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KDE Plasma 5
KDE Plasma is a desktop environment developed by the KDE Community. KDE Plasma is based on the Qt framework. Funtoo Linux offers KDE Plasma together with a variety of Applications also from KDE. Through Qt and a common platform of libraries (KDE Frameworks), KDE Plasma combined with KDE Applications aims to deliver a desktop environment that is tightly integrated and visually consistent.
Funtoo Linux offers KDE Plasma 5, Applications and Frameworks.
The aim of this guide is to detail the steps required to complete a default installation of KDE Plasma 5 on x86 architectures. It assumes the initial completion of the Install guide.
To install the KDE SC 4 instead see the page KDE SC 4. Development of KDE SC 4 has mostly concluded.
Pre-Installation
The following instructions are written for a new installation of Funtoo Linux performed using the Install guide.
Funtoo Profiles
Correctly setting Funtoo Profiles is required to install KDE. Review the selected profiles using epro.
root # epro show === Enabled Profiles: === arch: x86-64bit build: current subarch: intel64-haswell flavor: core mix-ins: (not set) === All inherited flavors from core flavor: === minimal (from core flavor)
The recommended flavor for KDE is desktop. This can be selected with the command epro flavor desktop
root # epro flavor desktop === Enabled Profiles: === arch: x86-64bit build: current subarch: intel64-haswell flavor: desktop mix-ins: (not set) >>> Set flavor to desktop.
Following a flavor change an update of Funtoo packages is required
root # emerge --ask --update --verbose --deep --newuse --with-bdeps=y @world
This command can be shortened to
root # emerge -auvDN --with-bdeps=y @world
Install the X Window System
KDE requires the X Window System (X11) to present graphics (video) and receive input (keyboard, mouse, joystick, etc.). Configuration is required for X11 to work with the video card on the target hardware. Use the Video guide to determine the appropriate VIDEO_CARDS entry for Funtoo Linux. With your favorite editor, edit make.conf to include the setting appropriate for the target video hardware.
/etc/portage/make.conf - example for Intel HD GraphicsVIDEO_CARDS="intel i965"
Now install the X Window System by merging the meta-package No results
root # emerge --ask --verbose x11-base/xorg-x11
Localization
To install KDE for a language other than English (United States) add an appropriate LINGUAS entry to /etc/portage/make.conf
/etc/portage/make.conf - Example for English (United Kingdom)LINGUAS="en_GB"
More information on Localization can be found at Funtoo Linux Localization.
Emerge KDE Plasma 5
The Funtoo Profiles were earlier set to the desktop flavor. Now an additional mix-in profile is required to provide a smooth installation of KDE Plasma 5.
There are two KDE-related mix-ins available in Funtoo: kde and kde-plasma-5.
For KDE Plasma 5 the correct mix-in is "kde-plasma-5". DO NOT add "kde" instead of "kde-plasma-5" or add both at the same time - they are incompatible.
Add the mix-in using epro
root # epro mix-in kde-plasma-5 === Enabled Profiles: === arch: x86-64bit build: current subarch: intel64-haswell flavor: desktop mix-ins: kde-plasma-5 >>> Added kde-plasma-5 mix-in.
Now KDE Plasma 5 can be merged.
This is performed by merging the package kde-plasma/plasma-meta. This will install the Plasma Desktop (KDE Plasma 5) and supporting libraries and services (KDE Frameworks, Qt, etc.).
Since the Profile has changed (added mix-in) the world set of packages must be updated as well. These actions can be performed in one step
root # emerge -auvDN --with-bdeps=y @world kde-plasma/plasma-meta
Once completed continue on to the next chapter to install one or more KDE Applications. If this is not desired then instead proceed to the chapter Configure and Start KDE Plasma.
Installing kde-plasma/plasma-meta alone will result in a minimal desktop environment (KDE Plasma 5). Several key features of a desktop environment such as an integrated terminal emulator and file manager are NOT installed automatically with kde-plasma/plasma-meta.
Installing KDE Applications while optional is recommended.
Install KDE Applications (Optional)
In addition to the Plasma Desktop the KDE Community also produces a number of applications. These KDE Applications are designed to integrate well with the Plasma desktop, sharing the same underlying set of libraries and services (KDE Frameworks).
