Browsing the Web

Konqueror's Web Browser Interface

You can launch the Konqueror web browser by clicking on this icon in the panel or by selecting Internet+Web browsers->Konqueror from the main menu.

Рисунок 7.1. Konqueror as a Web Browser

Konqueror as a Web Browser

Tool bar. Where all buttons to navigate and perform common actions are located (see «Surfing the Web»).

Location Bar. Where you enter a site's URL (or a local file using file:// as the protocol part of the URL).

Bookmarks Bar. It contains buttons which give you quick access to your bookmarked (favorite) sites.

Page Display Area. Where the contents of the web sites and local files you browse are displayed.

Surfing the Web

The following table summarizes the most commonly used navigation buttons Konqueror's web browser provides.

Таблица 7.1. Konqueror's Web Browser Tool Bar Buttons

ButtonKeyboard ShortcutFunction
Alt-left_arrow

Go back. Returns to the page visited before the current one. By clicking on it more than once, you can go back more than one page, but some pages use automatic redirection so this might not always work. Keeping this button pressed (or clicking on the little black triangle on its right) will show you a list of all the URLs you can access through this feature.

Alt-right_arrow

Go forward. Returns to the page visited after the current one being visited. The same back-button considerations apply.

F5

Reload. Refreshes the current page. By default, Konqueror will first look for the page in the browser's cache (on-disk temporary storage space) and use the local copy. Press the Shift key while clicking on the reload button to force Konqueror to fetch the page from the Internet.

Esc

Stop. Aborts transferring the currently requested object and will therefore cancel the page currently being loaded. Notice that we use the word «object» instead of «page». This is due to the fact that web pages are not only HTML code but images and maybe other media too.

Managing Bookmarks

Bookmarks store the URLs of your favorite web sites so you don't have to type their address again when you want to access them. You can classify them by subject, category, etc. Your Mandrakelinux system already has some bookmark categories predefined which you can use as a guide to arrange yours. Selecting Bookmarks->Edit Bookmarks from the browser's menu will open the bookmarks manager shown in Рисунок 7.2, «Konqueror's Bookmarks Manager Dialog».

Рисунок 7.2. Konqueror's Bookmarks Manager Dialog

Konqueror's Bookmarks Manager Dialog

Bookmarks are arranged as a tree, with all operations taking place on the currently selected tree node. The following operations are available:

  • Create Folder. Click on this button, or select Insert->Create New Folder... from the menu to create a new folder. A dialog will pop up asking you for the folder's name: fill it and click on the OK button. Use folders to group bookmarks by subject, category, etc. Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-N.

  • Create Bookmark. Click on this button, or select Insert->Create New Bookmark from the menu to create a new bookmark entry. A new entry will be added below the current node or inside the current folder. Double-click on the URL column at the bookmark's row, type the bookmark's URL and press the Enter key to set the bookmark's URL. Proceed the same way, but this time on the Bookmark column to set the bookmark's name.

  • Delete Object. Click on this button, or select Edit->Delete from the menu to delete the currently selected object: either a bookmark, a separator or a folder. You won't be asked for confirmation, the object will be deleted immediately. Keyboard shortcut: Del.

  • Insert Separator. Select Insert->Insert Separator from the menu to add a separating line below the current node. Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-I.

  • Rename. Right-click on a bookmark or a folder and select Rename to change the bookmark's name. The bookmark's name is the text which is displayed in that bookmark's entry. Keyboard shortcut: F2.

  • Change URL. Right click on a bookmark and select Change URL to change the URL the bookmark points to. You will be able to edit the bookmark's URL column, make your changes and press the Enter key to change the URL. Keyboard shortcut: F3.

Bookmarks can be exported to different browser formats. Feel free to explore the File->Export menu. A standard dialog will pop up asking you for the bookmark's file name (for example bookmarks.html for Mozilla). Type the file name and click on the Save button. Some export entries may not pop up the said dialog. In those cases, bookmarks will automatically be exported to a location dependent of the browser format.

Bookmarks can also be imported from different browser's formats. Feel free to explore the File->Import menu. A standard dialog will pop up asking you for the bookmark's file name. Browse the dialog for the file, select it and click on the Open button.

[Note]Замечание

Both export and import file dialogs are «intelligent», in the sense that they'll start from the directory and will show the file types that best fit the menu entry you've selected.

Once you're satisfied with your changes, click on this button or select File->Save from the menu to store the new bookmarks. Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-S.

Tabbed Browsing

Рисунок 7.3. Konqueror's Browser Tabs

Konqueror's Browser Tabs

Konqueror's web browser lets you browse many web pages at a time by using a very nice feature called tabbed browsing. Instead of opening a new browser window every time you want to view another page you can open a new tab.

Clicking on this button in the tool bar, or choosing Window->New Tab from the menu will create and open a new tab. You can now input the URL or select a bookmarked site to browse that site. Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-Shift-N.

Clicking on this button in the tool bar, or choosing Window->Close Tab from the menu will close the currently displayed tab. Click on a tab's title to display the contents of that specific tab. Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-W.

Right-click on a tab's title and select Close Other Tabs to close all tabs except the one currently displayed. Right-click on a page's link and select Open in New Tab to open that link in a tab, but not displaying that tab immediately. This last feature is very handy to open several linked sites at the time «to look at them later» without leaving the site you are currently browsing.

Konqueror Web Browser and Plugins

Рисунок 7.4. Plugins Settings under Konqueror

Plugins Settings under Konqueror

Plugins are programs which let your browser handle content other than HTML and graphics, such as animations, streaming audio, Java applets, and more. Konqueror uses Mozilla and netscape plugins. Select Settings->Configure Konqueror... from the menu and open the Plugins section to set Konqueror's plugins' preferences (see Рисунок 7.4, «Plugins Settings under Konqueror»).

After you've (optionally) downloaded and installed the corresponding plugins, click on the Scan for New Plugins button to have Konqueror recognize and set up the installed plugins: all directories listed in the Scan Folders list will be searched for.

You can view which plugins are set up in the Plugins tab. By default, only the Netscape Plugins (which gives Konqueror access to Mozilla's and netscape's plugins) is installed. Once you're satisfied with the settings, click on the OK button to make them effective.