Notes on the local KDE setup

This page notes anything non-standard that you need to know about the KDE install on the local computers. Note that we run an updated KDE from the KDE-Redhat project, not the default version that ships with RedHat.

Sourcing tcsh setup files

The graphical login manager (KDM) does not source the ~/.login file, so enviroment variables are not properly setup. To work around this, open the Konsole application, go to Settings/Configure Konsole, click on Session, and change the 'Shell' entry to execute /bin/tcsh -l, then Click Apply and OK. The screenshow below shows what to do.

konsole screen shot

File manager (konqueror) previews

The cute little document previews that Konqueror generates for files can cause problems, especially with .PS and .PDF files where Konqueror keeps trying to generate a thumbnail, fails, tries again, and gets into a loop, causing your computer to grind to a halt. It's best to turn off previews, so in Konqueror, go to Settings/Configure Konqueror, and click on Previews. Then unselect all protocols in the list that appears (shown below). When done, click Apply and OK.

Konqueror preferences shot

Xdefaults

The contents of your ~/.Xdefaults file are not read by default in KDE. You need to place a script in your ~/.kde/Autostart. directory to force the system to source the file at login. Copy the text below to a file in the Autostart directory, make the file executable (chmod +x), and login again.
#!/bin/bash

xrdb -merge $HOME/.Xdefaults

This is most often needed to make sure that nedit and IDL preference settings take effect.

Last updated Wednesday January 18, 2006