1.3.1 Accessing the Main Menu

Open the main menu by clicking the icon to the far left of the panel. Alternatively, press Alt F1 . The main menu is subdivided into these sections: Most Used Applications, All Applications (a menu with all applications sorted according to categories), and Actions. Applications that you start most often appear in the Most Used Applications section.

The function-oriented menu structure makes it easy to find the right application for your purpose even if you do not know the application names yet. If you already know the name of an application (or at least a part of its name) but are not sure how to start it from the main menu, you can use the search function provided in the All Applications section.

Figure 1-4 Main Menu Search Function

Just type a part of the application name into the search field without pressing the key afterwards. If the application is installed on your system, the menu structure leading to this application is highlighted in the main menu.

The following section provides information about a number of actions that can be triggered from the main menu.

Recent Documents

Lists the most recently opened files or folders. When you select a document, the application to view or edit this document is started. You can also clear the history of documents.

My System

Gives quick access to some places often needed, such as your home directory or media devices.

Run Command

Opens a dialog where you can enter an command to start the application. The name of the command is often (but not always) the application name written in lowercase. You can use autocompletion of the command by typing the first letters then pressing . If the command was executed before and can be uniquely identified, it is completed to full length.

Switch User

To start a second session with a graphical user interface on your machine, select Start New Session. Your current session remains active while you are taken to the login screen where you can log in as a different user. You can access the first session by pressing F7 . To access a new session, press F8 instead of F7. Additional sessions can be accessed by pressing F9 to F12.

Lock Session

If you leave your computer you can prevent unauthorized access by others by locking your screen. After locking, a screensaver starts. Access to the session can only be regained with a password. To unlock, enter your normal login password.

Log Out

Opens a dialog with several options: you can end the current session, turn off the computer, restart the computer, or cancel the logout. End Current Session leaves your system running and restores the applications for your next login. If your system provides power management, you are also offered to suspend the computer, making the next system start much faster than a complete boot.

1.3.2 Inserting or Connecting Removable Media

If you insert or connect removable media to your computer (such as CD-ROMs, digital cameras, or USB sticks), these are usually automatically detected. In KDE, a dialog appears, showing the medium type detected and offering several options of what to do with the new medium. The list of options depends on the type of medium inserted.

Figure 1-5 Autodetection of a USB Stick in KDE

To view the data with a file manager, select Open in New Window and click OK. The Konqueror file manager appears, showing the contents of the removable device.

Figure 1-6 Viewing the Contents of an USB Stick

If you want the same action to be performed every time you insert a removable medium of that type, activate Always do this for this type of media in the autodetection dialog before clicking OK.

1.3.3 Accessing Removable Media

KDE offers several ways to access removable media at any time. Clicking My Computer on the desktops opens a view as shown in Figure 1-8.

Figure 1-8 My Computer

If you start Konqueror as a file manager (see Section 1.4, Managing Folders and Files with Konqueror) and click Storage Media on the start window or enter media:/ in the location bar, Konqueror displays the storage devices as shown in Figure 1-9.

Figure 1-9 Displaying Media in Konqueror

You can also name removable devices, such as USB sticks, with Konqueror. Right-click the USB stick in Konqueror and select Properties. On the General tab, enter a name in the input field and click OK. When inserting the stick the next time, Konqueror displays the name of the stick.

A small green arrow indicates that a medium has been mounted (integrated into your file system, which is necessary to access the data on the medium). In SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, you normally do not have to care about mounting removable devices because this is done automatically by default.

1.3.4 Managing 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.

Files removed with Delete are not moved to the trash bin, but deleted completely. To delete the files in the trash bin completely, right-click the trash bin icon then click Empty Trash Bin.