icon by keeping the left mouse button pressed then release to drop them there. Alternatively, right-click an icon and select ‘Move to Trash’ from the menu. Click the trash bin icon to view its contents. You can retrieve an item from the trash if desired.
1.1.4 1 The Printer Icon The KDE Desktop Right-click the printer icon and choose ‘Actions’ ➝ ‘Print files’. The KPrinter dialog window starts. This program enables you to adjust a number of settings and send print jobs directly. The upper part of the main window, like that in Figure 1.1, shows the selected printer. To switch to another printer, click the arrow next to the printer name and select the device to use from the list displayed. Figure 1.
Figure 1.2: Settings in KPrinter Under ‘Orientation’, choose between ‘Portrait’ and ‘Landscape’ and whether the pages should be turned 180 degrees so that they are printed upside down. To the right of ‘Orientation’, specify the settings for two-sided printing. If ‘None’ is selected, only one page is printed per sheet. If you select ‘Long side’, the front and back are printed like in a book. With ‘Short side’, the back is printed reversely and you must turn the sheet up to view the text correctly.
1 The KDE Desktop becomes visible. Click the blue folder icon. By default, your home directory is displayed. Select a file and confirm with ‘OK’. You can also select the file by doubleclicking it. The respective file then appears in the overview of the main window, together with the name, type, and path specification. Now click ‘Print’ to send the job to the printer. The job is placed in the queue and can be monitored with KJobViewer.
1.1.6 The Main Menu Open the main menu by clicking the icon to the far left of the panel. Alternatively, . The main menu is subdivided into these sections: ‘Recently Used - F1 press Alt Applications’ (or ‘Most Used Applications’), ‘All Applications’ (a menu with all applications sorted according to categories), and ‘Actions’. The following section provides information about a number of actions that can be triggered from the main menu.
1.2 1 Settings 1.2.1 Peripherals This opens the configuration dialogs for the mouse, keyboard, and printer administration. The KDE Desktop 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. Keyboard Keyboard Repeat Keeping a key pressed causes the associated character to be printed repeatedly as long as the key is pressed.
Pointer Acceleration The pointer acceleration defines the relation between the speed with which you move the input device (mouse) and the pointer speed as displayed on the screen. The higher the selected factor is, the more difficult it is to control the screen pointer. Pointer Threshold The threshold (in pixels) specifies the distance the pointer must move before the specified pointer acceleration actually comes into force.
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 Monitoring Print Jobs on page 28. Properties All settings related to the printer are available here: general information, drivers, interfaces, separator pages, quotas, and user accesses.
1.2.3 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.
1 Colors Window Decorations The KDE Desktop 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 ‘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.
Note Changes to the antialiasing settings are only applied to newly-started programs. Programs already open are not affected by the changes. Note 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’ and refer to 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. 1.2.
Time & Date This dialog allows you to set your calendar system, the time, date, and 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.
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 is ignored. 1.3 Konqueror as a File Manager Konqueror is a unified web browser, file manager, document viewer, and image viewer. The following paragraphs cover the use of Konqueror for file management. Start Konqueror by clicking the house icon in the panel.
1.3.1 1 The Konqueror Menu ‘Edit’ Most items under ‘Edit’ only become active if you select an object in the main window. Apart from the standard editing functions like cutting, copying, pasting, renaming, moving to the trash, and deleting, there is also the ‘Create New’ item, which can be used to create directories, files, and devices. Another item in the ‘Edit’ menu lets you view and change the properties of files and directories and their permissions.
location, simply click this bookmark. For practical reasons, arrange bookmarks in folders. The SUSE folder already exists. This folder contains bookmarks of important SUSE web pages. ‘Edit Bookmarks’ opens the bookmark editor in which to perform tasks like deleting obsolete bookmarks, renaming bookmarks, and moving bookmarks from one folder to another. ‘Extra’ This menu includes entries for a variety of items, such as ‘Run Command’, ‘Open Terminal Window’, and ‘Search for Files’.
1.3.2 The Toolbar The toolbar provides quick access to frequently-used functions that can also be accessed via the menu. If you let the mouse pointer rest above an icon, a short description is displayed. Right-click a free space in the toolbar to open a menu with which to change the position of the toolbar, switch from icons to text, change the icon size, and display or hide the individual bars. Start the configuration dialog with ‘Configure Toolbars’.
The quickest way to perform many actions is the drag and drop method. For example, easily move files from one Konqueror window to another by simply dragging them there while pressing the left mouse button. Subsequently, you are asked whether the objects should be moved or copied. 1.4 Important Utilities The following pages introduce a number of small KDE utilities intended to assist in daily work.
1 The connection is just being established or terminated. Data is transmitted to or from the Internet. An error has occurred. If a connection has already been configured with YaST, use ‘View Log ...’ to identify the reason for the error. The menu can be accessed by right-clicking the KInternet icon. The connection is not yet active, but will be established as soon as a request is made. The KDE Desktop The connection has been established. Right-click KInternet to access a menu for configuring KInternet.
1.4.3 The Download Manager KGet KGet is the download manager for KDE. It manages your transfers in a window. Stop, resume, delete, queue, and add transfers. Adding Transfers Start KGet by pressing Alt - F2 and entering the command kget. When the program is started for the first time, a dialog is displayed. Confirm this dialog to integrate KGet in Konqueror. When you close the dialog, KGet is integrated in the system tray of the panel as an icon with a downward arrow.
1.4.4 1 SuSEWatcher When you click the icon in the panel, a window opens, informing you about the status of your online updates and the availability of any new updates. You can also launch the check manually by clicking ‘Check for updates’. Start the online update by selecting ‘Start online update’ and entering the root password. The YaST Online Update window is displayed. 1.4.5 The KDE Desktop SuSEWatcher is a program that is integrated in the system tray of the panel.
Figure 1.4: The Clipboard Klipper Configure Klipper... This opens the Klipper configuration dialog. Control the program with keyboard shortcuts or use regular expressions. Check the Klipper handbook for details. Former Windows users may appreciate the option for activating the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl - C and Ctrl - X for cutting and Ctrl - V for pasting under the ‘General’ tab.
1 The KDE Desktop Figure 1.5: Monitoring Print Jobs with KJobViewer If, for example, you want to check if you sent the correct document to the printer, you can stop the job and resume it if you decide to print it. Remove your own print jobs from the queue with ‘Remove’. To change the printer, select a different printer with ‘Move to Printer ...’. With ‘Restart’, reprint a document.
number of pages. The default priority of 50 can be increased or reduced if necessary. Billing information can be cost centers or other company-specific information. If you right-click a job in the list, the ‘Jobs’ menu opens under the mouse pointer, allowing you to select an action. Only a few functions are available for completed jobs. If you activate ‘Keep window permanent’, KJobViewer opens automatically when you log in the next time. You can also start KJobViewer using the printer icon in the panel. 1.
1 The KDE Desktop Figure 1.6: The Floppy Disk Formatter KFloppy age such archives. It supports common formats, such as zip, tar.gz, tar.bz2, lha, rar, and some others. Start Ark from the main menu or from the command line with the command ark. If you already have some compressed files, move these from an open Konqueror window to the Ark window to view the contents of the archive.
Figure 1.7: Ark: File Archive Preview As the final step, Ark compresses everything into the previously selected archive format. For more information about Ark, select ‘Help’ ➝ ‘Ark Handbook’. 1.4.9 Desktop Sharing You can share your desktop with other users working on other hosts. Desktop sharing makes use of the RFB protocol, more commonly referred to as VNC. This feature makes a Linux desktop available to clients using other operating systems that support VNC.
1 The KDE Desktop program generates an invitation that includes the IP address of the host, the password, and expiry time. This data must be given to the recipient manually. If you select ‘Invite via Email’, all the necessary data is transmitted by e-mail. KMail starts automatically and generates an e-mail message with the needed data (host, password, and expiry). If the recipient also uses KDE and KMail, he or she can connect to your desktop simply by clicking the link provided at the end of the message.
See Figure 1.9. The upper area contains a preview of the current screen and three buttons for creating and saving the screenshots. In the lower part of the window, you can set some options to decide how the screenshot should be created. Figure 1.9: KSnapshot To take a screenshot, use ‘Snapshot delay’ to determine the period in seconds to wait between when ‘New Snapshot’ is clicked and the actual creation of the screenshot.
1 The KDE Desktop Figure 1.10: Kontact that correspond to them. Therefore, if you are unsure about specific settings, consult the manuals of those separate programs. ‘Configure General View. . . ’ lets you decide how components should display their information in the general view (star icon). For instance, you can configure the KDE address book component to display all birthdays or anniversaries or decide which directories should be listed in the summary. 1.4.
The next step lists the avilable messaging services. Select the service with which you have registered and click ‘Continue’. In the next step, enter the user data received upon registration with the messaging service. This usually consists of the nickname or e-mail address and the password you chose. Complete the configuration of the messenger account by clicking ‘Finish’. Figure 1.11: Kopete Configuration Panels The next item in the configuration dialog is ‘Appearance’.
Adding Groups Access this with ‘File’ ➝ ‘Create New Group’. Name the group and confirm this with ‘OK’. A new folder appears in the contact list that can be used to store the desired contacts. You can drag and drop contacts into the desired folder. This allows grouping contacts for a better overview. 1 The KDE Desktop A new assistant appears automatically that will accompany you until completion. However, consider that must be online to add a contact to your list. Figure 1.
1.4.13 Font Administration with KFontinst By default, SUSE LINUX provides various fonts commonly available in different file formats (Bitmap, TrueType, etc.). These are commonly known as System Fonts. Users can additionally install their own fonts from various collections on CDROM. Such user-installed fonts are, however, only visible and available to the corresponding user. The KDE control center provides a comfortable tool for administering system and user fonts. It is shown in Figure 1.13. Figure 1.
To update system fonts, first select ‘System administration mode’ and enter your root password then proceed as described for user font installation. The feature for deactivating installed fonts is very useful. They are not removed but are made unavailable to the system. Select the ‘deactivate’ icon or its counterpart from the context menu. This makes the green checkmark disappear. The new settings become active after confirmation with ‘Apply’.
2 GNOME (GNU Network Object Model Environment) is a fast Linux desktop. The aim of its development was to make the user interface more uniform while streamlining the various aspects of the look and feel. The basic components for window management and other components enable data sharing among various applications and are based on a uniform operating concept and help system. 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 The Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1 The Desktop The most important elements of the GNOME desktop are the icons on the desktop, the panel at the lower border, and the desktop menu. The mouse is your most important tool. 2.1.1 The Icons By default, the desktop features three symbols: your personal folder, the start dialog for the configuration of the desktop, and the trash can. If you double-click your personal folder, Nautilus starts and displays your home directory.
2.1.3 2 The Panel 2.1.4 The GNOME Desktop The panel contains the window icons of all started applications in the taskbar. If you click the name of a window in the taskbar, it is moved to the foreground. If the program is already in the foreground, a mouse click minimizes it. Clicking a minimized application reopens the respective window. Beside the taskbar, the ‘Workspace Switcher’ provides access to additional work areas.
Caution Do not simply remove floppy disks from the drive after using them. Floppy disks, CDs, and DVDs must always be unmounted from the system first. Close all Nautilus sessions still accessing the medium then right-click the icon for the medium and select ‘eject’ from the menu. Then safely remove the floppy disk or CD (the tray opens automatically). The icon disappears from the desktop. Caution Floppy disks can also be formatted from the floppy disk menu.
2.2.2 Mouse Configuration The mouse configuration consists of three tabs: ‘Buttons’, ‘Cursor’, and ‘Motion’. The configuration options of the ‘Buttons’ tab refer to the ‘Mouse Orientation’. Left-handed users should activate ‘Left-handed mouse’ to swap the right and left mouse buttons. Use the slider to determine the maximum delay (in seconds) between two clicks that the system should interpret as a double-click. The appearance and size of the cursor can be changed under the ‘Cursor’ tab.
Select the screen saver mode under the ‘Display Modes’ tab. Choose from ‘Random Screen Saver’ (random selection of screen savers from a custom-defined list), ‘Only One Screen Saver’, ‘Blank Screen Only’, or ‘Disable Screen Saver’. Select one or more screensavers from the list for the operating modes ‘Only One Screen Saver’ or ‘Random Screen Saver’. The currently selected screensaver is displayed in the small preview window.
To use an image file as a background picture, drag it from the file manager and drop it in ‘Select picture’. Alternatively, click ‘Select picture’ to open a dialog in which to select the desired image. ‘Picture Options’ determines what processing steps should be applied to the selected image to adapt it optimally to the current screen resolution. The options are ‘Wallpaper’, ‘Centered’, ‘Scaled’, and ‘Stretched’. 2.2.7 Font This module determines the font to use for the desktop.
