Navigate	* LSA Book	* Quotes/Reviews	* Buy The Book	* Chapter Links	* WFTL Home
Other Info	* Tips & Tricks	* Knoppix CD Help	* Linux Links	* WFTL Chats	* Join WFTL-LUG

Moving to Linux: Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goodbye!

Buy the book from:

Download an excerpt from the book. Click here

Mapping application launch keys in KDE

Did you ever think, "Hey, it would be really cool to fire up OpenOffice (or anything else for that matter) with a keystroke instead of always reaching for the mouse"? Well, if you happen to be running KDE as your desktop, I can make that a reality. Here's what you do.

Right-click on the big "K" (application launcher) and select "Menu Editor". When the menu edit window pops up, navigate down the side to your application of choice. My OpenOffice Writer is under "OpenOffice.org 1.1.0" in the menu. Click the little plus sign to open up the submenu, then click on your application of choice. Note attached jpg image. Look down on the right hand side near the bottom of that window. See the "Current shortcut key" button. It probably says "None". Well, click that button. A window will appear waiting for you to enter a keystroke. Press "Alt+O" (or whatever sequence amuses you), then press Apply. You can now close the menu editor.

Now, when you press Alt+O, OpenOffice Writer will fire up.

Cool? Yeah, I thought so <insert appropriate smiley here>.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled Linux work.