Questions, Answers, and Tips
Prev
Next

Chapter 1. Questions, Answers, and Tips

Frequently asked questions

1.1. Installation
1.1.1. Where can I find SuperKaramba RPM's?
1.1.2. When I try to compile, I get this error:
1.1.3. When I try to compile, I get this error:
1.1.4. After running ./configure, make and make install, the SuperKaramba executable is not where I expected it to be. When I try to run superkaramba from the command line it says command not found.
1.2. General
1.2.1. How do I get rid of the KDE panel? Do I have to keep Kicker running?
1.2.2. Can I run a system tray theme while the Kicker system tray is running?
1.2.3. How do I set up my themes to run automatically on startup?
1.2.4. Why is the Edit Script option disabled when I right mouse button click on a theme?
1.2.5. Why is the Configure Theme menu disabled when I right mouse button click on a theme?
1.3. Troubleshooting
1.3.1. My themes start up in different locations each time I start KDE.
1.3.2. The backgrounds of my themes are black instead of transparent.

1.1. Installation

1.1.1. Where can I find SuperKaramba RPM's?
1.1.2. When I try to compile, I get this error:
1.1.3. When I try to compile, I get this error:
1.1.4. After running ./configure, make and make install, the SuperKaramba executable is not where I expected it to be. When I try to run superkaramba from the command line it says command not found.
1.1.1.

Where can I find SuperKaramba RPM's?

The SuperKaramba web site (http://netdragon.sourceforge.net) has a list of user-submitted RPMs for several distributions. Other user-subm itted RPMs have been posted to kde-look.org and to the SuperKaramba Help forum.

1.1.2.

When I try to compile, I get this error:

Python.h: No such file or directory

You will need to install the python-devel package. Once that package is installed you should run ./configure and make again.

1.1.3.

When I try to compile, I get this error:

cannot find -lselinux

You will need to install the libselinux-devel package. Once that package is installed you should run ./configure and make again.

1.1.4.

After running ./configure, make and make install, the SuperKaramba executable is not where I expected it to be. When I try to run superkaramba from the command line it says command not found.

In some distributions ./configure has a default prefix path that differs to what you might expect. For example, in Mandrake the default prefix is /usr/local/kde and the executable is installed in /usr/local/kde/bin.

There are a few things you can do to fix this.

You could run ./configure --prefix=/usr to specify the prefix that you prefer and then try make and make install again. Or you could create a symbolic link in your preferred directory that links to the executable. Or you could add the install directory to your $PATH.

1.2. General

1.2.1. How do I get rid of the KDE panel? Do I have to keep Kicker running?
1.2.2. Can I run a system tray theme while the Kicker system tray is running?
1.2.3. How do I set up my themes to run automatically on startup?
1.2.4. Why is the Edit Script option disabled when I right mouse button click on a theme?
1.2.5. Why is the Configure Theme menu disabled when I right mouse button click on a theme?
1.2.1.

How do I get rid of the KDE panel? Do I have to keep Kicker running?

Many themes depend on Kicker and will not work well without it. If you don't want Kicker to show on your desktop, you can set it to auto-hide. Another solution is to change the auto-hide setting in a ~/.trinity file. For more information see the wiki page about secret configuration settings.

1.2.2.

Can I run a system tray theme while the Kicker system tray is running?

It's better not to. If you run a theme with a SysTray on it while a regular kicker systray is running, the theme will “steal” all the icons from the first systray. This is because in KDE and Gnome, the systray icons are really little windows and there is only one copy of each running. If you want to run a system tray theme, you can remove the system tray from Kicker.

1.2.3.

How do I set up my themes to run automatically on startup?

Turn on KDE session support in the TDE Control Center. When session support is enabled, any theme that is left running when you logout will automatically start on startup. For some themes you will also need to right mouse button click and reload the theme at least once after running it so that the config file will get written to your home directory.

Another solution is to create a desktop config file in the KDE autostart directory.

To create a desktop config file, open an editor and enter the following:

[Desktop Entry]
Exec=superkaramba {location of theme file}.theme
Name={theme name}
Type=Application
X-TDE-StartupNotify=false

Then save it as themename.desktop into the autostart directory at $TDEHOME/Autostart/.

1.2.4.

Why is the Edit Script option disabled when I right mouse button click on a theme?

Some SuperKaramba themes don't include a Python script. This is normal and those themes will still work fine without one. However, if the theme does use a Python script, SuperKaramba may have not been able to load the script. This is usually due to Python errors. Run the theme from the command line to find out the specific error message.

1.2.5.

Why is the Configure Theme menu disabled when I right mouse button click on a theme?

The Configure Theme menu is only enabled if the theme has added options to it. Some themes do not have any configuration options or use a different configuration method.

1.3. Troubleshooting

1.3.1. My themes start up in different locations each time I start KDE.
1.3.2. The backgrounds of my themes are black instead of transparent.
1.3.1.

My themes start up in different locations each time I start KDE.

Close all SuperKaramba themes and then delete any session files in $TDEHOME/share/config/session/ that begin with SuperKaramba. Restart KDE and start your themes again. Now they will stay in the right place.

1.3.2.

The backgrounds of my themes are black instead of transparent.

In KDE, transparency only works when the desktop background is a wallpaper image that is centered or scaled. If the background is a plain color or a tiled image then SuperKaramba themes will not be transparent. In Gnome, there is a known issue that themes will have a black background even when a wallpaper is set. Unfortunately there is no current solution. Your theme should work fine otherwise.

Prev
Next
Home


Would you like to comment or contribute an update to this page?
Send feedback to the TDE Development Team