KDE Applications appear in the Portage Tree under the group 'kde-apps'. Applications of a similar theme have been grouped together into convenient 'meta-packages' to assist with installation. Currently the available KDE Applications meta-packages for Plasma 5 are:
| meta-package ebuild | description |
|---|---|
kde-apps/kdeaccessibility-meta | Applications providing Accessibility features such as text-to-speech and screen magnification. |
kde-apps/kdeadmin-meta | System log viewer (ksyslog) and Task Scheduler (kcron). |
kde-apps/kdeartwork-meta | Additional wallpapers, themes and icons for Plasma. |
kde-apps/kdebase-runtime-meta | Various base utilities for Plasma. |
kde-apps/kdecore-meta | File manager (Dolphin), Terminal Emulator (Konsole) and other basic applications. Recommended. |
kde-apps/kdeedu-meta | Education-related applications covering topics such as mathematics and geography. |
kde-apps/kdegames-meta | Several games from the KDE Community. |
kde-apps/kdegraphics-meta | Graphics applications. Includes an image viewer (Gwenview) and document viewer (Okular). |
kde-apps/kdemultimedia-meta | Multimedia applications including a video/media player (Dragon) and editor (Kdenlive). |
kde-apps/kdenetwork-meta | Remote desktop viewers, download manager and other networking utilities. |
kde-apps/kdesdk-meta | Software Development Kit (SDK) tools for KDE. |
kde-apps/kdetoys-meta | A "desktop-dwelling creature" (AMOR) and screensaver featuring Tux. |
kde-apps/kdeutils-meta | Various utility applications including a calculator (kcalc), free disk space utility (kdf) and archiving tool (ark). |
kde-apps/kdewebdev-meta | Web development utilities. |
kde-apps/plasma-telepathy-meta | Plasma Telepathy Client for instant messaging. |
These meta-packages can be installed one-by-one. For example, kde-apps/kdecore-meta:
root # emerge -av kdecore-meta
There is also a meta-package for the KDE Applications collection - kde-apps/kde-apps-meta. Depending on the USE flags of the target system this package will install most (if not all) meta-packages from the table above, together with the advanced text editor Kate (kde-apps/kate):
root # emerge -av kde-apps-meta
There exists a meta-package kde-apps/kde-meta. With the mix-in kde-plasma-5 added, installing this package is equivalent to manually installing kde-plasma/plasma-meta followed by kde-apps/kde-apps-meta.
Once the final emerge has completed continue on to the next chapter to configure and start KDE Plasma.
Configure and Start KDE
OpenRC
After the many packages have been merged portage will present a variety of post-install messages. A number of these will request that critical services are started first in order for KDE to work. Typically these are ALSA (No results), ConsoleKit (No results), DBus (sys-apps/dbus), and UDev (No results). Since the desktop flavor has been set CUPS (No results) will also be included.
Issue the following commands to set these essential services to start automatically via OpenRC (sys-apps/openrc)
root # rc-update add alsasound boot root # rc-update add cupsd default root # rc-update add consolekit default
DBus is usually started when these services start.
UDev is usually rebuilt during an install of KDE due to changes in USE flags from changing Profile flavor and mix-ins. To accommodate changes it is best to restart the service.
root # /etc/init.d/udev --nodeps restart
Do not confuse the UDev package eudev (sys-fs/eudev) with evdev! evdev is the generic input device driver for the X Window System (x11-drivers/xf86-input-evdev)!
Create a User Account
Now is the appropriate point to create a user account for use with KDE Plasma. The following example creates a user alice and associates that account with the Groups lp, lpadmin, plugdev, users, video and wheel. A home directory for the account alice will be created at /home/alice.
root # useradd -m -G games,lp,lpadmin,plugdev,users,video,wheel alice
Now set a password for alice
root # passwd alice
Starting KDE with a Display (Login) Manager
The recommended Display Manager for KDE Plasma 5 is SDDM - x11-misc/sddm. Installing KDE Plasma 5 with the kde-plasma-5 mix-in installs SDDM.
A few steps must first be completed in order for SDDM to work correctly . The first step is to create a configuration file for SDDM as one is not created automatically. Generate one using the following command
root # sddm --example-config > /etc/sddm.conf
The configuration file now exists at /etc/sddm.conf. Edit this file with your favorite editor, changing the option 'Current' to be equal to 'breeze' - the KDE Plasma 5 default theme.
/etc/sddm.conf - Change the line Current=[Theme]
# Current theme name
Current=breeze
Next it is required to allow SDDM access the video hardware. This is achieved by adding the user sddm to the group video with the following command
root # gpasswd -a sddm video
The final steps involve configuring OpenRC to load SDDM during startup.
Edit /etc/conf.d/xdm with your favorite editor, updating the DISPLAYMANAGER entry to equal 'sddm'.
/etc/conf.d/xdm DISPLAYMANAGER="sddm"
Now add xdm to the default runlevel of OpenRC.
root # rc-update add xdm default
The display manager SDDM should appear at the end of computer boot. To avoid an unnecessary restart you can launch SDDM/KDE from here with a simple command
root # rc
You will be presented with a login screen. Input devices (mouse, keyboard) should be working at this stage. Logging in will take you to the KDE Plasma 5 desktop.
This concludes the basic installation of KDE Plasma on Funtoo Linux.
