<chapter id="fundamentals"> <chapterinfo> <authorgroup> <author><personname><firstname></firstname></personname></author> <!-- TRANS:ROLES_OF_TRANSLATORS --> </authorgroup> </chapterinfo> <title>The Fundamentals</title> <para> If you have ever used a text editor, you will have no problem using &kate;. In the next two sections, <link linkend="starting-kate">Starting &kate; </link> and <link linkend="working-with-kate">Working with &kate;</link>, you will find everything you need to get up and running quickly. </para> <sect1 id="starting-kate"> <title>Starting &kate;</title> <para> You can start &kate; from the <guimenu>TDE menu</guimenu> or from the command line. </para> <sect2 id="starting-from-the-menu"> <title>From the Menu</title> <para> Open the &tde; program menu by clicking on the <guiicon>big T</guiicon> icon on the toolbar at the bottom left of your screen. This will raise the <guimenu>program menu</guimenu>. Move your cursor up the menu to the <menuchoice><guimenu>Utilities</guimenu> <guimenuitem>Editors</guimenuitem></menuchoice> menu item. A list of available editors will appear. Choose <guimenuitem>&kate;</guimenuitem>. </para> <para> Unless you configure &kate; not to, it will load the last files you edited. See <link linkend="configure">Configuring &kate;</link> to learn how to toggle this feature on and off. </para> </sect2> <sect2 id="starting-from-the-command-line"> <title>From the Command Line</title> <para> You can start &kate; by typing its name on the command line. If you give it a file name, as in the example below, it will open or create that file. </para> <informalexample> <screen> <prompt>%</prompt><userinput><command>kate</command> <option><replaceable>myfile.txt</replaceable></option></userinput> </screen> </informalexample> <para> If you have an active connection and permission, you can take advantage of &tde;'s network transparency to open files on the internet. </para> <informalexample> <screen> <prompt>%</prompt><userinput><command>kate</command> <option><replaceable>http://git.trinitydesktop.org/cgit/tdebase/plain/doc/kate/index.docbook</replaceable></option></userinput> </screen> </informalexample> <sect3 id="command-line-options"> <title>Command Line Options</title> <para>&kate; accepts the following command line options:</para> <variablelist> <varlistentry> <term><userinput><command>kate</command> <option>--help</option></userinput></term> <listitem> <para> This lists the most basic options available at the command line. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><userinput><command>kate</command> <option>--help-qt</option></userinput></term> <listitem> <para> This lists the options available for changing the way &kate; interacts with &Qt;. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><userinput><command>kate</command> <option>--help-tde</option></userinput></term> <listitem> <para> This lists the options available for changing the way &kate; interacts with &tde;. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><userinput><command>kate</command> <option>--help-tde-tempfile</option></userinput></term> <listitem> <para> This lists the available &tde;-tempfile specific options. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><userinput><command>kate</command> <option>--help-all</option></userinput></term> <listitem> <para> This lists all of the command line options. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><userinput><command>kate</command> <option>--author</option></userinput></term> <listitem> <para> Lists &kate;'s authors in the terminal window. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><userinput><command>kate</command> <option>-v</option> <option>--version</option></userinput></term> <listitem> <para> Lists version information for &Qt;, &tde;, and &kate;. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><userinput><command>kate</command> <option>--license</option></userinput></term> <listitem> <para> Shows license information. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><userinput><command>kate</command> <option>-s</option> <option>--start</option> <parameter>name</parameter></userinput></term> <listitem> <para> Starts kate with the session <parameter>name</parameter>. The session is created if it does not exist already. If a &kate; instance running the specified session exists, the specified files are loaded in that instance. When used with the <option>--use</option> option, an instance running this session will be used as well. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><userinput><command>kate</command> <option>-u</option> <option>--use</option> <parameter>URL</parameter></userinput></term> <listitem> <para> Causes &kate; to use and existing instance if there is one. If you want all documents to open in one kate instance, you can add this option to the default command in your &tde; application configuration, as well as create a shell alias in your command intepreter if it supports that. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><userinput><command>kate</command> <option>-f</option> <option>--force-sdi</option> </userinput></term> <listitem> <para> If the multiple document interface (MDI) setting is enabled, forces &kate; to use the single document interface (SDI) mode. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><userinput><command>kate</command> <option>-p</option> <option>--pid</option> <parameter>PID</parameter></userinput></term> <listitem> <para> Only reuses an instance with the specified PID (Process ID). Used with the <option>--use</option> option. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><userinput><command>kate</command> <option>-e</option> <option>--encoding</option> <parameter>encoding</parameter> <parameter>URL</parameter></userinput></term> <listitem><para>Uses the specified encoding for the document. </para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><userinput><command>kate</command> <option>-l</option> <option>--line</option> <parameter>line</parameter> <parameter>URL</parameter></userinput></term> <listitem><para>Navigates to the specified line after opening the document. </para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><userinput><command>kate</command> <option>-c</option> <option>--column</option> <parameter>column</parameter> <parameter>URL</parameter></userinput></term> <listitem><para>Navigates to the specified column after opening the document. </para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><userinput><command>kate</command> <option>-i</option> <option>--stdin</option></userinput></term> <listitem><para>Reads the document content from STDIN. This is similar to the common option <option>-</option> used in many command line programs, and allows you to pipe command output into &kate;.