Mastering Mandriva Linux

by NeoDoc, Camille Bégnis, Christian Roy, Fabián Mandelbaum, Roberto Rosselli del Turco, Marcus Duarte, Marco De Vitis, Alice Lafox, John Rye, Wolfgang Bornath, Funda Wang, Patricia Pichardo Bégnis, Debora Rejnharc Mandelbaum, Raphaël Jadot, Pascal Rigaux, Thierry Vignaud, Giuseppe Ghibò, Pavel Maryanov, Felipe Arruda, André Machado, Laura Sebrie, Johanna Mistretta, Denis Philippov, Kasparas Adomaitis, Mario Gonzalez.

This material may only be distributed subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Open Publication License, v1.0 or later (the latest version is presently available at opencontent.org).

  • Distribution of substantively modified versions of this document is prohibited without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.

  • Distribution of the work or derivatives of the work in any standard (paper) book form is prohibited unless prior permission is obtained from the copyright holder.

Mandriva” and “DrakX” are registered trademarks in the US and/or other countries. The related “Star logo” is also registered. All rights reserved. All other copyrights embodied in this document remain the property of their respective owners.

April 2009

Abstract

This is the main official manual distributed by Mandriva Linux.


Preface
1. About Mandriva Linux
1.1. Contacting Mandriva Linux Community
1.2. Joining Mandriva Community
1.3. Purchasing Mandriva Products
1.4. Contributing to Mandriva Linux
2. About this User Guide
3. Conventions Used in this Book
3.1. Typing Conventions
3.2. General Conventions
4. Quick Install
4.1. Performing the Installation
4.2. Co-existing with Other Operating Systems
1. Free Software Daily
1. Discover your New Environment
1.1. Discovering the K Desktop Environment
1.1.1. The Desktop
1.1.2. The Panel
1.1.3. Virtual Desktops
1.2. How to Access Folders
1.2.1. Welcome Home!
1.2.2. Accessing Other Folders
1.2.3. Accessing Removable Media
1.2.4. Accessing Remote Shares
1.3. Personalizing Your Desktop
1.3.1. Changing Your Desktop's Appearance
1.3.2. Customizing Your Panel
1.4. Searching for Files
1.5. KDE Sessions
1.6. Manipulating the 3D Desktop
1.6.1. Manipulating the 3D Desktop with Compiz
1.6.2. Metisse, an Innovative Windows Manipulation System
2. Using the Internet
2.1. Writing E-mails
2.1.1. Mail Configuration
2.1.2. Mail Client Interface
2.1.3. Composing a Message
2.1.4. Folders and Filters
2.2. Stay Informed with News Feeds
2.3. Browsing the Web
2.3.1. Tab Browsing
2.3.2. Built-in Search Bar
2.3.3. Installing Plugins
3. Doing Office Work
3.1. Writing Documents
3.1.1. Word Processor Interface
3.1.2. Styles
3.1.3. Lists
3.1.4. Page Headers and Footers
3.2. Calculations and Simulations
3.2.1. Spreadsheet Interface
3.2.2. Entering Data
3.2.3. Adding Formulas
3.2.4. Charts: Explaining Data in a Simpler Way
3.3. Communicating Your Ideas
3.3.1. Presentation Interface
3.3.2. Adding Slides to Your Presentation
3.3.3. Simple Charts
3.3.4. Slide Background
3.3.5. Transitions, Animations and Effects
3.3.6. Running Your Presentation
3.4. Going Further
4. Audio, Movie and Video Applications
4.1. Audio Applications
4.1.1. amaroK Audio Player
4.1.2. Using KMix, the Mixer
4.2. Listening to Music and Watching Videos with Totem
4.2.1. Getting Started
4.2.2. Settings
4.2.3. Usage
4.3. CD and DVD Burning
4.3.1. Getting Started
4.3.2. Burning Data CDs
4.3.3. Burning Audio CDs (CDDA)
4.3.4. Audio CD Extraction or Ripping
4.3.5. Duplicating a CD
4.3.6. Erasing CD-RW media
5. Graphics Tools and Practical Devices
