Red Hat Linux 9

Red Hat Linux Getting Started

Guide
ii
Red Hat Linux 9: Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide Copyright © 2003 by Red Hat, Inc.
Red Hat, Inc.
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Table of Contents
Introduction i
1. Changes to This Manual ...........................................................................................i
2. Document Conventions. ..........................................................................................ii
3. Copying and Pasting Text With X ............................................................................iv
4. Using the Mouse ......................................................................................................v
5. We Need Feedback! ................................................................................................v
6. Sign Up for Support .................................................................................................v
1. Getting Started 1-15
1.1. Setup Agent............................................................................................................ 1
1.2. Introductory Terms.................................................................................................5
1.3. Logging In................................................................................................................ 7
1.3.1. Graphical Login...............................................................................................7
1.3.2. Virtual Console Login......................................................................................8
1.4. Graphical Interface..................................................................................................9
1.5. Opening a Shell Prompt...........................................................................................9
1.6. Creating a User Account........................................................................................10
1.7. Documentation and Help......................................................................................11
1.7.1. Manual Pages...............................................................................................11
1.7.2. Red Hat Linux Documentation......................................................................13
1.8. Logging Out........................................................................................................... 15
1.8.1. Graphical Logout..........................................................................................15
1.8.2. Virtual Console Logout.................................................................................15
1.9. Shutting Down your Computer..............................................................................15
1.9.1. Graphical Shutdown.....................................................................................15
1.9.2. Virtual Console Shutdown............................................................................15
2. Using the Graphical Desktop 16-24
2.1. Using the Desktop............................................................................................ 16
2.2. Using the Panel......................................................................................................17
2.2.1. Using the Main Menu................................................................................17
2.2.2. Using Applets.............................................................................................17
2.2.3. Using the Notification Area........................................................................18
2.2.4. Adding Icons and Applets to the Panel.......................................................19
2.2.5. Configuring the Desktop Panel...................................................................20
2.3. Using Nautilus.......................................................................................................20
iv
2.4. Start Here..............................................................................................................21
2.4.1. Customizing the Desktop............................................................................21
2.4.2. Customizing your System ..........................................................................24
2.5. Logging Out..........................................................................................................`24
3. Configuring the Date and Time 26-28
3.1. Time and Date Properties......................................................................................26
3.2. Time Zone Configuration.......................................................................................28
4. Diskettes and CD-ROMs 30-42
4.1. Using Diskettes......................................................................................................30
4.1.1. Mounting and Unmounting a Diskette.......................................................30
4.1.2. Putting Linux Files on an MS-DOS Diskette.................................................31
4.1.3. Formatting a Diskette.................................................................................31
4.2. CD-ROMs.............................................................................................................. 33
4.2.1. Using CD-ROMs with Your File Manager....................................................33
4.2.2. Using CD-ROMs From a Shell Prompt.........................................................34
4.3. CD-Rs and CD-RWs................................................................................................35
4.3.1. Using CD Creator........................................................................................35
4.3.2. Using X-CD-Roast..................................................................................37-40
[Link]. Using X-CD-Roast to Duplicate CD-ROMs........................................38
[Link]. Using X-CD-Roast to Create a CD
[Link]. Writing ISOs with X-CD-Roast..........................................................40
4.3.3. Using CD-Rs and CD-RWs with Command Line Tools..............................40-1
[Link]. Using mkisofs
[Link]. Using cdrecord..........................................................................41
4.4. Additional Resources.............................................................................................42
4.4.1. Installed Documentation............................................................................42
4.4.2. Useful Websites..........................................................................................42
5. Getting Online 44-6
6. Web Browsing 48-53
6.1. Mozilla...................................................................................................................48
6.1.1. Using Mozilla..............................................................................................49
6.1.2. Mozilla Composer.......................................................................................50
6.2. Galeon...................................................................................................................51
6.3. Web Browser Keyboard Shortcuts........................................................................53
7. Email Applications 54-62
7.1. Evolution............................................................................................................... 55
7.2. Mozilla Mail...........................................................................................................58
7.2.1. Mozilla and Newsgroups............................................................................59
 v
7.3. Plain Text Email Clients..........................................................................................60
7.3.1. Using Mutt.................................................................................................61
8. Printer Configuration 64-73
8.1. The Printer Configuration Tool.............................................................................64
8.2. Adding a Local Printer...........................................................................................64
8.3. Selecting the Printer Model and Finishing.............................................................66
8.3.1. Confirming Printer Configuration...............................................................67
8.4. Printing a Test Page...............................................................................................67
8.5. Modifying Existing Printers....................................................................................68
8.5.1. Queue Name..............................................................................................69
8.5.2. Queue Type................................................................................................69
8.5.3. Printer Driver.............................................................................................69
8.5.4. Driver Options............................................................................................69
8.6. Managing Print Jobs..............................................................................................70
8.7. Additional Resources.............................................................................................73
8.7.1. Installed Documentation............................................................................73
8.7.2. Useful Websites..........................................................................................73
9. Working with Documents 74-86
9.1. The [Link] Suite......................................................................................74
9.1.1. [Link] Features............................................................................74
9.1.2. [Link] Writer...............................................................................75
9.1.3. [Link] Calc...................................................................................77
9.1.4. [Link] Impress.............................................................................79
9.1.5. [Link] Draw.................................................................................82
9.2. Editing Text Files....................................................................................................83
9.2.1. Shell Prompt Text Editors...........................................................................84
9.3. Viewing PDFs.........................................................................................................85
10. Audio, Video, and General Amusement 88-94
10.1. Playing Audio CDs...............................................................................................88
10.2. Playing Digital Audio Files..................................................................................89
10.2.1. Using XMMS.........................................................................................89
10.3. Troubleshooting Your Sound Card.....................................................................91
10.3.1. If Sound Card Configuration Tool Does Not Work..............................91-
[Link]. Manual Sound Card Configuration................................................92
10.4. Troubleshooting Your Video Card......................................................................92
10.5. Games................................................................................................................94
10.6. Finding Games Online........................................................................................94
vi
11. Working with Images 96-104
11.1. Viewing Images...................................................................................................96
11.1.1. Using Nautilus to View Images..............................................................96
11.1.2. Using gThumb....................................................................................97-
[Link]. Changing your Desktop Wallpaper with gThumb.......................99
[Link]. Configuring gThumb
11.2. Manipulating Images with the GIMP...............................................................100
11.2.1. GIMP Basics.....................................................................................100
11.2.2. Loading a File.......................................................................................100
11.2.3. Saving a File.........................................................................................102
11.2.4. GIMP Options....................................................................................102
11.3. Additional Resources.........................................................................................104
11.3.1. Installed Documentation.....................................................................104
11.3.2. Useful Websites..................................................................................104
11.3.3. Related Books......................................................................................104
12. Working with Digital Cameras 106
12.1. Using gtKam...................................................................................................106
13. Shell Prompt Basics 108-130
13.1. Why Use a Shell Prompt....................................................................................108
13.2. The History of the Shell.....................................................................................108
13.3. Determining Your Current Directory with pwd................................................109
13.4. Changing Directories with cd..........................................................................109
13.5. View Directory Contents with ls....................................................................112
13.6. Locating Files and Directorie ............................................................................114
13.7. Printing From The Command Line.................................................................115
13.8. Clearing and Resetting the Terminal.................................................................115
13.9. Manipulating Files with cat............................................................................116
13.9.1. Using Redirection................................................................................116
13.9.2. Appending Standard Output...............................................................118
13.9.3. Redirecting Standard Input.................................................................119
13.10. Pipes and Pagers..............................................................................................120
13.10.1. The more Command......................................................................121
13.11. More Commands for Reading Text Files..........................................................122
13.11.1. The head Command......................................................................122
13.11.2. The tail Command......................................................................122
13.11.3. The grep Command......................................................................122
13.11.4. I/O Redirection and Pipes..................................................................123
13.11.5. Wildcards and Regular Expression ...................................................123
 vii
13.12. Command History and Tab Completion..........................................................124
13.13. Using Multiple Commands..............................................................................125
13.14. Ownership and Permissions............................................................................126
13.14.1. The chmod Command...................................................................128
13.14.2. Changing Permissions With Numbers...............................................130
14. Managing Files and Directories 132-143
14.1. A Larger Picture of the File System....................................................................132
14.2. Identifying and Working with File Types...........................................................133
14.2.1. Compressed and Archived Files...........................................................133
14.2.2. File Formats.........................................................................................133
14.2.3. System Files.........................................................................................134
14.2.4. Programming and Scripting Files.........................................................134
14.3. File Compression and Archiving........................................................................134
14.3.1. Using File Rolle ..................................................................................135-
[Link]. Decompressing and Unarchiving with File Roller........................136
[Link]. Creating Archives with File Roller
14.3.2. Compressing Files at the Shell Prompt...............................................138-
[Link]. Bzip2 and Bunzip2.......................................................................138
[Link]. Gzip and Gunzip..........................................................................139
[Link]. Zip and Unzip
14.3.3. Archiving Files at the Shell Prompt......................................................140
14.4. Manipulating Files at the Shell Prompt.............................................................141
14.4.1. Creating Files.......................................................................................141
14.4.2. Copying Files........................................................................................142
14.4.3. Moving Files........................................................................................142
14.4.4. Deleting Files and Directories..............................................................143
15. Installing and Updating Red Hat Linux Packages 146-150
15.1. Red Hat Network...............................................................................................146
15.2. Errata List.......................................................................................................... 148
15.3. Installation CD-ROMs........................................................................................149
15.4. Downloaded Packages.......................................................................................150
16. Frequently Asked Questions........................................................................152-158
16.1. Localhost Login and Password...........................................................................152
16.2. Error Messages During Installation of RPMs.....................................................152
16.3. Starting Applications.........................................................................................153
16.3.1. Editing Your PATH...............................................................................153
16.4. Accessing a Windows Partition..........................................................................154
16.5. Finding Commands Quickly...............................................................................156
viii
16.6. Tips on Using Command History.......................................................................157
16.6.1. Other Shortcuts...................................................................................157
16.7. Keep ls Output from Scrolling............................................................................157
16.7.1. Printing ls Output................................................................................157
16.8. Forgotten Password...........................................................................................158
16.9. Password Maintenance.....................................................................................158
16.10. Changing Login from Console to X at Startup..................................................158
A. KDE: The K Desktop Environment .................................................................160-174
A.1. Introducing KDE..................................................................................................160
A.2. Finding Help........................................................................................................160
A.3. Using The Desktop..............................................................................................161
A.4. Using The Panel....................................................................................................16
A.4.1. Using The Main Menu.............................................................................163
A.4.2. Using Applets..........................................................................................164-
A.4.2.1. Working with Multiple Desktops..................................................164
A.4.2.2. Viewing The Taskbar.....................................................................166
A.4.3. Adding Icons and Applets to the Panel....................................................166
A.4.4. Configuring the KDE Panel ......................................................................166
A.5. Managing Files....................................................................................................167
A.5.1. The Navigation Panel...............................................................................168
A.6. Browsing the Web with Konqueror....................................................................168
A.7. Using Konqueror to View Images........................................................................170
A.8. KMail...................................................................................................................172
A.9. Customizing KD...................................................................................................173
A.10. Logging Out of KDE............................................................................................174
B. Applications 176
C. A Comparison of Common DOS and Linux Commands 178
D. System Directories 180
E. Keyboard Shortcuts 182
Index........................................................................................................................ 184
Colophon................................................................................................................. 18*
 ix

Contents
Table of Contents........................................................................................................................................................iii
Introduction..............................................................................................................................................................xvi
Changes to This Manual...........................................................................................................................................xvii
Document Conventions............................................................................................................................................xvii
Copying and Pasting Text With X................................................................................................................................xx
Using the Mouse........................................................................................................................................................xx
We Need Feedback!...................................................................................................................................................xx
Sign Up for Support...................................................................................................................................................xxi
Steps to Get You Started.............................................................................................................................................1
1.1. Setup Agent..........................................................................................................................................................1
1.2. Introductory Terms...............................................................................................................................................4
1.3. Logging In.............................................................................................................................................................6
1.3.1. Graphical Login..............................................................................................................................................7
1.3.2. Virtual Console Login.....................................................................................................................................8
1.4. Graphical Interface...............................................................................................................................................8
1.5. Opening a Shell Prompt........................................................................................................................................8
1.6. Creating a User Account.......................................................................................................................................9
1.7. Documentation and Help....................................................................................................................................10
1.7.1. Manual Pages..............................................................................................................................................11
[Link]. Using man.............................................................................................................................................11
[Link]. Printing a Man Page..............................................................................................................................12
[Link]. The man Man Page...............................................................................................................................12
1.7.2. Red Hat Linux Documentation.................................................................................................................12
1.8. Logging Out.........................................................................................................................................................14
1.8.1. Graphical Logout......................................................................................................................................14
1.8.2. Virtual Console Logout.................................................................................................................................14
1.9. Shutting Down your Computer...........................................................................................................................14
1.9.1. Graphical Shutdown....................................................................................................................................14
1.9.2. Virtual Console Shutdown...........................................................................................................................14
Using the Graphical Desktop.....................................................................................................................................16
2.1. Using the Desktop...............................................................................................................................................16
2.2. Using the Panel...................................................................................................................................................17
[Link] the Main Menu...................................................................................................................................17
2.2.2. Using Applets...............................................................................................................................................17
2.2.3. Using the Notification Area..........................................................................................................................18
2.2.4. Adding Icons and Applets to the Panel........................................................................................................19
x
2.2.5. Configuring the Desktop Panel....................................................................................................................19
2.3. Using Nautilus.....................................................................................................................................................19
2.4. Start Here...........................................................................................................................................................20
2.4.1. Customizing the Desktop.............................................................................................................................21
[Link]. Changing your Desktop Background.....................................................................................................21
2.4.2. Customizing your System.............................................................................................................................23
2.5. Logging Out.........................................................................................................................................................24
Configuring the Date and Time..................................................................................................................................26
3.1. Time and Date Properties...................................................................................................................................26
3.2. Time Zone Configuration....................................................................................................................................27
Diskettes and CD-ROMs.............................................................................................................................................30
4.1. Using Diskettes...................................................................................................................................................30
4.1.1. Mounting and Unmounting a Diskette.........................................................................................................30
4.1.2. Putting Linux Files on an MS-DOS Diskette..................................................................................................31
4.1.3. Formatting a Diskette..................................................................................................................................31
[Link]. Using gfloppy........................................................................................................................................32
[Link]. Using mke2fs........................................................................................................................................32
4.2. CD-ROMs............................................................................................................................................................33
4.2.1. Using CD-ROMs with Your File Manager......................................................................................................33
4.2.2. Using CD-ROMs From a Shell Prompt..........................................................................................................34
4.3. CD-Rs and CD-RWs..............................................................................................................................................34
4.3.1. Using CD Creator..........................................................................................................................................34
4.3.2. Using X-CD-Roast.........................................................................................................................................35
[Link]. Using X-CD-Roast to Duplicate CD-ROMs..............................................................................................36
[Link]. Using X-CD-Roast to Create a CD..........................................................................................................38
[Link]. Writing ISOs with X-CD-Roast...............................................................................................................39
4.3.3. Using CD-Rs and CD-RWs with Command Line Tools...................................................................................40
[Link]. Using mkisofs..................................................................................................................................40
[Link]. Using cdrecord................................................................................................................................41
4.4. Additional Resources..........................................................................................................................................42
4.4.1. Installed Documentation.............................................................................................................................42
4.4.2. Useful Websites.......................................................................................................................................42
Getting Online...........................................................................................................................................................44
Web Browsing...........................................................................................................................................................44
6.1. Mozilla................................................................................................................................................................44
6.1.1. Using Mozilla...............................................................................................................................................45
6.1.2. Mozilla Composer........................................................................................................................................46
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6.2. Galeon................................................................................................................................................................47
6.3. Web Browser Keyboard Shortcuts......................................................................................................................49
Email Applications.....................................................................................................................................................48
7.1. Evolution.............................................................................................................................................................49
7.2. Mozilla Mail........................................................................................................................................................52
7.2.1. Mozilla and Newsgroups..............................................................................................................................53
7.3. Plain Text Email Clients.......................................................................................................................................54
7.3.1. Using Mutt...................................................................................................................................................54
Printer Configuration.................................................................................................................................................56
8.1. The Printer Configuration Tool...........................................................................................................................56
8.2. Adding a Local Printer.........................................................................................................................................56
8.3. Selecting the Printer Model and Finishing..........................................................................................................58
8.3.1. Confirming Printer Configuration.................................................................................................................59
8.4. Printing a Test Page............................................................................................................................................59
8.5. Modifying Existing Printers.................................................................................................................................60
8.5.1. Queue Name................................................................................................................................................61
8.5.2. Queue Type.................................................................................................................................................61
8.5.3. Printer Driver...............................................................................................................................................61
8.5.4. Driver Options..............................................................................................................................................61
8.6. Managing Print Jobs...........................................................................................................................................62
8.7. Additional Resources..........................................................................................................................................65
8.7.1. Installed Documentation.........................................................................................................................65
8.7.2. Useful Websites.......................................................................................................................................65
Working with Documents..........................................................................................................................................74
9.1. The [Link] Suite....................................................................................................................................74
9.1.1. [Link] Features..............................................................................................................................74
9.1.2. [Link] Writer.................................................................................................................................75
9.1.3. [Link] Calc.....................................................................................................................................77
9.1.4. [Link] Impress...............................................................................................................................79
9.1.5. [Link] Draw...................................................................................................................................81
9.2. Editing Text Files.................................................................................................................................................83
9.2.1. Shell Prompt Text Editors............................................................................................................................84
9.3. Viewing PDFs......................................................................................................................................................85
Audio, Video, and General Amusement....................................................................................................................88
10.1. Playing Audio CDs.............................................................................................................................................88
10.2. Playing Digital Audio Files.................................................................................................................................89
10.2.1. Using XMMS..............................................................................................................................................89
xii
10.3. Troubleshooting Your Sound Card....................................................................................................................91
10.3.1. If Sound Card Configuration Tool Does Not Work.....................................................................................91
[Link]. Manual Sound Card Configuration......................................................................................................92
10.4. Troubleshooting Your Video Card.....................................................................................................................92
10.5. Games...............................................................................................................................................................93
10.6. Finding Games Online.......................................................................................................................................94
Working with Images.................................................................................................................................................88
11.1. Viewing Images.................................................................................................................................................88
11.1.1. Using Nautilus to View Images...................................................................................................................88
11.1.2. Using gThumb............................................................................................................................................89
[Link]. Changing your Desktop Wallpaper with gThumb..............................................................................91
[Link] Configuring gThumb............................................................................................................................91
11.2. Manipulating Images with the GIMP................................................................................................................92
11.2.1. GIMP Basics...............................................................................................................................................92
11.2.2. Loading a File.............................................................................................................................................92
11.2.3. Saving a File...............................................................................................................................................94
11.2.4. GIMP Options............................................................................................................................................94
11.3. Additional Resources........................................................................................................................................96
11.3.1. Installed Documentation...........................................................................................................................96
11.3.2. Useful Websites.....................................................................................................................................96
11.3.3. Related Books........................................................................................................................................96
Working with Digital Cameras...................................................................................................................................98
12.1. Using gtKam......................................................................................................................................................98
Shell Prompt Basics.................................................................................................................................................108
13.1. Why Use a Shell Prompt.................................................................................................................................108
13.2. The History of the Shell...................................................................................................................................108
13.3. Determining Your Current Directory with pwd...............................................................................................109
13.4. Changing Directories with cd..........................................................................................................................109
13.5. View Directory Contents with ls.....................................................................................................................112
13.6. Locating Files and Directories.........................................................................................................................114
13.7. Printing From The Command Line..................................................................................................................115
13.8. Clearing and Resetting the Terminal...............................................................................................................115
13.9. Manipulating Files with cat.........................................................................................................................116
13.9.1. Using Redirection.....................................................................................................................................116
13.9.2. Appending Standard Output....................................................................................................................118
13.9.3. Redirecting Standard Input......................................................................................................................119
13.10. Pipes and Pagers...........................................................................................................................................120
 xiii
13.10.1. The more Command..............................................................................................................................121
13.11. More Commands for Reading Text Files.......................................................................................................122
13.11.1. The head Command..........................................................................................................................122
13.11.2. The tail Command..........................................................................................................................122
13.11.3. The grep Command...............................................................................................................................122
13.11.4. I/O Redirection and Pipes......................................................................................................................123
13.11.5. Wildcards and Regular Expressions.......................................................................................................123
13.12. Command History and Tab Completion........................................................................................................124
13.13. Using Multiple Commands............................................................................................................................125
13.14. Ownership and Permissions......................................................................................................................126
13.14.1. The chmod Command............................................................................................................................128
13.14.2. Changing Permissions With Numbers....................................................................................................130
Managing Files and Directories...............................................................................................................................132
14.1. A Larger Picture of the File System.................................................................................................................132
14.2. Identifying and Working with File Types.........................................................................................................133
14.2.1. Compressed and Archived Files...............................................................................................................133
14.2.2. File Formats.........................................................................................................................................133
14.2.3. System Files.........................................................................................................................................134
14.2.4. Programming and Scripting Files.........................................................................................................134
14.3. File Compression and Archiving......................................................................................................................134
14.3.1. Using File Roller.......................................................................................................................................135
[Link]. Decompressing and Unarchiving with File Roller..............................................................................136
[Link]. Creating Archives with File Roller.....................................................................................................136
14.3.2. Compressing Files at the Shell Prompt....................................................................................................138
[Link]. Bzip2 and Bunzip2.............................................................................................................................138
[Link]. Gzip and Gunzip................................................................................................................................139
[Link]. Zip and Unzip....................................................................................................................................139
14.3.3. Archiving Files at the Shell Prompt..........................................................................................................140
14.4. Manipulating Files at the Shell Prompt...........................................................................................................141
14.4.1. Creating Files...........................................................................................................................................141
14.4.2. Copying Files............................................................................................................................................142
14.4.3. Moving Files.............................................................................................................................................142
14.4.4. Deleting Files and Directories..................................................................................................................143
Installing and Updating Red Hat Linux Packages.....................................................................................................146
15.1. Red Hat Network............................................................................................................................................146
15.2. Errata List....................................................................................................................................................148
15.3. Installation CD-ROMs..................................................................................................................................149
xiv
15.4. Downloaded Packages................................................................................................................................150
Frequently Asked Questions....................................................................................................................................152
16.1. Localhost Login and Password........................................................................................................................152
16.2. Error Messages During Installation of RPMs...................................................................................................152
16.3. Starting Applications.......................................................................................................................................153
16.3.1. Editing Your PATH....................................................................................................................................153
16.4. Accessing a Windows Partition.......................................................................................................................154
16.5. Finding Commands Quickly............................................................................................................................156
16.6. Tips on Using Command History.....................................................................................................................157
16.6.1. Other Shortcuts.......................................................................................................................................157
16.7. Keep ls Output from Scrolling.........................................................................................................................157
16.7.1. Printing ls Output.....................................................................................................................................157
16.8. Forgotten Password........................................................................................................................................158
16.9. Password Maintenance..................................................................................................................................158
16.10. Changing Login from Console to X at Startup...............................................................................................158
KDE: The K Desktop Environment............................................................................................................................160
A.1. Introducing KDE................................................................................................................................................160
A.2. Finding Help.....................................................................................................................................................160
A.3. Using The Desktop............................................................................................................................................161
A.4. Using The Panel................................................................................................................................................162
A.4.1. Using The Main Menu...............................................................................................................................164
A.4.2. Using Applets.........................................................................................................................................164
A.4.2.1. Working with Multiple Desktops........................................................................................................164
A.4.2.2. Viewing The Taskbar...........................................................................................................................166
A.4.3. Adding Icons and Applets to the Panel......................................................................................................167
A.4.4. Configuring the KDE Panel.........................................................................................................................167
A.5. Managing Files..................................................................................................................................................168
A.5.1. The Navigation Panel.................................................................................................................................169
A.6. Browsing the Web with Konqueror..................................................................................................................169
A.7. Using Konqueror to View Images.....................................................................................................................171
A.8. KMail................................................................................................................................................................172
A.9. Customizing KDE...............................................................................................................................................174
A.10. Logging Out of KDE.........................................................................................................................................175
Applications.............................................................................................................................................................176
A Comparison of Common DOS and Linux Commands............................................................................................178
Table C-1. Similar Commands..........................................................................................................................179
System Directories...................................................................................................................................................180
 xv
Keyboard Shortcuts.................................................................................................................................................182
xvi

