[kde-doc-english]rought draft migration guide

[Rahul Sundaram]

Hi




I have included a very rough draft of my initial
attempt to write a migration guide. I have some doubts
about whether than I can mention programs that are not
QT based and how in depth should I go. It looks like I
have to explain in detail a few basic concepts for new
users. It might eventually turn into a general
migration guide instead of being KDE specific. Is this
allowed?. I mention Linux at places and I have used
KDE only under Linux. Should I leave out stuff, which
cover some low-level information pertaining to
operating systems. Please let me know

		I could cover only KDE specific stuff and refer
users to a general migration guide somewhere else but
that would leave out essential stuff like how do I
access windows partitions? From this document. I
personally feel this kind of stuff should be covered
here itself. What more can I cover?


Regards
Rahul Sundaram



Windows to KDE migration Guide

		Are you a new user just looking into Linux and
wondering how KDE works compared to Windows? Welcome.
You have found just the right place to learn more
about KDE. Here you can find quick answers to the
questions that you are likely to ask first as a
Windows user along with detailed information on how
things work in KDE.  This guide is pretty much
task-oriented and aimed towards users migrating from
Windows. If you are new to Computers or wanted to
learn more about KDE, please use the KDE user’s guide.

Users and companies can heavily customize KDE, as they
like. The way KDE works can be different depending on
your distribution of Linux. If your distribution of
KDE does not work exactly as specified here. Take some
time to look around and check out yourself how things
work.

What is KDE?

	KDE, which stands for K Desktop Environment, is a
user-friendly graphical interface for Unix systems. It
works in a similar fashion to Windows interface, so
you can easily learn to use KDE if you have used
Windows before.

Where is the Start button?

	The K menu in KDE works very similar to the Start
button in KDE. It is usually on the left bottom corner
and has the symbol K in it. If you don’t find it
there, right click on an empty space in  your KDE
panel <link> and click add>special button>K menu.

Where is the Taskbar?

	The KDE panel also known as Kicker works similar to
your Windows taskbar. For more information about
Kicker, right click on an empty space in Kicker and
press help.

Where is My computer?

	KDE does not have a My computer. My computer is a
directory in Windows which gives you quick access to
various partitions in your hard disk like C: or D:. in
Linux the partitions are not maintained separately and
is viewed as a single tree. Your partitions can be
mounted under any directory you want. Mounting is the
process of attaching partitions to your file system.
For example, your C: partitions may be mounted under
/mnt/hda1, D: on /mnt/hda2 and so on.  (should I
explain- I have explained how mounting works and how
devices are named in Linux here<link>?)

How do I use my floppy disks?

	Check whether you have a icon on your KDE Desktop
which looks like a floppy. If not right click on your
Desktop, go through New link> Create floppy disk and
click on that. In the Window that pops up press the
third tab called ? and make sure that the link points
to /dev/fd0. Press ok to create the link.

		When you click on that floppy icon in your desktop, 
you will see a Window opened in Konqueror which would
display the floppy contents. You can then do whatever
stuff you want to do in it. Make sure you unmount the
floppy after using it by right clicking on the floppy
icon and clicking unmount. 

How do I format my floppy?

	Right click on the floppy icon in your desktop and
press format. If you don’t find it there read the
previous question to learn to create a link to your
floppy drive. 

Where is Windows Explorer?

	The file manager in KDE is called Konqueror. It also
acts as your Internet browser. You can find it  under
K>Internet>Konqueror. You can access it quickly by
pressing alt and F2 keys and typing  konqueror in the
run box that pops up.

Where is Internet Explorer?
	
	Like I said before, Konqueror is both a file manager
and a Internet Browser, so you can use it for
accessing files in your system as well as viewing web
pages on the Internet.

Where is My Documents?
		My Documents in a directory in Windows, where you
can save your documents and other files. In KDE, you
can save your files under your home
directory(/home/username) or any directory below it
which you have created. If you are using KDE as a root
user you can change files anywhere but this is
certainly not recommended.

Where is Recycle Bin?

	The Trash icon in your KDE desktop works like the
recycle bin in Windows. Please remember that the
delete option when you right click on a file actually
deletes the file permanently. You should click on Move
to Trash option if you want to be able to recover the
file later. 

Where is Network Neighborhood?

In Windows, you can use the Network Neighborhood,
which shares files using the SMB protocol. In Linux,
files are shared in a network using the NFS protocol.
You can use ftp to transfer files between systems
regardless of which operating system you use. You can
share files between Windows and Linux users using a
software called as Samba. For more information about
Samba, please read the Samba Howto<link> or visit the
samba website<link>

How do I use FTP?
	
	FTP(File Transfer Protocol) is used to transfer files
in a network. If you want to access ftp resources
anonymously, type ftp://ftp address in konqueror on in
the run (alt+F2) box. If you want to login into a
remote system, type ftp://username@ftp address. A text
box will pop up where you can type in your password.

