User Guide

This is the new top-level page for the wiki-based work on the Fedora User Guide.

• Fedora 8 version

Documentation Summary

Purpose: How to accomplish specific tasks with the desktop applications in Fedora 9. 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 or live instance 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 Administration_Guide further documents detailed tasks that require root access. The Getting_Started_Guide 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:

Writers:

User_Guide_contributors

User Guide Table of Contents

The links below go directly to the actual pages.

• User Guide - Introduction
• User Guide - The Fedora Desktops
• User Guide - Logging into the Desktop
• User Guide - Tour of the GNOME Desktop
• User Guide - Tour of the KDE Desktop
• User Guide - Tour of the Xfce Desktop
• User Guide - Media
• User Guide - Connecting to the Internet
• User Guide - Accessing the Web
• User Guide - Communications
• User Guide - Office Tools
• User Guide - Financial Software
• User Guide - Multimedia
• User Guide - Playing Games
• User Guide - Managing Photos
• User Guide - Sharing Your Desktop
• User Guide - Customizing the Desktop
• User Guide - Managing Software

Summary of Sections

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 Files and CDs
• Playing Video Files and VCDs

Producing Multimedia

• Converting Audio and Riping CDs
• Multimedia Editors
• Screen Casting

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

Managing Software

• Check what is installed
• See what can be installed
• Install new software
• Update existing software
• Manage update alerts
• Focus on PackageKit
• Updated information for Pirut and Pup