Introduction
Welcome to the Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide!
By now, you should have read the Red Hat Linux Installation Guide and successfully
installed Red Hat Linux. This manual is designed to help new and intermediate Linux users
navigate and perform common tasks. Keep in mind that Linux looks, feels, and performs
differently from other operating systems you may have used. Forget about the
conventions of other operating systems and, with an open mind, approach Red Hat Linux
as a new, interesting, and versatile alternative.
This manual is task-oriented. You will find useful tips, hints, warnings, and screen shots
interspersed throughout. First, you will learn the basics of using Red Hat Linux, such as
customizing a desktop, configuring a printer, and getting online. Once the basics are
covered, the tasks covered in this manual become progressively more advanced.
Most users choose to work within either the GNOME or KDE graphical desktop
environments (other desktop environments are also available). The Red Hat Linux Getting
Started Guide focuses primarily on how to perform tasks in these two environments.
Topics discussed include:
• Using the graphical desktop environment
• Managing files and directories • Working with documents
• Using the Web and email • Working with a digital camera
After conquering the basics of your Red Hat Linux system, you may need information on
more advanced topics. You can find this information in the Red Hat Linux Customization
Guide, the Red Hat Linux Reference Guide, the Red Hat Linux System Administration
Primer, and the Red Hat Linux Security Guide.
HTML and PDF versions of the Red Hat Linux manuals are available on the
Red Hat Linux Documentation CD and online at [Link]

Note
Although this manual reflects the most current information possible, you should
read the Red Hat Linux Release Notes for information that may not have been
available prior to our documentation being finalized. They can be found on the Red
Hat Linux CD #1 and online at: [Link]
 xvii

Changes to This Manual

This manual has been expanded to include new features in Red Hat Linux 9 as well as
topics requested by our readers. Changes to this manual include:
Working with Digital Cameras
This new chapter discusses using a digital camera with gtKam.
Configuring Date and Time
A chapter on configuring your system time, your time zone, and how to connect to a
network time server to get accurate time and date information for your Red Hat Linux
system has been moved from the Red Hat Linux Customization Guide to this manual.
Diskettes and CD-ROMs
This chapter now includes information about backing up files to CD-R and CD-RW
media using CD Creator in Nautilus.
Working with Documents
This chapter includes information on editing text files in a graphical environment (with
gEdit) and at a shell prompt (with vi).
Using the Graphical Desktop
This chapter has been modified to reflect the new desktop environment and the
various ways you can use and configure it, including how to change your desktop
background, manage your printer, and more.
Document Conventions
When you read this manual, you will see that certain words are represented in different
fonts, typefaces, sizes, and weights. This highlighting is systematic; different words are
represented in the same style to indicate their inclusion in a specific category. The types
of words that are represented this way include the following:
command
Linux commands (and other operating system commands, when used) are
represented this way. This style should indicate to you that you can type the word
or phrase on the command line and press [Enter] to invoke a command. Sometimes
a command contains words that would be displayed in a different style on their
own (such as filenames). In these cases, they are considered to be part of the
command, so the entire phrase will be displayed as a command. For example:
Use the cat testfile command to view the contents of a file, named
testfile, in the current working directory.
filename
Filenames, directory names, paths, and RPM package names are represented this
way. This style should indicate that a particular file or directory exists by that name
on your Red Hat Linux system. Examples:
xviii
The .bashrc file in your home directory contains bash shell definitions and
aliases for your own use.
The /etc/fstab file contains information about different system devices and
filesystems.
Install the webalizer RPM if you want to use a Web server log file analysis
program.
application
This style indicates that the program is an end-user application (as opposed to
system software). For example:
Use Mozilla to browse the Web.
[key]
A key on the keyboard is shown in this style. For example:
To use [Tab] completion, type in a character and then press the [Tab] key.
Your terminal will display the list of files in the directory that start with that letter.
[key]-[combination]
A combination of keystrokes is represented in this way. For example:
The [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[Backspace] key combination will exit your graphical
session and return you to the graphical login screen or the console.
text found on a GUI interface
A title, word, or phrase found on a GUI interface screen or window will be shown in
this style. When you see text shown in this style, it is being used to identify a
particular GUI screen or an element on a GUI screen (such as text associated with a
checkbox or field). Example:
Select the Require Password checkbox if you would like your screensaver to
require a password before stopping.
top level of a menu on a GUI screen or window
When you see a word in this style, it indicates that the word is the top level of a
pulldown menu. If you click on the word on the GUI screen, the rest of the menu
should appear. For example:
Under File on a GNOME terminal, you will see the New Tab option that allows you
to open multiple shell prompts in the same window.
If you need to type in a sequence of commands from a GUI menu, they will be
shown like the following example:
Go to Main Menu Button (on the Panel) => Programming => Emacs to start the
Emacs text editor.
button on a GUI screen or window
This style indicates that the text will be found on a clickable button on a GUI screen.
For example: Click on the Back button to return to the webpage you last viewed.
 xix
computer output
When you see text in this style, it indicates text displayed by the computer on the
command line. You will see responses to commands you typed in, error messages,
and interactive prompts for your input during scripts or programs shown this way.
For example:
Use the ls command to display the contents of a directory:
$ ls
Desktop [Link] logs [Link]
g
Mail backupfiles mail reports
The output returned in response to the command (in this case, the contents of the
directory) is shown in this style.
prompt
A prompt, which is a computer’s way of signifying that it is ready for you to input
something, will be shown in this style. Examples:
$
#
[stephen@maturin stephen]$
leopard login:
user input
Text that the user has to type, either on the command line, or into a text box on a
GUI screen, is displayed in this style. In the following example, text is displayed in
this style:
To boot your system into the text based installation program, you will need to type
in the text command at the boot: prompt.
Additionally, we use several different strategies to draw your attention to certain
pieces of information. In order of how critical the information is to your system, these
items will be marked as note, tip, important, caution, or a warning. For example:

Note
Remember that Linux is case sensitive. In other words,
a rose is not a ROSE is not a rOsE.

Tip
The directory /usr/share/doc contains additional documentation for packages
installed on your system.
xx

Important
If you modify the DHCP configuration file, the changes will not take effect until you
restart the DHCP daemon.

Caution
Do not perform routine tasks as root — use a regular user account unless you need to
use the root account for system administration tasks.

Warning
If you choose not to partition manually, a server installation will remove all existing
partitions on all installed hard drives. Do not choose this installation class unless you
are sure you have no data you need to save.
Copying and Pasting Text With X
Copying and pasting text is easy using your mouse and the X Window System. To copy
text, simply click and drag your mouse over the text to highlight it. To paste the text
somewhere, click the middle mouse button in the spot where the text should be
placed.
Using the Mouse
Red Hat Linux is designed to use a three-button mouse. If you have a two-button
mouse, you should have selected three-button emulation during the installation
process. If you’re using three-button emulation, pressing both mouse buttons at the
same time equates to pressing the missing third (middle) button.
In this document, if you are instructed to click with the mouse on something, that
means click the left mouse button. If you need to use the middle or right mouse
button, that will be explicitly stated. (This will be reversed if you’ve configured your
mouse to be used by a left handed person.)
The phrase "drag and drop" may be familiar to you. If you’re instructed to drag and
drop an item on your GUI desktop, click on something and hold the mouse button
down. While continuing to hold down the mouse button, drag the item by moving the
mouse to a new location. When you’ve reached the desired location, release the
mouse button to drop the item.
We Need Feedback!
If you spot a typographical error in the Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide, or if you
have thought of a way to make this manual better, we would love to hear from you!
 xxi
Please submit a report in Bugzilla
([Link] against the component rhl-
gsg. When submitting a bug report, be sure to mention the manual’s identifier:
rhl-gsg(EN)-9-Print-RHI (2003-02-20T01:05)
If you have a suggestion for improving the documentation, try to be as specific as
possible when describing it. If you have found an error, please include the section
number and some of the surrounding text so we can find it easily.
Sign Up for Support
If you have an edition of Red Hat Linux 9, please remember to sign up for the benefits
you are entitled to as a Red Hat customer.
You will be entitled to any or all of the following benefits, depending upon the Red Hat
Linux product you purchased:
 Red Hat support — Get help with your installation questions from Red Hat, Inc.’s
support team.
 Red Hat Network — Easily update your packages and receive security notices that are
customized for your system. Go to [Link] for more details.
 Under the Brim: The Red Hat E-Newsletter — Every month, get the latest news and
product information directly from Red Hat.
To sign up, go to [Link] You will find
your Product ID on a black, red, and white card in your Red Hat Linux box.
To read more about technical support for Red Hat Linux, refer to the Getting Technical
Support Appendix in the Red Hat Linux Installation Guide.
Good luck, and thank you for choosing Red Hat Linux!
The Red Hat Documentation Team
xxii
[Link]

Chapter 1.
Steps to Get You Started
From booting up to shutting down, whether you are working or playing, Red Hat Linux
provides tools and applications to help you get the most out of your computing
environment. This chapter guides you through some basic tasks that you can perform on
your Red Hat Linux system.
1.1. Setup Agent
The first time you start your Red Hat Linux system, the Setup Agent is presented. The
Setup Agent guides you through the configuration of your Red Hat Linux system. Using
this tool, you can set your system time and date, add users to your system, install
software, register your machine with the Red Hat Network, and more. Setup Agent allows
you to configure your environment at the beginning, so that you can get started using
your Red Hat Linux system quickly.

...

...

Figure 1-1. Setup Agent

The Setup Agent first prompts you to create a user account that you should use on a
routine basis. It is not recommended to log in to your root account for common
computing tasks, as you may damage your system or unintentionally delete a file. The
Setup Agent lets you enter a username, an optional full name for the account, and a
password (which you must enter twice).
2
This creates a user account that you can use to log into your Red Hat Linux system and
which has its own home directory on the system to store files.

...

Figure 1-2. User Account

The Setup Agent allows you to manually set your machine’s date and time, which adjusts
the clock on your computer’s BIOS (Basic Input Output System). To set the day, month,
and year on your system, use the calendar interface. To set your time in hours, minutes,
and seconds, use the provided text boxes.
You may also synchronize your date and time automatically with a network time server —
a computer that sends accurate date and time settings to your system through a network
connection. Check the box labeled Enable Network Time Protocol and use the drop-down

menu to select the time server you want

to use. Once you have set your time and date, click to continue.

...
 3

...

Figure 1-3. Date and Time Configuration

To register your system with Red Hat Network and receive automatic updates of your Red
Hat Linux system, choose Yes, I would like to register my system with Red Hat Network.
This will start the Red Hat
Update Agent — a utility that guides you step-by-step through the registration of your
machine with Red Hat Network. Selecting No, I do not want to register my system skips
the registration. For more information
about Red Hat Network and registering your machine, refer to the Red Hat Network
documentation at [Link]

...

Figure 1-4. Red Hat Network Registration Client

To install Red Hat Linux RPM packages that you did not install during installation, software
from third-party providers, or documentation from the Red Hat Linux Documentation CD,
you can do so at the
Additional CDs screen.
Insert the CD containing the
4
software or documentation you want to install, click the button, and follow the
instructions.

Note
If you are installing a package from the Red Hat Linux Installation CDs, you must
insert CD 1, click the button, choose the package(s) or
component you want to install, and, if prompted, change the CD.

...

Figure 1-5. Installing Additional Software

Now that your system is configured, you are ready to log in and start using Red Hat Linux.

Press Forward to exit the Setup Agent.

1.2. Introductory Terms

When you learn about a new operating system, you should also learn new terminology.
This section defines a few basic terms you should learn. You will see these terms often
throughout all Red Hat Linux documentation including the
Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide:
 Command: An instruction given to the computer, most often with the keyboard or
mouse.
 Command line: The space at the shell prompt where commands are typed.
 5
 Graphical Desktop: The most visible area of a GUI. The desktop is where your user
Home and Start Here icons are located. You can customize your desktop to have special
backgrounds, colors, and pictures to add a personal touch.
 Graphical User Interface (GUI): A general term for interactive windows, icons, menus,
and panels which allow a user to initiate actions such as starting applications and
opening files using a mouse and keyboard.
 Icons are small images representing an application, folder, shortcut or system resource
(such as a diskette drive). Launcher icons usually refer to application shortcuts.
 Man page and Info page: Man (short for manual) and Info pages give detailed
information about a command or file (man pages tend to be brief and provide less
explanation than Info pages). For example, to read the man page for the su
command, type man su at a shell prompt (or type info su for the info page).
To close man or Info pages, press [q].
 Panel: A desktop toolbar, usually located across the bottom of your desktop (such as
Figure 1-6). The panel contains the Main Menu button and shortcut icons to start
commonly used programs. Panels can also be customized to suit your needs.

Figure 1-6. The Desktop Panel

 Root: Root is an administrative user account created during installation and has
complete access to the system. You must be logged in as root to accomplish certain
system administration tasks, such as changing administrative passwords and running
system configuration tools. User accounts are created so that typical user tasks can be
done without using the root account, which can reduce the chance of damaging your
Red Hat Linux installation or applications permanently.
 RPM: RPM stands for RPM Package manager and is how Red Hat builds and delivers its
software files. An RPM is a software package file you can install on your
Red Hat Linux computer.
 Shell prompt: A command line interface between the user and the operating system
(Figure 1-7). The shell interprets commands entered by the user and passes them on to
the operating system.
6

Figure 1-7. A Shell Prompt

 su and su -: The command su gives you access to the root account or other
accounts on your system. When you type su to switch to your root account while still
inside your user account shell, you have access to important system files that you can
change (or damage if you are not careful). Logging in with the su - command makes
you root within the root account shell. Use caution when you are logged in as root.
 X or X Window System: These terms refer to the graphical user interface environments.
If you are "in X" or "running X", you are working in a GUI
rather than a console environment.
Although the emphasis throughout this book is on navigation and productivity using the
graphical desktop environment, both the graphical and shell prompt methods of logging
in and using your Red Hat Linux system are discussed for your reference.
1.3. Logging In
The next step to using your Red Hat Linux system is to log in. When you log in, you are
introducing yourself to the system (also called authentication). If you type the wrong user
name or password, you will not be allowed access to your system.
Unlike some other operating systems, your Red Hat Linux system uses accounts to
manage privileges, maintain security, and more. Not all accounts are created equal: some
accounts have fewer rights to access files or services than others.

Note
Red Hat Linux applications and files are case sensitive, which means that typing
root refers to a different account than Root. By default, root refers to the
root user (also known as the superuser), or system administrator.
If you have already created and logged in to a user account, you can skip ahead to
Chapter 2 Using the Graphical Desktop. If you created only the root account, refer to
Section 1.6 Creating a User Account to learn how to set up a user account.
If you did not create a user account using the Setup Agent, you must log in as root. After
you create a user account, it is highly recommended that you log in as that user instead of
root to prevent accidental damage to your Red Hat Linux installation.

 7

Caution
Because your Red Hat Linux system creates the root account during installation,
some new users are tempted to use only this account for all of their activities. This
is a dangerous idea, because the root account is allowed to do anything on the
system. You can easily damage your system by accidentally deleting or modifying
sensitive system files. You may be tempted to forego creating and using a user
account during or after installation, but it is not recommended.
1.3.1. Graphical Login
When your system has booted, a graphical login screen is displayed as shown in Figure
1-8. Again, unless you have chosen to give your machine its own hostname, which is
primarily used in a network setting, your machine will probably be called localhost.

...

...

...

Figure 1-8. The Graphical Login Screen

To log in as root from the graphical login screen, type root at the login prompt, press
[Enter], type the root password that you chose during installation at the password
8
prompt, and press [Enter]. To log in as a normal user, type your username at the login
prompt, press [Enter], type your password that you selected when creating the user at
the password prompt, and press [Enter].
Logging in from the graphical login screen automatically starts the graphical desktop for
you.
1.3.2. Virtual Console Login
During installation, if you selected an installation type other than Workstation or Personal
Desktop and chose text as your login type, you will see a login prompt similar to the
following after booting your system:
Red Hat Linux release 9
Kernel 2.4.18-14 on an i686
localhost login:
Unless you have chosen to give your machine its own hostname, which is primarily used
in a network setting, your machine will probably be called
[Link].
To log in as root from the console, type root at the login prompt, press [Enter],
then type the root password that you chose during installation at the
password prompt and press [Enter]. To log in as a normal user, type your
username at the login prompt, press [Enter], type your password that
you selected when creating the user at the password prompt, and press
[Enter].
After logging in, you can type the command startx to start the
graphical desktop.
1.4. Graphical Interface
When you installed Red Hat Linux you had the
opportunity to install a graphical environment. Once you
start the X Window System, you will find a graphical

interface known as a desktop similar to Figure

1-9.
Figure 1-9. The Graphical Desktop
1.5. Opening a Shell Prompt
The desktop offers access to a shell prompt, an application that allows you to type
commands instead of using a graphical interface for all computing activities.
While the Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide primarily focuses on performing tasks
using the graphical interface and graphical tools, it is sometimes useful and faster to
 9
perform tasks from a shell prompt. Refer to Chapter 13 Shell Prompt Basics for further
details.

10
You can open a shell prompt by selecting Main Menu => System Tools => Terminal.
You can also start a shell prompt by right-clicking on the desktop and choosing
New Terminal from the menu.
To exit a shell prompt, click the X button on the upper right corner of the shell prompt
window Figure 1-7, type exit at the prompt, or press [Ctrl]-[D] at the prompt.
1.6. Creating a User Account
When you first started your Red Hat Linux system after installation, you were given the
opportunity to create one or more user accounts using the Setup Agent. If you did not
create at least one account (not including the root account) you should do so now. You
should avoid working in the root account for daily tasks.
There are two ways to create new and/or additional user accounts:
using the graphical User Manager application or from a shell prompt.
To create a user account graphically using the User Manager:
1. Click the Start Here icon on the desktop. In the new window that opens, click the
System Settings icon, and then click the Users & Groups icon. You can also select
Main Menu => System Settings => Users & Groups from the panel.
You can also start the User Manager by typing redhat-config-users at a
shell prompt.
2. If you are not logged in as root, you will be prompted for your root password.

3. The window shown in Figure 1-10 will appear. Click .

Figure 1-10. The Red Hat User Manager

4. In the Create New User dialog box, enter
a username (this can be an
abbreviation or nickname), the full name of the user for whom this account is being
created, and a password (which you will enter a second time for verification).
5.
 11
The name of this user’s home directory and the name of the login shell

should appear by default. For most users, you can accept the defaults for the other
configuration options. Refer to Ch 25 User and Group Configuration pp 222-230,
25.5 Command Line Configuration pp 226-230,
25.5 useradd Command Line Options Adding a User Table 25-1 p 227
Red Hat Linux Customization Guide for details about additional options.
6. Click OK. The new user will appear in the user list, signaling that the user account
creation is complete.
To create a user account from a shell prompt:
1. Open a shell prompt.
2. If you are not logged in as root,
type the command su - and enter the root password.
3. Type useradd followed by a space and the username for the new account you
are creating at the command line (for example, useradd jsmith). Press
[Enter]. Often, usernames are variations on the user’s name, such as jsmith
for John Smith. User account names can be anything from the user’s name, initials,
or birthplace to something more creative.
4. Type passwd followed by a space and the username again (for example,
passwd jsmith).
5. At the New password: prompt enter a password for the new user and
press [Enter].
6. At the Retype new password: prompt, enter the same password to confirm your
selection.

Important
You should take precautions when you choose a password. The password is the
key to your account, so it should be both unique and easy for you to remember.
Your password should be at least six characters. You can use both uppercase
and lowercase letters, as well as numbers and characters. Avoid easy selections,
such as qwerty or password. If you want to pick an easy-to-remember but
somewhat unique password, consider a variation of a word, such as
a1rPl4nE for airplane.
1.7. Documentation and Help
There are several resources available to get the information you need to use and
configure your Red Hat Linux system. Along with the Red Hat Linux documentation there
are manual pages, documents that detail usage of important applications and files;
12
INFO pages which break information about an application down by context-sensitive
menus; and help files that are included in the main menubar of graphical applications.
You can choose any method of accessing documentation that best suits your needs,
as all of these resources are either already installed on your Red Hat Linux system or can
be easily installed.
1.7.1. Manual Pages
Applications, utilities, and shell prompt commands usually have corresponding manual
pages (also called man pages) that show the reader available options and values of file or
executable. Man Pages are structured in such a way that users can quickly scan the page
for pertinent information, which is important when dealing with commands that they
have never previously encountered.
[Link]. Using man
Man Pages can be accessed via shell prompt by typing the command man and the
name of the executable. For example, to access the man page for the ls command,
type the following:
man ls
The field shows the executable’s name and a brief explanation of what
function the executable performs. The field shows the common
usage of the executable, such as what options are declared and what types of input
(such as files or values) the executable supports. The field
shows available options and values associated with a file or executable. See Also shows
related terms, files, and programs.
 13

Figure 1-11. Reading a Man Page with the Shell Prompt

To navigate the man page you can use the [Page Down] and [Page Up] keys
or use the [Spacebar] to move down one page and [B] to move up. To exit the
man page, type [Q].
To search a man page for keywords type [/] and then a keyword or phrase and
press [Enter]. All instances of the keyword will be highlighted throughout the man
page, allowing you to quickly read the keyword in context.
[Link]. Printing a Man Page
Printing man pages is a useful way to archive commonly used commands, perhaps in
bound form for quick reference. If you have a printer available and configured for use
with Red Hat Linux (refer to Chapter 8 Printer Configuration for more information), you
can print a man page by typing the following command at a shell prompt:
man command| col -b | lpr
The example above combines separates commands into one unique function. man
command will output the contents of the command man page to col, which formats the
contents to fit within a printed page. The lpr command sends the formatted content
to the printer.
[Link]. The man Man Page
Just like other commands, man has its own man page. Type man man at the shell
prompt for more information.
1.7.2. Red Hat Linux Documentation
If you have the Red Hat Linux boxed set, remember to take a look at the Red Hat Linux
Documentation CD. All of the Red Hat Linux manuals are on this CD. Individual downloads
of our documentation in HTML, RPM, PDF, and compressed tarball format
(.[Link]) are also available at [Link] Once you have
logged in to your user account, inserting the Documentation CD in your CD-ROM drive
should automatically start the Package Management Tool and allow you to install any of
the
Red Hat Linux documentation. Follow the instructions and choose the documentation you
would like to install.
14

Figure 1-12. Package Management Tool Displaying Documentation Available for

Installation
After you have installed the documentation packages you want, you can access them at
any time by clicking Main Menu => Documentation.
If you have downloaded individual documentation RPM packages from the Red Hat
website at [Link] you can install these manuals from a
shell prompt. Open a shell prompt, and type the following at the command line: su
Press [Enter]. You will be asked for your root password. Enter the password at
the prompt and press [Enter]. You are now logged in as root. To install all of the
Red Hat Linux manuals, change to the directory that contains the RPM files and type the
following:
rpm -ivh rhl-*.rpm
Press [Enter].
To install only certain manuals, replace rhl-*.rpm with the full file name of the
manual that you want to install. For example, the file name for the Red Hat Linux
Getting Started Guide will look something like [Link], so you
would type the following to install it on your system:
rpm -ivh /mnt/cdrom/[Link]
 15
Press [Enter]. Type exit at the command line and press [Enter]. This logs you out of
the root account and back to your user account.
Now go to Main Menu => Documentation and select the manual you want to read.
1.8. Logging Out
1.8.1. Graphical Logout
To log out your graphical desktop session, select Main Menu => Log Out.
When the confirmation dialog
appears as shown in Figure 1-13,
select the Logout option and click
the Yes button. To save the
configuration of your desktop, as
well as any programs which are
running, check the
Save current setup option.
Figure 1-13. Logout Confirmation
1.8.2. Virtual Console Logout
If you are not using the X Window System, and you logged in at the console, type exit
or [Ctrl]-[D] to log out of the console session.
1.9. Shutting Down your Computer
Before turning off your computer, it is important to properly shut down Red Hat Linux.
Never turn your computer off without shutting down first, as you may lose unsaved data
or damage your system.
1.9.1. Graphical Shutdown
If you are in the graphical desktop, log out of your session as described in Section 1.8
Logging Out. From the graphical desktop logout screen shown in Figure 1-13,

select Shutdown and click to confirm.

