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<title>KDE Control Center - Panel Settings
<author>The KDE Team
<date>v1.0, April 12 1999.

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<sect>Panel and Taskbar: Location and Style 

<p>
The <em>Panel</em> contains the <em>Application
Starter</em> button, buttons for switching virtual
desktops, a clock, and various other swallowed icons
placed there by default or by the user.
<itemize>
<item>
The <bf>Location</bf> buttons select which
side of the screen the Panel is attached to. Choices
are: <bf> top</bf>,
<bf> left side</bf>, <bf> bottom</bf>, or <bf>right side</bf>.
<item>
The <bf>Taskbar</bf> displays a list of running applications.
It can be 
<bf>hidden</bf>,
displayed horizontally along the <bf>top</bf> or <bf>bottom</bf> 
of the screen,
or vertically downwards from the  <bf>top/left</bf> corner.
<item>
The <bf>Style</bf> buttons choose between three sizes of the panel:
<bf>Tiny</bf>, <bf>Normal</bf>, or <bf>Large</bf>.  This choice 
affects the size of icons used in the panel, and the placement of
virtual desktop buttons, etc.
</itemize>

<sect> Panel Options.
<p>
The ``<bf>Menu Tooltips</bf>'' section controls the Tooltips, which
are small descriptive hints about the functions of buttons and
menu items on the panel.
<itemize>
<item>
If ``<bf>Show Menu Tooltips</bf>'' is enabled, the Tooltip appears,
after a <bf>Delay</bf> set by the slider control, when the mouse
pointer is positioned above a Panel menu item.
</itemize>

The ``<bf>Visuals</bf>'' section controls
the Panel and Taskbar ``autohide'' feature:
this allows the panel and taskbar to be easily available 
when needed, but be hidden at other times
to free up space on the screen.


<itemize>
<item>
If ``<bf>Auto Hide Panel</bf>'' is selected, the Panel will ``hide''
behind the edge of the screen to which it is attached.  This happens
after the <bf>Delay</bf> set by the slider control has elapsed
since the Panel was last touched by the mouse pointer.
The Panel reappears when the screen edge behind which it is hiding
is touched with the pointer.  
The <bf>Speed</bf> with which the Panel moves into and out of
hiding is controlled by the second slider control.

<item>
The ``<bf>Auto Hide Taskbar</bf>''  feature acts on the Taskbar in the
same manner as ``Auto Hide Panel'' acts on the Panel.

<item>
The Panel (but not the Taskbar) has a second feature that allows it to
be moved off the screen.  If one of the
arrows at either end of the Panel is clicked on, the Panel  
slides parallel to the edge of the screen in the direction of
this arrow, and disappears.  Only the other arrow remains visible:
clicking on this restores the Panel.   By default, this motion
is instantaneous, but if
If ``<bf>Animate Show/Hide</bf>'' is selected, this motion takes place
smoothly, with a <bf>Speed</bf> that is controlled by the slider
control.
</itemize>


The ``<bf>Others</bf>'' section contains
options that control the placement of the user's personal
entries in the  Application Starter menu (which appears
when the big <bf>K</bf> button is selected), and the format
of the Panel clock.

By default, the KDE system applications (not configurable by the user)
are the first entries in the <bf>Application Starter</bf> menu, 
followed by a
``Personal'' menu containing the entries which belong to the
user (and reside
in  the user's <tt>~/.kde/share/applnk/</tt>
directory).  

<itemize>
<item> 
Selecting <bf>Menu Personal Menu Entries First</bf> places the user's
entries first in the Application Starter Menu, followed by a ``default''
menu which contains the system's KDE applications.
</itemize>

The default placement of the items within the user's Personal Menu
Entries puts individual application entries 
first, followed by Menu Folders
in which additional collections of application entries are grouped (e.g.,
those created when the user runs the <bf>Appfinder</bf> in the
System menu).
<itemize>
Selecting <bf>Menu Folders First</bf> causes folders in the
user's Personal Menu Entries to be placed before entries
for individual applications.
</itemize>

<bf>Panel clock format</bf>.
The panel displays the current time and date.   By default, the time is
in 24 hour time format.  Other posible selections are:
<itemize>
<item>
<bf>Clock shows time in AM/PM format.</bf>

<item>
<bf>Clock shows time in Internet beats.</bf>
</itemize>
<em>``Internet time''</em> is  a new ``universal'' time format promoted by 
the Swatch watch company,
where the 24 hour day is divided into 1000 ``beats'', measured from
midnight  UTC+1 (GMT+1), so noon UTC+1 is written as
``@500'' Internet time.
(@000 means midnight, Winter time,  at Biel, Switzerland, the location of
the company headquarters,).

<sect>Configuring Virtual Desktops
<p>
Up to eight <em>Virtual Desktops </em> may be configured.
The number chosen is shown by the  number of 
open boxes that are displayed.   
There will be a button on
the Panel corresponding to each Virtual Desktop.  
Text entered in an open  box appears as a label
on the corresponding button.

The <bf>Visible</bf> slider choses the number of
Virtual Desktops to be configured.
(Possible choices are 2,4,6, or 8).  

<p>
The <bf> Width </bf> slider adjusts the width of the
Virtual Desktop buttons on the Panel.  (Choose them
wide enough to accomodate the text with which
you labeled them.)
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