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KBFX (KDE)
Encyclopedia
KBFX is an application written in C++
/Qt for KDE
3.2+ and offers an alternative to the default K Logo menu.
It improves users' experience by replacing the Win95-like K-Logo button and menu with a larger and thus more visible start button and menu. It does however keep the traditional KDE menu as an option. It is fully skinable
.
Extra KBFX features:
The reason was that Siraj didn't like the old K-Menu, which was quite a clone of the old Win95 Start menu. So he started coding. The first step provided merely the possibility to call the K-Menu via a button, that could have a different shape and size than the original K-Menu button, which has always been an icon of a square size. To change the default KBFX button, one still had to copy an image file to a certain location. After the first post in mid-June 5, KBFX has spread rapidly and it was nice to see that until end of June, there were already a dozen posts on kde-look with buttons and builds.
Mensur Zahirovic (called Nookie) joined Siraj on 5 August, after Siraj met him on yahoo. Nookie is responsible for the web-development and the Q&A. He also arranged the site www.kbfx.net, that replaces the previous site www.linuxlots.com/~siraj/plugin/kde.
After that, things began to speed up. Now KBFX is no longer just another button design for the K-Menu, but provides an alternative to it, that is in fact more sophisticated than the XP-Start menu.
KBFX has been tested to work with all GCC
3.x and GCC
4.x compilers. It has been tested on systems running the distributions of Gentoo
, Debian
, Ubuntu
, Suse, Slackware
, Mango, Mandriva (formerly Mandrake)
, and Fedora core. Unfortunately, compiling on FreeBSD
systems is yet to be tested.
K-Menu is a good example of a flat hierarchical
menu. It organizes application shortcuts
in a tree link structure, where it can expand and open a submenu
, with entries displayed based on some logical order. This order may be task oriented, type oriented or just ordered alphabetically. To find and launch an application, the user needs to navigate through the submenus, until he reaches the leaf (leaf node). This approach is a direct adoption of the Microsoft Windows
Start Menu. They introduced it with Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000. This was certainly a huge usability advantage compared to the Windows 3.1 System with the program manager, but a lot has changed since these days. The Windows XP
Start Menu is still based on this concept, although it is enhanced by the functionalities to pin applications to the left column and the automatically pinned most used applications. But still, a user must move the mouse over the half screen, if his menu has many submenus with other submenus, and the application is not one of his most used or pinned applications.
Remote Application "kicker"
Remote Object "KBFXInterface"
Called Function "showMenu"
Now pressing the keyboard's WinKey should launch the KBFX menu.
C++
C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
/Qt for KDE
KDE
KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
3.2+ and offers an alternative to the default K Logo menu.
It improves users' experience by replacing the Win95-like K-Logo button and menu with a larger and thus more visible start button and menu. It does however keep the traditional KDE menu as an option. It is fully skinable
Skin (computing)
In computing, a skin is a custom graphical appearance achieved by the use of a graphical user interface that can be applied to specific software and websites to suit the purpose, topic, or tastes of different users....
.
Features
Main KBFX features:- Using Plugins.
- Selecting an Application Group.
- Scroll up and down the application list.
- Type and locate an ApplicationApplication softwareApplication software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
. - Logout of the Desktop.
- Lock the Desktop.
- Launch the KBFX Configurator (the KBFX settings manager).
Extra KBFX features:
- Double buffered Widgets to minimize flicker.
- Animated scroll bars.
- New Tooltip.
- New Control Manager.
- Drag & Drop Applications' Items support.
History
KBFX was started on June 5, 2005 as a hobbyist project by Siraj Razick, born out of a spontaneous idea.The reason was that Siraj didn't like the old K-Menu, which was quite a clone of the old Win95 Start menu. So he started coding. The first step provided merely the possibility to call the K-Menu via a button, that could have a different shape and size than the original K-Menu button, which has always been an icon of a square size. To change the default KBFX button, one still had to copy an image file to a certain location. After the first post in mid-June 5, KBFX has spread rapidly and it was nice to see that until end of June, there were already a dozen posts on kde-look with buttons and builds.
Mensur Zahirovic (called Nookie) joined Siraj on 5 August, after Siraj met him on yahoo. Nookie is responsible for the web-development and the Q&A. He also arranged the site www.kbfx.net, that replaces the previous site www.linuxlots.com/~siraj/plugin/kde.
After that, things began to speed up. Now KBFX is no longer just another button design for the K-Menu, but provides an alternative to it, that is in fact more sophisticated than the XP-Start menu.