Some computers automatically turn the power off after shutting down Red Hat Linux.
If your computer does not, you can safely turn off the power to your computer after you
see the message:
Power down.
1.9.2. Virtual Console Shutdown
To shutdown your computer at a shell prompt, type the following command: halt
Some computers automatically turn the power off after shutting down Red Hat Linux. If
your computer does not, you can safely turn off the power to your computer after you
see the message:
16
System halted.
 17

Chapter 2.
Using the Graphical Desktop
Red Hat Linux includes a powerful graphical desktop environment where
you can easily access your applications, files, and system resources. Both
new and experienced users will be able to take full advantage of their
Red Hat Linux systems using the graphical desktop.
This chapter covers the fundamentals of the desktop and how you can
configure it for your needs.
2.1. Using the Desktop
Your first view of the graphical desktop will look
something like
Figure 2-1.

Figure 2-1. The Graphical Desktop

The graphical desktop gives you access to the applications and system settings on your
computer. You will notice that it offers three main tools to make use of the applications
on your system: panel icons, desktop icons, and menus.
The long bar across the bottom of the desktop is the panel. The panel contains application
launcher icons, a notification area for notification icons, and small applications called
applets that let you control sound volume, switch workspaces, and displays the status of
your system.
The icons elsewhere on the desktop can be shortcuts to file folders, application launchers,
and shortcuts to removable devices such as CD-ROM and diskettes when they have been
mounted. To open a folder or launch an application, double-click on its icon.

The menu systems can be found by clicking on the Main Menu button .

They can also be found by double-clicking on the icon on the

desktop and then clicking the Applications icon.
The desktop works in the manner you might expect it to when working with other
operating systems. You can drag and drop files and application icons to areas that are
easily accessible. You can add new icons for files and applications to the desktop, panel,
18
and file manager. You can change the appearance of most of the tools and applications
and change system settings with provided configuration tools.
2.2. Using the Panel
The desktop panel is the bar that stretches across the bottom of the screen and holds
icons and small applications which makes using your system easier. The panel also holds
the Main Menu, which contains shortcuts for all of your applications. Applets embedded
on the panel allow you to run specific tasks or monitor your system or services while
remaining out of your way. The notification area holds alert icons such as the one for
Red Hat Network so that you can be quickly alerted to critical messages.

Figure 2-2. The Panel

[Link] the Main Menu
You can click on the Main Menu button to expand it into a large set of menus
that allow you to access the applications on your system.
From here, you can start most applications included in Red Hat Linux. Notice that, in
addition to the recommended applications, you can also access additional applications
within each sub-menu. These sub-menus give you access to a full range of applications on
your system. From the Main Menu, you can also log out, run applications from a
command line, find files, and lock your screen (which runs a password protected screen
saver).
2.2.2. Using Applets
Applets are small applications that run on the panel. Applets let you monitor various
aspects of your system. Some applets perform useful tasks while others are designed to
be entertaining.
There are a few applets that run on your panel by default. These applets are fairly
important and are covered in the following list.
Workspace Switcher
The graphical desktop gives you the ability to use multiple workspaces so you do not
have to have all of your running applications crowding one viewable desktop area. The
Workspace Switcher represents each workspace (or desktop) in small squares and
show the applications running on them. Click on one of the squares with your mouse
to move to that desktop. You can also use the keyboard shortcut
[Ctrl]-[Alt]-[up-arrow], [Ctrl]-
[Alt]-[down-arrow],
[Ctrl]-[Alt]-[right-arrow], or
[Ctrl]-[Alt]-[left-arrow] to
switch between desktops.
Figure 2-3. Workspace Switcher
 19
Taskbar
Next to the Workspace Switcher is the Taskbar. The Taskbar is an applet which shows
you the titles of running applications on any one virtual desktop. This is very helpful if
you decide to minimize an application as it will seem to disappear from the desktop.
Once it disappears, you can bring it back by clicking on its title in the Taskbar.

Figure 2-4. The Taskbar

2.2.3. Using the Notification Area
Red Hat Network Notification Tool
Part of the Notification Area, the Red Hat Network Notification Tool provides you
with an easy way to make sure your system is up-to-date with current errata and bug
fixes from Red Hat. The applet shows you different images that indicate whether your
system is up to date or needs upgrades. If you click on the icon, a list of available
updates will be displayed. To update your system, click the button to launch the
Red Hat Update Agent. If you are not registered with Red Hat Network, it
will launch the registration component. Right-click on the applet icon for a
list of options from which to choose.
Figure 2-5. Red Hat Network Notification Tool
The Authentication Icon
The key icon that is sometimes displayed in the Notification Area is a
security notification that displays whenever you have gained root
authentication for your system (such as running a graphical system
configuration tool). It disappears when the authentication times out.
Figure 2-6. Authentication Icon
Printer Notification Icon
The Printer Notification Icon allows you to manage your print jobs. Click on
the icon to view running print jobs, and cancel jobs by right-clicking on the
job and selecting Cancel.
Figure 2-7. The Printer Notification Icon

Warning
If you cannot see any of the notification icons, then the notification area was
removed from the desktop panel. To add the it back to your panel, right-click on
the panel and choose Add to Panel => Utility => Notification Area.
20

2.2.4. Adding Icons and Applets to the Panel

To make the panel fit your needs, you may want to add more applets and launcher icons.
To add an applet to the panel, right-click in an unused area on the panel, select Add to
Panel, and choose from the various types of applets. When you select an applet, it will
appear on your panel. In Figure 2-8, the Weather Report applet has been added to show
the current local weather and temperature.

Figure 2-8. The Weather Report Applet on the Panel

To add a launcher icon to the panel, right-click in an unused area on the panel and select
Add to Panel => Launcher.... This will launch a dialog box that allows you to enter the
name of the application, the location and name of the command that starts the
application (such as /usr/bin/foo), and even choose an icon for the application.
Click OK and the new launcher icon will appear on the panel.

Tip
Another quick and easy way to add a launcher to the panel is to right-click on an
unused area of the panel and choose Add to Panel => Launcher from menu. Then
select an application that appears in the menu. This will automatically
add a launcher icon based on the properties of the item in the Main Menu.
2.2.5. Configuring the Desktop Panel
You can hide the panel automatically or manually, place it on any edge of your desktop,
change its size and color, and change the way it behaves. To alter the default panel
settings, right-click in an unused area of the panel and select Properties. You can set the
size of the panel, its position on the desktop, and whether you want the panel to be
automatically hidden (Autohide) when not in use. If you choose to autohide the panel, it
will not appear on the desktop until you move your mouse pointer over the panel area
(called hovering).
2.3. Using Nautilus
The graphical desktop includes a file manager called Nautilus that gives you a graphical
display of your system and personal files. Nautilus is designed to be much more than a
visual listing of files, however. It allows you to configure your desktop, configure your
Red Hat Linux system, browse your photo collection, access your network resources, and
more all from one integrated interface. In essence, Nautilus becomes a shell for your
entire desktop experience.
 21
Working in Nautilus is efficient and provides an alternative to searching through the
various submenus connected to the Main Menu or using a shell prompt to
navigate the file system. The following sections explain how to use the Nautilus to
enhance your desktop experience.
To start Nautilus as a file manager, double-click on your home directory icon:
Once Nautilus appears, you can navigate through your home directory or the rest of the
file system. To return to your home directory, click the Home button.
The browser window contains folders and files which you can drag with your mouse to
move and copy into new locations. You can open another Nautilus window by selecting
File => New Window. Once you have another Nautilus window, you can drag and drop
files to different directories. By default, dragging a file from one directory to another
moves the file. To copy the file to another directory, press the [Ctrl] key while
dragging and dropping the file.
By default, image files in your home directory will be seen as thumbnails. For text files,
this means you see a portion of the actual text in the icon. For images, you see a
scaled-down (or thumbnail) version of the image. To turn off this feature, select
Edit => Preferences. Select the Preview tab, then select Never in the drop down for
Show Thumbnails. Disabling this (and other) previewing feature increases the speed of
Nautilus.
2.4. Start Here

Figure 2-9. The Start Here Window

Start Here was designed to hold all of the tools and applications you need to access when
using your system. From your favorite applications to system and configuration tools, the
Start Here window provides a central location for using and customizing your system.
You can access the Start Here screen at any time by double-clicking on the desktop icon
labeled Start Here.
The Start Here screen includes icons that allow you to access your favorite applications,
desktop preferences, Main Menu items, server configuration tools, and system settings.
22

Tip
You can add your favorite locations to the Bookmarks. Navigate to the location
you want to bookmark, and then select Bookmarks => Add Bookmark.
2.4.1. Customizing the Desktop
From the Start Here screen, you can select the Preferences icon to configure your
desktop, which presents you with a wide selection of configuration options. The following
lists some of the options and tools in each area.
Background
You can configure your background with new colors or a new image. To learn more
about configuring your desktop background,
refer to Section [Link] Changing your Desktop Background.
Sound
In this section you can configure the system sounds associated with various
functions. For example, to play a sound when you log in to your desktop, you can
configure it.
Keyboard Shortcuts
You can configure shortcuts — pressing a combination of keystrokes on the
keyboard — to perform actions within an application or on your desktop. For
example, you can configure a shortcut to move from your current Workspace to
Workspace 2 by pressing [Ctrl]-[F2].
[Link]. Changing your Desktop Background
One way to dramatically alter the appearance of your graphical desktop is to change the
background using the Background Preferences tool. You can choose from several
background images included with Red Hat Linux in the
/usr/share/backgrounds/ directory, or you can use your own image. To start
the Background Preferences tool, right-click on the desktop and choose Change Desktop
Background from the menu. You can also double-click the Start Here icon, select
Preferences, and finally select Background.
 23

Figure 2-10. The Background Preferences Tool

The Background Preferences tool allows you to load a new background from a directory
of provided images (/usr/share/backgrounds/images/). You can also drag an
image into the window from your own image directory. There are several additional
options for displaying your background image. The Wallpaper option displays multiple
instances of your image across the desktop, which is useful if you use a small image or if
you use a tile (or pattern) image from /usr/share/backgrounds/tiles/ or from
your own image collection. The Centered option places your image in the center of the
desktop, leaving the default background colors to fill in any remaining desktop space. To
fill the desktop with an image without tiling it, use the Scaled or Stretched options. Figure
2-11 shows a background image of flowers and plants that is stretched to fill the entire
desktop.

Figure 2-11. The Desktop with a New Background

24
If you want to create a background with your own custom colors and no images, choose
the No Picture option and adjust your colors using the Background Style options. Choose
your own Top Color and Bottom Color and the color gradient (or the blending of colors).
Click Close to save and exit the Background Preferences tool.
2.4.2. Customizing your System
The Start Here screen in Nautilus contains additional configuration tools that help you
with your new Red Hat Linux system and the server applications included.
The System Settings icon includes tools that help you set up your system for personal
everyday use. The following lists some of the tools included in System Settings and what
you can do with them.
Date & Time
This tool allows you to set the date and time of your machine. You will be able to set
your time zone information as well. Refer to
Chapter 3 Configuring the Date and Time for details on using this tool.
Soundcard Detection
The Sound Card Configuration Tool tool probes your machine for available sound
devices. Refer to Section 10.3 Troubleshooting Your Sound Card for more details on
configuring your sound hardware.
Users & Groups
The User Manager tool allows you to add and remove users from your system. Refer
to Section 1.6 Creating a User Account for details.
Printing
The Printer Configuration Tool allows you to add a new printer to your system. The
printer may be connected to your machine or available on a network. Refer to
Chapter 8 Printer Configuration and the Chapter 27 Printer Configuration pp 242-64
Red Hat Linux Customization Guide for details.
You may also find server configuration tools in the Start Here area, depending on which
install type you specified during installation. These tools help you configure services and
applications you are using on the local machine to serve other machines. The server
configuration tools are found by clicking on the System Settings icon and then the
Server Settings icon. A few examples of the tools found in this area are the
HTTP Configuration Tool and the Bind Configuration Tool. You must have those server
applications installed before these tools appear in this section. Refer to the
Ch 21 BIND Configuration pp 200-205 Red Hat Linux Customization Guide for details.
 25

2.5. Logging Out

When you have finished working and want
to quit GNOME, you are presented with
the choice of logging out of GNOME
(leaving the system running), restarting the
machine, or halting the system completely.

Figure 2-12. The Desktop Log Out Confirmation

To quit the graphical desktop, select the Log Out menu item from the Main Menu. This
will bring up a dialog which presents you with the options listed above.
26
26

Chapter 3.
Configuring the Date and Time
The Time and Date Properties Tool allows the user to change the system date and time,
to configure the time zone used by the system, and to setup the Network Time Protocol
(NTP) daemon to synchronize the system clock with a time server.
You must be running the X Window System and have root privileges. To start the
application from the desktop go to the Main Menu Button => System Settings =>
Date & Time or type the command redhat-config-date at a shell prompt (for
example, in an XTerm or a GNOME terminal).
3.1. Time and Date Properties
As shown in Figure 3-1, the first tabbed window that appears is for configuring the system
date and time and the NTP daemon (ntpd).

Figure 3-1. Time and Date Properties

 27
To change the date, use the arrows to the left and right of the month to change the
month. Use the arrows to the left and right of the year to change the year, and click on
the day of the week to change the day of the week. Changes will not take place
until you click the OK button.
To change the time, use the up and down arrow buttons beside the Hour,
Minute, and Second in the Time section. Changes will not take place
until you click the OK button.
The Network Time Protocol (NTP) daemon synchronizes the system clock with a remote
time server or time source (such as a satellite). The application allows you to configure a
NTP daemon to synchronize your system clock with a remote server. To enable this
feature, click the button. This will enable
the Server pulldown menu. You can choose one of the predefined servers or type a server
name in the pulldown menu. Your system will not start synchronizing with the NTP server
until you click OK . After you click OK , the configuration
will be saved and the NTP daemon will be started (or restarted if it is already running).
Clicking the OK button will apply any changes that you have made to
the date and time, the NTP daemon settings, and the time zone settings and then exit the
program.
3.2. Time Zone Configuration
To configure the system time zone, click the Time Zone tab. The time zone can be
changed by either using the interactive map or by choosing the desired time zone from
the list below the map. To use the map, click on the city that represents the desired time
zone. A red X will appear and the time zone selection will change in the list below the
map. Click OK to apply the changes and exit the program.
28

Figure 3-2. Timezone Properties

If your system clock is set to use UTC, select the System clock uses UTC option. UTC
stands for the universal time zone, also known as Greenwich mean time (GMT). Other
time zones are determined by adding or subtracting from the UTC time.
29
30

Chapter 4.
Diskettes and CD-ROMs
Using diskettes and CD-ROMs with Red Hat Linux requires some understanding about
removable media. This chapter discusses how to read and write files to and from
diskettes, how to format diskettes, and how to read and copy data from a CD-ROM. This
chapter also covers using CD-writable and CD-rewritable drives.
4.1. Using Diskettes
Diskettes are one of the oldest removable media solutions available for the personal
computer (PC). Diskettes are ideal as a portable storage solution for small files that need
to be physically moved around. For example, if two PCs are not on the same network,
diskettes are a great solution to transfer files from one computer to the other.
4.1.1. Mounting and Unmounting a Diskette
A diskette must first be mounted before it can be used. To mount a diskette, insert it into
the diskette drive and type mount /mnt/floppy/ at a shell prompt.
The diskette drive activity light should blink as the diskette’s file system is mounted to the
/mnt/floppy/ directory.
You can access the contents of the diskette by changing into that directory with the
cd /mnt/floppy/ command.
Alternatively, you can also mount a diskette by right-clicking on the desktop and choosing
Disks => Floppy. This mounts the diskette and adds a desktop icon which you can
double-click to explore the diskette contents.
Now that the diskette has been mounted it is available to be copied from or written to.
You can open, save, and copy files to/from it as you would normally do to your hard drive.
You can even explore the diskette’s contents in Nautilus (as shown in Figure 4-1) or
Konqueror.
 31

Figure 4-1. Viewing files on a Diskette with Nautilus

When you are done using the diskette, you should unmount it before ejecting it from the
drive. To do this, close any applications that may be using files on the diskette or
exploring the diskette’s contents (such as Nautilus or Konqueror), and at a shell prompt
type the following command :
umount /mnt/floppy/
If you are using GNOME, you can unmount the diskette by right-clicking on the
icon and choosing Unmount Volume from the menu.
You can now safely eject the diskette from the drive.
4.1.2. Putting Linux Files on an MS-DOS Diskette
To copy files from a Linux machine to an MS-DOS formatted diskette so that a Windows
machine can read it you should format your diskette with an MS-DOS (FAT) file system.
This can be done with the Windows OS or with gfloppy (see
Section [Link] Using gfloppy). Then mount it in Linux as described in
Section 4.1.1 Mounting and Unmounting a Diskette. Copy files using the following
command (substituting filename with the name of the file you wish to copy):
cp filename /mnt/floppy
You can then unmount the diskette and eject it from the drive. The new file on the
diskette should now be accessible from your Windows machine.
4.1.3. Formatting a Diskette
To use a diskette specifically with Red Hat Linux, you need to format the diskette using
the ext2 file system. ext2 is one of the file systems supported by Red Hat Linux, and
is the default method used for formatting diskettes.

Warning
Formatting a diskette will erase all of its contents. Be sure to backup any files that
you need before performing any of the following operations on your diskettes.
Once you have created an ext2 file system on the diskette, you can manipulate its
contents in the same ways that you manipulate directories and files on your hard drive.
32
[Link]. Using gfloppy
To start gfloppy, choose Main Menu => System Tools => Floppy Formatter. From a
shell prompt, type
/usr/bin/gfloppy. As shown
in Figure 4-2, the gfloppy
interface is small and has few
options. The default settings are
sufficient for most users and
needs; however, you can format
your diskette with an MS-DOS file
system type if necessary. You can
also choose the density of your
diskette (if you are not using the
usual high density 3.5" 1.44MB
diskette). You can also elect to
quick format the diskette if it was
previously formatted as ext2.
Figure 4-2. gfloppy
Insert a diskette and change the settings in gfloppy to suit your needs;
then click Format .

The status box will appear on top of the main window,

showing you the status of formatting and verification
(see Figure 4-3). Once complete, you can eject the
diskette and close gfloppy.

Figure 4-3. gfloppy Status Box

[Link]. Using mke2fs
The mke2fs command is used to create a Linux ext2 file system on a device such as
a hard drive partition or (in this case) a diskette. mke2fs essentially formats the device
and creates an empty, Linux-compatible device which can then be used for storing files
and data.
Insert your diskette into the drive and issue the following command at a shell prompt:
/sbin/mke2fs /dev/fd0
On Linux systems, /dev/fd0 refers to the first diskette drive. If your computer has
more than one diskette drive, your primary diskette drive is /dev/fd0,
your second /dev/fd1, and so on.
 33
The mke2fs utility has a number of options. The -c option makes the mke2fs
command check the device for bad blocks before creating the file system. The other
options are covered in the mke2fs man page.
Once you have created an ext2 file system on the diskette, it is ready to be used with
your Red Hat Linux system.
4.2. CD-ROMs
The CD-ROM format is a popular medium to deliver typically large software applications
as well as multimedia games and presentations. Most of the software that can be
purchased from retail outlets come in the form of CD-ROMs. This section shows you how
to use CD-ROMs on your Red Hat Linux system.
4.2.1. Using CD-ROMs with Your File Manager
By default, CDs are automatically mounted and the file manager is displayed allowing you
to explore the contents of the CD. Figure 4-4 shows the contents of a CD-ROM within the
Nautilus file manager.

Figure 4-4. Contents of a CD-ROM in Nautilus

A CD desktop icon also appears, which you can use to unmount and eject your
CD-ROM after use. Right-click on the icon to view all of the available choices. For example,
to unmount and eject the CD-ROM, choose Eject from the menu.
34

4.2.2. Using CD-ROMs From a Shell Prompt

You can also manually mount and unmount your CD-ROMs from a shell prompt. Insert a
CD into your CD-ROM drive, open a shell prompt, and type the following command:
mount /mnt/cdrom
The CD-ROM should now be mounted and available for use with your file manager. You
can access your CD-ROM by clicking the home icon on the desktop and typing
/mnt/cdrom in the location bar.
After working with your CD, you must unmount it before you can eject it from your
CD-ROM drive. Close any applications or file managers that are using the CD-ROM and
type the following command at a shell prompt:
umount /mnt/cdrom
You can now safely press the eject button on your CD-ROM drive to retrieve your CD.
4.3. CD-Rs and CD-RWs
CD-writable (CD-R) drives have grown in popularity as an inexpensive way to backup and
archive several megabytes of data, including applications, personal files, and even
multimedia (audio/video and still image) presentations. Red Hat Linux includes several
tools for using CD-Rs and CD-rewritable (CD-RW) drives.
4.3.1. Using CD Creator
If you want to perform a quick file or directory backup to a CD-R or CD-RW, there is a tool
included in the Nautilus file manager called CD Creator.
CD Creator allows you to drag and drop files from a Nautilus window to the CD Creator
interface. To access the CD Creator feature in Nautilus, insert a blank CD-R(W) into your
drive and the CD Creator window will automatically display. You can also double click
your home directory icon from the desktop and choose Go => CD
Creator from
the window menus. You can also type burn:
in the Location bar to start CD Creator.

Figure 4-5. The CD Creator Interface in Nautilus

 35
Open a new Nautilus window and select the files or directories you want to write to
CD-R(W). To select multiple files, press and hold the [Ctrl] key, and click on the files
and folders. Then release the [Ctrl] key, press and hold the left mouse button, and
drag the files and folders to the CD Creator window.
When you are
ready to write the
files to your
CD-R(W), click the

button in the
CD Creator
window, which
displays a dialog
box where you can
select the
writing speed ,
name the CD ,
and choose other options. Figure 4-6. The CD Creator Write Dialog Box
Click the Write files to CD button to start burning. A status
window displays the writing progress, as shown in Figure 4-7.

By default, the CD-R(W) should

automatically eject from your drive when it is
finished. Since it is generally recommended to
periodically backup personal files, the
CD Creator can help you do so quickly.

Figure 4-7. The CD Creator Write Status Window

4.3.2. Using X-CD-Roast
X-CD-Roast is a graphical application for duplicating and creating (also known as
mastering) CDROMs. X-CD-Roast automates the process of burning CD-Rs and CD-RWs
and is highly configurable to many CD mastering or duplicating needs.
To start X-CD-Roast choose Main Menu => System Tools => CD Writer. To start it at a
shell prompt, type /usr/bin/xcdroast. X-CD-Roast first scans your device busses
and find your CDR(W) drive.
36
It then allows you to configure settings for CD-writer, CD-ROM drive, and more. Figure 4-8
illustrates the Setup
screen and
its configuration options.
Note that your
CD-R(W) drive
brand
may be different from the drive shown.

Check your CD-R(W)

manufacturer documentation to set some of the CD Settings options, such as CD Writer
Speed and CD Writer FIFO-Buffer Size. All CD image (.iso or .img) files need to be
stored in a central location accessible to X-CD-Roast. You must specify a path on your
hard drive’s file system that has at least 700 Megabytes (MB) of free space available.
You can configure the path where you wish to store CD images
in the HD Settings tab under Path.

X-CD-Roast is well-documented
within the interface itself, as several
of the options have long, descriptive
pop-up tips that informs you of the
associated function in detail. You can
access these tooltips by leaving your
mouse pointer on a button or drop-
down menu for at least two seconds.

Figure 4-8. X-CD-Roast Setup Screen

[Link]. Using X-CD-Roast to Duplicate CD-ROMs
To duplicate an existing CD-ROM for backup purposes, click the

Duplicate CD button in the main panel.

You can read all of the tracks on a CD —

all CD-ROM information,

including data and audio, is stored on tracks — by clicking
Read CD.
 37
You can set the speed at which you read a CD-ROM as well
as find out some information about the CD-ROM track such
as its type and size.
38
If you are copying tracks from an audio CD, you can preview each track with

Play Audio-Tracks.

Since X-CD-Roast reads all tracks of a CD-ROM by default,

you can delete unwanted tracks with Delete Tracks.
Finally, to burn your tracks onto CD-R(W) media, choose

Write CD. Figure 4-9 shows the Write CD dialog box,

where you can configure the speed at which you read and write the tracks to CD-R(W),

as well as whether
you wish to
copy the CD-ROM on-the-fly

or

create an image file

first before burning
(which is recommended

to prevent write or read

errors from occurring
during the duplication
process).
 39

Click the Write CD button to start the burning process.

...