5.1. Graphic Art and Image Manipulation
5.1.1. GIMP
5.1.2. Vector Graphic Applications
5.2. Digital Cameras
5.2.1. Configuring Your Digital Photo Camera
5.2.2. Handling Digital Camera Storage Media
5.2.3. Transferring Pictures
5.2.4. Touching Up Pictures
5.2.5. EXIF Photographic Settings, Comments and Tags
5.2.6. Sharing your Photos
5.3. Scanning Documents and Images
5.3.1. Scanning Documents with Kooka
5.3.2. A Note About the Resolution
5.3.3. Extracting Text from Scanned Documents (OCR)
2. Configuring and Tweaking Your Box
6. Introduction to the Mandriva Linux Control Center
6.1. MCC's Components
6.2. Raise an Issue
7. Package Management
7.1. Adding and Removing Software
7.1.1. Meet Rpmdrake
7.1.2. Handling Dependencies
7.2. Updating Packages
7.3. The Software Media Manager
7.4. Package Statistics
8. Controlling a Remote Machine
8.1. Concepts
8.2. Installation and Setup
8.2.1. Controlled Computer Setup
8.2.2. Controlling Computer Setup
8.3. Connecting to a Windows® Terminal Server
8.4. Remote Control in Action
8.5. More Documentation
9. Hardware Setup
9.1. Sound System Configuration
9.1.1. Changing Drivers
9.1.2. Other Sound Options
9.2. Configuring Your Hardware
9.2.1. Hardware Detection and Configuration
9.2.2. Problems and Troubleshooting
9.3. Configuring a 3D Desktop
9.3.1. Metisse
9.3.2. Compiz Fusion
9.3.3. No 3D desktop effects
9.4. Controlling the Graphical Configuration
9.4.1. XFdrake Interface
9.4.2. Changing the Monitor
9.4.3. Changing the Resolution
9.5. Changing Your Keyboard Layout
9.6. Changing Your Mouse
9.7. Configuring Printers
9.7.1. Adding a Printer
9.7.2. Changing Printer Configuration
9.8. Installing and Sharing Scanners
9.8.1. Main Interface and Scanner Installation
9.8.2. Share your Scanner
9.9. Configuring a Fax Server
9.10. Setting up your UPS
10. Setting up your Network and Accessing the Web
10.1. Network and Internet Connection Management
10.1.1. Setting up a New Network Interface
10.1.2. Network Center: Reconfiguring and Monitoring Network Interfaces
10.1.3. Monitoring Connections
10.1.4. Reconfiguring a Network Interface
10.2. Proxies Configuration
10.3. Sharing an Internet Connection
10.3.1. The Gateway Connection Wizard
10.3.2. Disable Connection Sharing
10.3.3. Configuring the Clients
10.4. Managing Wireless Connections (Roaming)
10.4.1. Switching Networks
10.4.2. Configuring a Wireless Connection
10.5. Activating and Managing Network Profiles
10.5.1. Profile Handling
10.6. Configure VPN Connections
10.7. Manage Hosts Definitions
10.8. Firewall Black/White Lists, etc.
10.8.1. Enabling and Accessing Interactive Firewall Feature
10.8.2. Monitoring and Managing Intrusions
11. Personalizing your System
11.1. Users Authentication
11.2. Menu Style
11.3. Configuring Start-Up Services
11.4. Managing Fonts on your System with DrakFont
11.5. Setting your Machine's Date and Time
11.6. System Localization
11.7. Monitoring System Activity
11.7.1. Browsing System Logs
11.7.2. Setting up Mail Alerts
11.8. Access to the Console
11.9. Managing Users and Groups
11.9.1. The Interface
11.9.2. Adding a New User
11.9.3. Guest account
11.10. Import Windows® Settings and Documents
11.11. Backing Up and Restoring your Files
11.11.1. A Practical Example Using the Wizard
11.11.2. Restoring Backups
11.11.3. Automating Periodic Backups
11.11.4. Advanced Backup Wizard Configuration
11.12. System Snapshots
11.12.1. What to Backup
11.12.2. Where to Backup
12. Network Sharing
12.1. Importing Remote SMB Directories
12.2. Samba Shares Managements
