The KDE-PIM Suite is the collective name for the individual programs that handle functions that traditionally fall under the term "personal information management." Whereas Evolution is one program with many components, each part of the KDE-PIM Suite is a standalone program. One new member of the PIM suite is Kontact, which is a container program that allows all the individual programs to be accessed as one, similar to Outlook and Evolution. Because the PIM suite programs can still be accessed and used separately, that is how we will go through them. Kontact
Kontact groups all the components of the KDE-PIM Suite into one easy-to-use interface. The PIM programs used to be a collection that sorta, kind of worked together as one in a clumsy way. Kontact brings most of the PIM functions together smoothly. Kontact even has the component buttons running down the left side of the window, as Outlook and Evolution do. This program makes access to groupware functions much easier and features a Summary screen. Kontact links to the Summary component (see Figure 7.7), Mail (KMail), Contacts (KAddressBook), To-Do List (the to-do portion of KOrganizer), Calendar (KOrganizer), News (KNode), and Notes (KNotes). The Summary screen only lets you customize the weather, but otherwise Kontact makes using the KDE-PIM Suite a better experience. Figure 7.7. The Kontact Summary component.KMailKMail is covered in detail in Topic 6. KDE lists KMail as a part of the PIM suite. KMail uses KAddressBook for contact management. KAddressBook
The interface of KAddressBook is similar to many other KDE programs (see Figure 7.8). Standard icons for common toolbar buttons make you feel at home if you have been using KDE a lot. The program is simple and concentrates on giving you flexible options for viewing your contacts. If you only need to manage a personal address book and prefer to have the most simplicity possible, KAddressBook might be the best choice. Figure 7.8. The default view of KAddressBook.
The KAddressBook toolbar is below the menu bar, with the usual buttons you expect to see, but you also have special buttons for searching, changing your view, and sorting contacts on a second toolbar below. There are two search options on the toolbar. The Incremental Search bar is a simple search with no case-sensitive limitation. Another toolbar button looks like it should be a search also. It sort of is, but the Look Up Addresses in Directory button on the toolbar is used only when you have an LDAP server set up. If you don't know what an LDAP server is, we can probably guess that you don't have one set up. The last item of interest on the toolbar is the Filters choice. You can filter only by categories. There are plenty of default categories, but you can edit the categories list. The editor for the categories is buried in the Edit Contact dialog box at the bottom of the window.
KOrganizer
Why organize when you can korganize? Er, something like that. This is the calendar and task portion of the KDE-PIM Suite. With KOrganizer, you can manage your schedule, keep a journal, and manage tasks. The layout of KOrganizer is pretty simple. The current calendar month you are working in stays handy in the upper-left corner of the window. To-do items are listed below that. There is an area to manage multiple calendars on the bottom left. To the right is a large main content area. In many cases, depending on the themes you are using in your desktop environment, KDE programs are better looking than lots of GNOME/Gtk programs. KOrganizer has decided to be the exception to the rule (see Figure 7.10). The program is very usable and easy to learn, but much of the calendar displays are clumsy looking and not up to usual KDE standards. The KOrganizer calendar display from within the Kontact container is much cleaner and better looking. Figure 7.10. The default view of KOrganizer.Just like the lint in your dryer, KOrganizer isn't very pretty but has some unique aspects to it. (Yes, dryer lint is unique. Stick an old receipt and a red sock in there at the same time, and you'll see what I mean.) KOrganizer's unique aspects come in the guise of a few features in the program that are different. In the Import and Export submenus are two options that make me smile. You can Get Hot New Stuff and Upload Hot New Stuff from the menu. Now, I don't know about you, but I get happy sugar puppy excited at the prospect of "Hot New Stuff"! I mean, what could it be? The next new boy band? A preview of the latest David Hasselhoff CD? A new element on the periodic table? I know, we're all excited to see this hot new stuff. What is it? This is actually an interesting idea the folks working on KOrganizer had, despite the anticlimactic title. The Hot New Stuff feature is a way to share calendar entries with other KOrganizer users. KDE lists examples such as the World Cup soccer match or local Linux user group (LUG) meetings. To use the feature, you can download calendars from KOrganizer's Web site at http://KOrganizer.kde.org/calendars/hotstuff.html. You can keep looking for hot new stuff, but I never find any. Maybe someone will upload that David Hasselhoff info for us. KOrganizer's other fun features don't involve David Hasselhoff. I like the ability to create sub-to-do items. Let's say you have a to-do task that is "Go to the store." You could create new sub-to-do items for that task, such as "Buy live wombats; Pick up new clown suit; Don't forget to pay before leaving the store." You can also take a sub-to-do and break it out to stand alone with the Make Sub-To-Do Independent option. KOrganizer can also use a Microsoft Exchange plug-in for group features that adds an Exchange menu when it is installed. What's Next is a feature that shows you the next event in that day. It's a handy view option for anyone with a busy schedule. The to-do list is KOrganizer's task manager. The list is viewable in all calendar views to the left of the main calendar area; however, changing to the to-do list view brings your to-do list to fill the whole window, with no calendar views to distract you from chronic list making.
The Journal is a big note window to type text into. There are no word- processing functions in the journal; it's just a plain-text area. There is one journal space for each calendar day. This simplicity makes the journal flexible to be used as simple day notes or a diary.
Other KDE-PIM ModulesKAlarmThe program is a simple alarm program with a list interface to save multiple alarms. You can have the program run in the background to have alarm messages pop up after you have closed the main program window. KandyWith this program, you can sync much of the data in KDE-PIM Suite programs with a cell phone. Check out the Kandy Handbook under the Help menu for more info and to see if your phone is supported. You really need to know what you're doing to use this part of the PIM suite. KarmThis is a great little program for timing how long you are spending on certain tasks. If you work with billable hours, this is a simple way to track time spent on projects. If you spend all your time goofing around, wouldn't you like to know how much time you have been spending on solitaire games? KNotesDo you miss sticky notes? KNotes is a desktop sticky note program for jotting down notes and reminders. You can also e-mail your notes. KNotes uses KMail by default, but the command can be changed in the preferences. KonsoleKalendarYou can perform functions such as adding, deleting, and editing calendar events from the command line with this program. This is handy for performing calendar functions from within a script. All these functions can be useful if you need to access your computer remotely in a terminal. |