Development
KBFX version 0.4.9.3 is a complete rewrite of the old KBFX code eliminating all the negative points of the previous versions.KBFX has been tested to work with all GCC
GNU Compiler Collection
The GNU Compiler Collection is a compiler system produced by the GNU Project supporting various programming languages. GCC is a key component of the GNU toolchain...
3.x and GCC
GNU Compiler Collection
The GNU Compiler Collection is a compiler system produced by the GNU Project supporting various programming languages. GCC is a key component of the GNU toolchain...
4.x compilers. It has been tested on systems running the distributions of Gentoo
Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux is a computer operating system built on top of the Linux kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It is distributed as free and open source software. Unlike a conventional software distribution, the user compiles the source code locally according to their chosen...
, Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
, Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...
, Suse, Slackware
Slackware
Slackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993...
, Mango, Mandriva (formerly Mandrake)
Mandriva Linux
Mandriva Linux is a Linux distribution distributed by Mandriva. It uses the RPM Package Manager...
, and Fedora core. Unfortunately, compiling on FreeBSD
FreeBSD
FreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via BSD UNIX. Although for legal reasons FreeBSD cannot be called “UNIX”, as the direct descendant of BSD UNIX , FreeBSD’s internals and system APIs are UNIX-compliant...
systems is yet to be tested.
Concepts
The KBFX Spinx Menu does not try to copy the WinXP Start menu. It is based on a different approach and concept. Following, the concepts of the traditional hierarchical structure and the new, flat indexed menu are described and compared, although the new menu structure is quite intuitive.Hierarchical (Traditional) menu structure
The KDEKDE
KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
K-Menu is a good example of a flat hierarchical
Hierarchy
A hierarchy is an arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another...
menu. It organizes application shortcuts
Computer shortcut
A file shortcut in Microsoft Windows is a small file containing a target URI or GUID to an object, or the name of a target program file that the shortcut represents. The shortcut might additionally specify parameters to be passed to the target program when it is run. Each shortcut can have its own...
in a tree link structure, where it can expand and open a submenu
Menu (computing)
In computing and telecommunications, a menu is a list of commands presented to an operator by a computer or communications system. A menu is used in contrast to a command-line interface, where instructions to the computer are given in the form of commands .Choices given from a menu may be selected...
, with entries displayed based on some logical order. This order may be task oriented, type oriented or just ordered alphabetically. To find and launch an application, the user needs to navigate through the submenus, until he reaches the leaf (leaf node). This approach is a direct adoption of the Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
Start Menu. They introduced it with Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000. This was certainly a huge usability advantage compared to the Windows 3.1 System with the program manager, but a lot has changed since these days. The Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
Start Menu is still based on this concept, although it is enhanced by the functionalities to pin applications to the left column and the automatically pinned most used applications. But still, a user must move the mouse over the half screen, if his menu has many submenus with other submenus, and the application is not one of his most used or pinned applications.
Flat indexed menu structure
The KBFX Sphinx Menu uses a different approach: the flat indexed menu. With this type of menu it's very easy to navigate. On the left hand side, you are given the application categories. They can be task oriented or type oriented. On the right (middle) side of the menu, there are all the available applications listed that belong to the activated category. The advantage is evident - the menu reduces the mouse paths, so you can locate your applications very fast. The user sees all the categories at a glance and he can pick it without having to travel along a long list until he finds the end leaf. The speed of use is further enhanced by moving the most used and recently used applications on the top index, so that the most used applications are just one click away.Showing the KBFX menu with the keyboard's WinKey
KBFX has been criticized for not providing an option to launch the menu using the keyboard start button (WinKey), but it can be done the following way:- Open the KDE Control Center (kcontrolKControlThe KDE Control Center. also known as KControl, is the centralized settings manager for the KDE desktop environment. It is part of the kdeadmin package. It can be considered the KDE counterpart of the Windows Control Panel....
) - Select the "Input Actions" option in the "Regional & Accessibility" tab.
- Click "New Action"
- In the panel to the right select "Keyboard Shortcut -> DCOP Call (Simple)"
- In the "Keyboard Shortcut" tab assign the WinKey as the shortcut.
- In the DCOP call settings type the following:
Remote Application "kicker"
Remote Object "KBFXInterface"
Called Function "showMenu"
- Click on the Apply button.
Now pressing the keyboard's WinKey should launch the KBFX menu.