12.2.1. Basic Server Setup
12.2.2. Samba User Management
12.2.3. File Sharing Settings
12.2.4. Printer Sharing Settings
12.3. Importing Remote NFS Directories
12.4. Share Drives and Folders using NFS
12.5. Setting up WebDAV Mount Points
13. Local Disks
13.1. Managing your Hard Drive Partitions with DiskDrake
13.1.1. The Interface
13.1.2. DiskDrake's Action Buttons
13.1.3. Resizing an Old Partition and Creating a New One
13.2. Managing Removable Devices
13.3. Allowing Users to Share Folders
14. “Security” Section
14.1. Securing your Machine with DrakSec
14.1.1. Setting your Security Level
14.1.2. Customizing a Security Level
14.1.3. Setting up your own Permissions
14.2. Setting up Rights Delegation
14.3. Securing your Internet Access via DrakFirewall
14.3.1. Choosing Services to be Available from Outside
14.3.2. Activating Interactive Firewall Feature
14.3.3. Which Interface(s) to Protect
14.4. Network Interface and Firewall Failover
14.4.1. Network Redundancy Configuration
14.4.2. Firewall Replication Configuration
14.5. Parental Controls
14.5.1. Defining Main Options
14.5.2. Scheduling a Timeframe
14.5.3. Using the Blacklist
14.5.4. Using the Whitelist
15. Boot Device Configuration
15.1. Configuring the Login Mode
15.2. Changing your Boot-up Configuration
15.2.1. Configuring the Bootloader
15.2.2. Managing Boot Entries
15.3. Display Manager Setup
3. Installing Mandriva Linux
16. Coexisting with Other Operating Systems
17. Before Installation
17.1. Configuring your BIOS
17.2. Supported Hardware
18. Installation with DrakX
18.1. The Mandriva Linux Installer
18.1.1. The Installation Process
18.1.2. Startup Options
18.2. Choosing your Language
18.3. License Terms of the Distribution
18.4. Configuring your Keyboard
18.5. Installation Class
18.6. Where to Install Mandriva on your Hard Disk
18.7. Choosing Mount Points
18.7.1. Manual Choice
18.7.2. Partition Naming
18.8. Choose the Partitions to Format
18.9. Package Selection
18.9.1. Choosing the Installation Media
18.9.2. Supplementary Installation Media
18.9.3. Choosing a Graphical Environment
18.9.4. Choosing Package Groups to Install
18.9.5. Minimal Installation
18.9.6. Choosing Individual Packages to Install
18.10. User Management
18.10.1. Administrator (root) Password
18.10.2. Enter a User
18.11. Installing a Bootloader
18.12. Graphical Interface Configuration
18.13. Checking Miscellaneous Parameters
18.13.1. Summary
18.13.2. Time Zone Options
18.13.3. Configuring X, the Graphical Server
18.13.4. Selecting Available Services at Boot Time
18.14. Installing Updates from the Internet
18.15. It's All Done!
18.16. How to Uninstall Linux
19. Introduction to the Command Line
19.1. File Manipulation
19.1.1. List the Contents of a Directory
19.1.2. Copy
19.1.3. Move
19.1.4. Remove
19.1.5. Create a Directory
19.1.6. Change the Working Directory
19.2. Process Manipulation
19.2.1. Information on Processes
19.2.2. Controlling Processes
19.2.3. Mixing ps and kill: top
19.3. Commands Documentation
19.4. Further Reading
1. Where to Get Documentation
1.1. Mandriva Linux-Specific Documentation
1.1.1. Mandriva's Own Documentation
1.1.2. Internet Resources
1.2. Linux Useful Resources
1.2.1. The /usr/share/doc Directory
1.2.2. Web Resources
1.2.3. The Man Pages
1.2.4. Info Pages
1.2.5. HOWTOs
2. About the Making of this Manual
2.1. Technical Infrastructure
2.2. Help Improve Mandriva Linux Documentation
3. The GNU General Public License
3.1. Preamble
3.2. Terms and conditions for copying,  distribution  and  modification
Index