</para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><userinput><command>kate</command> <option>--tempfile</option></userinput></term> <listitem><para>Since &kate; 2.5.1 this standard &tde; option is supported. When used, the specified files are treated as temporary files and deleted (if they are local files and you have sufficient permissions) when closed, unless they are modified since they were opened.</para></listitem> </varlistentry> </variablelist> </sect3> </sect2> <sect2 id="drag-and-drop"> <title>Drag and Drop</title> <para> &kate; uses the &tde; Drag and Drop protocol. Files may be dragged and dropped onto &kate; from the Desktop, &konqueror; or some remote ftp site opened in one of &konqueror;'s windows. </para> </sect2> </sect1> <sect1 id="working-with-kate"> <title>Working with &kate;</title> <para> <link linkend="quick-start">Quick Start</link> will show you how to toggle four simple options that will let you configure some of &kate;'s more powerful features right away. <link linkend="keystroke-commands"> Shortcuts</link> lays out some of the default keystroke shortcuts for those who can't or don't want to use a mouse. </para> <sect2 id="quick-start"> <title>Quick Start</title> <para> This section will describe some of the items on the <guimenu>Settings</guimenu> menu so that you can quickly configure &kate; to work the way you want it. </para> <para> When you start &kate; for the first time you'll see two windows with white backgrounds. Above the two windows is a toolbar with the usual labeled icons. And above that, a menubar. </para> <para> The left-hand window is a side bar. It combines the Documents and Filesystem Browser windows. Switch between the two by clicking on the tabs to the left of the window.</para> <para> If you've started &kate; with a file, the right-hand window will show the file you are editing and the Documents on the side bar will show the name of the file. Use the Filesystem Browser window to open files. </para> <para> You can toggle the Documents and Filesystem Browser window on and off in <menuchoice><guimenu>Window</guimenu><guimenu>Tool Views</guimenu></menuchoice> menu. This menu offers you your first glimpse into &kate;'s power and flexibility. In this section we'll look at three items: </para> <variablelist> <varlistentry> <term> <menuchoice> <guimenuitem>Show/Hide Documents</guimenuitem> </menuchoice> </term> <listitem> <para> Toggles the Documents on and off. If the Documents/Filesystem Browser side bar window is not open, &kate; will open the side bar window.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><menuchoice><guimenuitem>Show/Hide Filesystem Browser</guimenuitem></menuchoice></term> <listitem> <para> Toggles the Filesystem Browser on and off. This menu item is the same as <guimenuitem>Show Documents</guimenuitem> with one difference. Toggling it on launches the window with the Filesystem Browser on top. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><menuchoice><guimenuitem>Show/Hide Terminal</guimenuitem></menuchoice></term> <listitem> <para> Toggles a terminal emulator on and off at the bottom of &kate;'s window. In other words, it gives you a command line within the application. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> </variablelist> </sect2> <sect2 id="keystroke-commands"> <title>Shortcuts</title> <para> Many of &kate;'s keystroke commands (shortcuts) are configurable by way of the <link linkend="settings">Settings</link> menu. By default &kate; honors the following key bindings. </para> <informaltable> <tgroup cols="2"> <tbody> <row><entry><para><keycap>Insert</keycap></para></entry> <entry><para> Toggle between Insert and Overwrite mode. When in insert mode the editor will add any typed characters to the text and push any previously typed data to the right of the text cursor. Overwrite mode causes the entry of each character to eliminate the current character.</para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo><keycap>Left Arrow</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para>Move the cursor one character to the left </para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo><keycap>Right Arrow</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para> Move the cursor one character to the right </para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul"><keycap>Up Arrow</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para> Move the cursor up one line </para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul"><keycap>Down Arrow</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para> Move the cursor down one line </para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul"><keycap>Page Up</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para> Move the cursor up one page </para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul"><keycap>Page Down</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para>Move the cursor down one page </para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul"><keycap>Backspace</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para> Delete the character to the left of the cursor </para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul"><keycap>Home</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para> Move the cursor to the beginning of the line </para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul"><keycap>End</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para> Move the cursor to the end of the line </para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul"><keycap>Delete</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para>Delete the character to the right of the cursor (or any selected text)</para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul">&Shift;<keycap>Left Arrow</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para> Mark text one character to the left </para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul">&Shift;<keycap>Right Arrow</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para> Mark text one character to the right </para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul"><keycap>F1</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para> Help</para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul">&Shift;<keycap>F1</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para><link linkend="whats-this">What's this?</link></para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;<keycap>F</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para><link linkend="kate-part-find-replace">Find</link></para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul"><keycap>F3</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para>Find again</para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;<keycap>B</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para>Set a Bookmark</para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;<keycap>C</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para> Copy the marked text to the clipboard.