Tips and Tricks
KDE Applications - Internationalization
If installing KDE Applications via the meta-package kde-app/kde-apps-meta (or kde-apps/kde-meta) add the following line to /etc/portage/package.use
/etc/portage/package.use kde-apps/kde-apps-meta nls
Then emerge kde-apps/kde-apps-meta (or kde-apps/kde-meta).
Dolphin File Manager
The KDE file manager for Plasma 5, Dolphin, is not installed by default with kde-plasma/plasma-meta.
Emerge the application kde-apps/dolphin on its own or as part of the meta-package kde-apps/kdecore-meta.
Plasma 5 Terminal Emulator (Konsole)
The terminal emulator from KDE for Plasma 5 is Konsole. This is not installed by default with kde-plasma/plasma-meta.
Konsole can be installed on its own (emerge kde-apps/konsole) or as part of the meta-package kde-apps/kdecore-meta.
Another option is the application kde-misc/yakuake is a Quake-style terminal emulator based on Konsole. (Yakuake installs Konsole as a dependency.)
How to Control the Appearance of GTK+ Applications under Plasma 5
This content is work-in-progress!
Need kde-plasma/kde-gtk-config, kde-plasma/breeze-gtk. These are a dependencies of plasma-meta with USE gtk.
Edit package.use Emerge
Go to System Settings>Application Style>GNOME Application Style (GTK)
Alternatives to the Application Launcher
The application-launching widget on the default panel in Plasma 5 is the Application Launcher. The widget icon is the letter K on top of a cog/gear.
Plasma 5 offers three different launchers:
| Widget | description |
|---|---|
| Application Dashboard | A fullscreen application launcher. This is the new application launcher found in Plasma 5. Arguably the best launcher for touchscreen devices. |
| Application Launcher | Launcher to start applications. This is similar to the default launcher in KDE SC 4. This is the default launcher with kde-plasma/plasma-meta. |
| Application Menu | A launcher based on cascading popup menus. This is similar to the application launcher that was present in KDE 3.x. |
To change the widget, right-click on the widget and select Alternatives. Choose the desired widget and then left-click on Switch. If the option Alternative was not available, instead select Unlock Widgets, then start again.
Use LightDM as an alternative Display (Login) Manager
This content is work-in-progress!
edit /etc/portage/package.use > "kde-plasma/plasma-meta -sddm"
root # emerge -av kdebase-runtime-meta lightdm
edit /etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf edit /etc/conf.d/xdm
Troubleshooting
Application Launcher Icons Displayed with Incorrect Theme
Following a fresh install of kde-plasma/plasma-meta, application icons within the default Application Launcher appear using the Oxygen icon theme. The Oxygen theme is synonymous with KDE SC 4, while a new theme was created by KDE for Plasma 5 - Breeze. By default Plasma 5 is set to use the Breeze theme for icons.
Using the Application Launcher, browse to and open the application System Settings. Alternatively, use the key combination Alt+F2 to open a run menu and search for System Settings.
Under the System Settings menu open Icons found within the Appearance group. The tab Theme will indicate that the currently selected theme is Breeze. Re-select this theme: either double left-click with the mouse pointer or use arrow keys to deselect/re-select. Update the icon theme with the Apply button. Close System Settings.
Applications within the Application Launcher will appear using the Plasma 5 icon theme Breeze.
Audio Volume Control Missing
Audio controls are not installed with kde-plasma/plasma-meta.
Emerge the Plasma mixer gui kde-apps/kmix on its own or as part of the multimedia meta-package, kde-apps/kdemultimedia-meta.
Improve the Appearance of LibreOffice Menus and Toolbar Icons
With KDE Plasma 5, LibreOffice (app-office/libreoffice) is built with the USE kde enabled. As a matter of taste some users may dislike the appearance of the menus and taskbar icons when this USE is enabled under Plasma 5. It is possible that this feature remains optimized for KDE SC 4, not Plasma 5.
One option is to installed LibreOffice with preference to the GTK+-based interface. This can then be themed to match the Plasma 5 theme, breeze.
With root privileges, edit the file /etc/portage/package.use to add the following entries
/etc/portage/package.use app-office/libreoffice -kde
kde-plasma/plasma-meta gtk
Now re-emerge plasma-meta to install the dependencies required when USE gtk is enabled.
root # emerge -av libreoffice
Finally, (re-)emerge LibreOffice
root # emerge -av plasma-meta
Follow the instructions under Tips and Tricks to control the visual style of GTK+ applications, matching the other styles set under System Settings.
External Links
KDE.org - www.kde.org
KDE Plasma Desktop - www.kde.org/workspaces/plasmadesktop/
KDE Applications - www.kde.org/applications/
Gentoo Linux Wiki - wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/KDE
Phoronix - "KDE Plasma 5.5: The Quintessential 2016 Review" - http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=kde-2016-review&num=1