Discovery Guide

Mandrake Linux 9.2

http://www.MandrakeSoft.com

by Camille Bégnis, Christian Roy, Fabian Mandelbaum, Joël Pomerleau, Vincent Danen, Roberto Rosselli del Turco, Stefan Siegel, Marco De Vitis, Alice Lafox, Fred Lepied, Nicolas Planel, Kevin Lecouvey, Christian Georges, John Rye, Robert Kulagowski, Pascal Rigaux, Frédéric Crozat, Laurent Montel, Damien Chaumette, Till Kamppeter, Guillaume Cottenceau, Jonathan Gotti, Christian Belisle, Sylvestre Taburet, Thierry Vignaud, Juan Quintela, Pascal Lo Re, Kadjo N'Doua, Mark Walker, Roberto Patriarca, Patricia Pichardo Bégnis, Alexis Gilliot, Arnaud Desmons, Wolfgang Bornath, Alessandro Baretta, Aurélien Lemaire, Daouda Lo, Florent Villard, François Pons, Gwenole Beauchesne, Giuseppe Ghibò, Georg Halfas, Florin Grad, Joël Wardenski, Denis Devedjian, Debora Rejnharc Mandelbaum, Stew Benedict, David Baudens.

Legal Notice

This manual is protected under MandrakeSoft intellectual property rights. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the invariant sections being the section called “About Mandrake Linux”, with the front-cover texts being listed below, and with no back-cover texts. A copy of the license is available on the GNU site.

Front-cover texts:

MandrakeSoft December 2003
http://www.mandrakesoft.com/
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 by MandrakeSoft S.A. 
and MandrakeSoft Inc.

Mandrake”, “Mandrake Linux” and “MandrakeSoft” are registered trademarks of MandrakeSoft S.A.; Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds; UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.

Tools Used in The Making of This Manual

This manual was written in XML DocBook. The set of files involved were managed using Borges. The XML source files were processed by xsltproc, openjade and jadetex using a customized version of Norman Walsh's stylesheets. Screen shots were taken using xwd or GIMP and converted with convert. All these software are available on your Mandrake Linux distribution, and they are all free software.