Figure 4-9. Using X-CD-Roast to Duplicate CDs

[Link]. Using X-CD-Roast to Create a CD
It is always recommended to backup personal data and information often in case of
hardware failure or file system corruption. X-CD-Roast allows you to backup files on your

hard drive partition using Create CD. This facility allows you to add files and directories
into a CD session using Master Tracks. There are other
options within the Master Tracks dialog that allows you to
configure advanced settings; however, the defaults are set
correctly to create data CD-ROMs, so no further configuration is necessary. Figure 4-10

Figure 4-10. Using X-CD-Roast to Back-up Hard Drive Files

40

shows a session that is preparing the entire

/home directory for backup.
Highlight the files and directories that you wish to add to the session and
click Add.
After you have added all files and directories you want to write to the CD-R(W),
click the Create session/image tab to create the .img file.
You must first click Calculate size,
then click Master to image file to create the image.
To write your tracks to the CD-R(W),
click Write Tracks from the panel on the left.

In the Layout Tracks tab, highlight the image file you created in the box on the right, and
click Add.
The image displays in the Tracks to write box on the left side.
Click Accept track layout, and
click the Write Tracks tab
to return to the main writing
dialog.

Click Write tracks to write the image to the CDR(W).

Tip
You can also create and write the image to the CD-R(W) in one step by clicking
Master and write on-the-fly
in the Create session image tab.
This saves a few steps but can sometimes cause read-write errors.
It is recommended that you use the multi-step method instead of the on-the-fly
methods.
[Link]. Writing ISOs with X-CD-Roast
Large files that end in .iso are known as ISO9660 (or ISO) image files. For
example, Red Hat Linux is freely available as ISO images that you can download and
write to the
CD-R(W). There are also other ISO image files available on FTP and websites. There are
other file types that can be burned as images, such as .img and .raw, but
ISO images are the most common CD image format.
 41
To write an ISO image file to a CD-R(W) with X-CD-Roast, move the ISO file to the path
specified during setup, then click Create CD. In the Layout tracks tab, highlight the
ISO image file you wish to burn and click Add ,
then Accept track layout.
This automatically loads the Write Tracks tab, where you
can click Write Tracks to burn the image to the CD-R(W).

4.3.3. Using CD-Rs and CD-RWs with Command Line Tools

If you want to use a shell prompt to write images to CD-R or CD-RWs, there are two
utilities available: mkisofs and cdrecord. These utilities have several advanced
options that are beyond the scope of this guide; however, for basic image creation and
writing, these tools save some time over the graphical alternatives such as X-CD-Roast.
[Link]. Using mkisofs
The mkisofs utility creates ISO9660 image files that can be written to a CD-R(W).
The images created by mkisofs can include all types of files. It is most useful for
archival and file backup purposes.
Suppose you wish to backup a directory called /home/joeuser/, but exclude the
subdirectory /home/joeuser/junk/ because it contains unnecessary files. You
want to create an ISO image called [Link] and write it to CD-R(W) so that
you can use it on your Red Hat Linux PC at work and your Windows laptop for trips. This
can be done with mkisofs by running the following command:
mkisofs -o [Link] -x /home/joeuser/junk/ -J -R -A -V -v
/home/joeuser/
The image is created in the same directory that you ran the command. Table 4-1 explains
each command line option. For more information on using mkisofs, refer to the
additional resources in Section 4.4 Additional Resources.
You can now use the ISO image file with either X-CD-Roast as described in
Section [Link] Writing ISOs with X-CD-Roast, or using cdrecord, the command line
based CD recording utility. For more information about using cdrecord, refer to
Section [Link] Using cdrecord.
Option Function
-o Specifies an output file name of the ISO image.
-J Generates Joliet naming records; useful if the CD is used in
Windows environments.
-R Generates Rock Ridge (RR) naming records to preserve
filename length and casing, especially for UNIX/Linux
environments.
42
-A Sets an Application ID — a text string that will be written into
the volume header of the image which can be useful to
determine what applications are on the CD.
-V Sets a Volume ID — a name that is assigned to it if the image is
burned, and the disc is mounted in Solaris and Windows
environments.
-v Sets verbose execution, which is useful for viewing the status of
the image as it is being made.
-x Excludes any directory immediately following this option; this
option can be repeated (for example, ... -x
/home/joe/trash
-x /home/joe/delete ...).
Table 4-1. mkisofs Options
[Link]. Using cdrecord
The cdrecord utility writes audio, data, and mixed-mode
(a combination of audio, video, and/or data) CD-ROMs using options to configure several
aspects of the write process, including speed, device, and data settings.
To use cdrecord, you must first establish the device address of your CD-R(W) device
by running the following command as root at a shell prompt:
cdrecord -scanbus
This command shows all CD-R(W) devices on your computer. It is important to remember
the device address of the device used to write your CD. The following is an example
output from running
cdrecord -scanbus.
Cdrecord 1.8 (i686-pc-linux-gnu) Copyright (C) 1995-2000
Jorg Schilling
Using libscg version ’schily-0.1’ scsibus0:
0,0,0 0) *
0,1,0 1) *
0,2,0 2) *
0,3,0 3) ’HP ’ ’CD-Writer+ 9200 ’ ’1.0c’ Removable CD-
ROM
0,4,0 4) *
0,5,0 5) *
0,6,0 6) *
0,7,0 7) *
To write the backup file image created with mkisofs in the previous section, switch to
the root user and type the following at a shell prompt:
cdrecord -v -eject speed=4 dev=0,3,0 [Link]
The command sets the write speed (4), the device address (0,3,0), and sets write
output (verbose [-v]), which is useful for tracking the status of the write process.
 43
The -eject argument ejects the CDROM after the write process is complete. The same
command can also be used for burning ISO image files downloaded from the Internet,
such as Red Hat Linux ISO images.
You can use cdrecord to blank CD-RW discs for reuse by typing the following:
cdrecord --dev=0,3,0 --blank=fast
4.4. Additional Resources
This chapter briefly covers several applications. Refer to the following resources for more
information about the applications in this chapter.
4.4.1. Installed Documentation
 cdrecord man page — Discusses how to burn data, audio and mixed-mode
CD-ROMs. Offers all options and commands in detail, including some example
commands for common CD-R(W) burning tasks.
 /usr/share/doc/cdrecord-<version> (where <version> is the version
of cdrecord installed on your system) — Several documentation files are included
with general usage and licensing information.
 mkisofs man page — Comprehensive detail of the utility, including some warnings
about creating certain types of ISO images. Offers all options and commands in
detail, including some example commands for creating common ISO image files.
 /usr/share/doc/mkisofs-<version> (where <version> is the version of
mkisofs installed on your system) — Several documentation files are included with
general usage and licensing information.
 /usr/share/doc/xcdroast-<version> (where <version> is the version
of
X-CD-Roast installed on your system) — Contains useful command-line options and
usage information for this graphical CD-R(W) mastering application.
 /usr/share/doc/dvdrecord-<version> (where <version> is the
version of dvdrecord installed on your system) — For users who have DVD-
R(+W) devices, this set of documentation helps you get started mastering DVD-
ROMs for data backup and multimedia presentation.
4.4.2. Useful Websites
 [Link] — The Official website of the X-CD-Roast project.
 [Link] — The cdrecord project
page on Freshmeat is regularly updated with the newest releases,
news, and user commentary.
 [Link] — The official website of
the dvdrtools project,
which includes the dvdrecord utility for writing DVD-R(+W) discs.
44
44

Chapter 5.
Getting Online
Exploring the Internet has become a popular activity. People use the Internet for
everything from information to finances to getting medical prescriptions on the Web.
However, in order to use the Internet, you must have a connection to it. There are many
types of Internet connections, including:
 ISDN Connection  Modem Connection  Wireless Connection
 xDSL Connection  Ethernet Connections
Red Hat Linux includes the Internet Configuration Wizard, which can be used to create an
Internet connection. You can then configure the connection that you created at any time
using the Network Administration Tool. More information about the
Network Administration Tool can be found in chapter 12 Network Configuration
pp 92-114, 12.12 Working with Profiles pp 96-8 in the Red Hat Linux Customization Guide.
To use Internet Configuration Wizard, you must be running the X Window System and
have root privileges. To start the application, use one of the following methods:
 In the graphical desktop environment, go to the
Main Menu => System Tools => Internet Configuration Wizard.
 At a shell prompt, type the command internet-druid In both cases you will have
to enter your root password to continue.
Your own ISP ATT may have specific connection requirements for their service which
differ from the instructions in this chapter. Before connecting, check with your ISP for any
specific instructions that they provide, including the following information:
 The phone number that your modem must dial to connect to your ISP if you are using a
modem.
 Your login name and password for your account if you are using an xDSL or modem
connection.
 A gateway address. Some ISPs may require you to configure a master address (called
the gateway) that authenticates your computer and allows it to connect to the Internet.
 DNS entries: DNS means Domain Name System. DNS servers act as a road map for the
Internet. When you use the Internet, the DNS tells your machine where to send its
traffic. DNS tracks IP (Internet Protocol) addresses; each computer connected to the
Internet must have an IP address, which is a unique set of numbers like
2xx.2xx.2x.2. You may receive one or more DNS entries from your Internet
provider when you sign up.
 45

Figure 5-1. Internet Configuration Wizard ...

ISDN Connection
An ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) connection uses high-speed,
high-quality digital telecommunication lines as opposed to an analog modem
connection. This special phone line must be installed by a phone company. To
configure this type of connection, start Internet Configuration Wizard, select
ISDN Connection, and follow the steps in the wizard.
Modem Connection
A modem connection uses a modem to establish a connection to the Internet. Digital
data is modulated into analog signals and sent over phone lines. To configure this
type of connection, start Internet Configuration Wizard, select Modem Connection,
and follow the steps in the wizard.
xDSL Connection
An xDSL (Digital Subscriber Line) connection uses high-speed transmissions through
telephone lines. There are different types of DSL such as ADSL, IDSL, and SDSL.
Internet Configuration Wizard uses the term xDSL to mean all types of DSL
connections.
Some DSL providers require you to configure your system to obtain an
IP address through DHCP with an Ethernet card. To configure this type of
connection, start Internet Configuration Wizard, select Ethernet Connection, and
select DHCP on the Configure Network Settings screen. Some DSL providers require
you to configure a PPPoE (Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet) connection with an
Ethernet card. To configure this type of connection, start the Internet Configuration
Wizard, select xDSL Connection, and follow the steps in the wizard.
If you must supply a username and password to connect, you are probably using
PPPoE. Ask your DSL provider which method you should use.
46
Cable Modem Connection
A cable modem connection uses the same coaxial cable that your TV cable travels on
to transmit data. Most cable Internet providers
require you to install an Ethernet card in your computer that connects to the cable
modem. Then, the cable modem connects to the coaxial cable. The Ethernet card is
usually required to be configured for DHCP. To configure this type of connection,
start Internet Configuration Wizard, select Ethernet Connection, and select DHCP
on the Configure Network Settings screen.
Wireless Connection
If you are connecting your Red Hat Linux computer to a wireless access point (WAP)
or peer-to-peer (also called ad-hoc) network with a wireless (802.11x) network card,
then you will need to configure your wireless device.
Choose the Wireless Connection, then select the device from the list provided. You
can then configure the device for DHCP or fixed IP addresses In the pop-up device
configuration window.
The Internet Configuration Wizard is a utility that guides you step-by-step through the
process of establishing your Internet connection. Once your connection is up and running,
you can then configure it to suit your needs or particular connection. For more detailed
instructions, refer to chapter 12 Network Configuration pp 88-110 in
Red Hat Linux Customization Guide.
47
44

Chapter 6.
Web Browsing
Once you have configured your Internet connection (see Chapter 5 Getting Online), you
are ready to get online. Red Hat Linux comes with several Web browsers, graphical
applications that use your Internet connection to access the World Wide Web: news,
research, shopping, banking, and more. This chapter briefly explains how to surf the Web
using Mozilla and Galeon. For information about using the Konqueror Web browser,
refer to Section A.6 Browsing the Web with Konqueror.
6.1. Mozilla
Part of the [Link] organization’s wide range of Open Source Internet
application developments, Mozilla is a powerful, integrated, and standards-compliant
Web browser, email client, news reader, and more. The Web browsing component
displays Web content such as webpages and images. Mozilla also uses plug-ins for
interactive multimedia such as streaming video and Web animation. This section shows
you how to use the Mozilla Web browser to explore the Internet.
To start Mozilla click the Mozilla Web Browser launcher on the panel or choose
Main Menu => Internet => Mozilla Web Browser.

Figure 6-1. Mozilla Main Browser Window

 45

6.1.1. Using Mozilla

Mozilla functions like any Web browser that you may have used before. It has the
standard navigational toolbars, buttons, and menus.
The navigation bar has an address field with which you can type a
Uniform Resource Locator (URL) — the name or address of a website — into
the address field at the top of the browser window. Mozilla supports keyword
searching via the address field as well. Type in a keyword or phrase into the address
field and
click the Search button. The search results appears
in the main browsing area.

Figure 6-2. The Mozilla Navigational Bar

There is also a sidebar on the left that contains additional options, such as integrated
search functionality, bookmarks, and a What’s Related option that displays webpages
similar in topic to the page currently displayed in the main browsing area.

Figure 6-3. The Mozilla SideBar

46
At the bottom left corner of the browser window, there are the following small icons:
Navigator, Mail, Composer, Address Book, and IRC Chat. These are separate applications
integrated into the Mozilla suite and are useful for experiencing email, chat, news, and
other aspects of the Internet besides the Web. For information on using the Mozilla Mail
email client, refer to Chapter 7 Email Applications.

Finally, there is the Personal Toolbar, which you can customize with your own bookmarks
or quickly go back to your homepage. The Personal Toolbar is useful for keeping and
categorizing webpages so that you do not have to type the address every time
you want to access the page. To add a site to your Personal Toolbar, click and
hold the left mouse
button on the small icon next to the URL in the address field and drag it directly
to the Personal Toolbar or into a folder icon .
You can access Personal Toolbar folders by clicking the icon and choosing the website
from the drop-down menu.
Mozilla also allows you to browse multiple websites within one browser window using
navigational tabs. Instead of using two or more separate windows to read multiple
webpages, you can open a tab by clicking File => New => Navigation Tab or by pressing
[Ctrl] and [T] at the same time. This will open the new tab and allow you to switch
between tabs by clicking on them. To close a tab, right-click on the tab and choose
Close Tab from the menu or click the X at the right of the tab bar to close the tab
currently displayed.
For additional information on using Mozilla, click on Help (on the top menu panel) and
then on Help Contents.
6.1.2. Mozilla Composer
You can use Mozilla Composer to create webpages. You do not need to know HTML to
use this tool. To open Composer, go to Window => Composer on the Mozilla main menu,

or click on the Composer icon in the lower left part of the screen: .

The Mozilla help files provide information on creating webpages with Composer.
Go to Help on the main menu and select Help Contents. When the help screen opens,
click on the Contents tab and expand the Creating Webpages menu by clicking on the
arrow next to it. A list of topics will appear and clicking on any of these will provide you
with information for creating and editing webpages using Mozilla Composer.
 47

...

Figure 6-4. Mozilla Composer

6.2. Galeon
Galeon is a Web browser that is based on Mozilla. It is only a Web browser and does not
feature email, newsgroups, or anything other than Web browsing and searching. This can
be useful if you want to browse the Web without the need to email or chat with others.
Galeon also has some extra features that are not included in Mozilla.
To use Galeon, a working installation of Mozilla is required. Galeon uses Mozilla’s HTML
and image renderer and plug-in system to display Web and multimedia content.
To launch Galeon, go to Main Menu => Internet => More Internet => Galeon.
The first time you launch Galeon, it will take you through the configuration process.

Figure 6-5. Configuring Galeon

During the initial configuration, you have the option of importing bookmarks and
preferences from
Mozilla or other Web applications you may have installed on your system. You can also
configure Galeon’ personal toolbar with bookmarks, integrated search features, and even
browser navigation shortcuts.
Once you have finished your configuration of Galeon, the main browser will appear.
48

Figure 6-6. Online with Galeon

Using Galeon is much like using Mozilla. There are navigational buttons for moving from
one visited webpage to another using the Forward, Back, and Home buttons, as well as
Reload and Stop buttons to refresh a webpage and stop it from loading, respectively.
Like Mozilla, Galeon also has a navigational tab feature that can help you avoid having
your desktop cluttered with browser windows. Multiple pages can be stored in a single
Galeon window, and you can switch between them by clicking on the each tab. To launch
a new Tab, use the [Ctrl]-[T] key combination or select New Tab from the File menu.
To close a tab, click the X button within the tab, or right-click the tab and choose Close
Tab from the drop-down menu. The tabbed browsing mode can be configured in the Tabs
page of the Preferences Window, which is accessible by choosing Settings => Preferences
from the browser’s main menu.
For additional information or help with Galeon, click Help on the top menu bar. From
there, you can choose to view the Galeon FAQ and Galeon manual.
 49

6.3. Web Browser Keyboard Shortcuts

Table 6-1 shows some common keyboard shortcuts available in both Mozilla and Galeon.
Keyboard shortcuts can help you efficiently browse the Web.
Shortcut Description
[Ctrl]-[T] Open a new tab for browsing multiple websites
within one browser window
[Ctrl]-[N] Open a new browser window
[Ctrl]-[Q] Close all browser windows and exits the application
[Ctrl]-[L] Move the cursor to the browser’s address field
[Ctrl]-[P] Print the current displayed webpage or document
[Ctrl]-[right arrow] Move forward by one link or page
[Ctrl]-[left arrow] Move backward by one link or page
[Ctrl]-[R] Reload the current page
[Ctrl]-[H] Open the browsing history
[Ctrl]-[F] Find a keyword or string within a page
Table 6-1. Keyboard Shortcuts
48

Chapter 7.
Email Applications
Email is a very popular way of communicating with others over the Internet. You can use
email with an email client, an application that understands the various email transmission
standards and allows you to send, receive, and read email. Red Hat Linux includes several
email applications, including graphical email clients like Evolution and Mozilla Mail, and
text-based clients like mutt. All of the email client applications are designed to suit
certain types of users; so, you can choose one with the features that best suits your
particular needs.
The purpose of this chapter is to demonstrate how to use some of the popular email
applications included in Red Hat Linux. Since all email clients perform the same basic tasks
(send and receive email), choose the one that is most convenient and easy to use. This
chapter will briefly discuss the following email clients:
 Evolution  Mozilla Mail  Text-based email clients
Before you launch an email client, you should have some information from your
Internet Service Provider (ISP) handy so that you can configure the client properly. The
following lists a few important things you may need to know:
Your email address
The email address you will use to send and receive mail. This is usually in the form of
yourname@[Link].
Server type for receiving email (POP or IMAP)
In order to receive mail, you must know what type of server your network
administrator or ISP is using. This POP or IMAP address, is usually in the form of
[Link].
POP, short for Post Office Protocol, is used to send email from a mail server to your
email client’s inbox, the place where incoming email is stored. Most ISP email servers
use the POP protocol, although some can use the newer IMAP (Internet Message
Access Protocol).
IMAP, short for Internet Message Access Protocol, is a protocol for retrieving email
messages from your ISP’s email server. IMAP differs from POP in that email from
IMAP servers are stored on the server and stays there even as you download and
read your mail, whereas POP mail is downloaded to your email client directly and
does not stay on the server.
 49
Server type for sending email (SMTP)
The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is a protocol for sending email messages
between servers. Most email systems that send mail over the Internet use SMTP to
send messages from one server to another; the messages can then be retrieved with
an email client using either POP or IMAP. SMTP is also used to send messages from a
mail client to a mail server. This is why you need to specify both the POP or IMAP
server and the SMTP server when you configure your email application.
If you have any questions regarding what information you need, contact your ISP or
network administrator. Unless properly configured, you will not be able to make full use
of the email clients discussed in this chapter.
7.1. Evolution
Evolution is more than just an email client. It provides all of the standard email client
features, including powerful mailbox management, user-defined filters, and quick
searches. It additionally features a flexible calendar/scheduler which allows users to
create and confirm group meetings and special events online. Evolution is a full-featured
personal and workgroup information management tool for Linux and UNIX-based
systems, and is the default email client for Red Hat Linux.
To launch Evolution from the desktop panel, go to Main Menu => Internet => Email.

...

...

Figure 7-1. Evolution Welcome Screen

The first time you start Evolution you will be presented with the Welcome Screen
(Figure 7-1), which allows you to configure your email connection. Follow the on-screen
instructions and fill in the information you collected from your ISP or administrator in the
text boxes provided. When you are done, click Finish, and you will be presented with the
Main Screen as shown in Figure 7-2.
50

Figure 7-2. Evolution Main Screen

To see what is in your inbox or to send an email, click on the Inbox icon.
 51

Figure 7-3. Evolution Inbox Screen

To compose a mail, select New Message from the toolbar.

Figure 7-4. Evolution New Email Message Screen

Once you have composed a message and entered an email address to send the email to,
click Send on the toolbar.
52
While Evolution does so much more than read and send email, this chapter focusses
exclusively on its email capabilities. If you would like to learn more about using some of
the other features of Evolution, like calendering/scheduling and group messaging, click
Help from the main toolbar and choose the component you want to learn more about.
7.2. Mozilla Mail
This section briefly covers the basic steps for sending and receiving email with Mozilla. If
you need further information about using Mozilla Mail, the Mozilla Help contents are
located under Help on the main menu.
To start Mozilla Mail, select Main Menu => Extras Internet => Mozilla Mail.
To open Mozilla Mail while in Mozilla, click on the mail icon

near the lower left corner of the Mozilla screen.

Figure 7-5. Mozilla Mail and News

 53

Figure 7-6. Mozilla Mail New Email Message Screen

To send an email, click on the Send button or go to File => Send Now or Send Later. If you
choose to send later, you can go back to the main mail screen and go to File => Send
unsent messages.
To read email, click on the mail folder you created for yourself to see a list of messages
waiting for you. Then, click on the message you want to read.
Once you read a message, you can delete it, save it to a separate folder, and more.
7.2.1. Mozilla and Newsgroups
Newsgroups are Internet discussion groups with specific topics. The discussions are in
threaded format (which means all topics and responses to the topic are sorted and
organized for convenient reading) and subscribing to a group is very easy. You do not
have to post messages if you do not want to; you can just lurk, which is a Newsgroup
term for reading without posting messages. There are a great many newsgroups on the
Web with topics ranging from politics to computer games to random strange thoughts.
You can even post and download pictures and files to Newsgroups (although your ISP may
restrict Newsgroups to text-based postings only).
To join a newsgroup, you first need to set up a newsgroup account. Click on your mail
account name in the sidebar and select Create a new account from the options that
appear on the right of the screen. The New Account Setup screen will appear.
Select Newsgroup account and then click Next.

Figure 7-7. Newsgroup Account Setup

Enter your name and email address on the next screen and click Next. On the following
screen, enter the name of your news server (if you do not know the name of your news
server, contact your Internet service provider or network administrator for this
information). On the last few screens, you can determine the name that this account
54
will be referred to and review your settings.
The newsgroup account you created will appear in the sidebar of the Mozilla mail screen.
Right-click on this account name and select Subscribe. A dialog box appears, listing all the
newsgroups available. Select the groups you are interested in reading and click Subscribe.
When you are done, click on OK. Now, click on the arrow next to the newsgroup account
name and the list of groups you are subscribed to will appear beneath. Select the
newsgroup you want to access and a dialog box appears with information about
downloading and reading existing messages. Posting to a newsgroup is just like writing an
email, except that the newsgroup name appears in the To field rather than an email
address. To unsubscribe from a newsgroup, right-click on the group name and select
Unsubscribe.
7.3. Plain Text Email Clients
Most modern email clients allow the user to select whether they want to send their
emails in plain text or in HTML. The advantage of HTML formatted email is that they can
contain graphics and interactive links to Web sites. The particular font can be specified,
the layout is very controllable, textures, and pictures or backgrounds can be added; all
this makes for a visually appealing message when it gets to the recipient.
On the other hand, plain text email is just that — plain text. They is nothing fancy, there
are no pictures embedded in the email, and there are no special fonts. Plain text emails
are simple.
The term plain text refers to textual data in ASCII format. Plain text (also called clear text)
is the most portable format because it is supported by nearly every email application on
various types of machines.
This chapter will discuss the mutt plain text email client.
7.3.1. Using Mutt
Mutt is a small but very powerful text-based mail client for UNIX operating systems.
Mutt’s configuration file, ~/.muttrc. gives mutt its flexibility and configurability. It
is also this file that might give new users problems. The number of options that mutt has
available to it are truly astounding. mutt allows the user to control nearly all of the
functions that mutt uses to send, receive, and read your mail. As is true with all powerful
software, it takes time to understand the features and what they can do for you.
Most of the options are invoked using the set or unset commands, with either
boolean or string values, e.g. set folder = ~/Mail.
All configuration options can be changed at any time by typing a [:] followed by the
relevant command. For example :unset help turns off the handy keyboard
command hints at the top of the screen. To turn those hints back on, type :set help.
If you cannot remember the command you want to use, there is always tab-completion to
help you.
 55
You do not have to type all your preferred configuration commands each time you run
mutt, you can save them in a file which is loaded every time the program starts up. This
configuration file must exist in your home directory, it has to be named either ~/.muttrc
or ~/.mutt/muttrc.
When you launch mutt, the first thing you see is a screen with a list of email messages.
This initial menu is called the index.

