Referencing another thread: "why compile?", I have a similar question however it's the other way around.

The thread expressed that local compiling is not really required per-se because distros have their own packages. I recently started trying to use the package manager instead of compiling, however I have run into a couple of corners.

The packages don't have the same documentation that tar packages usually have and because of that, I don't really know how to use the program after it's installed. Kismet was the perfect example. This is the first time I've installed kismet (on a new install of Fedora8) using the package and it didn't put the required .conf files on my system. I could probably just put the files in the right places, but I'd like to understand what's going on with the package installations.

anyone have any light to shed? Thanks again.

Tar packages do not always have documentation; on the contrary, most of them come without any documentation whatsoever (unless once counters the README and INSTALL files as documentation but these cover only the compilation / setup process).

For quite a few packages, the package manager can provide separate doc rpms. In other cases, you can find out more by visiting the site of the package in question, looking for an online tutorial or consulting the man page for the package.

Yes, some packages do not create local configuration files but that's only because there is always a system-wide configuration file (usually in /etc) that is good enough for most people. Of course, if you can always create additional ones in your home directory. Which, by the way, makes me wonder: have you checked the hidden files in your home directory? It holds quite a few configuration files that are normally hidden from view.

OFF SUBJECT: first of all, I wanted to say LQ.org rocks! I have done many forums in past years that have helped me with my boat/car/flying/work etc and none have ever been the quality of professionalism, promptness, and efficiency that LQ.org has been. Thanks again for taking care of all of your users.

ON SUBJECT: I haven't checked my hidden files. I'll take a look at them and research them further. It looks like the package manager installations are basically the same thing as compiling except they are specific to the distro and you just don't see the cool stuff happening on the terminal

one more question: do you have to run most of these things through command prompt, or can you add a link (similar to windows) in the Gnome Applications drop down. When adding a program to the drop down, it asks for the location of the program. Do I need to add anything other than the /bin location?

That would depend on the type of application. If it has a GUI, then yes, you can access it from the menus or even add a link/launcher on your panel(s) or the desktop.

As for adding stuff to the menu / desktop, the location needs to be the full path to the application in question. For example: /usr/bin/firefox. However, you also have a PATH on your system that will automatically search a number of folders. You can see the path by becoming root and typing:
echo $PATH
This will show that /usr/bin is in your PATH; as a consequence, all applications located there can be started by using just their name, without the rest of the path. The system will be able to find them by going over the list of the directories in its PATH variable. Thus the command firefox works just as well as /usr/bin/firefox.

Oh yes, and another note, if you are going to edit/add menu items or launchers, you may find that the system can't find an icon. Just browse to /usr/share/pixmaps. You can also create your own icons and add them to that folder first (or to any other one for that matter).

awesome, time to go play. Thanks again!