September 2003


Table of Contents

Preface
About Mandrake Linux
Contact Mandrake Linux Community
Join the Club
Purchasing MandrakeSoft Products
Contribute to Mandrake Linux
About this Quick-Startup Guide
I. Installing Mandrake Linux
1. Installation Warning
2. Before Installation
Configuring your BIOS
Creating a Floppy Boot Disk
Creating a Boot Disk Under Windows
Creating a Floppy Boot Disk Under GNU/Linux
Supported Hardware
What Is Not Supported
3. Installation with DrakX
The Mandrake Linux Installer
Choosing Your Language
License Terms of the Distribution
Configuring your Mouse
Installation Class
Configuring the Keyboard
Selecting the Mount Points
Choose Partitions to Be Formatted
Multiple CD-ROM Installation
Root Password
Adding a User
Installing a Bootloader
Check Miscellaneous Parameters
Summary
Time Zone Options
Configuring X, the Graphical Server
Configure your Network
Installing a Bootloader
Setup of The Bootloader Entries
Selecting Available Services at Boot Time
Installing Updates from the Internet
It's Finished!
How to Uninstall Linux
II. Discover
4. Migrating to Linux from Windows®/Mac OS X®
Where's my...?
Start Menu
Applications
Control Panel/System Preferences
DOS Shell
Network Neighborhood
C: Drive
CD-ROM Drive
Floppy Disk Drive
My Documents
A Brave New World!
A Multi-User Environment
Multiple Tasking
Multiple Desktops
Full Desktop Customization
Thousands of Free Applications
No More Reboots!
5. Linux for Beginners
Introduction
The Bootloader Menu
Getting Ready for your Session
Beginning your Session
Identifying Yourself
The First Time Wizard
Some Notes About Security
Using your Graphical Environment
The Mandrake Linux Desktop
Accessing Programs
Opening a Window on the Desktop
Managing Windows and Desktops
Personalizing your Desktop
Closing your Session
6. Where to Get Documentation
The Documentation Included with Mandrake Linux
MandrakeSoft's Own Documentation
The Man Pages
Info Pages
HOWTOs
The /usr/share/doc Directory
Internet
Web Sites Devoted to GNU/Linux
Mailing Lists
Newsgroups
General Guidelines for Solving a Problem under Mandrake Linux
Search the Internet
Mailing Lists and Newsgroups Archives
Questions to Mailing Lists and Newsgroups
Directly Contacting the Person in Charge
Mandrake Business Services
III. Use
7. Using KDE
Discovering the K Desktop Environment
The Desktop
The Panel
Virtual Desktops
Personalizing your Desktop
Changing your Desktop's Appearance
Managing Desktop Icons
KDE Help System
KDE Sessions
8. Konqueror
File Manager: Konqueror
Main Window
Sidebars
Copying, Moving, Linking and Deleting Files
Browsing Web Pages
File Sharing
Browsing the Web
Konqueror's Web Browser Interface
Surfing the Web
Managing Bookmarks
Tabbed Browsing
Konqueror Web Browser and Plugins
9. Writing E-mails with KMail
Configuring KMail
KMail's Interface
Composing a Message
Folders and Filters
10. Office Work
Word Processor
What Is a Word Processor?
OpenOffice.org Writer
Using the Word Processor
Going Further
Conclusion
Spreadsheet
What Is a Spreadsheet?
OpenOffice.org Calc
Using the Spreadsheet
Going Further
Conclusion
Presentation
What Is Presentation Software For?
OpenOffice.org Impress
Building Presentations
Going Further
Conclusion

List of Figures

2.1. The Rawwrite Program
3.1. Very First Installation Welcome Screen
3.2. Available Installation Options
3.3. Choosing the Default Language
5.1. The Login Window
5.2. The Pull-Down Session Type List
5.3. The First Time Wizard
5.4. The KDE Desktop
5.5. Application Menu for KDE
5.6. KDE File Manager
5.7. KDE's Virtual Desktop Buttons
5.8. Maximizing Windows
5.9. Minimizing Windows
5.10. The Task Bar under KDE
5.11. Closing a Window
5.12. KDE Log-Out Confirmation
5.13. Logging Out Using the Pop-Up Menu under KDE
7.1. The KDE Desktop
7.2. The KDE Panel
7.3. Changing KDE's Color Scheme
7.4. Changing KDE's Background Wallpaper
7.5. KDE Help Center Main Window
8.1. Konqueror
8.2. Konqueror as a Web Browser
8.3. Konqueror's Bookmarks Manager Dialog
8.4. Konqueror's Browser Tabs
8.5. Konqueror's Browser Plugins Settings
9.1. Setting General User Parameters
9.2. Setting the Outgoing Mail Server
9.3. Configuring a POP3 Mail Account
9.4. Mail Client Interface
9.5. The Message-Compose Window
10.1. OpenOffice.org Writer's Main Window
10.2. Text Columns Options Dialog
10.3. Table of Contents
10.4. Rows, Columns and Cells
10.5. OpenOffice.org Calc's Main Window
10.6. Simplifying Data Entry Using Auto-Completion
10.7. Using a Function in a Formula
10.8. Choosing the Chart Type
10.9. A 3D Chart Inside the Spreadsheet
10.10. Selecting a Slide Template
10.11. OpenOffice.org Impress' Main Window
10.12. Entering Chart Data

List of Tables

8.1. Konqueror Sidebar Icons
8.2. Konqueror's Web Browser Toolbar Buttons
9.1. KMail's Toolbar Buttons
9.2. Message Compose Toolbar Buttons
10.1. Suggested Styles
10.2. Graphics Tools