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Assign Hotkeys in KDE for launching Apps or scripts

As an avid KeyQuencer user under the MacOS, one feature I missed under LinuxPPC was the ability to assign actions to key sequences.

This tip will show you how to install KHotkeys and get you started on your first macros..

Get started by downloading KHotkeys from KDE's server. (khotkeys-1.0.3.tar.bz2).

Once it's on your drive, open a terminal and cd into the directory where you downloaded KHotkeys and type:

bunzip2 -d khotkeys-1.0.3.tar.bz2

And then:

tar xvf khotkeys-1.0.3.tar

At this point, the file has been unziped and de-archived. You are left with a folder/directory called /khotkeys-1.0.3. Change directories into it. What you see in that directory is the source code for KHotkeys. Don't let this intimidate you as it first did me.

I have found that 80% of the time, the source code compiles without effort. In every source directory is an INSTALL file. Most often the instructions are the same as they are for KHotkeys. In your terminal type:

./configure

Watch the configure text race by, and when it's finished and you're back at the prompt type:

make

Watch come more interesting text whip by, and finally type:

make install

A few short lines go by and it appears nothing has happened, but if you launch the KDE Control Center, you will see a new option under Keyboard - KHotkeys.

To create your first Hotkey, click the New Action button in the lower left corner. In this example, we will assign KMail to launch on Function Key F6

Give your action a name, and enter the path to launch the program:

file://usr/bin/kmail

then click the Hotkey button to bring up the following dialog:

To assign a function key, select the Custom Key radio button. Make sure SHIFT, CTRL, and ALT are unchecked. Click once on the large template key, and assign your keystroke - in this case F6.

Click OK to close this window, and your first Hotkey has ben assigned.

There is a great online html manual. just select Help to bring it up.