Where is Scandisk?

	Scandisk is a software which is used to check files
in Windows. In Linux, there is program called fsck
(File System Check) which automatically scans and
rectifies your files if you have not logged off or
Shutdown your system properly. You usually don’t need
to use fsck manually.

Where is Disk Defragmenter?

	Windows in general uses a file system called as FAT
and Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP can also
use another file system called NTFS. Their file
systems are prone to fragmentation of data and hence
require software like Disk Defragmenter. Linux uses
file systems like ext2, which manage fragmentation of
data by themselves and do not require external
software. You do not need to worry about fragmentation
of files under Linux and hence KDE does not offer an
equivalent software.

Where is Outlook Express ?

	You can use Kmail in KDE to check mails. It has a
look and feel similar to Outlook Express and you can
import existing mail and filters using the Imports
option in the settings menu in Kmail.
	
Is there a software similar to Microsoft Office?

	Yes. Koffice is an integrated office suite available
for KDE. It does not support Microsoft’s proprietary
file formats. You may not have it installed in your
system. You can either install it from your
distribution disks or from the Koffice
website<link-koffice.org>. If you want to exchange
files with Windows users, you may want to consider an
alternative office suite like OpenOffice.org<website
link-openoffice.org>

Is there a software similar to Winzip?

	Yes. Konqueror by itself supports many compression
formats. Ark is the KDE archiver, which supports
common compression formats like Zip, Gzip, Bzip2, Arj
and Rar when the underlying tools are installed. 

Is there a software similar to Winamp?

	Yes. Noatun is the KDE audio player which has a
plugin to look like Winamp and even supports Winamp
skins. Alternatively you can try out XMMS which also
supports Winamp skins and Plugins. In RedHat systems
mp3 is not supported due to license restrictions.
Download the mp3 plugin for XMMS(link to xmms.org) to
play mp3 audio.

How do I play movies in KDE?
		
	You can use a program like Mplayer(link) or
Xine(link) to play movies in KDE.

How do I burn CD-R’s/Write into recordable CD’s?

		You can use a program like K3B available from
www.k3b.org

How do I chat in KDE?

		Use a IRC client like Xchat(link). Gaim(link)
supports multiple protocols like Yahoo, MSN and AOL.
Yahoo has a native client available from
messenger.yahoo.com. AMSN(link) is a MSN clone.


How do I close a running software forcibly?

	Press the control alt and escape keys together. The
cursor would change into a skeleton symbol. Click on
the software that you want to close. Remember that the
software would close immediately and would not be able
to save any information. Don’t use this unless a
software wont respond.

How do I view a list of running software?

	Press control and escape keys together. You will get
a list of processes running in your system. If you
want to view your own processes change the option in
the menu at the bottom.

How do I use Windows Partitions in KDE?

		Your system may have been setup to automatically
mount Windows partitions. Check under your /mnt
directory to see whether they are already mounted. If
not, you can use the file called fstab(file system
table) under /etc directory  to automatically mount
Windows partitions. Here is an example:

Example fstab file

DeviceName	Mount point	filesystem	Options Check
filesystem? Check Priority

/dev/hda2	 /mnt/hda2	 vfat	
umask=000,gid=username,uid=username defaults 0 0

Do I have to give a Username and Password everytime to
use KDE?

	In a multiuser system like Linux, passwords are used
to protect your files. If you do not need such kind of
protection you can use the Control center in KDE to
autologin into your system.

Use Kcontrol>System>Login Manager to change your KDE
Login Manager settings. Your system may have been
setup to use an alternate Window Manager like Gnome.
You have to change it to KDE Login Manager before you
can start using these settings.(cover how to change?)

Is there something like Windows registry In KDE?

		No. Linux does not use a registry to store settings
in a central place like Windows. The settings are
maintained in individual files which are usually under
the /etc directory. You can use any text editor to
change these settings if you want to. This is usually
needed only for advanced options. ( is there any
utility for managing these options?)

Can I play games in KDE ?
	
	Of course. You have a separate package for playing
KDE games. If you have installed it, it will be
available under K menu>games. You can also play other
games installed in your system.

How do I quickly run some software?

	Press alt and F2 keys together. In the text box that
pops up type the command for running the particular
software.

How do I use the command line in KDE?

		Use K Menu>System>Konsole to type commands in KDE.
You can access it quickly by typing konsole in the run
box(Alt+F2) .

How do I logoff/restart/shutdown my system?

	Use K Menu>logoff option to perform these tasks. If
you do not see the options to restart or shutdown your
system, it means that you are not using the KDE Login
manager in your system. You can type restart or
shutdown in the Konsole or create links manually.












 


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