Features The keyboard accessibility functions can be deactivated automatically after a certain time. Set an appropriate time limit measured in seconds with the slider. The system can additionally provide audible feedback when the keyboard accessibility functions are activated and deactivated. Enable Sticky Keys Some keyboard shortcuts require that one key is kept pressed constantly (this applies to Alt , Ctrl or Shift ) while the rest of the shortcut is typed.
2.2.10 2 Keyboard Shortcuts The list overview window displays a list of all currently available actions along with their keyboard shortcuts. Deactivate or change a keyboard shortcut by clicking the corresponding shortcut entry. Then enter a new shortcut or delete the cur . All changes take effect immediately. Restore the current rent one with Delete keyboard shortcut by clicking its entry and leaving the dialog with ‘Close’. 2.2.
Figure 2.1: Nautilus Standard Window The standard window is shown in Figure 2.1. Use the icons in the toolbar to move forward and backward, to move one level up in the directory tree, to stop loading a document, to reload the document, or to go to the preferred starting page. ‘Location’ shows the path to the current directory or to the current file. A different path can be directly entered here. ‘Notes’ is useful for managing personal information about objects. These notes are saved along with the object.
2.3.3 Configuring Nautilus Nautilus retrieves its default font and other preferences from the desktop configuration. To set Nautilus-specific preferences, select ‘Edit’ ➝ ‘Preferences’ in any Nautilus window. The configuration dialog offers four tabs: ‘Views’, ‘Behavior’, ‘Icon Captions’, and ‘Preview’. The ‘Views’ dialog allows switching the ‘Default View’ between ‘Icon View’ and ‘List View’. A sorting order can be set for any of these options.
Figure 2.2: GNOME Dictionary databases for special vocabularies, such as jargon or computer terminology. Under ‘Default strategy’, specify what to look for: the exact word, parts of the word, or the prefix or suffix. Under ‘Help’, access the online manual of the application with ‘Contents’ and information about the author and version of the application with ‘About’. 2.4.2 Managing Archives with File Roller In GNOME, manage file archives with File Roller.
Add only if newer If the archive already contains a file with the same name, the file is only added if it is newer than the one existing in the archive. Include subfolders To compress an entire directory, activate this option to include all subdirectories. Exclude backup files (* ) Avoid unnecessary data trash by disabling the inclusion of backup copies when creating an archive. 2 The GNOME Desktop determine the archive type with the drop-down menu above the name field.
Part II Office Applications
3 OpenOffice.org is a powerful Linux office suite that offers tools for all types of office tasks, such as writing texts, working with spreadsheets, or creating graphics and presentations. With OpenOffice.org, use the same data across different computing platforms. You can also open and edit files in Microsoft Office formats then save them back to this format, if needed. This chapter only covers the basic skills needed to get started with OpenOffice.org. 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 The OpenOffice.
OpenOffice.org consists of several application modules (subprograms), which are designed to interact with each other. They are listed in Table 3.1. The discussion in this chapter is focused on Writer and Calc. The other modules are only explained briefly. A full description of each module is available in the online help, described in Getting Help on the facing page. Table 3.1: The OpenOffice.org Application Modules OpenOffice.org Writer Powerful word processor application OpenOffice.
3 The OpenOffice.org Office Suite Figure 3.1: The OpenOffice.org Quickstarter 3.2 Getting Help Get help for OpenOffice.org at any time from the ‘Help’ menu. Depending on your selection, the depth and type of help provided varies. To get thoroughly acquainted with a topic, select ‘Help’ ➝ ‘Contents’. The help system provides information about each of the modules of OpenOffice.org (Writer, Calc, Impress, etc.).
3.3 Managing the Transition from Microsoft Office OpenOffice.org is able to work with Microsoft Office documents. To convert such documents, select ‘File’ ➝ ‘AutoPilot’ ➝ ‘Document Converter. . . ’. Choose the file format from which to convert. There are several StarOffice and Microsoft Office formats available. After selecting a format, click ‘Next’ then specify where OpenOffice.org should look for documents to convert and in which directory the converted files should be placed.
If you have problems opening your documents, try using the RTF format. Because this format does not depend on a specific word processor, it can be handled both by MS Word and OpenOffice.org, while still carrying over the formatting information. 3.3.2 From MS Excel to OpenOffice.org Calc OpenOffice.org can save files in recent Microsoft formats down to version MS Office 95. This is not only true for OpenOffice.org Writer, but also for Open Office.org Calc and OpenOffice.org Impress.
Figure 3.2: The Options Dialog ‘Load/Save’ This entry includes settings related to the opening and saving of several file types. There is a dialog for general settings and several special dialogs to define how external formats should be handled. ‘Language Settings’ This entry covers various settings related to languages and writing aids, namely your locale and spell checker settings. This is also the place to enable support for Asian languages.
‘Formula’ This entry provides a single dialog for setting some special print options for formulas. ‘Chart’ This defines the default colors used for newly created charts. ‘Data Sources’ Use this to define how external data sources should be accessed. Note All settings as listed above are applied globally — they are used as defaults for every new document you create. Note 3.5 Word Processing with OpenOffice.org Writer 3.5.1 Creating Texts with the AutoPilot 3 The OpenOffice.
Figure 3.3: The OpenOffice.org AutoPilot 3.5.2 Creating Texts without the AutoPilot Create a new text document by selecting ‘File’ ➝ ‘New’ ➝ ‘Text Document’. When editing a text document, a second toolbar, called the object bar, is available just below the standard function bar. Move the mouse pointer over an icon to get a short help text. Documents can also be formatted with the Stylist, which is described in Working with the Stylist on the facing page. 3.5.
3 3.5.4 Working with the Stylist The Stylist can help you format text in a number of ways. It can be opened or closed at any time by toggling ‘Format’ ➝ ‘Stylist’ or by pressing F11 . The dialog window of the Stylist is shown in Figure 3.5 on the following page. The OpenOffice.org Office Suite Figure 3.4: The Navigator in Writer If you set the drop-down list at the lower edge of the Stylist to ‘Automatic’, OpenOffice.org tries to offer a selection of styles adapted to the task at hand.
Figure 3.5: The Stylist for Writer fast if the formatting needs to be changed extensively and consistently. Using this method also makes it much easier to try different layouts with the document. Define the format of paragraphs, pages, and frames for a style and select fonts and numbering methods. To assign a style to a paragraph, select the style to use then click the paint bucket icon in the Stylist. Click the paragraphs to which to assign the style.
3.5.5 Inserting a Table Create a table by clicking the ‘Insert’ icon in the main toolbar and keeping it pressed for a few seconds. This opens another toolbar in which to specify the object to insert. If you now move the mouse cursor to the third icon, a grid opens, as shown in Figure 3.6. 3 The OpenOffice.org Office Suite ‘Modify. . . ’ from the menu. This opens a dialog in which all the possible formatting properties are available for modification. Figure 3.
3.5.6 Inserting Graphics Graphics can be inserted with the same pop-up toolbar as tables, only you need to select its second button. Alternatively, select ‘Insert’ ➝ ‘Graphics’ ➝ ‘From File. . . ’. This opens a dialog window in which to select the desired file. If you check ‘Preview’, the selected image is displayed in the right part of the dialog. The preview may take some time in the case of larger images. After confirming your choice, the inserted image is placed in the document at the cursor position.
3.6.1 3 Changing Cell Attributes The OpenOffice.org Office Suite To enter something in a cell, simply write in that cell. By default, texts are aligned . To change to the left and numbers to the right. To confirm your entry, press Enter the formatting of selected cells, right-click to open a context menu and select ‘Format Cells. . . ’. This opens a dialog in which to change the cell attributes. The dialog, as shown in Figure 3.
be done by writing a few items into a very basic spreadsheet as in Figure 3.8. The cell B3 contains the phone bill for January and B4 the fuel expenses. To add both amounts together, enter = B3+B4 in cell B5. Now cell B5 should display the corresponding result. If you have mistyped the numbers (or estimated your phone bill inaccurately), just reenter the amounts and Calc automatically updates the sum. Calc offers many functions beyond the four fundamental arithmetic operations.
3.6.3 3 Creating Charts Figure 3.9: Expanded Example Spreadsheet Select the range from A2 to E5. The text appears white on black. To create a chart, select ‘Insert’ ➝ ‘Chart. . . ’. This opens a dialog window. The first page in this dialog gives the option to modify the original cell selection and to specify whether to use the first row or column as chart labels. Usually, the settings on this page can be accepted without change. Continue by clicking ‘Next’. The OpenOffice.
Figure 3.10: A Chart in Calc 3.6.4 Importing Spreadsheet Tables There is often a need to import data available as a table, so it can be presented as a spreadsheet. In Calc, there are two ways to achieve this. Importing Data from the Clipboard For example, you may want to import stock exchange data. Display the desired table in your web browser. Then select the table with the mouse or using ‘Copy’, depending on the browser. This copies the selected data to the clipboard. After that, open a new OpenOffice.
3.7 Creating Graphics Using OpenOffice.org Draw Draw can be used to create vector graphics. Vector graphics are images in which lines and curves are defined through certain parameters, such as the location of points and the curvature. To create a new drawing, start Draw from the main menu with ‘Applications’ ➝ ‘OpenOffice.org Draw’. If OpenOffice.org is already running, select ‘File’ ➝ ‘New’ ➝ ‘Drawing’.
3.8 Creating Presentations with OpenOffice.org Impress 3.8.1 Creating Presentations with the AutoPilot To use Autopilot to create presentations, select ‘File’ ➝ ‘AutoPilot’ ➝ ‘Presentation. . . ’. With the AutoPilot, define the basic structure of a presentation in three brief steps. In doing so, set backgrounds, the output medium, and various effects. You can also import data from an existing presentation with the help of assistants.
3 The OpenOffice.org Office Suite Figure 3.
4 KWrite can be used to write simple texts or lists. Apart from these basic editing functions, KWrite can also be used to view and edit different types of source and HTML code with syntax highlighting. This chapter provides a brief overview of the main features of KWrite, introducing the main menus and tools. 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Starting KWrite . . . . The File Menu . . . . The Edit Menu . . . . The View Menu . . . The Bookmarks Menu The Tools Menu . . . The Settings Menu . .
4.1 Starting KWrite Start KWrite from the main menu or using the command kwrite. The command can be entered on the command line together with the name of the file to open. As well as using the menu bar, the toolbar, and a number of shortcuts, you can right-click the opened document to access a context menu providing basic editor functions. KWrite supports the drag and drop functions of KDE.
4.2 4 The File Menu The KWrite Text Editor ‘New’ ( Ctrl - N ) This creates a new file and, at the same time, opens a new KWrite window in which to start typing your text. ) Use this to open an existing file. It opens a file selection di- O ‘Open. . . ’ ( Ctrl alog that resembles a file manager.
4.3 The Edit Menu This menu provides all the program’s editing functions, such as selecting and searching or replacing text according to certain patterns. ‘Undo’/‘Redo’ Use this to undo any unwanted changes and to restore the original text after an undo step. These functions are also available using the key board shortcuts Ctrl - Z and Ctrl - Shift - Z . ‘Cut’ ( Ctrl - X ) This cuts the currently selected text region.
4.4 4 The View Menu 4.5 The Bookmarks Menu In KWrite, bookmarks are references to specific positions in the document. They can be used to navigate quickly to a given line, which is especially useful with longer documents. To use bookmarks, first enable the icon border (‘View’ ➝ ‘Show Icon Border’). Add a bookmark by clicking the icon border at the desired line. A paper clip should appear after this to indicate that the bookmark has been set. Remove a bookmark by clicking the corresponding clip.
4.7 The Settings Menu ‘Show Toolbar’ Enable this to display a toolbar of the main editing functions. ‘Show Statusbar’ Enable this for KWrite to include a status bar at the lower edge of its window. The status bar would display the current line and column number, the input mode, and the save status of the document. ‘Show Path’ If this is enabled, KWrite displays the file name of the loaded document together with its complete path (rather than just the file name) in the window title bar. ‘Configure Editor.
5 Handheld computers are in widespread use among users who need to have their schedules, to-do lists, and notes with them everywhere they go. Often users want the same data to be available both on the desktop and on the portable device. This is where KPilot comes in — it is a tool to synchronize data on a handheld with that used by the KDE applications KAddressBook, KOrganizer, and KNotes. 5.1 5.2 5.3 How KPilot Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conduits Used by KPilot . . . . . . . . . .