...

Figure 7-8. mutt Main Screen

These messages are in a default mail folder, often called the mailspool, that you can
think of as your inbox. Use the [K] and [J] keys on your keyboard to move the
highlighted cursor up and down the list of messages.
In the index or pager views, use the [R] key to reply to a message or the [M] key to
create a new one. Mutt will prompt for the To: address and the Subject: line.
A text editor (defined by your $EDITOR environmental variable in the configuration file)
will then launch allowing you to compose your message. Type your message, save your
file and exit the editor.
After editing your email, Mutt displays the compose menu, where you can customize your
message headers, change the encoding, add file attachments or simply press the [Y]
key to send your email on its way.
To learn more about mutt, refer to the man pages for muttrc and mutt (type
man muttrc or man mutt at the shell prompt). You may also find the mutt
manual to be very helpful. The mutt manual is installed in
/usr/share/doc/mutt-1.2.x, where x is the version number of mutt
installed on your system.
56

Chapter 8.
Printer Configuration
Most computer users either own a printer at home or use one at work. Printers have
become a very popular PC peripheral due to their increasing quality and decreasing
prices. Printer hardware manufacturers distribute CD-ROMs or diskettes with their
printers, as most operating systems require these CD-ROMs because they contain printer
drivers — software that communicates with both the printer and the operating system.
Red Hat Linux provides drivers for most printer models, thus the drivers and software on
the printer manufacturer’s CD-ROM and diskettes are not needed. With few exceptions,
all you need to do is attach the printer to your Red Hat Linux system, turn on the printer,
and configure it with the useful tools provided by Red Hat Linux.
8.1. The Printer Configuration Tool
Red Hat Linux includes a graphical utility for configuring local and remote printers without
the need to install additional drivers and applications. The Printer Configuration Tool
uses a step-by-step process that can help you configure a printer faster than editing
configuration files manually. This chapter shows you how to set up and test a printer
directly connected to your Red Hat Linux system. For remote printer setup and more
advanced printer configuration issues, refer to chapter 27 Printer Configuration pp 242-64
in Red Hat Linux Customization Guide.
8.2. Adding a Local Printer
To add a local printer, such as one attached through a parallel port or USB port on your
computer, click the New button in the main Printer Configuration Tool window to display
the window in Figure 8-1. Click Forward to proceed.

Figure 8-1. Adding a Printer

 57
In the window shown in Figure 8-2, enter a unique name for the printer in the Name text
field. The printer name cannot contain spaces and must begin with a letter. The printer
name may contain letters, numbers, dashes (-), and underscores (_). Optionally, enter a
short description for the printer, which can contain spaces.

Figure 8-2. Selecting a Queue Name

After clicking Forward, Figure 8-3 appears. Select Locally-connected from the Select a
queue type menu, and select the device. The device is usually /dev/lp0 for a
parallel printer or /dev/usb/lp0 for a USB printer. If no devices appear in the list,
click Rescan devices to rescan the computer or click Custom device to specify it manually.
Click to continue.
58

Figure 8-3. Adding a Local Printer

The next step is to select the type of printer. Go to
Section 8.3 Selecting the Printer Model and Finishing to continue.
8.3. Selecting the Printer Model and Finishing
After selecting the queue type of the printer, the next step is to select the printer model.
You will see a window similar to Figure 8-4. If it was not auto-detected, select the model
from the list. The printers are divided by manufacturers. Select the name of the printer
manufacturer from the pulldown menu. The printer models are updated each time a
different manufacturer is selected. Select the printer model from the list.

Figure 8-4. Selecting a Printer Model

The recommended print driver is selected based on the printer model selected. The print
driver processes the data that you want to print into a format the printer can understand.
Since a local printer is attached directly to your computer, you need a print driver to
process the data that is sent to the printer.
 59
If you are configuring a remote printer (IPP, LPD, SMB, or NCP), the remote print server
usually has its own print driver. If you select an additional print driver on your local
computer, the data is filtered multiple times and is converted to a format that the printer
can not understand.
To make sure the data is not filtered more than once, first try selecting Generic as the
manufacturer and Raw Print Queue or Postscript Printer as the printer model. After
applying the changes, print a test page to try out this new configuration. If the test fails,
the remote print server might not have a print driver configured. Try selecting a print
driver according to the manufacturer and model of the remote printer, applying the
changes, and printing a test page.

Tip
You can select a different print driver after adding a printer by starting the Printer
Configuration Tool, selecting the printer from the list, clicking Edit, clicking the
Driver tab, selecting a different print driver, and then applying the changes.
8.3.1. Confirming Printer Configuration
The last step is to confirm your printer configuration. Click Apply to add the print queue if
the settings are correct. Click Back to modify the printer configuration.
Click the Apply button in the main window to save your changes and restart the printer
daemon. After applying the changes, print a test page to ensure the configuration is
correct. Refer to Section 8.4 Printing a Test Page for details.
If you need to print characters beyond the basic ASCII set (including those used for
languages such as Japanese), you must review your driver options and select Prerender
Postscript. Refer to Section 8.5 Modifying Existing Printers for details. You can also
configure options such as paper size if you edit the print queue after adding it.
8.4. Printing a Test Page
After you have configured your printer, you should print a test page to make sure the
printer is functioning properly. To print a test page, select the printer that you want to try
out from the printer list, then select the appropriate test page from the Test pulldown
menu.
If you change the print driver or modify the driver options, you should print a test page to
test the different configuration.
60

Figure 8-5. Test Page Options

8.5. Modifying Existing Printers
To delete an existing printer, select the printer and click the Delete button on the toolbar.
The printer is removed from the printer list. Click Apply to save the changes and restart
the printer daemon.
To set the default printer, select the printer from the printer list and click the
Default button on the toolbar. The default printer icon appears in the Default
column of the default printer in the list.
After adding the printer(s), the settings can be edited by selecting the printer from the
printer list and clicking the Edit button. The tabbed window shown in Figure 8-6 is
displayed. The window contains the current values for the selected printer. Make any
necessary changes, and click OK. Click Apply in the main Printer Configuration Tool
window to save the changes and restart the printer daemon.
 61

...

Figure 8-6. Editing a Printer

8.5.1. Queue Name
To rename a printer or change its short description, change the value in the Queue name
tab. Click OK to return to the main window. The name of the printer should change in the
printer list. Click Apply to save the change and restart the printer daemon.
8.5.2. Queue Type
The Queue type tab shows the queue type that was selected when adding the printer and
its settings. The queue type of the printer can be changed or just the settings. After
making modifications, click OK to return to the main window. Click Apply to save the
changes and restart the printer daemon.
Depending on which queue type is chosen, different options are displayed. Refer to the
appropriate section on adding a printer for a description of the options.
8.5.3. Printer Driver
The Printer driver tab shows which print driver is currently being used. If it is changed,
click OK to return to the main window. Click Apply to save the change and restart the
printer daemon.
8.5.4. Driver Options
The Driver Options tab displays advanced printer options. Options vary for each print
driver. Common options include:
 Send Form-Feed (FF) should be selected if the last page of the print job is not ejected
from the printer (for example, the form feed light flashes). If this does not work, try
selecting Send End-ofTransmission (EOT) instead. Some printers require both Send
Form-Feed (FF) and Send Endof-Transmission (EOT) to eject the last page. This option is
only available with the LPRng printing system.
62
 Send End-of-Transmission (EOT) should be selected if sending a form-feed does not
work. Refer to Send Form-Feed (FF) above. This option is only available with the LPRng
printing system.
 Assume Unknown Data is Text should be selected if the print driver does not recognize
some of the data sent to it. Only select this option if there are problems printing. If this
option is selected, the print driver assumes that any data that it can not recognize is
text and attempts to print it as text. If this option is selected along with the Convert
Text to Postscript option, the print driver assumes the unknown data is text and then
converts it to PostScript. This option is only available with the LPRng printing system.
 Prerender Postscript should be selected if characters beyond the basic ASCII set are
being sent to the printer but they are not printing correctly (such as Japanese
characters). This option prerenders non-standard PostScript fonts so that they are
printed correctly.
If the printer does not support the fonts you are trying to print, try selecting this option.
For example, select this option to print Japanese fonts to a non-Japanese printer.
Extra time is required to perform this action. Do not choose it unless problems printing
the correct fonts exist.
Also select this option if the printer can not handle PostScript level 3. This option
converts it to PostScript level 1.
 GhostScript pre-filtering — allows you to select No pre-filtering, Convert to PS level 1,
or Convert to PS level 2 in case the printer can not handle certain PostScript levels. This
option is only available if the PostScript driver is used with the CUPS printing system.
 Convert Text to Postscript is selected by default. If the printer can print plain text, try
unselecting this when printing plain text documents to decrease the time it takes to
print. If the CUPS printing system is used, this is not an option because text is always
converted to PostScript.
 Page Size allows the paper size to be selected.
The options include US Letter, US Legal, A3, and A4.
 Effective Filter Locale defaults to C. If Japanese characters are being printed, select
ja_JP. Otherwise, accept the default of C.
 Media Source defaults to Printer default. Change this option to use paper from a
different tray.
To modify the driver options, click OK to return to the main window. Click Apply to save
the change and restart the printer daemon.
8.6. Managing Print Jobs
When you send a print job to the printer daemon, such as printing text file from Emacs or
printing an image from The GIMP, the print job is added to the print spool queue.
 63
The print spool queue is a list of print jobs that have been sent to the printer and
information about each print request, such as the status of the request, the username of
the person who sent the request, the hostname of the system that sent the request, the
job number, and more.
If you are running a graphical desktop environment, click the Printer Manager icon on the
panel to start the GNOME Print Manager as shown in Figure 8-7.

...

Figure 8-7. GNOME Print Manager

It can also be started by selecting Main Menu Button (on the Panel) => System Tools =>
Print Manager.
To change the printer settings, right-click on the icon for the printer and select Properties.
The Printer Configuration Tool is then started.
Double-click on a configured printer to view the print spool queue as shown in Figure 8-8.

...

Figure 8-8. List of Print Jobs

To cancel a specific print job listed in the GNOME Print Manager, select it from the list
and select Edit => Cancel Documents from the pulldown menu.
If there are active print jobs in the print spool, a printer notification icon might appears in
the Panel Notification Area of the desktop panel as shown in Figure 8-9. Because it
probes for active print jobs every five seconds, the icon might not be displayed for short
print jobs.
64

Figure 8-9. Printer Notification Icon

Clicking on the printer notification icon starts the GNOME Print Manager to display a list
of current print jobs.
Also located on the Panel is a Print Manager icon. To print a file from Nautilus, browse to
the location of the file and drag and drop it on to the Print Manager icon on the Panel.
The window shown in Figure 8-10 is displayed. Click OK to start printing the file.

Figure 8-10. Print Verification Window

 65
To view the list of print jobs in the print spool from a shell prompt, type the command
lpq. The last few lines will look similar to the following:
Rank Owner/ID Class
Active user@localhost+902 A

Job Files Size Time

902 [Link] 2050 01:20:46
Example 8-1. Example of lpq output
If you want to cancel a print job, find the job number of the request with the command
lpq and then use the command lprm job number. For example, lprm 902
would cancel the print job in Example 8-1. You must have proper permissions to cancel a
print job. You can not cancel print jobs that were started by other users unless you are
logged in as root on the machine to which the printer is attached.
You can also print a file directly from a shell prompt. For example, the command
lpr [Link] will print the text file [Link]. The print filter determines what
type of file it is and converts it a format the printer can understand.
8.7. Additional Resources
To learn more about printing on Red Hat Linux, refer to the following resources.
8.7.1. Installed Documentation
 man printcap — The manual page for the /etc/printcap printer
configuration file.
 map lpr — The manual page for the lpr command that allows you to print files
from the command line.
 man lpd — The manual page for the LPRng printer daemon.
 man lprm — The manual page for the command line utility to remove print jobs from
the LPRng spool queue.
 man mpage — The manual page for the command line utility to print multiple pages
on one sheet of paper.
 man cupsd — The manual page for the CUPS printer daemon.
 man [Link] — The manual page for the CUPS printer daemon configuration
file.
 man [Link] — The manual page for the class configuration file for CUPS.
8.7.2. Useful Websites
 [Link] — GNU/Linux Printing contains a large
amount of information about printing in Linux.
 [Link] — Documentation, FAQs, and newsgroups about CUPS.
74

Chapter 9.
Working with Documents
Red Hat Linux includes several tools for managing all of your documents. Whether you are
preparing for a business or school presentation, writing a formal letter, or opening a
document from an email attachment, Red Hat Linux has a tool that suits your needs.
9.1. The [Link] Suite
Productivity suites are collections of applications designed to save time and assist users at
work, at school, and at home. Usually, productivity suites are graphical and include such
applications as word processors, spreadsheets, and presentation utilities. The applications
that comprise a productivity suite are integrated — which means that you can, for
example, write a document with an embedded chart created by the spreadsheet
application as well as a slide from a graphical presentation application. Integration of the
software that make up a productivity suite helps you to give impact to your presentations,
lectures, or printed collateral.
Red Hat Linux includes a powerful business productivity suite called [Link],
which incorporates several complementary applications into one integrated package.
Using [Link] is much faster and easier than learning complex tags and code
to format your documents and presentations. It allows you complete control over the
layout and content of your documents and lets you see the results as you edit it. This real-
time, visual form of document formatting is called
what you see is what you get (or WYSIWYG) editing.
9.1.1. [Link] Features
The [Link] suite contains several applications for creating and editing
documents, spreadsheets, business presentations, and artwork. It includes templates,
forms, and wizards for creating basic professional documents and presentations quickly. If
you have ever worked with or received .doc or .xls files, you know they are
commonly associated with the Microsoft Office suite. The [Link] suite is
able to read, edit, and create files in several formats, including files which are commonly
associated with Microsoft Office. Table 9-1 shows the many different types of files you
can use and tasks you can accomplish with the [Link] suite.
 75
Application File Compatibility Document Types
OpenOffice.o .sxw, .sdw, .doc, Formal letters, business forms,
rg .rtf, .txt, school papers, resumes,
Writer .htm/.html newsletters, reports
OpenOffice.o .sxc, .dbf, .xls, Spreadsheets, charts,
rg .sdc, .slk, .csv, tables, graphs, personnel
Calc .htm/.html directories, address books,
budgets, simple databases
OpenOffice.o .sxi, .ppt, .sxd, .sdd Business and academic
rg presentations,
Impress Web presentations,
lectures, slide shows
OpenOffice.o .sxd, .sda; export files to Illustrations, line drawings,
rg several image formats, including clip art,
Draw .jpg, .bmp, .gif, and .png organizational charts
Table 9-1. [Link] Features
As you can see, the [Link] suite has many file compatibility features, and
allows you to accomplish several tasks for academic, business, or home use. The following
sections shows you how to use the [Link] suite.
9.1.2. [Link] Writer
Writing documents using [Link] is similar to other word processing
applications you may have used before. A word processor is like a text editor but has
several additional features that allow you to format, design, and print your documents
without the need to memorize complex formatting tags or codes.
[Link] Writer is a powerful word processor that features WYSIWYG
formatting — what you see in the [Link] Writer window is exactly what
you get if you printed the document or if you gave the document file to someone else for
them to view. Figure 9-1 shows [Link] Writer in action:

...
76

...

Figure 9-1. [Link] Writer

To start [Link] Writer from your desktop panel, choose Main Menu =>
Office => [Link] Writer; to start it from a shell prompt, type oowriter.
The main interface is the document editing area (the white space in the middle of the
window) where you can add and edit text. At the top of the window are various functions
collected into toolbars that let you choose your fonts, letter sizes, justification (aligning
the text of your document to the left, center, or right margins), and more. There is also a
text box that enables you to specify the exact location of a document on your machine
and load the document into the editing area. There are also buttons for opening, saving,
and printing documents, as well as buttons for creating new documents (which will open
up a new window with a blank document for you to add content).
Along the left side of the window, there is a toolbar with buttons for checking your
spelling, toggling the automatic highlighting of misspelled words, keyword and phrase
searching, and other convenient editing functions. If you hover the mouse cursor over a
toolbar button, a pop-up Tip is displayed with a brief explanation of the button’s
functionality. You can display more detailed Tips by clicking the Help menu and choosing
Extended Tips.
You can immediately begin typing text into the document editing area at any time using
the default settings. To save your text, click the Save button , which opens the
pop-up file browser. You can choose the file format from the File type drop down menu
at the bottom of the browser window. The default file type is appropriate for files that
you are working on exclusively with [Link] applications. However, for files
that you need to distribute to Microsoft Office users, or if you are editing a file that was
sent as an email attachment with the .doc extension, you can save the file as a
Microsoft Word file type that others will be able to open it in Microsoft Word.
While [Link] Writer is useful for general document editing, you can also
add objects such as images, illustrations, charts, and tables to your document to
complement your text or give impact to your documents.
 77
To add an image to the document, select Insert => Graphics => From File, and choose the
image from the pop-up file browser. The image will appear where you placed your cursor
and can be made larger or smaller by clicking on the resizing borders around the image.
Figure 9-2 shows an image added to a document.

Figure 9-2. Adding an Image to Your Document

Once you have created your document, you can save it in any format that you wish.
Consult Table 9-1 for available file formats. Note that you can also export your document
to HTML or PDF format, formats which can be read by almost every computer with a Web
browser (such as Mozilla) or PDF viewer application (such as xpdf or
Adobe Acrobat Reader).
9.1.3. [Link] Calc
From large enterprises to home offices, professionals in every industry use spreadsheets
for keeping records, creating business charts, and manipulating data.
[Link] Calc is a software spreadsheet application that allows you to enter
and manipulate data cells organized in columns and rows. A cell is a container for
individual pieces of data, such as a quantity, label, or mathematical formula. You can
perform calculations on groups of cells (such as adding or subtracting a column of cells) or
create charts based on the quantities contained in a group of cells. You can even
incorporate spreadsheet data into your documents for a professional touch.
78
To start [Link] Calc from the desktop panel, select Main Menu => Office
=> [Link] Calc. To start [Link] Calc from a shell prompt,
type oocalc.
Figure 9-3 shows [Link] Calc in action.

Figure 9-3. [Link] Calc

[Link] Calc allows you to enter and manipulate personal or business data.
For example, you can create a personal budget by entering data descriptions (such as
rent, groceries, and utilities) into column A and the quantities of those data descriptions
in column B. [Link] Calc allows you to enter the data either in the cell
itself by double clicking the cell and typing your information or by using the Input Line
(the text box on the toolbar). Then you can run a formula on column B to come up with a
total. [Link] Calc has several preset functions and calculations (such as
=SUM() for addition/multiplication, =quotient() for division, and
=subtotal() for preparing receipts). For detailed information about creating functions
for calculating your numerical data in [Link] Calc, refer to the
documentation by selecting
Help => Contents.
If you need to create charts or graphs for class or business presentations,
[Link] has several chart and graph templates available. Highlight the areas
 79
you would like to chart, then click Insert => Chart.... In the Chart window, the data ranges
you chose will be shown in the text box for you to customize further if desired. Click Next
to display the many different charts and graphs you can create using your data. Choose
the style you want, and click Create. The graph will be displayed anchored within the
spreadsheet window. You can move it anywhere on the screen for printing, or you can
save the graph as an object that you can then embed in [Link] Writer
documents or [Link] Impress presentations.

Figure 9-4. Creating Charts with [Link] Calc

You can save spreadsheets created with [Link] Calc in several file formats,
including the native .sxc as well as Microsoft Office compatible .xls formats.
Additionally, you can export rendered charts and graphs to several image file formats and
integrate them with document files, webpages, and presentations.
For more information about using [Link] Calc, refer to the help page
located in Help => Contents from the file menus.
9.1.4. [Link] Impress
Visual aids can give your presentations an added impact that catches your audience’s
attention and keeps them interested. [Link] Impress is a graphical tool
that can help you make a more convincing presentation.
80
To start [Link] Impress from the graphical desktop, select
Main Menu => Office => [Link] Impress. To start
[Link] Impress from a shell prompt, type ooimpress.
[Link] Impress features a step-by-step automated presentation wizard
called AutoPilot that allows you to create presentations from a collection of default style
templates. You can make slides with itemized lists, outlines, or images. You can even
import charts and graphs created by [Link] Calc into a slide.
Figure 9-5 shows [Link] Impress in action.

Figure 9-5. [Link] Impress

When you first start [Link] Impress, you will be presented with the
AutoPilot. You can choose the style of your slides, the medium with which you will
present your slides (plain paper, transparent paper for overhead projectors, slides, or a
display monitor), and any animated visual effects you want to apply to the slides if you
run presentations from your computer.
 81

Figure 9-6. [Link] Impress AutoPilot Wizard

Once you have chosen your preferences with AutoPilot tool, you can choose the type of
slide you want to create. You can select a pre-formatted slide from the list or start with a
blank slide and customize the layout yourself. To add new slides to your presentation,
click Insert Slide... in the floating toolbar, and a pop-up window will appear allowing you
to choose the layout of the new slide. You can have as many slides in your presentation as
you need.
You can also preview your presentation at any point by selecting
Slide Show => Slide Show from the file menus. The presentation will be presented in full
screen, which you can exit by cycling through every slide until you reach the end or by
pressing the [Esc] key at any point in the slide show.
Your presentation can be saved in several file formats. You can save in the native
[Link] Impress format (for example, [Link]), the
Microsoft PowerPoint format ([Link]), or StarImpress format
([Link]). You can also print your presentation to plain or transparent
paper formats by clicking File => Print from the file menu.
To learn more about [Link] Impress, click Help => Contents from the file
menus.
9.1.5. [Link] Draw
If you want to create graphics for your documents and presentations, you can use
[Link] Draw. Using your mouse as a you would a pen or a paintbrush,
[Link] Draw allows you to make illustrations and save them in several
formats that you can add to printed documents, place on websites, or attach to emails.
82
To start [Link] Draw from the desktop panel, click Main Menu => Office
=> [Link] Draw. To start [Link] Draw from a shell prompt,
type oodraw. Figure 9-7 Shows [Link] Draw in action.

...

Figure 9-7. [Link] Draw

If you are familiar with illustration and graphics applications such as The GIMP (refer to
Chapter 11 Working with Images for more information), you will find that
[Link] Draw has some of the same basic functions. There are toolbars for
creating straight and curved lines, basic shapes such as squares and circles, 3D objects
such as cones and cubes, and more. You can create images and fill them with the color of
your choice using the Area Style/Filling drop-down menu on the main toolbar. You can
additionally insert text into your illustrations. [Link] Draw also allows you
to open and import images and modify them with the tools provided.
 83
When you complete your illustration or image modifications, you can save the file in one
of several native file formats or export your work to several popular formats such as
.jpg or .png. Refer to Table 9-1 for the complete list of compatible image file
formats.
For more information on using [Link] Draw, refer to the documentation
located at Help => Contents from the file menus.
9.2. Editing Text Files
Red Hat Linux includes several text editors, applications that allow you to view and modify
plain text files. Plain text files are files that contain text without any font or style
formatting applied to it, such as system logs and configuration files.
gedit is a graphical text editor. It can open, edit, and save plain text files. You can also
cut and paste text to and from other graphica desktop applications, create new text files,
and print files. gedit has a clear and understandable interface that uses tabs so that
you can open more than one file at the same time without opening more than one
gedit window.
To start gedit, click Main Menu => Accessories => Text Editor. You can also start
gedit by typing gedit at a shell prompt.

Note
gedit can only be used in a graphica desktop environment.
84

...

Figure 9-8. gedit

Once gedit is running, you are presented with a blank editing area. You can begin
using

gedit immediately or click the button to locate the plain text file you
want
to edit. The file will load into the main editing area as shown in Figure 9-8. You can
navigate the text file by clicking and holding the scroll bar on the right edge of the
window and moving your mouse cursor up and down; or, use the arrow keys to navigate
through the text file line-by-line. Press the [Page Up] and [Page Down] keys to
advance the document a page at a time.

