The Panel

The Panel stretches across the bottom of the desktop.

Figure 3-5. The Panel

The Panel is very configurable. You can add and remove applications and applets, which will allow you to access them easily.

As in GNOME, you can hide the Panel by choosing to auto-hide it, making it appear to sink beneath the lower frame of your screen (it will return when you hold the cursor over the minimized space).

You can also hide the Panel by clicking on one of the arrows on either of its borders; depending on the arrow you select, that will be the direction in which the Panel will shrink to hide.

Applications and utilities can easily be added to the Panel (see Figure 3-6).

Figure 3-6. Adding an Application to the Panel

To add an application:

Multiple Desktops

By default, KDE offers you four different desktops over which you can spread your work. Each desktop can hold icons, open applications and individually customized backgrounds.

For example, while you're writing e-mail on the first desktop, you can have Netscape running on desktop two, a word processor open on desktop three, and so on.

You can change the number -- and names -- of desktops available under KDE. To make these adjustments:

Figure 3-7. The Desktops Tab in the Panel Configuration

To change the names of your desktops, from One, Two, and so on, replace the desktop "names" by typing in your preferred names in the appropriate boxes (see Figure 3-8).

Figure 3-8. Renaming Desktops

You can increase (or decrease) the number of desktops available to you by adjusting the sliding bar in the Visible slider of the Desktops dialog. For more desktops, "drag" the bar to the right; for fewer desktops, drag the bar to the left.

In similar fashion, you can adjust the width of the desktop buttons on the Panel.

TipSwitch desktops quickly
 

Want to change desktops without the hassle of pointing and clicking? Just use the keyboard combination of the Ctrl and Function keys. For example, Ctrl-F2 will switch you from Desktop One to Desktop Two, Ctrl-F3 will take you to Desktop Three. (If you rename your desktops, remember which number represents the associated name!)