5.1 How KPilot Works The main purpose of KPilot is to allow the sharing of data between the applications of a handheld computer and their KDE counterparts. KPilot does come with its own built-in memo viewer, address viewer, and file installer, but these cannot be used outside the KPilot environment. Independent KDE applications are available for all these functions except the file installer. For communication between the handheld and the different desktop programs, KPilot relies on conduits.
Calendar (KOrganizer) This conduit is responsible for syncing the appointments (events) of the hendheld. The desktop equivalent is KOrganizer. For more information about this program, refer to Scheduling with KOrganizer on page 91. Tasks (KOrganizer) This conduit is responsible for syncing task (to-do) items. The desktop counterpart is again KOrganizer. Time Synchronization Conduit Enabling this conduit adjusts the handheld’s clock to that of the desktop computer during each sync operation.
Configuring the Connection from within KPilot The easiest way to set up the connection is by using the configuration assistant. Select ‘Settings’ ➝ ‘Configuration Assistant’ to start the assistant. In the first step, enter your user name and the name of the device to which the handheld is connected. The assistant attempts to detect them itself if you select ‘Autodetect Handheld & User Name’. If the autodetection fails, refer to Creating a /dev/pilot Link on this page.
5.2.3 5 Managing To-Do Items and Events Figure 5.2: KPilot Configuration KOrganizer stores its files in the directory ~/.kde/share/apps/korganizer. However, given that the directory .kde/ begins with a dot, it may not be shown by the file selection dialog. In this case, enter the complete path manually or explicitly toggle the display of hidden files (dot files) in the file selection dialog. The default shortcut for this is F8 . After opening the directory ~/.
Figure 5.3: Dialog Showing the Path to a KOrganizer Calendar File 5.3 Working with KPilot Synchronizing the data of KDE applications with those of the handheld computer is quite easy. Simply start KPilot then press the “HotSync” button on the cradle to initiate the sync operation. 5.3.1 Backing up Data from the Handheld To do a full backup, select ‘File’ ➝ ‘Backup’. The backup is performed during the next sync operation. After that, switch back by selecting ‘File’ ➝ ‘HotSync’ from the menu.
5 5.3.2 Installing Programs on the Handheld The ‘File Installer’ module is an interesting and useful tool for the installation of handheld programs. These programs normally have the extension .prc and they are ready to start immediately after uploading them to the handheld. Before using such add-on programs, read their licenses as well as the instructions included. SUSE LINUX Synchronizing a Handheld Computer with KPilot Figure 5.
6 KOrganizer is a KDE application for scheduling and managing events and tasks. Because of the variety of ways in which the program can present your schedule, it is a very helpful tool for keeping track of deadlines, outstanding tasks, and appointments. It can also remind you of birthdays and meetings, if you enable this function. 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Starting KOrganizer . . . Configuring KOrganizer Using the Calendar . . . Printing . . . . . . . . . . Address Book . . . . . . Help . . . . . . . . . .
6.1 Starting KOrganizer Start KOrganizer from the main menu or with korganizer. The main window has several toolbars, a menu bar, the date navigator with a month view of the calendar, the main part displaying the currently selected calendar view, and a list containing all the current to-do items. All the common program actions, such as saving, printing, and creating or deleting events, can be performed from the menus. See Figure 6.1. Figure 6.
For KOrganizer to save your scheduling items automatically when exiting, check ‘Enable automatic saving of calendar’. This also saves all changes automatically at a user-definable interval. To be prompted before any items are deleted, enable ‘Confirm deletes’. Under ‘Time & Date’, customize the defaults for working hours and appointments, define the default alarm time, and set your time zone. KOrganizer switches between winter and daylight savings time automatically.
6.3 Using the Calendar The calendar of KOrganizer can be displayed in a number of different views to show a certain month, day, week, or work week. There is also a view of the next three days. Details of these views can be configured with ‘Settings’ ➝ ‘Configure KOrganizer. . . ’ under the ‘Views’ item. Switch between the different views with the ‘View’ menu or by clicking the corresponding button in the toolbar. Existing event items can easily be modified with the mouse.
6 Scheduling with KOrganizer Figure 6.3: Scheduling with KOrganizer completed. Change the status of an attendee at any time by selecting the attendee in the list then choosing another status from the drop-down list. If you check ‘Request response’, the attendees receive an e-mail with the relevant schedule item. 6.3.3 To-Do Items Create a new to-do item by selecting ‘Actions’ ➝ ‘New To-Do. . . ’.
Figure 6.4: Entering Attendee Details events and to-dos after selecting ‘Categories. . . ’. Create additional categories with ‘Edit Categories’. 6.4 Printing Selecting ‘File’ ➝ ‘Print. . . ’ opens a dialog in which to define the calendar period to print and the type of view to use. To specify the period, enter the dates by hand or use the calendar available from the drop-downs. To use the print preview function, you must have KGhostView installed.
6.6 Help For any problems or questions regarding KOrganizer, consult the detailed instructions for the program. Access them with ‘Help’ ➝ ‘KOrganizer Handbook’. SUSE LINUX 6 Scheduling with KOrganizer although linked with KOrganizer, is an independent program. Learn more about it in Address Management with KAddressBook on page 99.
7 KAddressBook provides quick and comfortable access to all address data of your contacts. As well as managing your local address data, KAddressBook can access, if available, a central LDAP server that hosts contact data for your entire department or your entire company. KAddressBook supports the import and export of data in several formats, including vCard, CSV, and MS-Exchange, ensuring smooth interaction with other programs. 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Starting the Program . . . . . . . . . . .
7.1 Starting the Program KAddressBook can be started independently from the main menu, from the appointment scheduler KOrganizer, or the mail program KMail. On start-up, the KDE Address Book window consists of three frames, as shown in Figure 7.1. The top frame contains the menu and toolbars. The two lower frames contain the current list of contacts and the address data of the currently selected contact. Figure 7.1: KAddressBook Main Window 7.
7 The ‘Details’ tab allows you to enter some useful extra information, such as birthdays, anniversaries, and job-related data, and offers the possibility to add comments for this contact. Under the ‘Misc’ tab, you can add a picture or logo to the selected contact and specify the longitude and latitude of the contact’s location. 7.3 Address Management with KAddressBook Figure 7.
Figure 7.3: Editing Distribution Lists 7.4 Searching Address Data Basically, KAddressBook offers three options for searching address data: Searching the Local Database In the main window to select the search criterion: ‘Given Name’, ‘Family Name’, or ‘Email Address’. As soon as you enter a character string in the adjacent input field, the program starts searching your data by the selected criterion. The search result is displayed both in the overview and in the detailed view.
7.5 Importing and Exporting Address Data ‘File’ ➝ ‘Import’ adds a contact present in another file or on another file system. ‘Export’ exports a contact in a certain format. For example, it is possible to transfer addresses onto a mobile phone or create a vCard and send it via e-mail. 7.6 For More Information If you have questions or encounter problems when working with KAddressBook, read more about the program by selecting the ‘Help’ menu item.
Part III Internet
8 Konqueror is not only a versatile file manager. It is also a modern web browser. If you start the browser with the icon in the panel, Konqueror opens with the web browser profile. 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 Starting Konqueror and Opening Web Pages . Saving Web Pages and Graphics . . . . . . . . Enhanced Web Browsing (Internet Keywords) Bookmarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Java and JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.1 Starting Konqueror and Opening Web Pages Start Konqueror from the main menu or by entering the command konqueror. To load a web page, enter its address in the location bar, for example, http: //www.suse.de. Konqueror now tries to reach the address and display the page. Entering the protocol at the beginning of the address (http:// in this case) is not strictly required. The program is able to complete the address automatically, but this only works reliably with web addresses.
8.2 Saving Web Pages and Graphics 8.3 Enhanced Web Browsing (Internet Keywords) Searching the web using Konqueror is very practical. Konqueror defines a number of search engines for you, all with a specific shortcut. To search for a certain topic on the Internet, enter the shortcut and the keyword separated by a colon. The relevant page containing the search results is then displayed. The Web Browser Konqueror As in other browsers, you can save web pages. To do this, select ‘Location’ ➝ ‘Save as . . .
If you are using Netscape or Mozilla as additional browsers, it is not necessary to recreate your bookmarks. ‘File’ ➝ ‘Import Netscape Bookmarks...’ in the bookmark editor enables you to integrate your Netscape and Mozilla bookmarks into your most current collection. The reverse is also possible via ‘Export as Netscape Bookmarks...’. Change your bookmarks by right-clicking the entry. A pop-up menu appears in which to select the desired action (cut, copy, delete, etc.).
9 Recently, the widely-used web browser has been transformed into a real jack-ofall-trades. The fact that today’s Internet applications feature such depth in integration and are heavily integrated into their corresponding desktop environments is almost taken for granted. Users of outdated machines soon feel the effects of this development. All-around browsers are often memory-eaters, sluggish in their operation, and occupy thirty megabytes on the hard disk.
Figure 9.1: The Main Window in Galeon Galeon’s most essential navigation tools are available in the first toolbar. ‘Next’ and ‘Back’ flip through the history of visited Internet sites, as in other browsers. ‘Reload’ updates the contents of a site. ‘Cancel’ stops a connection or transfer from taking place. Zoom, the magnification level of a document, is usually scaled to 100% — a 1:1 display of the document. The up and the down arrows to its right set the zoom levels in intervals of ten.
9.2 Efficient Surfing with Tabs Galeon can display multiple documents in a single application window. To open a link in a web site in the form of a new tab, right-click that link. Select ‘Open in new tab’ in the pop-up menu. Create a fresh Galeon tab by clicking ‘File’ ➝ ‘Open New Tab’. Click the tabs to switch the display. 9.3 Smart Bookmarks Smart bookmarks give access to a site’s functions along with its address, for example, searching the Internet for terms with Google.
9.5 For More Information For more information about Galeon, see http://galeon.sourceforge.net. The GNOME home page http://www.gnome.org can also be helpful. 114 9.5.
10 Mozilla is a web browser developed as an Open Source program with the aim of providing an Internet application that is fast, compliant with standards, and portable across different computing platforms. In addition to the basic browser, Mozilla includes a number of extra components, such as a mail component and a web page design component. This chapter focuses on the web browser component. 10.1 10.2 10.3 The Initial Browser Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Working with Tabs . . . . . . . . . .
10.1 The Initial Browser Window In its default configuration, the window presented by the browser includes these elements: the actual document window (occupying the majority of the window and used to display web pages), the menu bar, the navigation toolbar, and the personal toolbar. See Figure 10.1. There is also a combined status and component bar at the bottom of the window.
10.1.1 10 The Menu Bar File This menu provides the common entries to open, save, and print files or web pages. It also allows you to send an entire web page or only the link to a page as an e-mail. Selecting ‘Edit Page’ loads the current page into the Mozilla Composer, which allows you to edit web pages and to create your own from scratch. Mozilla’s online help documents include an introduction to creating web pages, which you may want to read as a primer on the topic.
in to sites (both in internal networks and on the Internet). Mozilla can remember the passwords for you. However, this feature also poses a certain security risk, so you may not want use it for sites with high privacy requirements, such as online banking sites. Window This menu lets you switch to other browser windows and to those of other Mozilla components (if installed) — to the mail client, the composer, and the address book.
Bookmarks This button lets you access the bookmarks collected from intranet or Internet sites. The Mozilla Organization This points to the home page of the Mozilla project. 10.1.4 Sidebar The sidebar is located to the left in a separate subwindow. What’s Related Under this tab, Mozilla can list a number of sites whose topic is related to the current one. Search This is an interface to several well-known search engines.
Figure 10.2: Preferences 10.3 Preferences Many often-needed browser settings are available in the dialog that opens when you select ‘Edit’ ➝ ‘Preferences’. Appearance Under this entry, set the fonts and colors the browser should use, select a theme, and switch between the German and the English language version. Navigator The first thing that can be changed under this entry is the start page for the browser.
One of the options available in the ‘Tabbed Browsing’ dialog is to have Mozilla open a new tab for a web page whenever you middle-click a link. Under ‘Downloads’, specify how the progress of file downloads should be monitored. Enabling ‘Open the download manager’ causes the browser to open the full-featured download manager dialog. ‘Open a progress dialog’ limits the dialog to a progress bar displayed during download. Turn off all download feedback by enabling ‘Don’t open anything’.
The settings in the ‘Cache’ dialog depend on the specific circumstances with which the browser needs to cope, but the default 4096 kB size of the ‘Memory Cache’ is often too small. A cache is a temporary storage area used for the files fetched from the network so they can be reused. 122 10.3.
11 KGpg is an important component of the encryption infrastructure on your system. With the help of this program, generate and manage all needed keys, use its editor function for the quick creation and encryption of files, or use the applet in your panel to encrypt or decrypt by dragging and dropping. This chapter covers the basic functions needed for daily work with encrypted files. 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Key Management . . . . The Key Server Dialog . Text and File Encryption For More Information . . . . .
