Red Hat ENTERPRISE LINUX 3 - STEP BY STEP GUIDE Manual page 133

Appendix A. KDE: The K Desktop Environment 119
Figure A-3. The Panel
The panel is highly configurable. You can add and remove buttons that launch applications easily.
Right-click on the panel and select Configure Panel to open the panel Settings. You can configure
panel orientation and size, set a panel hiding configuration (where the panel remains hidden until you
hover over the panel area), and customize your main menu. Click Help at any time to learn more about
configuring your panel.
Figure A-4. Panel Settings
Other tabs in Settings contain options to further customize your panel and taskbar. Click on Help for
more information on these options.
Applications and utilities can be added easily to the panel. To add an application launcher to the panel,
right-click on the panel and choose Add. Then select Application Button and make your choice from
the menus.
A.4.1. Using The Main Menu
The Main Menu is the central point for using KDE. Clicking on the Main Menu icon on the panel
displays a large master menu from which you can perform tasks such as launch applications, find files,
and configure your desktop. The main menu also contains several submenus that organize applications
and tools into several categories, including Graphics, Internet, Office, Games, and more.
From the Main Menu, you can lock your screen, which displays a password-protected screensaver.
You can also run applications from a command line as well as logout of your KDE session.
A.4.2. Using Applets
Applets are small applications that run on the panel. There are several types of applets performing
functions such as system monitoring, time and date display, and launching applications by typing
commands in a text box.
There are some applets that run on the panel by default. This section covers them in detail.