The K Desktop Environment

5.5. Browsing With Konqueror

The Konqueror Browser module of the KDE control center allows you to select various options for the appearance and behavior of Konqueror, the integrated web browser of KDE.

There are three main tabs in this control center module, which are described in detail in the following sections. Briefly, the three tabs are:

HTML:

Options for handling of links and images in HTML pages.

Appearance:

Options for the fonts used in displaying web pages.

Java/JavaScript:

Options for handling Java and JavaScript code embedded in web pages, as well as the security policies to be applied to such code.

5.5.1. HTML

There are three checkbox options on this page of the Konqueror Browser control center module. The first is "Change cursor over links." If this option is selected, the shape of the cursor will change (usually to a hand) whenever it moves over a hyperlink. This makes it easy to identify links, especially when they are in the form of images.

The second checkbox is "Underline links." If this option is selected, any text on web pages that acts as a link will be shown in an underlined font. While many web pages do use color to distinguish text that acts as a link, underlining makes it very easy to spot links.

Finally, the checkbox labeled "Automatically load images," allows you to control whether images on web pages are loaded by default. Unless you have a very slow connection, you will probably want to leave this option selected, as there are many web pages that are difficult to use without images. If you don't select the option to automatically load images, you can still view the text on the page, and then load the images if you need them.

5.5.2. Appearance

Under this tab, you can select various options related to the use of fonts. Although the shapes and sizes of fonts are often part of the design of a web page, you can select some default settings for Konqueror to use.

There are two ways in which you can select the font size. The first is to select the default size. You have three options to choose from, and these are "Small", "Medium", or "Large". Although you can select the default font size, web pages can still use HTML code to increase or decrease the relative size of text. In order to prevent the text from becoming smaller than your eyes feel comfortable reading, Konqueror lets you select the minimum font size used to display text. You can select the exact font size in points by using the up/down spin control (or just typing) next to the option labeled "Minimum Font Size.

The remaining options are for the fonts to be associated with different types of markup used in HTML pages. Note that many web pages may override these settings. If you click anywhere on a control which shows a font name, a list of font names appears, and you can select a different font if you like. (If there are a lot of fonts, a vertical scrollbar appears in the list to allow you to scroll through all of the fonts.)

5.5.3. Java/JavaScript

Java and JavaScript allow applications to be downloaded and run by a web browser, provided you have the necessary software installed on your machine. Many web sites make use of Java/JavaScript (for example, online banking services or interactive gaming sites). You should be aware that running programs from unknown sources could pose a threat to the security of your computer, even if the potential extent of the damage is not great.

The two checkboxes grouped under "Global Settings" allow you to turn Java and JavaScript support on for all web sites by default. You can also select to turn Java and/or JavaScript on or off for specific hosts. To add a policy for a specific host, click the "Add..." button to bring up a dialog in which you can type the host name and then choose to accept or reject Java and/or JavaScript code from that particular host.

You can select a host in the list, and click the "Change..." button to choose a different policy for that host. Clicking the "Delete" button removes the policy for the selected host; after deletion, the global settings will then apply to that host. You can import policies from a file by clicking the "Import... button. To save the current list to a compressed archive file, click the "Export..." button.

Finally, the group of controls labeled "Java Runtime Settings" allows you to set some options for the way in which Java should run. If you select the "Show Java Console" option, Konqueror will open a console window from which Java applications can read and write text. While most Java applications will not require such a console, it could be helpful in diagnosing problems with Java applications.

You can either opt to have Konqueror automatically detect the Java installation on your system, or specify the path to the installation yourself by selecting "Use user-specified Java". You may want to choose the latter method, for instance, if you have multiple Java installations on your system, and want to specify which one to use. If the Java Virtual Machine you are using requires any special startup options, you can type them in the text box labeled "Additional Java Arguments".

5.5.4. Section Author

This section written by:

Krishna Tateneni .