11.1 Key Management This section covers operations needed for handling your digital key ring. Other programs, such as your mail program (KMail or Evolution), access the managed key data to process signed or encrypted contents. 11.1.1 Generating a New Key Pair To be able to exchange encrypted messages with other users, first generate your own key pair. One part of it — the public key — is distributed to your communication partners, who can use it to encrypt the files or e-mail messages they send.
11 Encryption with KGpg Figure 11.1: KGpg: Creating a Key make the public key available for others, select ‘Keys’ ➝ ‘Export Public Key(s)’. The dialog that opens offers four options: ‘Email’ Your public key is sent to a recipient of your choice by e-mail. If you activate this option and confirm with ‘OK’, the dialog for creating a new email message with KMail appears. Enter the recipient and click ‘Send’. The recipient will receive your key and can then send you encrypted contents.
Figure 11.2: KGpg: The Key Manager ‘File’ If you prefer to distribute your key as a file on a data medium instead of sending it by e-mail, click this option, confirm or change the file path and name, and click ‘OK’. 11.1.3 Importing Keys If you receive a key in a file (for example, as an e-mail attachment), integrate it in your key ring with ‘Import Key...’ and use it for encrypted communication with the sender. The procedure is similar to the procedure for exporting keys already described.
Trusting Keys Normally, you are asked by the corresponding program whether you trust the key (whether you assume it is really used by its authorized owner). This happens each time a message needs to be decrypted or a signature must be checked. To avoid this, edit the trust level of the newly imported key. By default, a newly imported key is listed with a “?”, meaning that no concrete value has been assigned for the trust level.
the preconfigured key servers and enter a search string (e-mail address of the communication partner) or the ID of the key to find. When you click ‘Search’, your system connects to the Internet and searches the specified key server for a key that matches your specifications. Refer to Figure 11.3. Figure 11.3: Search Screen for Importing a Key If your search on the key server is successful, a list of all retrieved server entries is displayed in a new window.
11 Encryption with KGpg Figure 11.4: Hits and Import 11.3 Text and File Encryption KGpg also offers the possibility to encrypt text or clipboard contents. Click the padlock icon and find the options ‘Encrypt clipboard’ and ‘Decrypt clipboard’ as well as the option for opening the integrated editor. 11.3.1 Encrypting and Decrypting the Clipboard Files copied to the clipboard can easily be encrypted with a few clicks. Open the function overview by clicking the KGpg icon.
Figure 11.5: Exporting a Key to a Key Server and dropping it there. Then select whether the file should be decrypted and saved or displayed in the editor. If you select ‘Decrypt and Save’, KGpg prompts for the password of your private key and saves the decrypted file in the same directory as the encrypted file. 11.3.
11.4 For More Information For theoretical background information about the encryption method, refer to the brief and clear introduction on the GnuPG project pages at http://www. gnupg.org/documentation/howtos.html.en. This document also provides a list of further information sources. SUSE LINUX 11 Encryption with KGpg check a signed file, go to ‘Signature’ ➝ ‘Verify Signature...’ and select the file to check in the following dialog.
12 KMail is the KDE mail application. In addition to sending and receiving e-mail and using multiple mail protocols, it offers the possibility to configure several custom filters for sorting e-mail messages in individual folders. Encryption, decryption, and signing of e-mail messages can also be handled conveniently in KMail. 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.8 12.9 12.10 12.11 12.12 KMail and Kontact . . . . . . . . . . . Mail Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Access Types . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.1 KMail and Kontact KMail can be displayed along with other applications in one window using the Kontact utility. Refer to The Information Manager Kontact on page 34 for details about this. 12.2 Mail Formats KMail can save messages in the following formats: mbox This traditional UNIX format (the oldest) saves all messages in a single file. Directories are also simulated by means of individual files. The individual mails can only be distinguished by the From line.
dIMAP (Disconnected IMAP) dIMAP offers the same possibilities as IMAP with the additional advantage that messages can be edited offline. This is a big advantage for those situations where a permanent connection to the server is not available as when using a laptop. With dIMAP, messages edited offline are synched with the server as soon as the connection is reestablished. 12.4 Configuring KMail When KMail is started for the first time, a Mail folder is added to your home directory.
how messages should be sent. Under ‘Signature’, decide if and how each of your messages should be signed with an extra piece of text at the end. To activate this, select ‘Enable Signature’ and decide whether the signature should be taken from a file, from an input field, or from the output of a command. When you are finished with all your identity settings, confirm with ‘Ok’. 12.4.2 Setting up Network Connections The settings under ‘Network’ (opened with ‘Settings’ ➝ ‘Configure KMail. . .
The ‘Header’ tab provides options for general settings, like displaying the file size or encryption symbols. Also, customize the date display and message grouping. ‘Profiles’ is responsible for the configuration of the appearance. Some standard profiles are provided with the program, like those for users who prefer high contrast. Selecting a profile overwrites the current layout settings. 12.5 Using KMail After starting, KMail displays its main window.
The subject, sender, and time of receipt of each message are listed in header area to the right. Click a message to select it and display it in the message window. Sort the messages by clicking one of the columns (subject, sender, date, etc.). The contents of the currently selected message are displayed in the message frame of the window. Attachments are depicted as icons at the end of the mes and PgDn to scroll sage, based on the MIME type of the attachment.
Normally, the format of a file is recognized correctly. If this is not the case, rightclick the icon. From the menu that appears, select ‘Properties’. This opens a dialog in which to set the format and the name of the file and add a description. In addition, decide whether the attached file should be signed or encrypted. When you are finished composing your message, you can either send it immediately (‘Message’ ➝ ‘Send’) or move it to the outbox.
Figure 12.3: Creating New Folders Under the tab ‘Old Message Expiry’, specify the expiration date for read and unread messages and what should happen with them after expiration. If you intend to use the folder to store messages from a mailing list, set the necessary options under the ‘Associated Mailing List’ tab. To move one or several messages from one folder to another, highlight the mes or select ‘Message’ ➝ ‘Move to. . . ’.
Note Messages are not deleted permanently until you empty the trash. Note 12.8 Importing Mail KMail assists in importing e-mail messages from previously-used applications. Select ‘Tools’ ➝ ‘Import messages’ to open the import utility. KMail currently features import filters for Outlook Express 4, 5, and 6, the mbox format, simple e-mail texts, Pegasus Mail, and Evolution folders. The import utility can also be started separately by pressing Alt - F2 and entering the command kmailcvt.
12.10.1 Filter Rules A filter consists of one or several filter rules and filter actions. A filter rule can select one or several messages according to criteria, such as sender, content, or recipients. The filter action can perform tasks, like moving, deleting, marking, or forwarding these messages. 12.10.2 Examples of Filters Assume, for instance, you are subscribed to the KDE user list (kde-user@kde. org).
1. Click ‘Settings’ ➝ ‘Configure Filters’ and select the newly created filter. 3. Select the action to execute (move, delete, etc.). You have now created a filter that transfers all mails from Fred Johnson on the KDE user list as specified. 12.10.3 Spam Filters While electronic mail has many advantages, it also has a significant disadvantage: spam. Unsolicited mass mailings, also known as spam, sent by the advertisement industry clog your electronic inbox and cause long transfer times.
Spam Filtering KMail requires two filters for spam processing: The first filter examines the size of a message. Select ‘Settings’ ➝ ‘Configure filters. . . ’. In the dialog that appears, create a new filter entry and name it SpamAssassin, for example. Select ‘’ as the filtering property and ‘is less than’ as the qualifier. Set the threshold to ‘300000’. Under ‘Filter actions’, select ‘pipe through application’ and enter spamc in the field next to it.
Learned from 15 message(s) To learn more about this tool, visit the site http://www.spamassassin.org or read the corresponding man page. 12.11 Encrypting Mail with PGP or GnuPG KMail allows you to encrypt outgoing e-mail messages. To encrypt your e-mail, first generate a key pair as described in Encryption with KGpg on page 123. KMail then needs to be restarted to be able to use the encryption features. To configure the details of the encryption procedure, select ‘Settings’ ➝ ‘Configure KMail. . .
12.11.2 Checking the Signature of a Received Message If KMail is able to verify the signature of an e-mail, a green frame with the key ID is displayed. If the signature cannot be verified, a yellow frame with an alert is displayed. This means that you do not have a suitable public key for the signature. 12.11.3 Sending Public Keys Create a message for the person who should receive your public key. Then select ‘Attach’ ➝ ‘Attach Public Key’. The mail can now be sent.
12.12 12 For More Information SUSE LINUX KMail — The KDE Mail Application If you encounter problems or simply want to learn more about KMail, use the ‘Help’ menu to read the program’s help pages. More detailed information is available on the KMail home page at http://kmail.kde.org.
13 Evolution is a groupware suite created by Ximian. It offers regular e-mail features along with extended features, like task lists and a calendar. The application also provides a complete address book, including the ability to send contact information to others in vCard format. 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7 13.8 Starting Evolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Importing E-Mail from Other Mail Programs Evolution Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.1 Starting Evolution Start Evolution from the main menu or with evolution. When started for the first time, Evolution offers a configuration assistant. If it is not opened automatically, select ‘Tools’ ➝ ‘Settings’ ➝ ‘Mail Accounts’ and click ‘Add’. Click ‘Next’ to access the assistant. Enter your name and your e-mail address in the respective fields. Additional addresses can be configured later. Click ‘Next’. Select the appropriate incoming e-mail format for this address in ‘Server Type’.
13.3 13 Evolution Overview Evolution: An E-Mail and Calendar Program The default window view is shown in Figure 13.1. The available menus, menu items, and the icons in the toolbar vary from window to window. Use the ‘Shortcuts’ panel to the left to select the information to display in the right panel. Adjust the size of any panels by dragging the dividing bars. Use ‘View’ to remove the ‘Shortcuts Bar’ or add a ‘Folder Bar’ at any time.
13.3.2 Inbox In this view, the upper half of the window shows the contents of the folder Inbox. The lower half is a preview pane used to display the selected mail message. Disable the preview pane with ‘View’ ➝ ‘Preview Pane’. To change the folder displayed, click the down arrow next to ‘Inbox’ and select another folder from the list. Use the search bar to search the messages in a folder. If desired, click a table header for the message list to sort the messages by that header.
13.4.1 13 Configuring Accounts To make an account the default account for sending e-mail, select the desired account then press ‘Default’. To disable fetching e-mail from an account, select the account then click ‘Disable’. A disabled account can still be used as the address for sending, but that account is not checked for incoming e-mail. If necessary, reactivate the account with ‘Enable’. 13.4.
13.4.4 Encrypted E-Mail and Signatures Evolution supports e-mail encryption with PGP. It can sign e-mail and check signed e-mail messages. To use these features, generate and manage keys with an external application, such as gpg or KGpg. To sign an e-mail message before sending it, select ‘Security’ ➝ ‘PGP sign’. When you click ‘Send’, a dialog prompts for the password of your secret key. Enter the password and exit the dialog with ‘OK’ to send the signed e-mail.
To move a message into a folder, select the message to move. Right-click to open the context menu. Select ‘Move to Folder...’ and, in the dialog that opens, the destination folder. Click ‘OK’ to move the message. The message header in the original folder is shown with a line through it, meaning it is marked for deletion in that folder. The message is stored in the new folder. Messages can be copied in a similar manner. Manually moving a number of messages into different folders can be timeconsuming.
Figure 13.2: Setting up a Filter Creating a Filter from a Message Select the message on which to base the filter. Right-click and select ‘Create Rule From Message’. Select the desired filter option. This opens the filter creation dialog with the correct criteria already selected. Add additional criteria if desired. Select the appropriate filter action. Click ‘OK’ when finished. Applying Filters Filters are applied in the order listed in the dialog accessed with ‘Tools’ ➝ ‘Filters’.
VFolders are a useful means of reading new mail in one place after it has been sorted into a number of different folders with filters. For example, a VFolder could be created to search all your folders for unread e-mail. To create a new virtual folder, select ‘Tools’ ➝ ‘Virtual Folder Editor...’. In the dialog, click ‘Add’. Like filters, virtual folders can also be created from e-mail messages. Right-click the e-mail message, select ‘Create Rule from Message’, and define the desired criteria.
This system can also be used to schedule a time that fits all attendees or to reserve resources. For more information about the scheduling functions, refer to the internal help. 13.5.3 Adding Tasks Evolution helps to keep track of your tasks. To add a new task to your list, click ‘New Task’. Enter summary information, due and start dates, and a description. Enter task status and other information under ‘Details’. Click ‘Save and Close’ to add the task to your list.
