KDE3 Quick Fixes
The page contains a number of tweaks and fixes needed, or that I prefer, for KDE3 on openSuSE. Many are also applicable to KDE4 which I will move to when forced to at the point of a gun (or when kde3 is no longer available). Note I have a number of fixes that I have yet to move to this page. If you don't find what you are looking for now, check back in a little while.
Size of 'menu entries' in the traditional kmenu
vi ~/.kde/share/config/kickerrc (or use your favorite editor)
search for the section [menus] and add the variable "MenuEntryHeight=25" the default value used to be "32" and acceptable values are between 20 to 32. (it can be as small as 16 if you like to squint) I prefer 25. A proper location for the entry is below (above or in) the following group of variables:
MenuEntryFormat=NameAndDescription NumVisibleEntries=6 MenuEntryHeight=25
restart the menu to accept the changes:
[Alt]+[F2], then type: "dcop kicker panel restart" and run it - the screen will flash for a second and the panel will restart. the Menu should appear with your changes.
Different Command Lines to Try:
dcop kicker panel restart dcop kicker kicker restart
Thoughts about the new 'box' type menu
In my opinion the new box-style start menu is just too inefficient and cumbersome to try and navigate. Too much of every separate menu in the box is hidden. I just want to open the menu, see the entire thing, and pick an application or sublevel. I don't want to have to open a menu AND have to use a scroll-bar to find the hidden part of the menu and then have to use another scroll-bar on the next sublevel, or have to drop the mouse and type in a search and have a query find it either. Picky, I know, but I subscribe to the old kde goal of efficiency, that everything should be done with an absolute MINIMUM number of inputs required on the part of the user to accomplish any one task -- that's just logical to me.
