I just migrated to KDE
 

And I never really used it before. Any tips and/or tricks? QT apps? Things like that. I've been a GNOME/XFCE user my whole Linux time. Thanks.

PS: Using latest KDE from ktwon to 14.1 and it is great :D

I don't even remember what sorts of tips/tricks/qt apps I used when I was still using KDE. Suffice it to say that it is infinitely configurable via KDE GUI controls. Too much DE for me, although I confess to having the desire to do a OpenBSD/KDE4 installation, just because I can!

This is what I thought before trying it but I was wrong. It is much better and more complete than XFCE. If I go more minimal I rather go with something like cwm, i3 or 2bwm. But if I am on a DE I rather have the most complete one.

^ I can certainly understand that. I'm finding that I prefer a WM on the desktop, and a DE on the laptop. I'm actually experimenting with Arch and Gnome 3, finding that I like the combo quite a bit.

I assume you're booting into Slackware, and not virtualizing it? KDE is designed visually to be used with its "desktop effects" turned on, and I've found that those "effects" break when you run KDE in VirtualBox.

I had problems with my network on Arch and some other minor things. I am just more comfortable with Slackware. I can't stand Gnome 3 tho. Those type of DEs like Gnome and Unity make me feel claustrophobic lol. I think I am gonna switch between a minimal WM and KDE from now.

For a better appearance of GTK2 apps on KDE I installed gtk2-engines and created $HOME/.gtkrc-2.0:

That is the only tweak I had to do, pretty much everything else just runs fine with KDE :)

Yeah, both Gnome and Unity certainly lack the configuration options of KDE, or even Xfce. I usually default to using Xfce these days for a DE, but honestly, none of them really excite me that much. Cinnamon isn't bad, but I eventually get tired of it. Although I liked Gnome 2, I just can't seem to get excited about MATE, for some reason.

I like to experiment with the broad range of WMs out there (using musca today), but really, at the end of the day, there's not really that much difference between them, either tilers or stackers. You can change the keybindings to your preferences, and be off to the races.

I think there are some cool things being done by some folks for alternative DEs, like elementaryOS and Deepin. Maybe not my cup of tea, but I enjoy seeing some of the ideas out there.

If you listen music and have a music collection in your computer, you might want to try Amarok and/or Clementine (in case you don't know them already!). Being Clementine based on Amarok, they're both similar in appearance and functionality. Can't live without them and I even use Clementine on Windows.

Also: K3B (CD burning app), Kaffeine (video player), plasmoids for your desktop, etc.

You can also check http://kde-look.org/ for plasma themes, icon sets, etc.

At this point, the only desktop environment I use regularly is E17. Otherwise, I use Fluxbox.

KDE is visually pretty. So is Windows. It does just too much stuff that I don't need to have done and costs too much in CPU cycles. Nevertheless, I would choose it over Gnome, if for no other reason that it's much more configurable, and I like to tinker with stuff. If you like to tinker, KDE is for you.

I do prefer the KDE "classic" menu to the default one; I find all that sliding back and forth in the menu pane annoying. If I remember correctly, you do lose the menu "search" feature if you switch to the classic menu.

One of the members of my LUG is a big KDE fan and he really likes the "Activities" feature, because he commonly has many different applications and functions that he switches among--he's a developer by day and a gamer by night.

To build on what odiseo77 said, I have found K3B to be far superior to Brasero. I've had it burn discs with the same files on the same system with the same blanks on which Brasero refused to burn them.

I also tend to prefer KDE applications over Gnome's. I default to Okular, Ksnapshot, Kolourpaint, Konsole, and Kate, to mention a few. Konqueror is my preferred GUI file manager--I prefer it to Dolphin, as well as to non-KDE file managers. Even under E17 or Fluxbox, you will find me using more KDE applications than Gnome applications.

KDE offers a wealth of documentation on their website: http://docs.kde.org/

I run mostly XFCE, but, I also *really* like a lot of the KDE applications. Ktorrent has a really nice interface. I may switch to KDE at some point when I get a newer PC.