List of Figures

1.1. The KDE Desktop
1.2. The KDE Panel
1.3. Home Folder Content
1.4. A CD Has Been Inserted
1.5. Accessing Remote Shares
1.6. KDE System Settings
1.7. Changing KDE's Color Scheme
1.8. Changing KDE's Background Wallpaper
1.9. Panel Settings Window
1.10. Adding a Battery Monitor to the Panel
1.11. Metisse in Action
2.1. Mail Account Type
2.2. Your Personal Data
2.3. Account Credentials
2.4. Mail Servers
2.5. KMail Client Interface
2.6. The Message-Compose Window
2.7. Akregator's Interface
2.8. Feed Properties
2.9. Firefox's Interface
2.10. Tabbed Browsing with Firefox
2.11. Moving a Tab
3.1. OpenOffice.org Writer's Main Window
3.2. OpenOffice.org Calc's Main Window
3.3. Simplifying Data Entry Using Auto-Completion
3.4. A 3D Chart Inside the Spreadsheet
3.5. OpenOffice.org Impress' Main Window
3.6. Entering Chart Data
4.1. amaroK's Main Window
4.2. Music Collection
4.3. KMix Main Window
4.4. Totem Media Player Main Window
4.5. Playlist Dialog
4.6. Taking a Screenshot
4.7. K3b's Interface
4.8. Selecting Files and Directories to Include on a CD
4.9. Setting Writing Parameters
4.10. Burn CD Image Options
4.11. Selecting Audio Tracks to Include on the CD
4.12. CD Ripping Options
4.13. Setting Options to Copy a CD
4.14. Setting CD-RW Blanking Options
5.1. GIMP's Main Interface
5.2. Creating a New File
5.3. GIMP Picture
5.4. Layers, Channels and Paths Dialogs
5.5. Filter's Menu
5.6. Color Selection Dialog
5.7. Brushes Dialog
5.8. The digiKam Main Window
5.9. Adding a Comment and a Tag to a Picture
5.10. The digiKam Export Menu
5.11. Kooka Main Interface
5.12. Scanned Document in Kooka
6.1. The Network Sharing Section of the Control Center
6.2. Reporting a Bug
7.1. Software Management in the Mandriva Linux Control Center
7.2. Rpmdrake Interface
7.3. Dependency Alert Box
7.4. Alternative Packages
7.5. Updating Packages
7.6. Configured Software Media
7.7. Adding a Custom Package Repository Medium
7.8. Package Repository Authentication Key Management
7.9. Specifying a Proxy for Remote Media
7.10. The Main Package Stats Window
8.1. Server Options
8.2. Viewer Options
8.3. Windows Terminal Services Options
8.4. Controlling a Remote Computer
9.1. Sound Configuration Main Window
9.2. Selected Device
9.3. Activating 3D Desktop Effects
9.4. XFdrake Main Window
9.5. Choosing a New Monitor
9.6. Changing the Resolution of Your Screen
9.7. Choosing a Different Keyboard Layout
9.8. Choosing a Different Mouse
9.9. Automatically Detected Printer
9.10. Choosing Printer Driver
9.11. Printer Description
9.12. Available Printers
9.13. Windows System Printer Setup
9.14. Installing your Scanner
9.15. The Tree-list of All Known Scanner Models
9.16. Sharing Scanners within a LAN
9.17. Fax Server Hardware Options
9.18. Fax Server System Options
10.1. Network Configuration and Monitoring Tools
10.2. Setting Static LAN Connection Parameters
10.3. Setting the DSL Connection Protocol
10.4. Entering Dial-up Connection Parameters
10.5. Real-Time Network Connection Monitoring
10.6. Changing Network Parameters
10.7. Proxy Server Settings
10.8. A Simple Gateway Configuration
10.9. Configuring the LAN
10.10. Configuring a Client to Use DHCP
10.11. DrakRoam's Interface
10.12. Changing Wireless Network Configuration
10.13. The Network Profiles Interface
10.14. Modifying Drakhost Main Window
10.15. Interactive Firewall Window
11.1. Authentication Window
11.2. Choosing the Services Available at Boot Time
11.3. DrakFont's Main Window
11.4. Changing Date and Time
11.5. Selecting the Language of the System
11.6. Browsing and Searching through System Logs
11.7. Setting up a Mail Alert: Services
11.8. Setting up a Mail Alert: Load
11.9. Setting up a Mail Alert: Recipient
11.10. The User List in UserDrake
11.11. Adding a New User in the System
11.12. Adding Users to a Group
11.13. Main Backup Wizard Window
11.14. Selecting What to Backup
11.15. Selecting Where to Store the Backup
11.16. Setting Optical Media Parameters
11.17. Review Configuration Parameters
11.18. Backup Progress Dialog
11.19. Choosing the Restore Type to Perform
11.20. Daemon Options Window
11.21. Miscellaneous Options Window
11.22. Draksnapshot Main Window
11.23. Including and Excluding Files and Folders From the Snapshot
12.1. Scanning the Whole Network
12.2. DrakSamba Main Interface
12.3. Standalone Samba Server
12.4. Workgroup and Server Names
12.5. User Level Security Mode
12.6. File Server Banner
12.7. Per-Client Small Log File Setting
12.8. The DrakNFS Main Window
12.9. Managing WebDAV Mount Points
12.10. WebDAV Menu
13.1. DiskDrake's Main Window
13.2. Changing a Parameter
13.3. Controlling Exports
14.1. Choosing the Security Level of your System
14.2. Modifying Standard Options
14.3. Configuring File-Permission Checks
14.4. Adding a File-Permissions Rule
14.5. Delegating Rights
14.6. The DrakFirewall Window
14.7. Interactive Firewall Options
14.8. The Internet Interface
14.9. Highly Available Firewall
14.10. The DrakInvictus Window
14.11. Parental Controls Main Window
15.1. Choosing the Login Mode
15.2. Choosing the Boot Mode and Main Options
18.1. First Installation Welcome Screen
18.2. Choosing the Default Language
19.1. Monitoring Processes with top

List of Tables

1.1. 3D Desktop Manipulations with Compiz
1.2. Basic Windows Manipulations
1.3. Advanced Window Effects
1.4. Pager Actions
2.1. KMail's Toolbar Buttons
2.2. Message-Composition Toolbar Buttons
3.1. Suggested Text Styles
4.1. K3b's Toolbar Buttons
6.1. Overview of Graphical Tools

List of Examples

2.1. Add a New Feed
14.1. Allow the Users to Manage Network Connections