Tux Love : Hidden Linux : Conquering Konqueror

My only niggle with the Kubuntu installation of the Konqueror file manager/web browser is the way the file manager defaults to Icon View. I'm a geek. I like Detailed List View and find myself forever clicking the change button to set DLV. This week I finally figured out how to fix that permanently. It's actually quite straightforward, if a little unintuitive.

In Konqueror, click on the Settings menu and choose Configure Konqueror.
Scroll down and click File Associations.
Expand inode from the Known Types list, click on directory and choose the Embedding tab.
Under here you'll find the file modes. Select Detailed List Mode (or whichever you prefer) and click the Move Up to move it to the top of the list.
Click OK and you're done.

I use Konqueror a lot, so much so that I've set up hotkeys to kick it off. Years of Windows use have accustomed me to hit the <Win> + <E> key combination to start Explorer, so I set the same shortcut to Konqueror's file manager. Here's how...

Different distros (including Kubuntu) shunt KDE Control Centre's settings into different places, but you can always start the "original" by hitting <Alt> + <F2> and entering kcontrol.

Choose Input Actions under Regional & Accessibility.
Create a New Group (call it whatever you like) and create a New Action under it.
Give it whatever Action Name you like, then choose Keyboard Shortcut -> Command/URL (Simple) from the Action Type drop-down.
Click the Keyboard Shortcut tab, click the button and assign whatever key combination you like. (In this case I used <Win> + <E>.)
Under Command/URL Settings enter kfmclient openProfile filemanagement.
Click Apply and test your key combo.

I also set up <Win> + <K> to open Konqueror in browser mode by creating a New Action entering the Command/URL Setting kfmclient openProfile webbrowsing.

Oddly, there's no superuser version of Konqueror in Kubuntu. You can kick it off in superuser mode by entering kdesu konqueror after hitting <Alt> + <F2>. (Or add a hotkey as above, or even add it to Kmenu, by right-clicking the K button and choosing Menu Editor.

If you want to preview the fonts on your system, just type fonts:/ in the Location Bar. Choose either Personal or System fonts, then hover over the each font for a preview.

If you want to get to the Location Bar using the keyboard, hit <Ctrl> + <L>. (The same shortcut works in Firefox.)

Konqueror's great for reading documentation too. Just enter man: or info: in the Location Bar. If you want to look at a specific appication, add the application name as a suffix. Eg; man:md5sum or info:m4.

Got any more Konqueror tips? Drop me a comment!

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Comments

Thanks for the detailed list view - it works great!

Here's mine ...
I alter the toolbar for LOCATION and add "Split View Left Right" + "Close Active View" + "Show Navigation Panel"

Now with a click I can split the view and then un-split.

The Navigation Panel is powerful. That red flag at the bottom is SERVICES; with your applications, even CUPS.

You do NOT have to load a view profile - it all just works.

Posted by: Lindsay, Vancouver BC, Canada | March 17, 2008 11:54 PM

Having switched permanently to detailed view, it would be nice to be able to have a 'view change' button on the tool bar so one could quickly switch to 'image view' for example, without hunting through the menus.

Posted by: chris | December 1, 2007 9:58 AM

Rambo Tribble, thanks for your comments about launching programs in KDE. At least I am not quite alone in experiencing this, but almost, it seems. It will probably remain a mystery though.

Posted by: Colin Maddock | November 27, 2007 11:00 AM

I should add, in my experience, this behavior is more common with apps from non-standard repositories (non-standard, of course, being relative to the distro). For instance running an app packaged for Sarge on Dapper Drake. This might tend to contradict, however, my runaway process hypothesis.

Posted by: Rambo Tribble | November 27, 2007 5:51 AM

While I can offer little assistance, I can verify the existence of this behavior. My experience is a bit different, however. I have had no luck with trying to launch unless I've closed KDE at least, and usually X as well, and restarted.

I first encountered this type of behavior three or four years ago and its incidence has greatly diminished. I'm not sure I've even seen it in the last year or so. I've never tried to run this down, but I have to suspect a runaway process is involved.

Posted by: Rambo Tribble | November 27, 2007 5:37 AM

Colin Maddock : You're right. I've never experienced this. Can anyone out there help?

--Geoff

Posted by: Geoff | November 26, 2007 10:38 PM

Regarding launching programs in KDE - the bouncing icon is just indicative of what is going on, or not going on in this instance. Sure, it can be turned off, which I have done.

But the program is not launching. Nothing happens for 30secs or so, then I have to have a second go at starting the program, which will probably work. Have you had this problem? Presumably not?

Posted by: Colin Maddock | November 26, 2007 10:30 PM

Colin Maddock : Ah, the old bouncing cursor. Haven't seen that in a while. Because I ALWAYS turn the damn thing off when I do an installation!
Hit <Alt> + <F2>, enter kcontrol and look for Launch Feedback under Appearance & Themes. You can change the timeout period, change the type of feedback, or (phew!) just turn it off completely.
--Geoff

Posted by: Geoff | November 26, 2007 10:13 PM

This is more a question than a comment. I hope you don't mind.

Something that has plagued me for years, it seems, with KDE, is that when a program is launched from the menu or from a desktop icon, I see the bouncing feedback thing for about 30secs,and then it vanishes. The program does not start. But if I repeat the process, the program will probably launch.

This behaviour has maddened me with KDE, various distros. I don't read about people complaining regarding this though. Is it something I am doing/haven't done? Do you see it?

I've gone to Gnome because of it.

Posted by: Colin Maddock | November 26, 2007 4:45 PM

As an additional note: The configuration file that stores the file viewing preferences is ~.kde/share/config/profilerc

Posted by: Rambo Tribble | November 26, 2007 8:18 AM

Great!

I tried to fix this bug, saving the profile among other work arounds, but it didn't work 100%. THere where always some instances when I got the useless icon view.

I believe with this, the problem is fixed!

Thanks for the tip

Posted by: Mguel | November 26, 2007 6:24 AM

Thanks, Geoff. The view thing has been driving me nuts for some time. Using View Profile I'd set up two tabs configured to tree view, but the characteristic of new tabs opening in "cute" view was annoying. Given the configurability of the KDE interface and having seen SimplyMEPIS' apparently unique implementation of the view feature (remembering the global view preference as part of a profile), I knew such adjustment was possible. "A round tuit" syndrome set in, however, and I never found the answer. Thanks for saving me the trouble.

Posted by: Rambo Tribble | November 26, 2007 5:07 AM

Tjokkis_II: Saving the Profile works... but only for the initial page. Open a folder in a new tab and you're back to Icon View. :-(

Posted by: Geoff | November 25, 2007 4:46 PM

Or just choose the wiew you want, and save the View Profile. That is, if Kubuntu hasn't crippled KDE also in this area.

Posted by: Tjokkis_II | November 25, 2007 3:07 PM