Greetz
There are many YouTube vids with great user suggestions and seeing them in action is very helpful to "getting a taste". Also there are really good performance tips. For example in KDE System Settings > Workspace Behavior > Desktop Effects there is a setting for animations and by default it is set to Normal. This controls the speed at which menues popup and in general how "snappy" the system feels. Even one increment to "Fast" can be a thriller and a time-saver while easily handled by most modern machines with no sweat. I'm on "Very Fast"... any more and it would anticipate my desires ;)

If a File Manager is something you regularly use, overall it's pretty hard to beat Dolphin to get it to do exactly what you want. At first I hung onto kfmclient and krusader, but over time Dolphin has won me over.

If you like any sort of metering, Plasmoids can display STDIN/STDOUT which means you can monitor any info constantly or just on demand.

By far, what must be the most useful feature of all since I use it many times every day and in many different ways, is KRunner. Many people who prefer the classic Kicker, find they are well served by KRunner for a version of the Search function they lose in Kicker, but that isn't even scratching the surface. Even KDE's http://userbase.kde.org/Plasma/Krunner only scratches the surface because it is so flexible and powerful.

These are the first few that came to mind but there is much more. Welcome to KDE, whether you use it all or just modify some other DE like Xfce with it.

Thanks for the tips guys, been loving KDE so far. How come I never really used it before? :P

KDE is very nice, but at some point it can be a bit overbearing, and simpler desktops like Xfce and such just have a better feel.

Under Systems Settings -> Desktop Effects -> Advanced, make sure you check: "Suspend desktop effects for fullscreen windows"

It fixes video tearing. I can't believe it's not checked by default.

Hi

I've pretty much always used KDE since it's the default during Slackware's install.

I use the default configured applications, mostly like franckbell and enorbet said. Those I use daily include:

• Dolphin, the "expand folders" ("details" view) and the preview on hover are pretty nifty features, I really miss them when I'm on Windows at work, and I've never liked Konqueror
• Konsole, I'm found on the command line and tabs are so useful
• Lancelot, I tried and adopted it really quick instead of the default launcher, I'm a huge fan of "activate without click"
• Kate has the usual bells and whistles of an advanced coding/text editor (I use Notepad++ on Windows)
• Gwenview, Okular, Amarok, Ktorrent just fit my needs

And some additions from SlackBuilds.org:

• kaffeine, TV viewer (dvb)
• digikam, photos library and all those Kipi plugins
• tellico, books, CD, DVD collections
• kdenlive, video editing (not that daily)
• kde_cdemu, to mount ISO images without switching to root in Konsole to use loop devices

As for the non-KDE applications, I stick to Firefox for web, Thunderbird for mail, and VLC (AlienBob's) for videos.

I don't really use the "semantic desktop" (balloon / nepomuk) as I'm old school and tidy up my files with Dolphin. However the Lancelot's search box makes use of it, and I often use the "Alt+F2" shortcut: type anything, be it an application to launch or a file to search and here it is.

I don't use the "activities" either yet, though it has a certain appeal.

For the look'n'feel, KDE system settings allows to download, install and apply themes, icons, etc. from kde-look.org directly: no need to download separately and fiddle with config files.
You can even make SlackBuilds to package for system wide installation
oxygen-gtk (part of ktown), kde-gtk-config (SBo) and "apply colors to non-KDE4 application" suit me, even with the light on dark theme (Zion reversed) I use.

One "beware" thing : KDE seems to ignore the X keyboard layout (/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/90-keyboard-layout.conf), so I have to modify /etc/kde/kdm/Xsetup for the login dialog (KDM, runlevel 4) and configure keyboard layout in KDE system settings.

BTW I'm running KDE 4.13.1 on Slackware64 current, all the "desktop effects" work like a charm with my NVidia GT520 and its proprietary drivers.

Cheers

Kde=buff

I heartily agree with his statement. All of the KDE apps are superb, and I find myself using most of these apps on a regular basis. I could not imagine doing without these programs. Besides, KDE lends itself beautifully to customization, such as animated wallpaper. While not enhancing productivity per se, it is pleasing to the eye, and my machine can handle the extra workload without strain.

A note, however, regarding kde_cdemu: I found that the version posted on SBo (0.4) does not play well with Dolphin. However, there is an updated version on kde-apps.org which works flawlessly.

All in all, an excellent desktop!

Regards,

Matt