13.6.3 13 Sharing Contacts 13.7 Public Address Books in Evolution By means of the LDAP protocol, Evolution can access public address books, such as those used by SUSE LINUX Openexchange Server or Microsoft Exchange. Evolution offers full access to these address books — it can read them and add new entries. If you use SUSE LINUX in a large network (e.g., in your company), do not hesitate to make use of this possibility.
Display Name In this last step, enter the name under which the selected server should appear in the list. Close the assistant with ‘Next’ and ‘Finish’. Upon completion of the configuration, the new LDAP server appears in your contact list under ‘Other Contacts’ and can be browsed for any entries. 13.8 For More Information Evolution offers extensive internal help pages. Use the ‘Help’ menu to access this information. For more information about Evolution, refer to Ximian’s web site at http://www.ximian.
14 Even in this age of the Internet and e-mail, traditional communication means like phone and fax are still important. The communication package CapiSuite offers an ISDN-based solution for a computer-supported answering machine and fax. The following chapter explains how CapiSuite works. This is followed by a description of its configuration with YaST and a brief introduction to the usage of the system. 14.1 14.2 Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 Usage . . . . . . . . . .
CapiSuite is a daemon (a program that runs in the background) that provides basic telecommunication functions. The current version mainly offers functions for telephone and fax connections. For example, the system supports the establishment and termination of incoming and outgoing fax and voice connections. Fax and audio files can then be sent and received over these connections.
14 Note Note Following the installation, YaST contains two modules for configuring the fax and answering machine functionality. These modules are described below. 14.1.1 Configuring Fax Services The YaST module ‘Fax’ from the ‘Network Devices’ group contains a form with a user list and buttons for the processing of list entries. The list contains all the users already configured for the fax system. The CapiSuite scripts used here are multiuser and allow each user to send and receive faxes individually.
Figure 14.1: YaST Module for the Configuration of the Fax Function ‘Fax Numbers’ Phone numbers assigned to the user for incoming fax messages are entered in this field. Separate multiple phone numbers with commas. All faxes sent to these numbers will be forwarded to the user by e-mail. Leave this field empty if you only want the user to be able to send fax messages.
14 ISDN Telecommunication Figure 14.2: Fax Functionality: User Preferences ‘Action’ The default setting MailAndSave causes a received fax message to be saved in the system and forwarded to the user by e-mail. The SaveOnly option merely causes the fax to be saved to the hard disk. This option is recommended for expert users only. Click ‘OK’ to accept the changes. Click ‘Cancel’ to drop the changes and close the form. 14.1.
Figure 14.3: YaST Module for Configuring the Answering Machine importance of assigning unique phone numbers to the users. The individual user welcome message cannot be set at this point. The recording can be made later with the remote access function of the configured answering machine. The answering machine has an automatic silence recognition routine that terminates the recording session after five seconds without noises.
14 ISDN Telecommunication Figure 14.4: Answering Machine: User Preferences ‘User’ Select the system user for whom the answering machine should be configured. One or more fax numbers are assigned to each registered user. Incoming calls to these numbers are then sent to the user as e-mails. ‘Phone Numbers’ Set the phone numbers for which messages should be recorded for the user. Faxes can also be sent to the declared phone numbers as the answering machine has an automatic fax recognition feature.
This value is usually of secondary importance, as the recording is usually terminated when the caller hangs up. However, to avoid extensive recordings, this value should be set to a reasonable time, such as two minutes (120 seconds). ‘Action’ The answering machine features various processing options for incoming messages. The default setting MailAndSave records a message, saves it in the system, and delivers it to the user by e-mail.
14.2.2 14 Fax Operation ISDN Telecommunication No further instructions are necessary for receiving fax messages. As soon as a fax is received for a number assigned to a user, the message is stored in the system and delivered to the user as an e-mail with a PDF attachment. PDF is a common exchange format for documents and can be read in virtually all operating systems with Acrobat Reader from Adobe.
and entering - F2 1. Start KDEPrintFax. This can be done by pressing Alt kdeprintfax. 2. Select ‘Settings’ ➝ ‘Configure KDEPrintFax’. 3. Click the ‘System’ icon in the left pane. 4. As capisuitefax is largely compatible with the HylaFAX suite, select HylaFAX under ‘Fax system’. 5. Set ‘Command’ to /usr/bin/capisuitefax -d %number %files. 6. Finish the configuration by clicking ‘OK’ and closing KDEPrintFax. Figure 14.5: Configuring CapiSuite in KDEPrintFax 170 14.2.
Non-KDE applications can also use this function if their print command can be set manually. In this case, replace lpr with kprinter. When you print a document, the KDE print menu will be displayed along with the possibility to transmit fax messages. Caution To date, capisuitefax does not support the full range of HylaFAX features. Thus, features such as the resolution settings are currently ignored. Caution 14.2.
Table 14.1: Commands for Message Playback 172 14.2.
Part IV Multimedia
15 Sound in Linux Sound in Linux Linux offers a wide range of sound applications in various stages of development. This chapter provides an overview of a wide range of applications for various multimedia tasks together with some technical background information. Applications that are not part of the standard installation can be installed with YaST. 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 15.8 15.9 15.10 15.11 15.12 The ALSA PCM Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mixers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.1 The ALSA PCM Types As of version 0.9 of the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA), the concept for PCM devices was fundamentally modified and expanded. PCM is an acronym for “Pulse Code Modulation” and designates the digital output interfaces when relating to sound cards. The user can influence the way ALSA addresses the sound card by selecting a specific PCM type. The main PCM types are hw and plughw. To understand the difference between the two types, consider how a PCM device is opened.
15 Note Note 15.2.1 Sound in Linux Generally, it is advisable to open a mixer application prior to opening other sound applications. Use the mixer to test and adjust the control settings for the input and output of the sound card. Some sound cards may not allow simultaneous access from multiple applications. If a sound application freezes, this might be the cause. gamix If you have multiple sound cards, gamix provides a set of controllers for each card.
If you have several sound cards, select the desired card with the parameters -d. The parameter hw:0 stands for the first sound card, hw:1 for the second, and so on. The parameter -g can be used to specify a file for the XML description of the application interface explicitly. Detailed information about the XML format is available in the directory /usr/share/doc/packages/qamix. Figure 15.2: The Mixer QAmix 15.2.3 KMix KMix is the KDE mixer. It provides a convenient and familiar interface for KDE users.
15 Sound in Linux case, ‘MM’ appears above the muted controller. To terminate alsamixer, press . Esc The basic controls for sound output are ‘Master’, ‘PCM’, and ‘CD’. ‘Master’ sets the master volume. ‘PCM’ and ‘CD’ control the respective weighting of the PCM and audio CD channels. Determine the recording source by pressing Space . The ‘capture’ controller regulates the input amplifier. Whether the ‘Line’ controller or the ‘MIC’ controller is used depends on the recording source.
Figure 15.3: Monitor and Digital Mixer of envy24control mand line with envy24control &. The flexibility of the Envy24 chip can result in varying functionalities in different sound cards. The latest details on this sound chip are available in /usr/share/doc/packages/alsa/alsatools/envy24control. Monitor and Patchbay of envy24control The ‘Monitor Mixer’ of envy24control shows the signal levels that can be mixed digitally in the sound card.
15.2.8 15 Configuration of the S/PDIF Channels 15.3 Players Sound in Linux The S/PDIF channel settings are made under ‘Hardware Settings’. The Envy24 chip reacts to volume changes with a delay that can be configured with ‘Volume Change’. Linux offers a variety of programs for playing audio CDs and various music formats such as MP3, OGG, and WAV files. Where possible, the supported formats of the players are listed. 15.3.
Figure 15.4: The amaroK Media Player Playlists The right part of the playlist window contains the currently-loaded playlist. Play titles listed in it in the order of your choice. Initially, the list is empty, so you need to create one. The best way to do this is by using the sidebar to the left of the window. To the very left, there are a number of tabs that can be used to open different views.
Context With this tab, view information about your collection and various data related to the current artist. For example, the view informs you about your favorite titles, the newest titles added to the collection, and other details. 15 Sound in Linux your music folders in a list. To scan all these directories, select ‘Actions’ ➝ ‘Start Scan’. The result is displayed as a tree structure.
15.3.2 XMMS XMMS is another full-featured media player with robust audio support, so that pops or breaks during playback should be very rare. The application is easy to use. The button for displaying the menu is located in the upper left corner of the program window. Figure 15.5: XMMS with Equalizer, OpenGL Spectrum Analyzer, and Infinity Plug-Ins Select the output plug-in module with ‘Options’ ➝ ‘Preferences’ ➝ ‘Audio I/O Plugins’.
15.3.3 15 Sound in Linux Various visualization plug-ins can be started through ‘Options’ ➝ ‘Preferences’ ➝ ‘Visualization Plugins’. If you have a graphics card with 3D acceleration, select an application such as the OpenGL spectrum analyzer. If the xmms-plugins package is installed, try the Infinity plug-in. To the left under the menu button, there are five buttons with different letters on them. These buttons allow quick access to additional menus, dialog boxes, and configurations.
15.4 Buffering and Latencies This section explains how uninterrupted audio playback can be ensured. This problem is by no means limited to Linux, but is inherent in all multitasking operating systems. In a multitasking operating system, several processes usually run concurrently. As the processor can only handle one process at a time, each process is assigned a certain amount of time by the operating system’s scheduler.
for i in ‘pidof timidity‘; do setpriority $i fifo 10; done Caution The commands described in the following paragraphs should never be executed on machines that can be accessed from the Internet or if a system crash or data loss would have serious consequences. Sound in Linux Running a program in root mode is always risky, as the program is permitted to do anything. If the computer is connected to the Internet, the security risk would be unacceptable.
Figure 15.7: QJackConnect -– a Patchbay for Jack to achieve a low latency. Therefore, the engine should run with real-time priority. For more information, read the file /usr/share/doc/packages/jack/ README.SuSE. The patchbay QJackConnect assists in tracking the JACK clients running in your system. Following the program launch with qjackconnect, the clients with readable ports are listed on the left side and the clients with writable ports are listed on the right side.
15 Sound in Linux Figure 15.8: Spectral View of the Audio Data 15.6.1 Recording WAV Files and Importing Files Click the red recording button to generate an empty stereo track and start the recording. To change the standard parameters, specify the settings under ‘File’ ➝ ‘Preferences’. ‘Audio I/O’ and ‘Quality’ are important for the recording. Even if tracks already exist, pressing the recording button creates new tracks.
15.6.2 Editing Audio Files The ‘AudioTrack’ menu can be opened to the left of each track and offers various views. One of them is ‘Waveform dB’, which is not suitable for checking the signal tuning, as in this view the data is always adjusted to the maximum amplitude of the track. Depending on the application, various view formats for segment selections are offered under ‘Set Selection Format’. With ‘Set Snap-To Mode’, the segment boundaries can automatically be adapted to the selected view format.
Unwanted frequencies are best removed with ‘Effect’ ➝ ‘FFT Filter’. In connection with the filtering process, it may be necessary to readjust the signal amplitude with ‘Amplify’. Additionally, ‘Amplify’ can be used to check the amplitude. By default, the ‘New Peak Amplitude’ is set to 0.0 dB. This value represents the highest possible amplitude in the selected audio format. ‘Amplification’ shows the value needed to amplify the selected segment to this peak amplitude.
see Buffering and Latencies on page 186). During the recording, the currently-used buffer size is displayed in the status line under ‘Buffer’ and the maximum buffer size required so far for this recording is displayed under ‘Peak’. Figure 15.10: QARecord -– A Simple Hard Disk Recording Application 15.8 Compressing Audio Data Uncompressed audio data in CD quality consumes almost ten MB per minute. The MP3 procedure was developed by Fraunhofer IIS for the purpose of drastically compressing this data.
ogg123 is a command-line Ogg player. The program requires the specification of a playback device. Start it with a command like ogg123 -d alsa09 mysong. ogg. 15.9 ALSA and MIDI 15 Sound in Linux desired quality with the parameter -q. The parameter -b determines the average bit rate. -m and -M can be used to specify the minimum and maximum bit rate. Apart from the possibility to play PCM data, many sound cards also offer MIDI functionality.
Note If a MIDI player is interrupted during playback, a continuous sound may persist. If this happens, run the all_notes_off script or restart ALSA as root with rcalsasound restart. Note Many sound cards (like Soundblaster AWE and Live!) have an internal WaveTable synthesizer that converts MIDI events into audible sounds. These MIDI events can be sent to the WaveTable synthesizer by an external MIDI keyboard or by a program, such as a MIDI player or sequencer.