Tip
gedit allows you to open multiple text files in one window using separate tabs
for each file. If you have a file already open and want to copy text from another
file, click , choose the file you want to access, and the file will open
in a new tab within the gedit window. You can navigate between each file by
clicking on the the tab associated with the particular filename.
Once you have modified or written your text file, you can save it by pressing the Save
button in the toolbar, or by choosing File => Save from the file menus. If you are writing a
new text file, a pop-up window will prompt you to name the file and save it in the
directory of your choice. If you are editing an existing file, then any changes you make will
automatically appear in the file the next time you open it. You can also choose
File => Save As... to save an existing file under a new name or in a different location,
which is convenient if, for example, you are editing a configuration file and you want to
test your changes without losing your original configuration.
For more information about gedit, choose Help => Contents from the file menus to
access the gedit manual.
9.2.1. Shell Prompt Text Editors
If you are not using a graphical desktop and want to read and modify a text or
configuration file, Red Hat Linux includes the vi (pronounced vee-eye) text editor. vi
is a simple application that opens within the shell prompt and allows you to view, search,
and modify text files. To start vi, type vi at a shell prompt. To open a file with vi
type vi <filename> at a shell prompt.
 85

...

Figure 9-9. vi
By default, vi opens a file in Normal mode, meaning that you can view and run built-in
commands on the file but you cannot add text to it. To add text, press [i] (for Insert
mode), which will allow you to make any modifications you need to. To exit insert mode,
press [Esc], and vi reverts to Normal mode.
To exit vi, press [:] (which is the vi command mode) and press [q] then
[Enter]. If you have made changes to the text file that you want to save, press [:]
and type [w] then [q] to write your changes to the file and exit the application. If
you accidentally made changes to a file and you want to exit vi without saving the
changes, type [:] and then type [q] followed by [!], which exits without saving
changes.
More information about using vi can be found by typing man vi at a shell prompt.
9.3. Viewing PDFs
A PDF (Portable Document Format) file is an electronic image of a document. PDF
captures formatting information from a variety of desktop publishing applications, making
it possible to send formatted documents and have them appear on the recipient’s
monitor or printer as they were intended. To view a PDF you must have a PDF reader.
An open source application called xpdf is included with Red Hat Linux. The xpdf
toolbar at the bottom has navigational tools that let you move backward and forward
through the PDF document, as well as standard zoom, print, and find tools. The xpdf
man page provides useful information on the xpdf options. To view the xpdf man
page, at a shell prompt type man xpdf.
86

Figure 9-10. xpdf

To view a PDF with xpdf:
1. In your desktop environment, go to Main Menu => Graphics => PDF Viewer. You
can also launch xpdf by typing xpdf at a shell prompt.
2. Right-click in the xpdf screen to display a list of options.
3. Select Open to display the file browser.
4. Select the PDF file you want to view and click Open.
Another popular PDF viewer is Adobe Acrobat Reader. While it is not included with
Red Hat Linux, you can download it free of charge at [Link]
87
88

Chapter 10.
Audio, Video, and General Amusement
This chapter presents you with the lighter side of Red Hat Linux. From games and toys to
multimedia applications, Red Hat Linux provides many packages to assist you in having
some fun with your computer.
10.1. Playing Audio CDs
To play an audio CD, place the CD in your CD-ROM drive. The CD Player application should
appear automatically and begin playing the first audio track. If the interface does not
appear, click Main Menu => Sound & Video => CD Player to launch the CD Player
application.

Figure 10-1. CD Player Interface

The CD Player interface acts similar to a standard CD player, with play, pause, and stop
functions. There is even a sliding bar that allows you to adjust the volume. Press the Next
track and Previous Track buttons to skip forward or backward one track; you can also use
the Track List drop down menu to select a track from the available listing.
You can edit the track listings for your CDs by clicking the Open track editor button. You
can also change the way the application functions by clicking on the Open Preferences
button. Here you can set themes for the player as well as set the behavior of the CD-ROM
drive when you open or quit the CD Player application.

...
 89

Figure 10-2. CD Player Preferences

10.2. Playing Digital Audio Files
Digital audio has become very popular in recent years. Users enjoy the technology
because the sound quality is excellent compared to analog tape or records, and the files
are compact (audio files can easily be transferred across the Internet).
To take advantage of this technology, Red Hat Linux includes the powerful
X Multimedia System (XMMS), a cross-platform multimedia player which allows you to
play several digital audio file formats.

Figure 10-3. XMMS Interface

XMMS can be used for more than just playing digital audio files. By default XMMS can play
Ogg Vorbis, RIFF wave, and most module formats. Additionally, XMMS can be
extended via plugins to play a number of other digital multimedia formats.
To launch XMMS, go to Main Menu => Sound & Video => XMMS. To launch XMMS from
a shell prompt, type the command xmms.
10.2.1. Using XMMS
To play an audio file with XMMS, click the Open button and
choose a file from the Load File(s) window.
90

Figure 10-4. The Load File(s) Window

In Figure 10-4, you see that there are several files to choose from. The files that end in
.ogg are Ogg Vorbis files, a popular new audio file format; the .pls file is an
audio playlist file. You can use XMMS to add audio files into a list and then save it as a
playlist. This can be convenient if you have several audio files and you want to categorize
them (for example, by genre or artist). Highlight the file you wish to play (if you have
multiple files, click and hold the mouse button and drag it over all of the files you want to
open) and click OK. Notice that XMMS begins to play your audio files immediately. To
adjust the volume click the volume slider (the long slider above the Open button) to the
left to lower the volume or to the right to increase it like a CD player. There are also
buttons to stop, pause, and skip (backward and forward) your audio files.
To learn more about using XMMS and its many options, refer to the man page by typing
man xmms at a shell prompt.
 91

10.3. Troubleshooting Your Sound Card

If, for some reason, you do not hear sound and know that you do have a sound card
installed, you can run the Sound Card Configuration Tool utility.
To use the Sound Card Configuration Tool, choose Main Menu => System Settings =>
Soundcard Detection. A small text box pops up prompting you for your root password.

Note
Most sound cards are supported by Red Hat Linux, but there are some sound
cards that are not completely compatible or may not work at all. If you are having
trouble configuring your sound card, check the Hardware Compatibility List at
[Link] to see if your card is supported.
The Sound Card Configuration Tool utility probes your system for sound cards. If the
utility detects a plug and play sound card, it will automatically try to configure the correct
settings for your card. You can then click the Play test sound button to play a sound
sample. If you can hear the sample, select OK and your sound card configuration is
complete.

Figure 10-5. Sound Card Configuration Tool

10.3.1. If Sound Card Configuration Tool Does Not Work
If the Sound Card Configuration Tool does not work (if the sample does not play and you
still do not have audio sounds), there are alternatives, although they are not quite as
simple as running the Sound Card Configuration Tool. You can edit your
[Link] file as discussed below (this strategy is not recommended for most
new users) or refer to the documentation that came with your sound card for more
information.
92
[Link]. Manual Sound Card Configuration
If your sound card is not a plug and play card, you can manually edit your
/etc/[Link] file to include the sound card module that it should use. For
example:
alias sound sb
alias midi opl3
options opl3 io=0x388
options sb io=0x220 irq=7 dma=0,1 mpu_io=0x300
For information on configuring sound manually, refer to the Linux Sound HOWTO at the
Linux Documentation Project webpage:
[Link]
10.4. Troubleshooting Your Video Card
Video card configuration is handled during the Red Hat Linux installation (refer to the
Ch 3. Installing Red Hat Linux pp 20-78, 3.31 Video Card Configuration pp 78-80
Red Hat Linux Installation Guide for more information). However, if you did not choose to
configure a video card at that time, or if you need to reconfigure your settings, you can
use the X Configuration Tool utility. You should do this, for example, if you install a new
video card.

Note
The X Configuration Tool backs up your system’s original video configuration file
to /etc/X11/[Link] in case you need it to switch back to a
previous configuration.
To run the X Configuration Tool, click Main Menu => System Settings => Display. A
pop-up window prompts you for your root password. You can also start from a shell
prompt by typing the command redhat-config-xfree86, which then prompt you
to input your root password. If you are working from a shell prompt and X is not working,
redhat-config-xfree86 attempts to start a minimal X session to allow you to
continue your configuration. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen.
X Configuration Tool attempts to automatically configure your video card and monitor

settings for you. Figure 10-6 shows the tab for configuring
your video device manually.
To configure your monitor manually, click the tab,
then click the button next
to the entry.
 93

Figure 10-6. X Configuration Tool

A pop-up window will display a list of monitor models.
Choose your model and click .
You can also let X Configuration Tool probe your monitor
for the correct model and
vertical/horizontal frequency settings.
To configure your video card manually, click the tab,
then click the button next
next to the Video Card entry .
A pop-up window will display a list of video card models.
Choose your model and click .
You can also let X Configuration Tool probe your video card
for the correct model and settings by clicking the Probe Videocard button.
When you have finished reconfiguring your video card and monitor,
you should be able to start an X session and enjoy your graphical desktop environment.
10.5. Games
Playing games under Red Hat Linux is a fun way to pass the time. The games included in
Red Hat Linux appeal to quite a large number of video game enthusiasts. Whether you
enjoy card games like Aisle Riot (a solitaire card game), arcade games like Tux Racer,
board games like Chess, or space shooting games like Chromium and Maelstrom, you can
find it in Red Hat Linux.
94
To start a game, click Main Menu => Games and select the game of your choice. Figure
10-7 shows a fun game for kids of all ages called Same GNOME. In this game you point
your mouse at matching marbles until they start to spin; then, you can click them to make
them disappear. The object of the game is to make all the marbles disappear.

Figure 10-7. Same GNOME — Match the Marbles Game

10.6. Finding Games Online
There are many more games available within Red Hat Linux and online. For more
information, here are a few suggestions:
 [Link] — A website that covers Linux-compatible
games in depth.
 [Link] — A store where you can buy games just for Linux.
 [Link] — a Linux gaming news site.
 [Link] — the Linux gaming repository.
You can also browse the Internet for linux games using a search engine, such as
[Link]
95
88

Chapter 11.
Working with Images
Digital images have grown in popularity with the development of the graphical Internet
and the increasing quality of digital cameras. There are several types of image files,
some of which are created using sophisticated illustration software packages, while
others are made from digital sources such as a scanner or camera. You may have
downloaded some of these image files from the Web or received them in an email. You
may also want to create your own images to send to others. You can view and modify
the most common types of image files using the many applications included in Red
Hat Linux.
11.1. Viewing Images
This section discusses some of the common tools for viewing image files. Certain tools
included in Red Hat Linux are specialized applications with several functions that enhance
your image viewing experience; while others are general-purpose file managers that have
integrated image viewing functionality.
11.1.1. Using Nautilus to View Images
Nautilus is a general-purpose file manager and browser for your graphical desktop
environment. Nautilus has many functions beyond simple image viewing; however, for
this section, we will use it for basic image browsing. For more information about Nautilus,
see Chapter 2 Using the Graphical Desktop.
Nautilus is known for its ease-of-use and it handles images with the same ease as it does
for other file types. To begin browsing your image collection with Nautilus,

double-click your home desktop icon:

You will be presented with a view of all files and folders within your home directory.
Double-click the image (or the folder containing the image) and Nautilus will open the file
or folder within its browser window. Figure 11-1 shows that Nautilus automatically
creates thumbnails of any images in your folders:
 89

Figure 11-1. Contents of a Folder in Nautilus

Double-click on any thumbnail icon to view the image in its native size. The image will
load within the browser window. To increase or decrease the size of the viewed image in
Nautilus, click on the zoom buttons next to the field
as shown in Figure 11-2:

Figure 11-2. The Zoom Function in Nautilus

Click the button to increase the size of the image or to decrease it.
11.1.2. Using gThumb
gThumb is a powerful image viewer for graphical desktop users that supports several
image file formats, including:
 JPG/JPEG  GIF  PGM  XPM  PNG
 PCX  TIF/TIFF  PPM  BMP
gThumb is useful for viewing individual image files as well as browsing collections of files
in folders. It supports zoom in and zoom out functions, as well as thumbnail sized preview
icons of all image files within a directory. It also supports several advanced options not
found in Nautilus.
gThumb can be started from your desktop panel. Choose
Main Menu => Graphics => gThumb Image Viewer or type gThumb at a shell
prompt to start the application gThumb will browse your user home directory by
default. If you have any images in this directory, the gallery panel will automatically
generate thumbnails for you to highlight and view in the main display area.
90

Figure 11-3. gThumb Displaying a Folder of Images

The interface of gThumb is straightforward. Double-click an image preview thumbnail
to view it within the main gallery area. The image can be zoomed in and out, set to full
screen (which covers your entire screen with the image), and be printed on your
configured printer. The toolbar allows you to fit the image to the display window, collect
multiple files into a catalog for easier access if they are located in different directories,
and write descriptions about the images.
The gThumb interface also has a text field for you to enter a particular path to your
image directories. Right-clicking on an image in the display area opens a pop-up menu of
file management options such as renaming, moving, copying, and converting an image
from one file format to another. You can also set an image as your desktop wallpaper
within the pop-up menu.
 91
You can combine functions within gThumb and create a dynamic presentation effect for
groups of images within a directory. In the text field below the toolbar, type the path to
the the directory where your images are located and highlight the first image in the main

gallery panel. Click the button on the toolbar and

you will start a full-screen slide show where gThumb displays images in full screen. By
default, each image in the slide show is presented for 4 seconds. You can stop the slide
show at any time by pressing [Esc] or by moving your mouse cursor and clicking the
Restore Normal View pop-up button that appears on the top left corner of the screen.
[Link]. Changing your Desktop Wallpaper with gThumb
To change your desktop wallpaper with gThumb, right-click on an image, choose
Set Image as Wallpaper, and then choose the orientation of the image. You can center
the image on the page, which sets the image at its native resolution on the desktop and
fills the rest of the space with the default desktop color if the image is smaller than your
desktop resolution. You can also tile the image, which fills your desktop with multiple
instances of the image. You can also scale and stretch the image, which resizes the image
from its native resolution to fit your screen size. To restore your desktop wallpaper to its
default, right-click anywhere in the main gallery area and choose
Set Image as Wallpaper => Restore.
[Link] Configuring gThumb
gThumb allows you to customize
several settings by choosing
Edit => Preferences.
The preferences pop-up menu lets
advanced users change several of the
default gThumb behaviors. You can
choose the layout of the application
window, customize a default image
directory on startup, change
thumbnail preview sizes, and change
the interval between cycled images
during a slide show.

Figure 11-4. The GThumb Preferences Dialog Box

92
To find out more about using and configuring gThumb, choose Help => Contents from
the main menu.
11.2. Manipulating Images with the GIMP
The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) is a powerful tool that can be used to
create, alter, manipulate, and enhance digital image files — photographs, scanned
images, computer-generated images, and more. This section offers a quick overview of
the GIMP and refers you to comprehensive references for learning more about it.
11.2.1. GIMP Basics
To use the GIMP, you will need to know some of the basics. From a shell prompt, you
start the GIMP using the command gimp, or you can start the GIMP from the desktop
by choosing Main Menu => Graphics => The GIMP.
Figure 11-5 shows a typical GIMP session in action.

Figure 11-5. The GIMP in Action

11.2.2. Loading a File
To load an existing file, select File => Open. You will see the Load Image dialog,
 93
as shown in Figure 11-6.

Figure 11-6. The Load Image Dialog

The Load Image dialog displays your working directory — the directory you were in when
the GIMP was launched. You can navigate up and down the file system tree by
double-clicking on the Directories list on the left, then selecting a file to open from the
Files list on the right.
File name completion is supported by the GIMP. If you type the first letter (or more) of a
file name into the Selection field and press the [Tab] key, the view will change to only
those subdirectories and/or files beginning with that letter or letters.
The file you select appears in the Selection field near the bottom of the dialog. A
thumbnail preview is displayed in the dialog; alternatively, a Generate Preview button is
displayed. If you want to see a thumbnail of the image, click on the Generate Preview
button.
94

Once you have selected a file, click on the OK button to open it.

You can also double-click on a file name to open it.

11.2.3. Saving a File
To save an image file, right click on the image and choose File => Save (or Save as). You
will see the Save Image dialog if you choose Save as or if you choose Save and the file has
not been saved before.
The Save Image dialog looks almost exactly like the Load Image dialog and navigation of
the file system tree and choosing files works in the same way.
When you are saving an image, you must choose an image format. The GIMP supports a
wide variety of image formats, including .gif, .png, .jpg, and .bmp.
11.2.4. GIMP Options
Like many applications, the GIMP provides more than one method to accomplish tasks.
The easiest way to work with images is to right-click the image, which displays a set of
menus containing most of the GIMP’s many capabilities, including image sizing, rotation,
and filter application.
For example, imagine you have a picture that you would like to modify to make it look as
if it were clipped from a newspaper. To do this, right-click on the image and select
Filters => Distorts => Newsprint.... Select the quantity of lines per inch using the sliders.

When you reach a

desired quantity
and are ready to
render the image,
click

The GIMP then

renders the image
with the new
effect
applied.
Figure 11-7 shows
an example of an
image after the
Newsprint filter
has been applied:

Figure 11-7. An Image modified with a GIMP Filter

 95
The Toolbox also has several easily accessible functions. Using the Toolbox, you can add
text to images, erase regions of an image, or even fill selected regions with the color of
your choice.
For example, if you wish to add text to a file, select the button and
click on your image.
This loads the Text Tool dialog box, where you can choose a font and type some text
in the provided text box. Click OK and your text is displayed as a floating section on the
image. You can then move the text to the position you wish using the Move Layers tool.
Figure 11-8 shows our photo with exciting new text:

Figure 11-8. Using the Text Tool on an Image

As you can see, the GIMP is a powerful image editing tool, and it takes some time to
master all of its functions. Try exploring some of the options yourself. If you make a
mistake, do not worry. You can always undo your mistakes by right-clicking on the image
and choosing Edit => Undo.
96

11.3. Additional Resources

While this chapter covers several applications briefly, there is so much more you can do
with them. Refer to the following resources if you are interested in learning more about
the applications in this chapter.
11.3.1. Installed Documentation
Some applications discussed have online documentation included with the package,
accessible right from your PC.
 For more information about using gThumb, refer to the documentation in
Help => Contents in the gThumb main menu.
 The GIMP manual page contains some of the more advanced command line options
and environment variables associated with it. You can read the manual page by typing
man gimp at a shell or terminal prompt. The GIMP also has a help browser accessible
by choosing Help => Help... from the GIMP toolbar menu.
11.3.2. Useful Websites
The Web has several sites of interest if you are looking for more detailed information
about an application covered in this chapter:
 [Link] — The official GThumb home page.
 [Link] — The official GIMP website.
 [Link] — A Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQ) list for questions commonly asked about the GIMP by GIMP users (as
opposed to developers).
 [Link] — The online GIMP User Manual.
 [Link] — The companion website to the book Grokking the
GIMP, by Carey Bunks. The entire book is also available on the site for download
 [Link] — The GIMP website of tigert (Tuomas
Kuosmanen).
11.3.3. Related Books
If you need in-depth information about the many capabilities of the GIMP, try your
favorite bookstore. The following books were available at the time of this writing:
 The Artists’ Guide to the GIMP by Michael J. Hammel; Frank Kasper and Associates, Inc.
 GIMP Essential Reference by Alex Harford; New Riders Publishing
 GIMP for Linux Bible by Stephanie Cottrell Bryant, et al; Hungry Minds, Inc.
 GIMP: The Official Handbook by Karin Kylander and Olof S. Kylander; Coriolis Group
 Grokking the GIMP by Carey Bunks; New Riders Publishing
 Sams Teach Yourself GIMP in 24 Hours by Joshua and Ramona Pruitt; Sams
97
98

Chapter 12.
Working with Digital Cameras
Digital cameras have recently grown in popularity because of their increasing image
quality and easy interaction with desktop PCs. Digital cameras create high-quality images
that allow you to send to others over the Internet or print on a color printer.
Red Hat Linux supports several brands of digital cameras and has applications that help
you access, view, and modify your digital photographs.
12.1. Using gtKam
Red Hat Linux supports over 100 digital camera models. So, whether your camera uses
USB or serial ports to communicate with your computer, it is likely that Red Hat Linux will
support it.
gtKam is a graphical application that allows you to interface with your digital camera.
gtKam works directly with your digital camera, allowing you to open, view, save, and
delete images directly. You can also download the images to your computer and modify it
with image manipulation programs such as The GIMP (refer to
Chapter 11 Working with Images for more information about image manipulation tools).
To start gtKam gtKam, choose Main Menu => Graphics => Digital Camera Tool. You
can also start gtKam by typing gtKam at a shell prompt.

B
efore you begin using gtKam, you need to configure it to work with your digital camera.
From the menu, choose Camera => Add Camera.... From the pop-up dialog, you can
choose your camera from the drop-down list or let gtKam
automatically find your camera
by clicking Detect. Click to accept the changes and

to close the dialog box.

 99

Figure 12-1. Adding a Camera in gtKam

Once you have added your camera, it will be shown as an icon on the left panel of the
main gtKam window. You only have to configure gtKam for your camera once; the
settings will be saved with each additional use.
Directories shown below the icon may differ depending on your brand of camera. Select
the directory that commonly stores your images and the stored images will immediately
load as thumbnail images in the main panel. From this panel, click on the images you
want, which you can then save to disk by choosing File => Save Selected Photos. If you
want to save all of the stored images, choose Select => All, then save the images to disk.

Figure 12-2. Viewing Images with gtKam

For more information about using gtKam, refer to the gtKam page at the gPhoto
website: [Link]
108

Chapter 13.
Shell Prompt Basics
13.1. Why Use a Shell Prompt
Graphical environments for Linux have come a long way in the past few years. You can be
perfectly productive in the X Window System and only have to open a shell prompt to
complete a few tasks.
However, many Red Hat Linux functions can be completed faster from the shell prompt
than from a graphical user interface (GUI). In less time than it might take to open a file
manager, locate a directory, and then create, delete, or modify files from a GUI, a task can
be finished with just a few commands at a shell prompt.
A shell prompt looks similar to other command-line interfaces with which you might be
familiar. Users type commands at a shell prompt, the shell interprets these commands,
and then the shell tells the OS what to do. Experienced users can write shell scripts to
expand their capabilities even further.

Figure 13-1. A Shell Prompt

This section explains how to navigate the file system, manipulate files, perform simple
administration tasks, and other shell prompt basics.
13.2. The History of the Shell
When AT&T software engineers Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson were designing UNIX™,
they wanted to create a way for people to interact with their new system.
Operating systems at that time came with command interpreters, which could take
commands from the user and interpret them so that computers could use them.
But Ritchie and Thompson wanted something more, something that offered better
features than the command interpreters available at that time. This lead to the
development of the Bourne shell (known as sh), created by S.R. Bourne. Since the
creation of the Bourne shell, other shells have been developed, such as the
C shell (csh) and the Korn shell (ksh).
 109
When the Free Software Foundation sought a royalty-free shell, developers began to
work on the language behind the Bourne shell as well as some of the popular features
from other shells available at the time.
The result was the Bourne Again Shell, or bash. Although your Red Hat Linux system
includes several different shells, bash is the default shell for interactive users. You can
learn more about bash by reading the bash man page (type man bash at a shell
prompt).
13.3. Determining Your Current Directory with pwd
Once you start looking through directories, it is easy to get lost or forget the name of your
current directory. By default, the Bash prompt in Red Hat Linux shows just your current
directory, not the entire path.

