F8 User Guide

Table of Contents

 * Introduction
 * Desktops
 * Logging into the Desktop
 * Tour of the GNOME Desktop
 * Tour of the KDE Desktop
 * Tour of the Xfce Desktop
 * Using Media
 * Connecting to Internet
 * Accessing the Web
 * Communications (Email, IM)
 * Office Tools
 * Financial Software
 * Playing Multimedia (Music & Video)
 * Playing Games
 * Managing Photos
 * Sharing Your Desktop
 * Customizing the Desktop
 * Managing Software With Pirut
 * Updating Software With Pup

Single-Page Version of the User Guide

Introduction

 * Purpose of this Guide

Desktops

 * GNOME
 * KDE
 * Xfce

Logging into the Desktop

 * Entering your Username and Password

Tour of the GNOME Desktop

 * First View of the GNOME Desktop
 * The GNOME Menu Panel
 * The GNOME Desktop Area
 * The GNOME Window List Area

Tour of the KDE Desktop

 * First View of the KDE Desktop
 * The KDE Menu Panel
 * The KDE Desktop Area
 * The KDE Window List Area

Tour of the Xfce Desktop

 * First View of the Xfce Desktop
 * The Xfce Menu Panel
 * The Xfce Desktop Area
 * The Xfce Window List Area

Using Media

 * Understanding Media
 * Exploring Media
 * Writing CDs or DVDs
 * Using a USB Drive

Accessing the Web

 * Browsing the World Wide Web

Communications

 * Understanding Communications
 * Setting up Email
 * Setting up Instant Messaging

Office Tools

 * Using OpenOffice

Playing Multimedia

 * Playing Audio
 * Viewing Video

Playing Games

 * Wasting Time

Managing Photos

 * Importing photos
 * Organizing photos

Sharing Your Desktop

 * Getting Assistance

Customizing the Desktop

 * Customizing the Menu Panel
 * Changing the Background
 * Changing the Desktop Theme
 * Changing File Browsing Behavior

Documentation Summary
Purpose: How to accomplish specific tasks with the desktop applications in Fedora 8. This requires a major expansion of the content beyond the GNOME desktop to include KDE and Xfce. Other packages for common functions may also be considered, such as Thunderbird for e-mail.

Audience: Individuals who are unfamiliar with the default Fedora Desktop and who may be running their first Linux desktop.

Approach: This document explains basic principles by explaining one principle at a time. The document does not assume familiarity with any Linux/UNIX-specific terminology or concepts. Functionality is also compared, where appropriate, to what the reader may know from other OSes, particularly Microsoft Windows.

Assumptions: The reader has a standard Desktop class installation of Fedora with, including a user account with the default settings. The reader does have access to the root password. (We changed this "non-root access" assumption so that we can include more coverage of regular software updates and the installation of alternate packages and desktops.)

Related Documents: The AdministrationGuide  further documents detailed tasks that require root access. The GettingStartedGuide  is a general introduction to using Fedora. Each desktop application has integrated Help, so the scope of this document may need to be considered carefully.

Lead Writer: JohnBabich

Writers: MattBird, CodyDeHaan, DamienDurand, JonathanRoberts, MarcWiriadisastra, DanOBrien , PaulWFrields

 All Contributors