15 Sound in Linux Figure 15.11: vkeybd -– Virtual MIDI Keyboard 15.9.2 vkeybd — Virtual MIDI Keyboard If you do not have an external MIDI keyboard connected to your sound card, use the virtual keyboard vkeybd. For this purpose, the internal port numbers listed with pmidi -l as described above are important. To start the program from the command line, enter vkeybd --addr 73:0 &. The port address must be adapted to your system. Specify the first WaveTable port from the list.
directory in vintage.vkb. The vkeybd interface can be configured with the ‘view’ menu. The mapping of the keys to the sent MIDI notes is saved in the file ~/ .vkeybdrc. Additional specifications can be made in this file. To implement your own modifications, retrieve the designations of keyboard events with the xev program. 15.9.3 Establishing Connections between MIDI Ports Figure 15.
You can now establish a connection between the MIDI port of the keyboard and the MIDI port of the ALSA sequencer viewer. If you modify keyboard settings, such as the panning or the pitch wheel (which must first be activated under ‘View’), these changes are promptly reflected in aseqview. 15 Sound in Linux As vkeybd was executed without the --addr parameter, the connection between the program port and the WaveTable port (or the external MIDI) port can now be established manually.
one practical application of this technique, you could split a keyboard into several regions, each sending on a different MIDI channel. QMidiRoute also has a window listing all MIDI events received on the input port. 15.10 MIDI Playback without a WaveTable Card Some sound cards do not have a WaveTable synthesizer for playing MIDI files with the loaded sound font (or instrument patch). In this case, use a software WaveTable synthesizer like fluidsynth or timidity++. 15.10.
15 Example 15.2: timidity.cfg eawpats12_full.rar also contains a file called timidity.cfg, which is placed in the directory eawpats following the decompression. The file is included with the source command. In this file, only the four lines shown in Example 15.3 are relevant. All other lines can be deleted. Sound in Linux dir /usr/share/timidity/eawpats source timidity.cfg Example 15.3: timidity.cfg of eawpats12_full.rar source gravis.cfg source gsdrums.cfg source gssfx.cfg source xgmap2.
15.10.4 The ALSA Server Mode of timidity++ To start timidity++ in the ALSA server mode, enter /usr/bin/timidity -iA -B2,8 -Os &. A message, such as Opening sequencer port: 128:0 128:1, will be displayed, showing the MIDI port by means of which the synthesizer can be addressed (e.g., with vkeybd --addr 128:0). To terminate timidity++, enter killall timidity to kill all timidity++ processes. 15.
15 Sound in Linux Figure 15.14: The AlsaModularSynth Main Panel is changed from pentatonic to 1/6 (full range scale). Complete instruments can be found in the folder instruments. The patches miniams.ams as well as phaser_instrument.ams are actually quite versatile. These patches are supplied with a number of presets that can be called with MIDI program changes. A few of the presets are defined with the ‘Parameter View’ dialog available from ‘View’.
Figure 15.15: The Ladspa Browser modules for LADSPA effects. Plug-ins should always be created with ‘Create Plugin’, unless you use AlsaModularSynth as a polyphonic synthesizer. ‘Create Poly Plugin’ generates a separate plug-in instance for each part. 15.11.3 AlsaModularSynth as a Synthesizer After having used the MIDI patchbay kaconnect to connect AlsaModularSynth with a master keyboard (vkeybd or an external keyboard), you can use the program as a synthesizer.
15.11.4 Keeping Track with the Control Center 15 Sound in Linux analog saw-toothed wave generator. “Mvclpf-3” and “Mvclpf-4” are very realistic reproductions of the filter cascade invented by R. A. Moog. These plug-ins represent a milestone in the digital reproduction of this legendary low-pass filter. An effect module frequently featured in a classic modular system is the Bode Frequency Shifter. The plug-in of the same name implemented by Steve Harris allows experimenting with frequency shifting.
Figure 15.16: MIDI Controllers and Module Parameters in the Control Center do this, the readable MIDI ports must be connected with the writable MIDI port. The example example_midiout_controller.ams shows the change in an envelope with autogenerated controller events. Easily follow the movement of the envelope by opening the configuration dialog of the ENV module (ID 5) with the right mouse button. The option ‘Follow MIDI’ in the ‘Control Center’ should be deactivated while this patch is running.
15.11.6 Writing WAV Files with the WAV Out Module 15.12 NoteEdit and MIDI Sequencers Sound in Linux Using the WAV Out module, directly record the signals generated or processed by AlsaModularSynth as a WAV file in CD quality. In the configuration dialog of the module, select ‘New File’ to open a file browser. If the file displayed under ‘File’ is successfully generated, the buttons under ‘Record’ are activated and can be used.
‘File’ ➝ ‘Open’. Use ‘TSE3’ ➝ ‘TSE3 Midi In’ to import MIDI files. These are loaded into the editor with ‘TSE3’ ➝ ‘Score’. Set various options for the conversion in the ‘Filter’ dialog box. ‘Midi’ ➝ ‘Devices’ allows selection of one of the ALSA MIDI devices configured in the system. This device is then used for playback as well as for recording. The instrument, the MIDI channel, and many other parameters, such as the stereo panorama, can be set under ‘Staff’ ➝ ‘Staff Properties’.
16 The configuration of TV cards is integrated in the configuration tool YaST. If your card has been correctly identified, it can be automatically configured. Otherwise, enter the card settings manually. The following sections focus on the motv application, created by the author of the BTTV driver. Another TV application is KWinTV. If you prefer KWinTV, it should be easy to use after reading this chapter. 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 Watching TV with motv . . . . . . . . . . . Video Text with alevt . . . . .
16.1 Watching TV with motv motv is an improved successor to xawtv. It incorporates all essential functions into the user interface. Start the application with ‘SUSE’ ➝ ‘Multimedia’ ➝ ‘Video’. Start it at the command line with motv. Initially, only a TV window appears after the application starts. Open a menu window by right-clicking it. Figure 16.1: The TV Application motv 16.1.1 Video Source and Network Search In ‘Settings’ ➝ ‘Input’, select the video source.
16.1.2 16 From Silent Film to Sound Film To use your sound card for audio playback, check the mixer settings using gamix, described in Mixers on page 176. For sound cards meeting the AC97 specifications, set ‘Input-MUX’ to ‘Line’. The volume can then be adjusted with the ‘Master’ and ‘Line’ sliders. 16.1.3 Screen Proportions and Full-Screen Mode Most television images have a height and width ratio of 4:3. These proportions can be set with ‘Tools’ ➝ ‘Screen Dimensions’.
board shortcut. Applications to launch from motv must be entered in the .xawtv file. The entries should look like this: [launch] Gamix = Ctrl+G, gamix AleVT = Ctrl+A, alevt The shortcut then the command used to start the application should follow the application name itself. Start the applications entered under [launch] via the ‘Tool’ menu. 16.2 Video Text with alevt Use alevt to browse video text pages.
16.4 From some broadcasters, an EPG signal (Electronic Program Guide) is transmitted along with the video text signal. Easily view this electronic guide using the program nxtvepg. To do this, however, you must have a TV card supported by the bttv driver and be able to receive one of the channels broadcast with an EPG. With nxtvepg, the broadcasts are sorted according to channel and topic, such as ‘movie’ and ‘sport’, and filtered according to criteria, such as Live, Stereo, or Subtitle.
Figure 16.2: The Electronic TV Magazine nxtvepg ‘Show networks’. The ‘Filter’ menu offers plenty of filter functions. Right-click the program list to open a special filter menu in which to activate contextual filter functions. Of particular interest is the ‘Navigate’ menu. This is built directly from the EPG data. It will appear in the language provided by the network. 16.
16.5.1 16 Operation If you operate more than one webcam, use ‘File’ ➝ ‘Open New Camera’ to switch to another camera. Select the new device from the dialog that opens. The first camera is attached to the device /dev/video0, the second is attached to /dev/video1, and so on. 16.5.2 Snapshots To take a snapshot with a camera, click ‘Snap Picture’. Select a file name and picture format in the dialog that opens. Create a picture series with ‘Camera’ ➝ ‘Set Timer. . . ’.
17 K3b is a comprehensive program for writing data and audio CDs. Along with the usual features, the program offers some additional options that facilitate work, especially in the field of multimedia. Start the program from the main menu or by entering the command k3b. The main program features are described in the following sections. 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 Creating a Data CD . . Burning CDs . . . . . . Creating an Audio CD Copying a CD . . . . . Writing ISO Images . . For More Information . . .
17.1 Creating a Data CD Creating a data CD is easy. Go to ‘File’ ➝ ‘New Project’ ➝ ‘New Data Project’. The project view appears in the lower part of the window, as shown in Figure 17.1. Drag the desired directories or individual files from your home directory to the project folder and drop them there. Save the project under a name of your choice with ‘File’ ➝ ‘Save as’. Figure 17.1: Creating a New Data CD Then select ‘Burn’ from the toolbar.
17.2 17 Burning CDs ‘Mode’ This option determines how the laser writes a CD. In the DAO (disk at once) mode, the laser is not deactivated while the CD is written. This mode is recommended for the creation of audio CDs. However, it is not supported by all CD writers. In the TAO mode (track at one), a separate write process is applied for every individual track. The RAW mode is not used very often, as the writer does not perform any data corrections.
Figure 17.2: Burning CDs with K3b 17.3 Creating an Audio CD Basically, there are no significant differences between creating an audio CD and creating a data CD. Select ‘File’ ➝ ‘New Audio Project’. Drag and drop the individual audio tracks to the project folder. The audio data must be in MP3, WAV, or Ogg Vorbis format. The sequence of the tracks can be determined by moving them up or down in the project folder.
17.4 17 Copying a CD K3b — The KDE Burning Application Select ‘Copy CD’ from the toolbar. In the following dialog, make the settings for the reading and writing device as shown in Figure 17.3. The options introduced above are also available here. An additional function enables the creation of several copies of the CD. Figure 17.
17.5 Writing ISO Images If you already have an ISO image, go to ‘Tools’ ➝ ‘Write ISO Image’. A window opens in which to enter the location of the ‘Image to Write’. K3b calculates a check sum and displays it in ‘MD5 Sum’. If the ISO file was downloaded from the Internet, this sum shows if the download was successful. Use the ‘Options’ and ‘Advanced’ tabs to set your preferences. To burn the CD, click ‘Write’. 17.
18 gPhoto 2.0 is a command-line program for communicating between the computer and a digital camera. It is compatible with several graphical interfaces (front-ends), including gtKam, Konqueror, Kamera, and GnoCam. This chapter covers the use of gtKam, Konqueror, and Digikam. 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.6 Connecting to the Camera Installating the Programs . Using Konqueror . . . . . . Using gtKam . . . . . . . . Using Digikam . . . . . . . For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A comprehensive list of supported cameras is available at http://www. gphoto.org/cameras.html. If gphoto2 is installed, retrieve the list with the command gphoto2 --list-cameras. gphoto2 --help provides information about the available commands in the command-line interface. 18.1 Connecting to the Camera The fastest and most convenient way to connect digital cameras to the computer is USB, provided the kernel, the camera, and the computer support USB. The standard SUSE kernel provides this support.
18.4 18 Using gtKam Digital Cameras and Linux gtKam is a graphical interface for downloading and deleting pictures from the digital camera. To adjust or edit your pictures, use The GIMP as described in Chapter Manipulating Graphics with The GIMP on page 235. Figure 18.1: The Main Window of gtKam Connect your camera to the appropriate port and turn on the camera. Start gtKam with the command gtkam &. From the menu, select ‘Camera’ ➝ ‘Select Camera...’.
Images in the right pane can be selected or deselected by clicking them. Select all - A . To save the selected images, use the disk images with ‘Select’ ➝ ‘All’ or Shift icon in the toolbar, select ‘File’ ➝ ‘Save Selected Photos...’, or use the shortcut . The ‘Save’ dialog, shown in Figure 18.2, has a number of options. Under - S Ctrl ‘What to Save’, select whether to save the thumbnails, the images, or both. With ‘Open image(s) with:’, save the image and open it in another program.
To set up a camera in Digikam, select ‘Configure’ ➝ ‘Setup’. A window displaying a list of supported cameras opens. First, try to autodetect the camera with ‘Auto-Detect’. If this fails, browse the list for your model. If your camera model is not included in the list, try an older model. Normally, this should work. The path to your image folders (the location where your photographs are saved) can be specified in the same dialog under the ‘General Settings’ tab.