Figure 13-2. The Command pwd Shows You Where You Are
To determine the exact location of the current directory at a shell prompt and type the
command pwd. You will see something such as:
/home/sam
This example shows that you are in the user sam’s directory,
which is in the /home directory.
The command pwd stands for print working directory. When you typed pwd, you
asked your Linux system to display your current location. Your system responded by
printing the full path of the current directory in the shell prompt window. When the
system responds to requests for information, the response is called standard output, and
can be printed to the shell prompt or can be redirected to other programs or to other
output devices such as printers.
You will find that using pwd is very helpful as you learn to navigate your Red Hat Linux
system.
13.4. Changing Directories with cd
Changing directories is easy as long as you know where you are (your current directory)
and how that relates to where you want to go.
To change directories, use the cd command. Typing this command by itself will always
return you to your home directory; moving to any other directory requires a pathname.
You can use absolute or relative pathnames. Absolute paths start at the top of the file
system with / (referred to as root) and then look down for the requested directory;
110
relative paths look down from your current directory, wherever that may be. The
following directory tree illustrates how cd operates.
/
/directory1
/directory1/directory2
/directory1/directory2/directory3
If you are currently in directory3 and you want to switch to directory1, you
need to move up in the directory tree.
Executing the command
cd directory1
while you are in directory3, will present you with an error message explaining that
there is no such directory. This is because there is no directory1 below
directory3. To move up to directory1, type: cd /directory1
This is an example of an absolute path. It tells Linux to start at the top of the directory
tree (/) and change to directory1. A path is absolute if the first character is a /.
Otherwise, it is a relative path.
Using absolute paths allows you to change to a directory from the / directory, which
requires you to know and type the complete path. Using relative paths allows you to
change to a directory relative to the directory you are currently in, which can be
convenient if you are changing to a subdirectory within your current directory.
The command cd .. tells your system to go up to the directory immediately above
the one in which you are currently working. To go up two directories, use the
cd ../.. command.
Use the following exercise to test what you have learned so far regarding absolute and
relative paths. From your home directory, type the relative path: cd ../../etc/X11
After using the full command in the example, you should be in the directory X11, which
is where you will find configuration files and directories related to the X Window System.
Take a look at your last cd command. You told your system to:
1. Go up one level to your login directory’s parent directory (probably /home)
2. Then go up to that directory’s parent (which is the root, or /, directory)
3. Then go down to the etc directory
4. Finally, go to the X11 directory
Conversely, using an absolute path would get you to the /etc/X11 directory more
quickly. For example:
cd /etc/X11
Absolute paths start from the root directory (/) and move down to the directory you
specify.
 111

Note
Always make sure you know which working directory you are in before you state
the relative path to the directory or file you want to get to. You do not have to
worry about your position in the file system, though, when you state the absolute
path to another directory or file. If you are not sure, type pwd and your current
working directory will be displayed, which can be your guide for moving up and
down directories using relative pathnames.
Command Function
c returns you to your login directory
d
c ~ also returns you to your login directory
d
c / takes you to the entire system’s root directory
d
c /root takes you to the home directory of the root, or superuser,
d account created at installation; you must be the root user
to access this directory
c /home takes you to the home directory, where user login
d directories are usually stored
c .. moves you up one directory
d
c ~otheruser takes you to otheruser’s login directory, if otheruser
d has granted you permission
c /dir1/ regardless of which directory you are in, this absolute path
d subdirfoo would take you straight to subdirfoo, a subdirectory of
dir1
c ../../dir3/ this relative path would take you up two directories, then
d dir2 to dir3, then to the dir2 directory.
Table 13-1. cd Options
Now that you are starting to understand how to change directories, see what happens
when you change to root’s login directory (the superuser account). Type:
cd /root
If you are not logged in as root, you are denied permission to access that directory.
Denying access to the root and other users’ accounts (or login directories) is one way your
Linux system prevents accidental or malicious tampering. See
Section 13.14 Ownership and Permissions.
To change to the root login and root directory, use the su command.
su
112

Tip
The command su means substitute users and it allows you to log in as another
user temporarily. When you type su by itself and press [Enter], you become
root (also called the superuser) while still inside your login shell (your user’s home
directory). Typing su - makes you become root with root’s login shell; it is as if
you had logged in as root originally.
As soon as you give the root password, you will see the changes in your command prompt
to show your new, superuser status, the root account designation at the front of the
prompt and "#" at the end.
When you are done working as root, type exit at the prompt, and you will return to your
user account.
13.5. View Directory Contents with ls
Now that you know how to change directories, it is time to learn how to view the
contents of these directories. Using the ls command, you can display the contents of
your current directory.
Many options are available with the ls command. The ls command, by itself, does not
show all the files in the directory. Some files are hidden files (also called dot files) and can
only be seen with an additional option specified to the ls command.

Tip
To see all the options of the ls command, you can read the man page by
typing man ls at a shell prompt. If you want to print the man page, at the
prompt type man ls | col -b | lpr.
Type the command ls -a. Now you will see files that begin with dots.

Figure 13-3. ls with the -a Option

Hidden files are mostly configuration files which set preferences in programs, window
managers, shells, and more. The reason they are hidden is to help prevent any accidental
tampering by the user. When you are searching for something in a directory, you are not
usually looking for these configuration files, so keep them hidden to help avoid some
screen clutter when viewing directories at the shell prompt.
Viewing all the files using the ls -a command can give you plenty of detail, but you
can view still more information, by adding more than one option.
 113
If you want to see the size of a file or directory, when it was created and more, just add
the long option (-l) to the ls -a command. This command shows the file creation
date, its size, ownership, permissions, and more.
You do not have to be in the directory whose contents you want to view to use the ls
command. For example, to see what is in the /etc/ directory from your home
directory, type:
ls -al /etc

Figure 13-4. Sample ls Output for the /etc Directory

The following is a short list of some options commonly used with ls. Remember, you
can view the full list by reading the ls man page (man ls).
 -a — all. Lists all the files in the directory, including the hidden files (.filename).
The .. and . at the top of your list refer to the parent directory and the current
directory, respectively.
 l — long. Lists details about contents, including permissions (modes), owner, group,
size, creation date, whether the file is a link to somewhere else on the system and
where its link points.
 -F — file type. Adds a symbol to the end of each listing. These symbols include / to
indicate a directory; @ to indicate a symbolic link to another file; and * to indicate an
executable file.
114
 -r — reverse. Lists the contents of the directory from back to front.
 -R — recursive. This option lists the contents of all directories below the current
directory recursively.
 -S — size. Sorts files by their sizes.
13.6. Locating Files and Directories
There will be times when you know a file or directory exists but you will not know where
to find it. Search for a file or directory with the locate command.
With locate, you will see every file or directory whose name contains the search
criterion. For example, if you want to search for all files with the word finger in the
name, type:
locate finger
The locate command uses a database to locate files and directories that have
the word finger in the file or directory name. The search results could include a file
called [Link], a file called [Link], a directory named
fingerthumbnails, and so on. To learn more about locate, read the locate
man page (type man locate at a shell prompt).
The locate command works very quickly, as long as the database is up to date. That
database is automatically updated on a nightly basis through a cron job. cron is a
small program that runs in the background, performing various tasks (such as updating
the locate database) at regularly scheduled intervals.

Tip
Cron is a daemon that executes tasks at regularly scheduled intervals. To read
the cron man page, type man cron at the shell prompt. Refer to
Ch 28 Automated Tasks pp 266-72, 28.1 Cron pp 266-8
Red Hat Linux Customization Guide for more information on cron.
The cron task periodically updates the slocate database, which is used to catalog
file locations. Switching between operating systems and shutting down your machine at
the end of the day can interfere with the automatic database update run by cron.
To update the database manually, log in as root (type su at a shell prompt and then
your root password) and type the command updatedb.
After a few minutes, the slocate database that is used by the locate command
will be current.
 115

Note
You can run anacron to have your system execute commands periodically,
with a frequency specified in days. Unlike cron, it does not assume that the
machine is running continuously. Hence, it can be used on machines that are not
running 24 hours a day, to control daily, weekly, and monthly jobs that are usually
controlled by cron.
Refer to the man page on anacron
(type man anacron at the command line) and
Ch 28 Automated Tasks pp 266-72, 28.1 Anacron pp 269-70
Red Hat Linux Customization Guide for more information.
13.7. Printing From The Command Line
Printing is not an involved process whether you click on a button in a GUI or type
commands from the command line. This section explains how to print, cancel, and view
print jobs from the command line, assuming you have a properly configured printer
connected to your system. Refer to Chapter 8 Printer Configuration for more information
about setting up your printer.
The lpr command, followed by a filename, sends that specified file to the print queue.
For example, lpr [Link] prints the [Link] file.
To view the jobs waiting in the print queue, type lpq at the command line. Type lpq,
and you will see information similar to this:
active root 389 [Link]
In this example, 389 is the job number.
You can cancel jobs in the queue by typing lprm followed by the print job number
displayed when you use the lpq command. To cancel the [Link] print job, type
lprm 389 and press [Enter].
13.8. Clearing and Resetting the Terminal
After even one ls command in a shell prompt, the terminal window you are working in
can begin to look crowded. You can always exit from the terminal window and open a
new one, but there is a quicker and easier way to clear the contents displayed
in the terminal.
Try typing the command clear at the shell prompt. The clear command does just
what it implies: it clears the terminal window.
Sometimes, you may accidentally open a program file or some other non-text file in a
terminal window. Once you close the file, you could find that the text you are typing does
not match the output on the monitor.
In such cases, type reset to return the terminal window to its default values.
116

13.9. Manipulating Files with cat

Red Hat Linux has a utility which can help you keep short lists, gather lists together, and
even show you information about your system.
The utility is called cat, short for concatenate, which means to combine files.
The command cat will also display the contents of an entire file on the screen
(for example, type cat [Link]). If the file is fairly long, it will quickly scroll
past you on the screen. To prevent this, use the cat [Link] | less
command.
Using the pipe (|) and the less command together displays the file one page at a time.
You can then use the up and down arrow keys to move backward and forward through
the pages. For more on using pipes to combine two separate functions, see
Section 13.10 Pipes and Pagers.
13.9.1. Using Redirection
Redirection means causing the shell to change what it considers to be standard input or
where the standard output should be going.
To redirect standard output, use the > symbol. Placing > after the cat command
(or after any utility or application that writes to standard output) directs its output to the
filename following the symbol.
For example, using cat by itself outputs whatever you input to the screen as if it were
repeating the line you just typed. The following example shows cat repeating every
line that is entered:

Figure 13-5. The cat Command

To redirect the output of cat to a file, type the following at a shell prompt
(pressing the [Enter] key takes you to the next blank line):
cat > [Link]
 117

Figure 13-6. Redirecting Output to a File

Press [Enter] to go to an empty line and use the [Ctrl]-[D] keys to quit cat.
Do you notice anything different in Figure 13-6? There are no repeated entries. That is
because the standard output from cat was redirected. That redirection was to a brand
new file you made called [Link].
You can find the file in the directory you were in when you started cat (type ls if
you want to see it listed).
As you learned earlier, you can then use cat to read the file. At the prompt, type:
cat [Link]

Caution
Be careful when you redirect the output to a file, because you can easily overwrite
an existing file! Make sure the name of the file you are creating does not match
the name of a pre-existing file, unless you want to replace it.
Use output redirection again for another file and call it [Link]. For this example,
type the command cat > [Link], then [Enter], followed by:
bring the coffee home
take off shoes
put on sneakers
make some coffee
relax!
Now, on an empty line, use the [Ctrl]-[D] key combination again to quit cat.
Next, use cat to join [Link] with [Link] and redirect the output of
both files to a brand new file called [Link]
(you will find an example in Figure 13-7). Type the following:
cat [Link] [Link] > [Link]
118

Figure 13-7. Joining Files and Redirecting Output

You can see that cat has added [Link] where [Link] ended.
13.9.2. Appending Standard Output
You can use output redirection to add new information to the end of an existing file.
Similar to when you used the > symbol, you tell your shell to send the information
somewhere other than standard output.
However, when you use > >, you are adding information to a file, rather than replacing
the contents of a file entirely.
The best explanation is a demonstration. Take two files which have already been created
([Link] and [Link]) and join them by using the append output
symbol. You want to add the information in [Link] to the information already in
[Link], so type:
cat [Link] >> [Link]
Now check the file using the command cat [Link]. The final output shows
the contents of [Link] at the end of the file:
buy some sneakers
then go to the coffee shop
then buy some coffee
bring the coffee home
take off shoes
put on sneakers
make some coffee
relax!
The command you typed appended the output from the file [Link] to the file
[Link].
 119
By appending the output, you save yourself time (and a bit of disk clutter) by using
existing files, rather than creating a new file.
Compare the results of the files [Link] and [Link] now, and
you will see that they are identical. To make your comparison, type:
cat [Link]; cat [Link]
The contents of both files will be displayed — first [Link], then
[Link] (as shown in Figure 13-8).

Figure 13-8. Stringing Commands and Comparing Files

13.9.3. Redirecting Standard Input
Not only can you redirect standard output, you can perform the same type of redirection
with standard input.
When you use the redirect standard input symbol , you are telling the shell that you want
a file to be read as input for a command.
Use a file you have already created to demonstrate this idea. Type:
cat < [Link]
Because you used the less-than symbol (<) to separate the cat command from the
file, the output of [Link] was read by cat.
120

Figure 13-9. Redirecting Standard Input

13.10. Pipes and Pagers
In Linux, pipes connect the standard output of one command to the standard input of
another command.
Consider the ls command that was discussed earlier. There are plenty of options
available with ls, but what if the contents of a directory scroll by too quickly for you to
view them?
View the contents of the /etc/ directory with the command:
ls -al /etc
How do you get a closer look at the output before it moves off the screen?
One way is to pipe the output to a utility called less, a pager utility that allows you to
view information one page (or screen) at a time.
Use the vertical bar (|) to pipe the commands.
ls -al /etc | less
Now you can view the contents of /etc one screen at a time. To move forward a
screen, press [Space]; to move back a screen, press [B]; to quit, press [Q].
Alternatively, you can use the arrow keys to navigate with less.
To search the output of a text file using less, press [/] and then type the keyword
you want to search for within the file. For example:
/Linux
 121

Tip
To read startup messages more closely, at a shell prompt, type dmesg | less.
You will be able to read the file one screen at a time. Use the arrow keys to
navigate the file; to search for output, press [/] and type the search term.
Pipes can also be used to print only certain lines from a file. Type:
grep coffee [Link] | lpr
This command prints every line in the [Link] file that mentions the word
"coffee" (read more about grep in Section 13.11.3 The grep Command).
13.10.1. The more Command
The main difference between more and less is that less allows backward and
forward movement using the arrow keys, while more uses the [Spacebar] and the
[B] key for forward and backward navigation.
List the contents of the /etc directory using ls and more.
ls -al /etc | more

Figure 13-10. Piping Output of ls to more

122
To search the output of a text file using more, press [/] and then type the keyword
you want to search for within the file. For example:
/foo
Use the [Spacebar] to move forward through the pages. Press [q] to exit.
13.11. More Commands for Reading Text Files
You have already been introduced to several basic shell prompt commands for reading
files in text editors. Here are a few more.
13.11.1. The head Command
You can use the head command to look at the beginning of a file. The command is:
head <filename>
head can be a useful command, but because it is limited to the first several lines, you
will not see how long the file actually is. By default, you can only read the first ten lines of
a file. You can change the number of lines displayed by specifying a number option as
shown in the following command:
head -20 <filename>
13.11.2. The tail Command
The reverse of head is tail. Using tail, you can view the last ten lines of a file.
This can be useful for viewing the last 10 lines of a log file for important system messages.
You can also use tail to watch log files as they are updated. Using the -f option,
tail automatically print new messages from an open file to the screen in real-time. For
example, to actively watch /var/log/messages, type the following at a shell
prompt as the root user:
tail -f /var/log/messages
13.11.3. The grep Command
The grep command is useful for finding specific character strings in a file. For example,
if you want to find every reference made to "coffee" in the file [Link],
you would type:
grep coffee [Link]
You would see every line in that file where the word "coffee" is found.

Tip
Unless otherwise specified, grep searches are case sensitive. That means that
searching for Coffee is different than searching for coffee. Among grep’s
options is -i, which allows for a case-insensitive search through a file.
Read the grep man page for more about this command.
 123

13.11.4. I/O Redirection and Pipes

You can use pipes and output redirection when you want to store and/or print
information to read at a later time.
You can, for example, use grep to search for particular contents of a file, then have
those results either saved as a file or sent to a printer.
To print the information about references to "coffee" in [Link], for
example, just type:
grep coffee [Link] | lpr
13.11.5. Wildcards and Regular Expressions
What if you forget the name of the file you are looking for? Using wildcards or regular
expressions, you can perform actions on a file or files without knowing the complete
filename. Just fill out what you know, then substitute the remainder with a wildcard.
Wildcards are special symbols that you can substitute for letters, numbers, and symbols
that make finding particular directories and files easier than examining long directory
listings to find what you are searching for.

Tip
To read more about wildcards and regular expressions, take a look at the
bash man page (man bash). Remember that you can save the file to a text file
by typing man bash | col -b [Link]. Then, you can open and read
the file with less or vi (vi [Link]). If you want to print the file, be
aware that it is quite long.
We know the file is called "sneak____.txt," so type:
ls sneak*.txt
and there is the name of the file:
[Link]
You will probably use the asterisk (*) most frequently when you are searching. The
asterisk will search out everything that matches the pattern you are looking for. So even
by typing:
ls *.txt
or:
ls sn*
You would find [Link] and any other files whose name ends with .txt or
begin with sn. It helps to narrow your search as much as possible.
One way to narrow a search is to use the question mark symbol (?). Like the asterisk,
using ? can help locate a file matching a search pattern.
124
In this case, though, ? is useful for matching a single character, so if you were searching
for sneaker?.txt, you would get [Link] as a result, and/or
[Link], if there were such a filename.
Regular expressions are more complex than the straightforward asterisk or question
mark.
When an asterisk, for example, just happens to be part of a filename, as might be the case
if the file [Link] was called sneak*.txt, that is when regular expressions
can be useful.
Using the backslash (\), you can specify that you do not want to search out everything by
using the asterisk, but you are instead looking for a file with an asterisk in the name. If the
file is called sneak*.txt, type:
sneak\*.txt
Here is a brief list of wildcards and regular expressions:
 * — Matches all characters
 ? — Matches one character in a string
 \* — Matches the * character
 \? — Matches the ? character
 \) — Matches the ) character

13.12. Command History and Tab Completion

It does not take long before the thought of typing the same command over and over
becomes unappealing. One minor typing error can ruin lines of a series of commands.
One solution is to use the command line history. By scrolling with the [Up Arrow] and
[Down Arrow] keys, you can find plenty of your previously typed commands.
Try it by taking a look again at [Link] (created in
Section 13.9.1 Using Redirection. The first time, however, at the shell prompt, type:
cat [Link]
Nothing happens, of course, because there is no [Link] file. No problem. Use
the up-arrow key to bring back the command, then use the left-arrow key to get to the
point where we missed the "e." Insert the letter and press [Enter] again.
We now see the contents of [Link].
By default, up to 500 commands can be stored in the bash command line history file.

Tip
By typing the env command at a shell prompt, we can see the environment
variable that controls the size of the command line history. The line which reads,
HISTFILESIZE=500 shows the number of commands that bash will store.
 125
The command line history is actually kept in a file, called .bash_history in your
login directory. We can read it in a number of ways: by using vi, cat, less, more,
and others.
Be aware that the file can be long. To read it with the more command, from your home
directory type:
more .bash_history
To move forward a screen, press [Space]; to move back a screen, press [b];
to quit, press [q].

Tip
To find a command in your history file without having to keep hitting the arrow
keys or page through the history file, use grep, a powerful search utility
(see Section 13.11.3 The grep Command. Here is how you can quickly find a
previously used command: say you are searching for a command that is similar to

cat sneak-something. You have used the command, and you think it might
be in your history file. At the shell prompt, type:
history | grep sneak
Another time-saving tool is known as command completion. If you type part of a file,
command, or pathname and then press the [Tab] key, bash will present you with
either the remaining portion of the file/path, or a beep
(if sound is enabled on your system). If you get a beep, just press [Tab] again to obtain
a list of the files/paths that match what has been typed so far.
For example, if you forget the command updatedb, but remember a portion of the
command, you can su to root, then at the shell prompt, type up, press the [Tab]
key twice and you will see a list of possible completions, including updatedb and
uptime. By typing the partial command upd and pressing [Tab] again, your
command is completed for you.
13.13. Using Multiple Commands
Linux allows you to enter multiple commands at one time. The only requirement is that
you separate the commands with a semicolon.
Suppose you have downloaded a new file called [Link], and you
want to put it in a new subdirectory within your home directory called rpms/, but the
subdirectory has not been created. You can combine both the creation of the rpms/
directory and the moving of your downloaded file into the directory by typing the
following at a shell prompt:
mkdir rpms/; mv [Link] rpms/
Running the combination of commands creates the directory and
moves the file in one line.
126

13.14. Ownership and Permissions

Earlier in this chapter p 111, when you tried to change to root’s login directory, you
received the following message:
cd /root
bash: /root: Permission denied
That was one demonstration of Linux’s security features. Linux, like UNIX, is a multi-user
system, and file permissions are one way the system protects against malicious
tampering.
One way to gain entry when you are denied permission is to su to root, as you learned
earlier pp 111-2. This is because whoever knows the root password has complete access.
But switching to the superuser is not always convenient or recommended, since it is easy
to make mistakes and alter important configuration files as the superuser.
All files and directories are "owned" by the person who created them. You created the file
[Link] (see Section 13.9.1 Using Redirection) in your login directory, so
[Link] belongs to you.
That means you can specify who is allowed to read the file, write to the file, or (if it is an
application instead of a text file) who can execute the file.
Reading, writing, and executing are the three main settings in permissions. Since users are
placed into a group when their accounts are created, you can also specify whether certain
groups can read, write to, or execute a file.
Take a closer look at [Link] with the ls command using the -l option
(see Figure 13-11).

There is a lot of detail provided here. You can see who can read (r) and write to (w)
the file,
as well as who created the file (sam),
and to which group the owner belongs (sam).
Remember that, by default, the name of your
group is the same as your login name.

-rw-rw-r-- 1 sam sam 150 Mar 19 08:08

Other information to the right of the group includes file size 150 ,
date and time of file creation Mar 19 08:08 , and
file name [Link] .
The first column shows current permissions; it has ten slots.
| | | | The first slot represents the type of file.
The remaining nine slots are actually three sets of permissions
| | | | for three different categories of users. For example:
- |rw-|rw-|r--|
 127

Figure 13-11. Permissions for [Link]

Those three sets are
the owner of the file,
the group in which the file belongs, and
"others," meaning other users on the system.
- (rw-) (rw-) (r--) 1 sam sam
- | | | | 1 sam sam
type owner group others
The first item, which specifies the file type, can show one of the following:
 d — a directory ( )
 -(dash) — a regular file (rather than directory or link)

 l — a symbolic link ( ) to another program or file

elsewhere on the system
Beyond the first item, in each of the following three sets, you will see one of the
following:
 r — file can be read
 w — file can be written to
 x — file can be executed (if it is a program)
128
When you see a dash in owner, group, or others, it means that particular permission has
not been granted. Look again at the first column of [Link] and identify its
permissions.
ls -l [Link]
- rw- rw- r-- 1 sam sam 150 Mar 19 08:08
[Link]
- (rw-) (rw-) (r--) 1 sam sam
- | | | | 1 sam sam
type owner group others
The file’s owner (in this case, sam) has permission to read and write to the file.
The group, sam, has permission to read and write to [Link], as well.
It is not a program, so neither the owner or the group has permission to execute it.
13.14.1. The chmod Command
Use the chmod command to change permissions. This example shows how to change
the permissions on [Link] with the chmod command.
The original file looks like this, with its initial permissions settings:
- rw- rw- r-- 1 sam sam 150 Mar 19 08:08
[Link]
If you are the owner of the file or are logged into the root account you can change any
permissions for the owner, group, and others.
Right now, the owner and group can read and write to the file.
Anyone outside of the group can only read the file (r--).