</para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;<keycap>N</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para> <link linkend="new">New</link> document</para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;<keycap>P</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para><link linkend="print">Print</link> </para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;<keycap>Q</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para>Quit - close active copy of editor </para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;<keycap>R</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para><link linkend="kate-part-find-replace">Replace</link></para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;<keycap>S</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para>Save your file.</para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;<keycap>V</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para> Paste.</para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;<keycap>X</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para>Delete the marked text and copy it to the clipboard.</para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;<keycap>Z</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para><link linkend="edit-undo">Undo</link></para></entry> </row> <row> <entry><para><keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;&Shift;<keycap>Z</keycap></keycombo></para></entry> <entry><para><link linkend="edit-redo">Redo</link></para></entry> </row> </tbody> </tgroup> </informaltable> </sect2> </sect1> <sect1 id="fundamentals-using-sessions"> <title>Using Sessions</title> <para>Sessions is how &kate; lets you keep more than one list of files and GUI configuration around. You can have as many named sessions as you want, and you can use unnamed or anonymous sessions for files you want to use only once. Currently &kate; can save the list of open files, and the general window configuration in the session, future versions of &kate; may add more features that can be saved in sessions. With the introduction of sessions, &kate; also allows you to open any number of instances of the application instead of just one as it used to do as the default behavior.</para> <para>Sessions are supported in three areas: <itemizedlist> <listitem><para><link linkend="command-line-options"><emphasis>Command line options</emphasis></link> that lets you select and start sessions when launching kate from the command line.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para><link linkend="sessions-menu"><emphasis>The Sessions menu</emphasis></link> that lets you switch, save, start and manage your sessions</para></listitem> <listitem><para><link linkend="config-dialog-sessions"><emphasis>Configuration options</emphasis></link> that lets you decide how sessions generally should behave.</para></listitem> </itemizedlist> </para> <para>When starting a new session, the GUI configuration of <guilabel>Default Session</guilabel> is loaded. To save window configuration in the default session, you need to enable saving window configuration in the sessions configuration page of the configuration dialog and then load the default session, set up the window as desired and save the session again.</para> <para>When a named session is loaded, &kate; will display the session name at the start of the window title, which then have the form "<replaceable>Session Name</replaceable>: <replaceable>Document name or &URL;</replaceable> - &kate;"</para> <para>When opening files on the command line with <option>--start <replaceable>name</replaceable></option> or if a session is selected using the session chooser, the specified session is loaded prior to the files specified on the command line. To open files from the command line in a new, unnamed session, configure kate to start a new session per default in the session page of the configuration dialog or use <option>--start</option> with an empty string: <replaceable>''</replaceable>.</para> <para>Since &kate; 2.5.1 the <acronym>PID</acronym> of the current instance is exported to the environment variable <envar>KATE_PID</envar>. When opening files from the built in terminal, Kate will automatically select the current instance if nothing else is indicated on the command line.</para> <sect2 id="old-behavior"> <title>Restoring old style &kate; behavior</title> <para>When you get used to using sessions you will hopefully see that they provide a very simple and efficient tool for working in different areas. However, if you prefer the old &kate; behavior (one instance opens all files), you can easily achieve that by following this simple strategy: <itemizedlist> <listitem><para>Make &kate; always start with the <option>--use</option> parameter by adding that to the command in the application preferences, and additionally using a shell alias.</para></listitem> <listitem><para>Configure &kate; to load the last used session at startup.</para> </listitem> <listitem><para>Configure &kate; to save the file list when closing a session. </para></listitem> <listitem><para>Load the default session once</para></listitem> </itemizedlist> </para> </sect2> </sect1> <sect1 id="fundamentals-getting-help"> <title>Getting Help</title> <variablelist> <varlistentry> <term>This manual</term> <listitem> <para>Offers detailed documentation on all menu commands, configuration options, tools, dialogs, plugins &etc; as well as a description of the &kate; window, the editor and various concepts used in the application.</para> <para>Press <keycap>F1</keycap> or use the <menuchoice><guimenu>Help</guimenu> <guimenuitem>Kate handbook</guimenuitem></menuchoice> menu topic to view this manual.</para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry id="whats-this"> <term>What's This Help</term> <listitem> <para>What's This Help offers immediate help with single elements of graphical windows, such as buttons or other window areas.</para> <para>We strive to provide What's This Help for any element for which it makes sense. It is available throughout the configuration dialog, and in many other dialogs as well.</para> <para>To employ What's This Help, press <keycombo>&Shift;<keycap>F1</keycap></keycombo> or use the <menuchoice><guimenu>Help</guimenu><guimenuitem>What's This</guimenuitem></menuchoice> menu item to enable What's This mode. The cursor will turn into an arrow with a question mark, and you can now click any element in the window to read the What's This Help for that element, if it is available.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>Help Buttons in Dialogs</term> <listitem> <para>Some dialogs have a <guibutton>Help</guibutton> Button. Pressing it will start the &khelpcenter; and open the relevant documentation.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> </variablelist> </sect1> </chapter>