19 Kooka is a KDE application for scanning. This chapter explains the user interface and the functionality of the application. 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 19.6 The Kooka Window . . . . . . The Preview . . . . . . . . . . The Final Scan . . . . . . . . . The Menus . . . . . . . . . . . The Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . Optical Character Recognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19.1 The Kooka Window Start Kooka from the main menu or enter the command kooka. When started, Kooka opens a three-frame window with a menu bar to the upper left and a toolbar directly below it. All windows can be freely readjusted or rearranged with the mouse. It is also possible to completely detach single frames from the Kooka window for deliberate placement on the desktop. To move the frames, click and drag the thin double line right above the frame.
19 Kooka — A Scanning Application Figure 19.1: The Kooka Main Window Click ‘Scan Parameter’ again. Choose between color and black-and-white scanning and set the resolution with the slider. See Figure 19.3 on page 231. The higher the resolution, the better the quality of the scanned image is. However, this also results in a correspondingly larger file and the scanning process can take a very long time at high resolutions.
Figure 19.2: The Kooka Preview Window File Use this menu to start the KPrinter printing assistant, to create a new folder for your images, and to save, delete, and close files. The OCR results of a scanned text document can be saved here. Also use this menu to close Kooka. Image The ‘Image’ menu allows starting a graphics application for postprocessing or optical character recognition of an image. The recognized text from an OCR operation is displayed in its own frame.
19 Kooka — A Scanning Application Figure 19.3: The Kooka Scanning Parameters Also use it to access a feedback channel for problems and wishes. It also provides information about the version, authors, and license of Kooka and KDE. 19.5 The Gallery The gallery window shows the default folder where Kooka stores all its image files. An example is shown in Figure 19.4 on the next page. To save an image to your personal home directory, click the thumbnail to select it then select ‘File’ ➝ ‘Save Image’.
Figure 19.4: The Kooka Gallery 19.6 Optical Character Recognition If the character recognition module is installed, documents can be scanned in ‘lineart’ mode, saved in the proposed format, then processed for text recognition from the ‘Image’ menu. Process the entire document or only a previously selected area. A configuration dialog tells the module whether the original text is in printed type, handwriting, or standardized type. Also set the language so the module can process the document correctly.
SUSE LINUX 19 Kooka — A Scanning Application Switch to the ‘OCR Result Text’ window and check the text, which may need to be proofread. To do this, save the text with ‘File’ ➝ ‘Save OCR Result Text’. The text can then be processed with OpenOffice or KWrite.
20 The GIMP (The GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a program for creating and editing pixel graphics. In most aspects, its features are comparable to those of Adobe Photoshop and other commercial programs. Use it to resize and retouch photographs, design graphics for web pages, make covers for your custom CDs, or almost any other graphics project. It meets the needs of both amateurs and professionals. 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 20.6 20.7 20.8 20.9 Graphics Formats . . . . . . . . . . Starting The GIMP . .
Like many other Linux programs, The GIMP is developed as a cooperative effort of developers worldwide who volunteer their time and code to the project. The program is under constant development, so the version included in your SUSE LINUX may vary slightly from the version discussed here. The layout of the individual windows and window sections is especially likely to vary. The GIMP is an extremely complex program. Only a small range of features, tools, and menu items are discussed in this chapter.
20.2.2 20 The Default Windows GIMP Tip of the Day This small window opens with useful tips and tricks each time the program starts. Reading the tips is recommended for new users. Uncheck ‘Show tip next time GIMP starts’ to disable it. This setting can also be changed in the preferences. Press ‘Close’ to close the window. The Toolbox The main window of The GIMP, shown in Figure 20.1 on the following page, contains the main controls of the application. Closing it exits the application.
Figure 20.1: The Main Window The current foreground and background color are shown in two overlapping boxes. The default colors are black for the foreground and white for the background. Click the box to open a color selection dialog. Swap the foreground and background color with the bent arrow symbol to the upper right of the boxes. Use the black and white symbol to the lower left to reset the colors to the default. To the right, the current brush, pattern, and gradient are shown.
20 Layers, Channels, Paths, Undo ‘Layers’ shows the different layers in the current images and can be used to manipulate the layers. Information is available in Layers on page 248. ‘Channels’ shows and can manipulate the color channels of the image. Paths are an advanced method of selecting parts of an image. They can also be used for drawing. ‘Paths’ shows the paths available for an image and provides access to path functions. ‘Undo’ shows a limited history of modifications made to the current image.
When the settings meet your needs, press ‘OK’. To restore the default settings, press ‘Reset’. Pressing ‘Cancel’ aborts creation of a new image. 20.3.2 Opening an Existing Image - O . In the dialog To open an existing image, select ‘File’ ➝ ‘Open’ or press Ctrl that opens, the current directory is listed above the center column. Available directories are listed in the left column. Double-click the directory to make it the current one. ../ moves up a level in the hierarchy.
XCF This is the native format of The GIMP. It saves all layer and path information along with the image itself. Even if you need an image in another format, it is usually a good idea to save a copy as XCF to simplify future modifications. Information about layers is available in Layers on page 248. PAT This is the format used for GIMP patterns. Saving an image in this format enables using the image as a fill pattern in GIMP.
with choices for resolving the situation. Choosing ‘Export’, if offered, normally gives the desired results. A window then opens with the options of the format. Reasonable default values are provided. 20.5 20.5.1 Editing Images: Basics Changing the Image Size Once an image is scanned or a digital photograph is loaded from the camera, it is often necessary to modify the size for display on a web page or for printing.
Changing the Canvas Size Changing the canvas size is like putting a mat around an image. Even if the mat is smaller, the rest of the image is there, but you can only see part of it. If the mat is larger, you see the original image with extra space around it. To do this, select ‘Image’ ➝ ‘Canvas Size’. In the dialog that opens, enter the new size. By default, the width and height maintain the same proportions as the current image. To change this, click the chain icon to the right of ‘Ratio’.
Using the Select Tools The main select tools are rather easy to use. The paths tool, which can also be used for more than selecting, is more complicated so is not described here. In the tool options for the other select tools, determine whether the selection should replace, be added to, be subtracted from, or intersect with an existing selection. Rectangular Select This tool can be used to select rectangular or square areas.
20 Note Note After using the paint tools to adjust the selection as desired, convert from the quick mask view back to the normal selection view by clicking the icon in the lower left corner of the image window (currently displaying a red box). The selection is again displayed with the marching ants. 20.5.3 Applying and Removing Color Most image editing involves applying or removing color. By selecting a part of the image, limit where color can be applied or removed.
Figure 20.2: The Basic Color Selector Dialog The color selector defaults to selecting a color by hue, which is usually easiest for a new user. To select by saturation, value, red, green, or blue, select the corresponding radio button to the right. The sliders and number fields can also be used to modify the currently selected color. Experiment a bit to find out what works best for you. When the desired color is shown in ‘Current’, click ‘OK’.
Adding Text With the text tool, easily add text to an image. With the tool options, select the desired font, font size, color, justification, indent, and line spacing. Then click a starting point in the image. A small dialog opens in which to enter your text. Enter single or multiple lines of text then press ‘Close’. The text tool creates text on a special layer. To work with the image after adding text, read Layers on the next page.
make manual adjustments to all channels, use the dropper tools in ‘All Channels’ to pick black, gray, and white points from the image itself. To modify a channel individually, select the desired channel in ‘Modify Levels for Channel’. Then drag the black, white, and middle markers in the slider in ‘Input Levels’. Alternatively, use the dropper tools to select points in the image that should serve as the white, black, and gray points for that channel.
Only layers with transparency (an alpha channel) can be placed above other layers in a stack. To add this to a layer, right-click and select it from the menu. 20.6.2 Image Modes GIMP has three image modes — RGB, Grayscale, and Indexed. RGB is a normal color mode and is the best mode for editing most images. Grayscale is used for black-and-white images. Indexed limits the colors in the image to a set number. It is mainly used for GIF images.
Figure 20.3: The Print Dialog you set an appropriate print size and resolution in the image. Adjust the image’s position on the page with the fields in ‘Position’ or by dragging the image in ‘Preview’. When satisfied with the settings, press ‘Print’. To save the settings for future use, instead use ‘Print and Save Settings’. ‘Cancel’ aborts printing. 250 20.7.
20.8 Customizing Windows It is possible to customize your window layout extensively. Dialogs can be combined as multiple items in one window or with tabs. Do this by dragging and dropping a dockable window into a dock bar or existing tab. New dialogs can be opened with ‘File’ ➝ ‘Dialogs’ from the toolbox. 20.8.2 Setting Preferences A number of configuration options are available in ‘File’ ➝ ‘Preferences’. The default settings should meet the needs of the average user.
Part V Excursions
21 Graphical user interfaces are increasingly becoming important for Linux, but using the mouse is not always the best way to perform daily tasks. The command line provides high flexibility and efficiency. The first part of this chapter provides an introduction to the Bash shell. It is followed by an explanation of the user permissions concept in Linux and a list of the most important commands. The chapter closes with a description of the vi text editor. 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 Introduction to Bash . . . . .
Text-based applications are especially important for controlling older Linux computers that do not have the resources for demanding display systems. Virtual consoles are used in this case. Six of them are available in text mode. Press Alt F6 . The seventh console is reserved for X. Alt F1 through 21.1 Introduction to Bash In the KDE taskbar, there is an icon depicting a monitor with a seashell. When you click this icon, a console window opens in which to enter commands.
The /home directory contains the directories in which the individual users can store their personal files. Figure 21.1 shows the standard directory tree in Linux, with the home directories of the example users xyz, linux, and tux. The directory tree of a Linux system has a functional structure that follows the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard. The following list provides a brief description of the standard directories in Linux.
/usr/bin generally accessible programs /bin programs needed early in the boot process /usr/sbin programs reserved for the system administrator /sbin programs reserved for the system administrator and needed for booting /usr/include header files for the C compiler /usr/include/g++ header files for the C++ compiler /usr/share/doc various documentation files /usr/share/man system manual pages (man pages) /usr/src source code of system software /usr/src/linux kernel source code /tmp, /var/tmp temporary files /u
21.1.3 21 Bash Functions The history function — To repeat a command that has been entered before, press ↑ until the previous command appears at the prompt. Move forward through the list of previously entered commands by pressing ↓ . To edit the command line, just move the cursor to the desired position using the arrow keys and start typing. Use Ctrl - R to search in the history.
6. Move Testfile into the subdirectory test with the command mv. To . speed this up, use the expansion function: just enter mv T and press Tab As long as there is no other file beginning with this letter in the directory, the shell expands the file name and adds the string estfile. Otherwise, add a letter or two yourself and test Tab each time to see whether the shell can now expand the name.
2. Change into the new directory with cd test2 and create a subdirectory in it with the name subdirectory. To change into it, use the expansion function: enter cd su then press Tab . The shell will expand the rest of the directory name. 3. Now try to move the previously created file Testbackup into the current directory (subdirectory) without changing the directory again. To achieve this, specify the relative path to that file: mv ../../test/Testbackup ..
21.1.6 Less and More Linux includes two small programs for viewing text files directly in the shell. Rather than starting an editor to read a file like Readme.txt, simply enter less to scroll Readme.txt to display the text in the console window. Use Space down one page. Use Page Up and Page Down to move forward or backward in the text. To exit less, press Q . Instead of less, you can also use the older program more.
21.1.8 Archives and Data Compression Now that you have already created a number of files and directories, consider the subject of archives and data compression. Suppose you want to have the entire test directory packed in one file that you can save on a floppy disk as a backup copy or send by e-mail. To do so, use the command tar (for tape archiver). With tar --help, view all the options for the tar command. The most important of these options are explained here: -c (for create) Create a new archive.
Change to the directory with cd test2. A compressed archive with the .tar.gz extension can be unzipped with the gunzip command. Enter gunzip testarchive.tar.gz, which results in the file testarchive.tar, which then needs to be extracted or untarred with tar -xvf testarchive.tar. You can also unzip and extract a compressed archive in one step by adding the -z option. The complete command would be tar -xzvf testarchive.tar.gz.
21.2 Users and Access Permissions 21.2.1 Working with the Shell Since its inception in the early 1990s, Linux has been developed as a multiuser system. Any number of users can work on it simultaneously. Users need to log in to the system before starting a session at their workstations. Each user has a user name with a corresponding password. This differentiation of users guarantees that unauthorized users cannot see files for which they do not have permission.
- rw- r-- -– Type Users Permissions Group Permissions Permissions for Other Users This column is comprised of one leading character followed by nine characters grouped in threes. The first of the ten letters stands for the type of file system component. The dash (–) shows that this is a file. A directory (d), a link (l), a block device (b), or a character device could also be indicated. The next three blocks follow a standard pattern.
