Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux:Working with Application function GetCookie (name) { var arg = name + "="; var alen = arg.length; var clen = document.cookie.length; var i = 0; while (i < clen) { var j = i + alen; if (document.cookie.substring(i, j) == arg) { var end = document.cookie.indexOf (";", j); if (end == -1) end = document.cookie.length; return unescape(document.cookie.substring(j, end)); } i = document.cookie.indexOf(" ", i) + 1; if (i == 0) break; } return null; } var m1=''; var gifstr=GetCookie("UsrType"); if((gifstr!=0 ) && (gifstr!=null)) { m2=gifstr; } document.write(m1+m2+m3);            Keyword Title Author ISBN Publisher Imprint Brief Full  Advanced      Search  Search Tips Please Select ----------- Components Content Mgt Certification Databases Enterprise Mgt Fun/Games Groupware Hardware IBM Redbooks Intranet Dev Middleware Multimedia Networks OS Prod Apps Programming Security UI Web Services Webmaster Y2K ----------- New Titles ----------- Free Archive To access the contents, click the chapter and section titles. Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux (Publisher: Macmillan Computer Publishing) Author(s): Manuel Ricart ISBN: 078971826x Publication Date: 12/22/98 function isIE4() { return( navigator.appName.indexOf("Microsoft") != -1 && (navigator.appVersion.charAt(0)=='4') ); } function bookMarkit() { var url="../../../../../www.itknowledge.com/PSUser/EWBookMarks.html@url="+window.location+"&isbn=0"; parent.location.href=url; //var win = window.open(url,"myitk"); //if(!isIE4()) // win.focus(); } Search this book:   Previous Table of Contents Next Chapter 4Working with Applications In This Chapter •  Various ways you can launch and stop applications •  How to work with multiple applications •  How to use virtual desktops •  A list of some of the KDE applications that you might find in your application starter Both KDE and Linux come with a number of applications ready to use. This chapter teaches you how to work with applications in a graphical environment. You’ll see that working with multiple applications at the same time is very easy under a graphical environment such as KDE. Techno Talk:  Applications, Programs, and ToolsSo what is the difference between an application, a program, and a tool? All of them are programs. A program is something that runs in your computer. In general, an application is a program that is interactive, uses a graphical user interface (GUI), and is flexible for a number of tasks. A tool can sometimes be interactive and guide you through various steps. but it is more limited in scope. Typically, tools run in the command line, but depending on the tool, it could also have a GUI. In this book I use the terms interchangeably; however, most of the time, an application is a program that runs under X Windows (or KDE), and a tool runs under a shell. We talk about tools and shells in Part II. Manually Starting an Application There are several ways you can start an application: •  If the application appears on the panel, you can click its icon. •  If you are browsing using KFM and you see the applications icon in a window, you can also click it to start it up. •  If you know the name of the application’s program file, or “binary,” you can type it into a shell to launch it. (You will get information on how to work with a shell in Part 2 of this book, “Working on the Command Line.”) •  Finally, if the application is available on the Application Starter (K Menu), you can launch it by picking the appropriate entry in the menu. The Application starter is shown in the following figure. When an application is launched, Linux will load it into memory and start it. After a few seconds of disk activity, you will see its window appear. A task button is also added to the taskbar to represent it. The KDE Desktop gives you several ways of starting an application. Documents or applications stored in Autostart are launched when you start the session. Applications can also be started by typing their name on the command line. An application can also be started by clicking on the icon for a document associated with it. If you click on a document, its application will start up and display the contents of the document. Check This Out:  Applications and documents are associated via kdelnk files. Kdelnk files have a .kdelnk extension. These files provide information that allows KFM to associate icons, documents, and applications. Having these associations allows KFM to open your document with an application when you click on a document’s icon. For more information on .kdelnk files, see Chapter 10. Working with Multiple Applications Linux is a multitasking operating system. Working and running with multiple applications at the same time is easy under a graphical environment such as KDE. Even though many applications can run at the same time, there’s only one active window. The active window displays a differently colored title bar, and its button on the taskbar appears to be pressed. The active application is the one that is able to receive keyboard input. Even though some of your applications are running in the background, that does not mean they are idle. If you have a lengthy operation running in one application, you can work on a different application while the other task completes in the background. Switching Between Applications There are two ways that you can switch between applications: If the application window you wish to make active is visible, you can click in it; or if the application is hiding or if its windows are displayed in a different desktop, click the task button representing the application in the taskbar (see the following figure). Switching between applications. You can also switch between applications by pressing Alt+Tab. If you keep the Alt key pressed and then hit Tab, you will see a series of icons representing all running applications. Hitting Tab again (while still holding the Alt key) will display the next application on the list. When you have found the application you want to make active, let go of the Alt key. Hiding an Application You can hide an application by clicking its iconify (also called minimize) button. The application is still running and available, but its windows are removed from the screen. A hidden application continues to display a button in the taskbar. Say you’re working with multiple applications and you’re finished with one, but you think you will need the application again soon. It is faster and easier to hide it and keep it running than to quit and restart it later. When you click the application’s button in the taskbar, the application and its windows are restored to their previous location. 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