21.2.2 Modifying File Permissions Changing Access Permissions The access permissions of a file or directory can be changed by the owner and, of course, by root with the command chmod followed by the parameters changing the permissions and one or more file names. The parameters form different categories: 1.
used to transfer ownership of a file to another user. However, only root is permitted to perform this change. Suppose the file Roadmap from Example 21.2 on page 266 should no longer belong to tux, but to the user geeko. root should then enter chown geeko Roadmap. chgrp changes the group ownership of the file. However, the owner of the file must be a member of the new group. In this way, the user tux from Output 21.
21.2.4 21 The setgid Bit drwxrwxr-- 2 root archive 48 Nov 19 17:12 backup Set the setuid bit with the command chmod g+s /test. Subsequently, the access permissions appear as follows: drwxrwxr-- 21.2.5 2 root archive Working with the Shell The setuid attribute applies to users. However, there is also an equivalent property for groups — the setgid attribute. A program for which this attribute was set runs under the group ID under which it was saved, no matter which user starts it.
The output of ls does not reveal much of a change compared to an ls on a file without an ACL. Roadmap is owned by tux who belongs to the group project3. tux holds both write and read access to this file and his group as well as all other users have read access. The only difference that distinguishes this file from a file without an ACL is the additional + in the first column holding the permission bits.
The actual command and its mandatory options are always printed as command option. Specifications or parameters that are not required are placed in [square brackets]. Adjust the settings to your needs. It makes no sense to write ls file(s), if no file named file(s) actually exists. You can usually combine several parameters, for example, by writing ls -la instead of ls -l -a. 21.3.1 21 Working with the Shell .
rm [option(s)] file(s) Removes the specified files from the file system. Directories are not removed by rm unless the option -r is used. -r Deletes any existing subdirectories -i Waits for confirmation before deleting each file. ln [option(s)] sourcefile targetfile Creates an internal link from the sourcefile to the targetfile. Normally, such a link points directly to the sourcefile on the same file system.
21 For access, grant access with + and deny it with -. r read w write x eXecute — executing files or changing to the directory. s Set uid bit — the application or program is started as if it were started by the owner of the file. As an alternative, a numeric code can be used. The four digits of this code are composed of the sum of the values 4, 2 and 1 — the decimal result of a binary mask. The first digit sets the set user ID (SUID) (4), the set group ID (2), and the sticky (1) flags.
-z Packs the resulting archive with gzip -j Compresses the resulting archive with bzip2 -v Lists files processed The archive files created by tar end with .tar. If the tar archive was also compressed using gzip, the ending is .tgz or .tar.gz. If it was compressed using bzip2, the ending is .tar.bz2. Application examples can be found in Archives and Data Compression on page 263. locate pattern(s) The locate command can find in which directory a specified file is located.
-i Ignores case -H Only displays the names of the respective files, but not the text lines -n Additionally displays the numbers of the lines in which it found a hit -l Only lists the files in which searchstring does not occur diff [option(s)] file1 file2 The diff command compares the contents of any two files. The output produced by the program lists all lines that do not match. This is frequently used by programmers who need only send their program alterations and not the entire source code.
21.3.2 System Commands System Information df [option(s)] [directory] The df (disk free) command, when used without any options, displays information about the total disk space, the disk space currently in use, and the free space on all the mounted drives. If a directory is specified, the information is limited to the drive on which that directory is located. -H Shows the number of occupied blocks in gigabytes, megabytes, or kilobytes — in human-readable format -t Type of file system (ext2, nfs, etc.
aux Displays a detailed list of all processes, independent of the owner kill [option(s)] process ID Unfortunately, sometimes a program cannot be terminated in the normal way. In most cases, you should still be able to stop such a runaway program by executing the kill command, specifying the respective process ID (see top and ps). kill sends a TERM signal that instructs the program to shut itself down.
Caution Do not use telnet over a network on which third parties can eavesdrop. Particularly on the Internet, use encrypted transfer methods, such as ssh, to avoid the risk of malicious misuse of a password (see the man page for ssh). Caution Miscellaneous passwd [option(s)] [username] Users may change their own passwords at any time using this command. The administrator root can use the command to change the password of any user on the system.
21 Table 21.2: Simple Commands of the vi Editor a Changes to insert mode (characters appear after the current cursor position). A Changes to insert mode (characters are added at the end of the line). R Changes to command mode (overwrites the old text). r Changes to insert mode and overwrites each character. s Changes to insert mode (the character where the cursor is positioned is replaced by the next entry you make). C Changes to insert mode (the rest of the line is replaced by the new text).
The command 10x deletes ten characters after the cursor position and 20dd deletes twenty lines. The most important commands in last line mode are shown in Table 21.3. Table 21.3: Complex Commands of the vi Editor 280 :q! exits vi without saving any changes :w filename saves as filename :x saves the modified file and exits the editor :e filename edits (loads) filename :u undoes the last edit command 21.4.
22 This chapter is a short discussion of the ergonomic issues involved in the layout of computer workplaces. This text should not be seen as a substitute for studying the respective standards. No citations from these are included here and footnotes with references to other literature are completely omitted to preserve readability. The items referred to in each section are mostly gathered from German literature and are almost always based on regulations and policies in the Federal Republic of Germany.
22.1 The Working Environment If ergonomics specialists examined the home workstations of computer users systematically, they would find many problems. Unfortunately, no standard has yet prevented individual users from buying so-called “special computer tables”.
When using large screens, tables should be 100 or even 120 cm deep. The table surface should not be in bright colors and should have minimal reflection. A lot of office furniture is available in a subdued grey only. 22.1.2 Sitting Correctly on the Right Working Chair Sitting in a working chair makes you sit in the same posture for a long time, unlike in an easy chair where you can move around easily.
adjustable height of the seat (according to standards, 42 to 53 cm) and backrest individual adjustment of arm rests, if there are any (luxury) a footrest if your feet do not reach the floor 22.1.3 Good Lighting for Productive Work Generally speaking, workplace lighting does not come close to the intensity of light outdoors. This difference is unnoticed because the human faculty of perception is very flexible. The influence of lighting conditions on our own efficiency is often underestimated.
Whether the lighting is considered to be pleasant depends on the color temperature and light color of the lamp type. Warm white or neutral white is recommended. The light requirement depends not only on the working task, but also on age: older people need more light. The fact that older people often have only a small lamp in their homes has nothing to do with their light requirement, but rather with the fact that they want to save electricity.
Draft (possibly from open windows and doors or air conditioning) should not exceed 0.1 to 0.15 m/s. Draft on individual parts of the body should be avoided. An air conditioner should be individually adjustable. It should be serviced regularly. The windows should be able to be opened and have sunshades to avoid glare effects. Sunlight can increase the room temperature considerably. Sunshades attached to the outside of the building provide the best protection.
Loud working equipment, such as matrix printers, should be installed in sound-absorbing cases. The permissible noise levels for office equipment are determined in the DIN standards. An air conditioner should not increase the normal noise level. Strain caused by excessive noise can also be reduced by an organizational restructuring of work. 22.2 22.2.1 Office Equipment Buying a Screen If you already have poor sharpness of vision, low-quality screens can make things even worse.
Luminosity and contrast should be variable. The focus of the characters should not differ with adjustments of brightness or contrast. The image should be free from distortion and show no color errors. To avoid reflex glare, a good antireflective coating of the screen surface is recommended. The screen should be rotatable and inclinable. A vertical adjustment is recommended. Colors make the displayed information easier to comprehend.
A comfortable visual distance varies individually. At least 50 cm is required. Some people need considerably more. It is a good idea for users to look away from the screen from time to time. In this way, their eyes can adapt to a different distance. If a document is being copied, it should be at the same distance as the screen to avoid frequent changes of focus.
The keyboard should be separate from the screen. It should also be inclinable, but set in a stable position (sufficiently large, rubber-coated feet). The middle key row should not be more than 30 mm above the surface of the table. There should be room to rest your hands in front of the keyboard. If there is no built-in wrist pad, get one. The marking must contrast with the color of the plastic and be easy to read. The keyboard should have no intense color and a satin-matt finish.
The ergonomic mouse feels good in your hand. The keys should not be too close or too small. There are even mice for children’s hands. Your fingers should be able to rest on the keys in a relaxed position. The mouse should be next to the keyboard. Left-handed users have an advantage because the keyboard has several function keys and the numerical key block between letter keys and a mouse on the right side. These extend the gripping distance. If you are left-handed, get a mouse for left-handers.
Hacker, W., Kärcher, M. and others (1997). The SANUS Manual. EU-compliant Screen Work (- research - FB 760). Berlin: Series of the Federal Office for Work Protection and Work Medicine. [SANUS: Safety and health protection for terminal work on the basis of international standards] A clear and well-structured guide for analysis and work protection tasks around the terminal workstation: Richenhagen, G., Prümper, J. & Wagner, J. (1998, 2nd edition).
A The SUSE Help Center provides central access to the most important documentation resources on your system in searchable form. These resources include all manuals enclosed with your product, online help for the installed applications, and databases on hardware and software issues in connection with SUSE LINUX. Using the SUSE Help Center When you start the SUSE Help Center for the first time from the main menu (‘SuSE Help’), the view as shown in Figure A.1 on the following page is displayed.
View Window The view window always displays the currently selected contents, such as online manuals, search results, or web pages. Figure A.1: The Main Window of the SUSE Help Center Contents of the SUSE Help Center The SUSE Help Center bundles useful information from various sources.
The Search Function of the SUSE Help Center To search all installed information sources of SUSE LINUX, generate a search index and set a number of search parameters. To do this, open the ‘Search’ tab. See Figure A.2. A Help and Documentation cover special hardware and software issues in connection with SUSE LINUX. All these sources can be searched comfortably once a search index has been generated. Figure A.
Figure A.3: Generating a Search Index To limit the search base and the hit list as precisely as possible, use the three drop-down menus to determine the number of displayed hits and the selection area of sources to search. The following options are available for determining the selection area: Default A predefined selection of sources is searched. All All sources are searched. None No sources selected for the search.
B This section provides answers to frequently asked questions. 1. I am the only person using my computer. Why do I need to log in? Linux is a multiuser system. The system relies on user names and passwords to identify different users. If you chose the option ‘auto log-in’ during installation, you are automatically logged in to the system after booting the machine. Only log in as root to make changes to your system (installing software or changing configuration). 2.
4. How can I enter commands in KDE? Click the screen with shell icon in the panel to start the Bash shell. Select alternative terminals from the main menu. To run a single command, press then enter the command. - F2 Alt 5. I cannot find many programs in KDE. You can start all programs from a terminal window by entering the pro gram name and pressing Enter . 6. What is a mirror? Why should I not get these things from ftp.suse.
11. I cannot get my CD out of the drive. What should I do now? 12. How can I find out how much space is available in Linux? With the df -hT command. See df on page 276. 13. Can I copy and paste in Linux? SUSE LINUX FAQ First, unmount the CD with the umount command. More information about this can be found in umount on page 275. In KDE, just right-click the CDROM icon and select ‘Unmount Drive’. If YaST is running on your computer, exit it. B Yes, this is possible.
in with this user name. Then change to the user root with su. It is much better and safer, however, to use the program ssh instead of telnet. The ssh program uses encrypted, secure connections. 18. How do I connect to the Internet in Linux? KInternet — Connecting to the Internet on page 24 provides information about this. 19. I found a bug in SUSE LINUX. Where should I report it? First, ascertain whether it is actually a bug in the program or just an error in operation or faulty configuration settings.
B 24. What is meant by partitioning? 25. How much space do I need for Linux? This depends on how many and which packages you want to install. A standard installation with office applications requires about 1 GB. 2 GB is recommended if you want space for your own data as well. To install just about everything, you need 3–6 GB, depending on the version. SUSE LINUX FAQ Partitioning is dividing the hard disk into smaller sections.
Now, shut down the computer and reboot. (f) After rebooting, check that /dev/hdb1 has actually been mounted to /opt using the command mount. If everything is working as desired, remove the old data from /opt.old: cd / rm -fr opt.old 27. My computer crashed. Can I just press the reset button without risking anything? If your computer no longer reacts to your mouse or keyboard, this does not necessarily mean that your entire system has crashed.
Index A access permissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265–269 - chmod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272 - file systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 address management . . . . . . . see KAddressBook alevt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 alsamixer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 amaroK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
- ls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271 - man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270 - mkdir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272 - mount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275 - mv . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271 - nslookup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277 - passwd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
fonts - installing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 formatting - hard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 - soft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 free . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276 G Galeon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111–114 - configuring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 gamix . . . . . . . . . . . .
J Java . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 K K3b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215–220 - audio CDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 - configuring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 - copying CDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 - data CDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
KOrganizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91–97 - address book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 - attendees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 - calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 - categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 - configuring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 - events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 - help . . . .
- description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . printing - GIMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - killing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