Caution
Remember that file permissions are a security feature. Whenever you allow
anyone else to read, write to, and execute files, you are increasing the
risk of files being tampered with, altered, or deleted. As a rule,
you should only grant read and write permissions to those who truly need them.
In the following example, you want to allow everyone to write to the file, so they can
read it, write notes in it, and save it. That means you will have to change the "others"
section of the file permissions.
Take a look at the file first. At the shell prompt, type:
ls -l [Link]
The previous command displays this file information:
- rw- rw- r-- 1 sam sam 150 Mar 19 08:08
[Link]
 129
Now, type the following:
chmod o+w [Link]
The o+w command tells the system you want to give others write permission to the
file [Link]. To check the results, list the file’s details again. Now, the file looks
like this:
- rw- rw- rw- 1 sam sam 150 Mar 19 08:08
[Link]
Now, everyone can read and write to the file.
To remove read and write permissions from [Link] use the chmod
command to take away both the read and write permissions.
chmod go-rw [Link]
By typing go-rw, you are telling the system to remove read and write permissions for
the group and for others from the file [Link]. The result will look like this:
- rw- --- --- 1 sam sam 150 Mar 19 08:08
[Link]
Think of these settings as a kind of shorthand when you want to change permissions with
chmod, because all you really have to do is remember a few symbols and letters with the
chmod command.
Here is a list of what the shorthand represents:
Identities
u — the user who owns the file (that is, the owner)
g — the group to which the user belongs
o — others (not the owner or the owner’s group)
a — everyone or all (u, g, and o)
Permissions
r — read access w — write access x — execute access
Actions
+ — adds the permission - — removes the permission
= — makes it the only permission
Want to test your permissions skills? Remove all permissions from [Link] —
for everyone.
chmod a-rwx [Link]
Now, see if you can read the file with the command cat [Link], which
should return the following:
cat: [Link]: Permission denied
Removing all permissions, including your own, successfully locked the file. But since the
file belongs to you, you can always change its permissions back with the following
command: chmod u+rw [Link]
130
Use the command cat [Link] to verify that you, the file owner, can read
the file again. Here are some common examples of settings that can be used with
chmod:
 g+w — adds write access for the group
 o-rwx — removes all permissions for others
 u+x — allows the file owner to execute the file
 a+rw — allows everyone to read and write to the file
 ug+r — allows the owner and group to read the file
 g=rx — allows only the group to read and execute (not write)
By adding the -R option, you can change permissions for entire directory trees.
Because you can not really "execute" a directory as you would an application, when you
add or remove execute permission for a directory, you are really allowing (or denying)
permission to search through that directory.
If you do not allow others to have execute permission to tigger, it will not matter who
has read or write access. No one will be able to get into the directory unless they know
the exact file name. For example, type:
chmod a-x tigger
to remove everyone’s execute permissions.
Here is what happens now when you try to cd to into tigger: bash:
tigger: Permission denied
Next, restore your own and your group’s access:
chmod ug+x tigger
Now, if you check your work with ls -l you will see that only others will be denied
access to the tigger directory.
13.14.2. Changing Permissions With Numbers
Remember the reference to the shorthand method of chmod? Here is another way to
change permissions, although it may seem a little complex at first.
Go back to the original permissions for [Link]:
-rw-rw-r-- 1 sam sam 150 Mar 19 08:08 [Link]
Each permission setting can be represented by a numerical value:
 r = 4  w = 2  x = 1  - = 0
When these values are added together, the total is used to set specific permissions. For
example, if you want read and write permissions, you would have a value of
6; 4 (read) + 2 (write) = 6.
For [Link], here are the numerical permissions settings:
- (rw-) (rw-) (r--)
| | |
4+2+0 4+2+0 4+0+0
The total for the user is six, the total for the group is six, and the total for others is four.
The permissions setting is read as 664.
 131
If you want to change [Link] so those in your group will not have write
access, but can still read the file, remove the access by subtracting two (2) from that set
of numbers.
The numerical values, then, would become six, four, and four (644). To implement these
new settings, type: chmod 644 [Link]
Now verify the changes by listing the file. Type:
ls -l [Link]
The output should be:
-rw-r--r-- 1 sam sam 150 Mar 19 08:08 [Link]
Now, neither the group nor others have write permission to [Link]. To return
the group’s write access for the file, add the value of w (2) to the second set of
permissions.
chmod 664 [Link]

Warning
Setting permissions to 666 will allow everyone to read and write to a file or
directory. Setting permissions to 777 allows everyone read, write, and execute
permission. These permissions could allow tampering with sensitive files, so in
general, it is not a good idea to use these settings.
Here is a list of some common settings, numerical values and their meanings:
 -rw------- (600) — Only the owner has read and write permissions.
 -rw-r--r-- (644) — Only the owner has read and write permissions;
the group and others have read only.
 -rwx------ (700) — Only the owner has read, write, and execute permissions.
 -rwxr-xr-x (755) — The owner has read, write, and execute permissions;
the group and others have only read and execute.
 -rwx--x--x (711) — The owner has read, write, and execute permissions; the
group and others have only execute.
 -rw-rw-rw- (666) — Everyone can read and write to the file.
(Be careful with these permissions.)
 -rwxrwxrwx (777) — Everyone can read, write, and execute.
(Again, this permissions setting can be hazardous.)

Here are some common settings for directories:

 drwx------ (700) — Only the user can read, write in this directory.
 drwxr-xr-x (755) — Everyone can read the directory;
users and groups have read and execute permissions.
132

Chapter 14.
Managing Files and Directories
Your desktop file manager is a powerful and important tool for managing files and
directories using the graphical desktop. This chapter discusses various shell prompt
commands that can be used to manage files and directories on your Red Hat Linux
system. This chapter also discusses compression tools to create archives of your files for
backup or to conveniently send to others.

Note
Due to system security, unless you are root, you will not be able to gain access to
all system-level files and directories. If you do not have the permission to open,
delete, or execute a file, you will receive an error message saying your access is
denied. This is normal behavior and is used to prevent non-privileged users from
modifying or deleting important system files.
14.1. A Larger Picture of the File System
Every operating system has a method of storing data in files and directories so that it can
keep track of additions, modifications, and other changes.
In Linux, every file is stored in a directory. Directories can also contain directories; these
subdirectories can also contain files and other subdirectories.
You might think of the file system as a tree-like structure and directories as branches.
These directories may contain, or be the "parent" of, directories within it (called
subdirectories) which hold files and may contain subdirectories of their own.
There would not be a tree without a root, and the same is true for the Linux file system.
No matter how far away the directories branch, everything is connected to the root
directory, which is represented as a single forward slash (/).

Tip
Red Hat Linux uses the term root in several different ways, which might be
confusing to new users. There is the root account (the superuser, who has
permission to do anything), the root account’s home directory (/root) and
the root directory for the entire file system (/). When you are speaking to
someone and using the term root, be sure to know which root is being discussed.
Unless you are a system administrator or have root (superuser) access, you probably do
not have permission to write to the files and directories outside of your home directory.
 133
Certain directories are reserved for specific purposes. For example, /home is the
default location for users’ home directories.
Users that do not have superuser access might find the following directories useful for
finding their home directories, reading documentation, or storing temporary files.
 /home — Default location for users’ home directories. For example, a user with the
username foo has the home directory /home/foo.
 /usr/share/doc — Location of documentation for installed packages. For
example, the documentation for the redhat-config-date software package is
located in /usr/share/doc/redhat-config-date- <version-number> .
 /tmp — The reserved directory for all users to store temporary files. Files stored here
are not permanent. A system process removes old files from this directory on a periodic
basis. Do not write any files or directories that you want to keep here.
Your Red Hat Linux system is compatible with many other Linux distributions because of
the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS). The FHS guidelines help to standardize the way
system programs and files are stored on all Linux systems.
To learn more about the FHS, refer to the 3.2 Overview of File System Hierarchy Standard
(FHS) pp 28-33 Red Hat Linux Reference Guide.
You can also visit the FHS website at [Link]
14.2. Identifying and Working with File Types
If you are new to Linux, you may see certain file types that you do not recognize because
of their unfamiliar extension. A file’s extension is the last part of a file’s name after the
final dot (in the file [Link], "txt" is that file’s extension).
Here is a brief listing of file extensions and their meanings:
14.2.1. Compressed and Archived Files
 .bz2 — a file compressed with bzip2
 .gz — a file compressed with gzip
 .tar — a file archived with tar (short for tape archive), also known as a tar file
 .tbz — a tarred and bzipped file
 .tgz — a tarred and gzipped file.
 .zip — a file compressed with ZIP compression, commonly found in MS-DOS
applications. Most compressed files for Linux use the gzip compression, so finding a
.zip archive for Linux files is rare.
For information on working with bzip2, gzip, and tar files, refer to
Section 14.3 File Compression and Archiving.
14.2.2. File Formats
 .au — an audio file  .gif — a GIF image file
 .html/.htm — an HTML file  .jpg — a JPEG image file
 .pdf — an electronic image of a document; PDF stands for Portable Document Format
 .png — a PNG image file (short for Portable Network Graphic)
134
 .ps — a PostScript file; formatted for printing  .txt — a plain ASCII text file
 .wav — an audio file  .xpm — an image file
14.2.3. System Files
 .conf — a configuration file. Configuration files
sometimes use the .cfg extension, as well.
 .lock — a lock file; determines whether a program or device is in use
 .rpm — a Red Hat Package Manager file used to install software
14.2.4. Programming and Scripting Files
 .c — a C program language source code file
 .cpp — a C++ program language source code file
 .h — a C or C++ program language header file
 .o — a program object file  .pl — a Perl script
 .py — a Python script  .so — a library file
 .sh — a shell script  .tcl — a TCL script
But file extensions are not always used, or used consistently. So what happens when a file
does not have an extension, or the file does not seem to be what the extension says it is
supposed to be?
That is when the file command can be helpful.
For example, you find a file called saturday without an extension. Using the file
command, you can tell what type of file it is by typing:
file saturday
In the example, the command file saturday will display ASCII text, telling you it
is a text file. Any file that is designated as a text file should be readable by using the cat,
more, or less commands, or by using a text editor such as gedit or vi.

Tip
To learn more about file, read the man page by typing man file.
For more information on helpful commands for reading files, see
Chapter 13 Shell Prompt Basics.
14.3. File Compression and Archiving
Sometimes it is useful to store a group of files in one file so that they can be backed up,
easily transferred to another directory, or even transferred to a different computer. It is
also sometimes useful to compress files into one file so that they use less disk space and
download faster via the Internet.
It is important to understand the distinction between an archive file and a
compressed file. An archive file is a collection of files and directories that are stored
in one file. The archive file is not compressed — it uses the same amount of disk space as
 135
all the individual files and directories combined. A compressed file is a collection of files
and directories that are stored in one file and stored in a way that uses less disk space
than all the individual files and directories combined. If you do not have enough disk
space on your computer, you can compress files that you do not use very often or files
that you want to save but do not use anymore. You can even create an archive file and
then compress it to save disk space.

Note
An archive file is not compressed, but a compressed file can be an archive file.
14.3.1. Using File Roller
Red Hat Linux includes a graphical utility called File Roller that can compress,
decompress, and archive files and directories. File Roller supports common UNIX and
Linux file compression and archiving formats and has a simple interface and extensive
help documentation if you need it. It is also integrated into the desktop environment and
graphical file manager to make working with archived files easier.
To start File Roller click Main Menu => Accessories => File Roller. You can also start File
Roller from a shell prompt by typing file-roller. Figure 14-1 shows File Roller in
action.

Tip
If you are using a file manager (such as Nautilus), you can double-click the file you
wish to unarchive or decompress to start File Roller. The File Roller browser
window will appear with the decompressed/unarchived file in a folder for you to
extract or browse.
136

Figure 14-1. File Roller in Action

[Link]. Decompressing and Unarchiving with File Roller
To unarchive and/or decompress a file click the Open toolbar button. A file menu will pop
up, allowing you to choose the archive you wish to work with. For example, if you have a
file called [Link] located in your home directory, highlight the file and click OK.
The file will appear in the main File Roller browser window as a folder, which you can
navigate by double-clicking the folder icon. File Roller preserves all directory and
subdirectory structures, which is convenient if you are looking for a particular file in the
archive. You can extract individual files or entire archives by clicking the Extract button,
choosing the directory you would like to save the unarchived files, and clicking OK.
[Link]. Creating Archives with File Roller
If you need to free some hard drive space, or send multiple files or a directory of files to
another user, File Roller allows you to create archives of your files and directories. To
create a new archive, click New on the toolbar. A file browser will pop up, allowing you to
specify an archive name and the compression technique. For example, you may choose a
 137
Tar Compressed wity gzip ([Link]) format from the drop-down menu and type
the name of the archive file you want to create. Click OK and your new archive is now
ready to be filled with files and directories. To add files to your new archive, click Add,
which will pop up a browser window (Figure 14-2) that you can navigate to find the file or
directory you want to be in the archive. Click OK when you are finished, and click Close to
close the archive.

Figure 14-2. Creating an Archive with File Roller

138

Tip
There is much more you can do with File Roller than is explained here. Refer to
the File Roller manual (available by clicking Help => Manual) for more
information.
14.3.2. Compressing Files at the Shell Prompt
Compressed files use less disk space and download faster than large, uncompressed files.
In Red Hat Linux you can compress files
with the compression tools gzip, bzip2, or zip.
The bzip2 compression tool is recommended because it provides the most
compression and is found on most UNIX-like operating systems.
The gzip compression tool can also be found on most UNIX-like operating systems.
If you need to transfer files between Linux and other operating system such as MS
Windows, you should use zip because it is more compatible with the compression
utilities on Windows.
Compression Tool File Extension Uncompression Tool
Gzip .gz Gunzip
bzip2 .bz2 bunzip2
Zip .zip Unzip
Table 14-1. Compression Tools
By convention, files compressed with gzip are given the extension .gz,
files compressed with bzip2 are given the extension .bz2, and
files compressed with zip are given the extension .zip.
Files compressed with gzip are uncompressed with gunzip,
files compressed with bzip2 are uncompressed with bunzip2, and
files compressed with zip are uncompressed with unzip.
[Link]. Bzip2 and Bunzip2
To use bzip2 to compress a file, type the following command at a shell prompt:
bzip2 filename
The file will be compressed and saved as filename.bz2.
To expand the compressed file, type the following command:
bunzip2 filename.bz2
The filename.bz2 is deleted and replaced with filename.
You can use bzip2 to compress multiple files and directories at the same time by
listing them with a space between each one:
bzip2 filename.bz2 file1 file2 file3 /usr/work/school
 139
The above command compresses file1, file2, file3, and the contents of the
/usr/work/school directory (assuming this directory exists) and places them in a
file named filename.bz2.

Tip
For more information, type man bzip2 and man bunzip2 at a shell
prompt to read the man pages for bzip2 and bunzip2.
[Link]. Gzip and Gunzip
To use gzip to compress a file, type the following command at a shell prompt:
gzip filename
The file will be compressed and saved as [Link].
To expand the compressed file, type the following command:
gunzip [Link]
The [Link] is deleted and replaced with filename.
You can use gzip to compress multiple files and directories at the same time by listing
them with a space between each one:
gzip -r [Link] file1 file2 file3 /usr/work/school
The above command compresses file1, file2, file3, and the contents of the
/usr/work/school directory (assuming this directory exists) and places them in a
file named [Link].

Tip
For more information, type man gzip and man gunzip at a shell prompt to
read the man pages for gzip and gunzip.
[Link]. Zip and Unzip
To compress a file with zip, type the following command:
zip -r [Link] filesdir
In this example, [Link] represents the file you are creating and filesdir
represents the directory you want to put in the new zip file. The -r option specifies
that you want to include all files contained in the filesdir directory recursively.
To extract the contents of a zip file, type the following command:
unzip [Link]
You can use zip to compress multiple files and directories at the same time by listing
them with a space between each one:
zip -r [Link] file1 file2 file3 /usr/work/school
140
The above command compresses file1, file2, file3, and the contents of the
/usr/work/school directory (assuming this directory exists) and places them in a
file named [Link].

Tip
For more information, type man zip and man unzip at a shell prompt to
read the man pages for zip and unzip.
14.3.3. Archiving Files at the Shell Prompt
A tar file is a collection of several files and/or directories in one file. This is a good way
to create backups and archives.
Some of the options used with the tar are:
 -c — create a new archive.
 -f — when used with the -c option, use the filename specified for the creation of
the tar file; when used with the -x option, unarchive the specified file.
 -t — show the list of files in the tar file.
 -v — show the progress of the files being archived.
 -x — extract files from an archive.
 -z — compress the tar file with gzip.
 -j — compress the tar file with bzip2.
To create a tar file, type:
tar -cvf [Link] directory/file
In this example, [Link] represents the file you are creating and
directory/file represents the directory and file you want to put in the archived
file.
You can tar multiple files and directories at the same time by listing them with a space
between each one:
tar -cvf [Link] /home/mine/work /home/mine/school
The above command places all the files in the work and the school subdirectories
of /home/mine in a new file called [Link] in the current directory.
To list the contents of a tar file, type:
tar -tvf [Link]
To extract the contents of a tar file, type:
tar -xvf [Link]
This command does not remove the tar file, but it places copies of its unarchived
contents in the current working directory, preserving any directory structure that the
archive file used. For example, if the tarfile contains a file called [Link] within a
directory called foo/, then extracting the archive file will result in the creation of the
directory foo/ in your current working directory with the file [Link] inside of it.
 141
Remember, the tar command does not compress the files by default. To create a
tarred and bzipped compressed file, use the -j option:
tar -cjvf [Link] file
tar files compressed with bzip2 are conventionally given the extension .tbz;
however, sometimes users archive their files using the tar.bz2 extension.
The above command creates an archive file and then compresses it as the file
[Link]. If you uncompress the [Link] file with the bunzip2
command, the [Link] file is removed and replaced with [Link].
You can also expand and unarchive a bziptar file in one command:
tar -xjvf [Link]
To create a tarred and gzipped compressed file, use the -z option:
tar -czvf [Link] file
tar files compressed with gzip are conventionally given the extension .tgz.
This command creates the archive file [Link] and then compresses it as the
file [Link]. (The file [Link] is not saved.) If you uncompress the
[Link] file with the gunzip command, the [Link] file is
removed and replaced with [Link].
You can expand a gziptar file in one command:
tar -xzvf [Link]

Tip
Type the command man tar for more information about the tar command.
14.4. Manipulating Files at the Shell Prompt
Files can be manipulated using one of the graphical file managers, such as Nautilus or
Konqueror. They can also be manipulated using a shell prompt, which is often faster. This
section explains how to manipulate files at the shell prompt.
14.4.1. Creating Files
You can create new files either with applications (such as text editors) or by using the
command touch, which will create an empty file that you can use to add text or data.
To create a file with touch, type the following at a shell prompt.
touch <filename>
Replace <filename> with the name of your choice. If you run a directory listing, you
can see that the file contains zero (0) bytes of information because it is an empty file.
For example, typing the command ls -l newfile at the shell prompt returns the
following output:
-rw-rw-r-- 1 sam sam 0 Apr 10 17:09 newfile
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14.4.2. Copying Files

Like so many other Linux features, there is a variety of ways to manipulate files and
directories. You can also use wildcards, as explained in
Section 13.11.5 Wildcards and Regular Expressions, to make the process of copying,
moving, or deleting multiple files and directories faster.
To copy a file, type the following command.
cp <source> <destination>
Replace <source> with the name of the file you want to copy, and
<destination> with the name of the directory where you want the file to go.
So, to copy the file [Link] to the directory tigger/ in your home
directory, move to your home directory and type:
cp [Link] tigger/
You can use both relative and absolute pathnames with cp. Our home directory is the
parent of the directory tigger; tigger is one directory down from our home
directory.

Tip
To learn more about relative and absolute pathnames, refer to
Section 13.4 Changing Directories with cd.
Read the cp man page (type man cp at the shell prompt) for a full list of the
options available with cp. Among the options you can use with cp are the following:
 -i — interactive. Prompts you to confirm if the file is going to overwrite a file in your
destination. This is a handy option because it can help prevent you from making
mistakes.
 -r — recursive. Rather than just copying all the specified files and directories, this will
copy the whole directory tree, subdirectories and all.
 -v — verbose. Shows the progress of the files as they are being copied.
 Now that you have the file [Link] in the tigger directory, use cp -i
to copy the file again to the same location.
cp -i [Link] tigger cp: overwrite
’tigger/[Link]’?
To overwrite the file that is already there, press [Y] and then [Enter]. If you do not
want to overwrite the file, press [N] and [Enter].
14.4.3. Moving Files
To move files, use the mv command. For more about mv, see the mv man page (type
man mv). Common options for mv include the following:
 143
 -i — interactive. This will prompt you if the file you have selected will overwrite an
existing file in the destination directory. This is a good option, because like the -i
option for cp, you will be given the chance to make sure you want to replace an
existing file.
 -f — force. Overrides the interactive mode and moves without prompting. Unless you
know what you are doing, this option is dangerous; be very careful about using it until
you become more comfortable with your system.
 -v — verbose. Shows the progress of the files as they are being moved.
If you want to move a file out of your home directory and into another existing directory,
type the following (you will need to be in your home directory):
mv [Link] tigger
Alternatively, the same command using absolute pathnames looks like
mv [Link] /home/newuser/[Link]
/home/newuser/tigger
14.4.4. Deleting Files and Directories
You learned about creating files with the touch command, and you created the
directory tigger using mkdir.
Now you need to learn how to delete files and directories. Deleting files and directories
with the rm command is a straightforward process. See the rm man page for more
information. Options for removing files and directories include:
 -i — interactive. Prompts you to confirm the deletion. This option can stop you from
deleting a file by mistake.
 -f — force. Overrides interactive mode and removes the file(s) without prompting.
This might not be a good idea, unless you know exactly what you are doing.
 -v — verbose. Shows the progress of the files as they are being removed.
 -r — recursive. Will delete a directory and all files and subdirectories it contains. To
delete the file [Link] with the rm command, type:
rm [Link]

Warning
Once a file or directory is removed with the rm command, it is gone permanently
and cannot be retrieved.
Use the -i (interactive) option to give you a second chance to think about whether or
not you really want to delete the file.
rm -i [Link]
rm: remove ’[Link]’?
You can also delete files using the wildcard *, but be careful, because you can easily
delete files you did not intend to throw away.
To remove a file using a wildcard, you would type:
rm pig*
144
The above command will remove all files in the directory which start with the letters pig.
You can also remove multiple files using the rm command. For example: rm
[Link] [Link]
You can use rmdir to remove a directory (rmdir foo, for example), but only if the
directory is empty. To remove directories with rm, you must specify the -r option.
For example, if you want to recursively remove the directory tigger you would type:
rm -r tigger
If you want to combine options, such as forcing a recursive deletion, you can type:
rm -rf tigger
A safer alternative to using rm for removing directories is the rmdir command. With
this command, you will not be allowed to use recursive deletions, so a directory which has
files in it will not be deleted.

Warning
The rm command can delete your entire file system! If you are logged in as root
and you type the simple command rm -rf /, you are in trouble; this command
will recursively remove everything on your system.
Read the rmdir man page (man rmdir) to find out more about this command.
145
146

Chapter 15.
Installing and Updating Red Hat Linux Packages
Red Hat Linux consists of various software applications and utilities, known as RPM
packages. A package is just a file that contains a software program.
This chapter explains three ways to update your system: using Red Hat Network, using
the online Errata List, and using the Red Hat Linux Installation CD-ROMs.
15.1. Red Hat Network
Red Hat Network is an Internet solution for managing one or more Red Hat Linux systems.
All Security Alerts, Bug Fix Alerts, and Enhancement Alerts (collectively known as Errata
Alerts) can be downloaded directly from Red Hat using the Red Hat Update Agent
standalone application or through the RHN website available at
[Link]

Figure 15-1. Your RHN

 147
Red Hat Network saves users time because they receive email when updated packages
are released. Users do not have to search the Web for updated packages or security
alerts. By default, Red Hat Network installs the packages as well. Users do not have to
learn how to use RPM or worry about resolving software package dependencies; RHN
does it all. Each Red Hat Network account comes with:
Errata Alerts — learn when Security Alerts, Bug Fix Alerts, and Enhancement Alerts are
issued for all the systems in your network through the Basic interface

Figure 15-2. Relevant Errata

 Automatic email notifications — receive an email notification when an Errata Alert is
issued for your system
148
 Scheduled Errata Updates — schedule delivery of Errata Updates
 Package installation — Schedule package installation on one or more systems with the
click of a button
 Red Hat Update Agent — use the Red Hat Update Agent to download the latest
software packages for your system (with optional package installation)
 Red Hat Network website — manage multiple systems, downloaded individual
packages, and schedule actions such as Errata Updates through a secure Web browser
connection from any computer
To start using Red Hat Network, follow these three basic steps:
1. Create a System Profile using one of the following methods:
 Registering the system with RHN during the Setup Agent the first time your
system boots after installation.
 Select Main Menu Button => System Tools => Red Hat Network on your desktop.
 Execute the command up2date from a shell prompt.
2. Log in to RHN at [Link] and entitle the system to a
service offering. Everyone receives a free Red Hat Network account for one system.
Additional accounts can be purchased.
3. Start scheduling updates through the RHN website or download and install Errata
Updates with the Red Hat Update Agent.
For more detailed instructions, read the Red Hat Network User Reference Guide available
at [Link]

Tip
Red Hat Linux includes the Red Hat Network Notification Tool, a convenient panel
icon that displays visible alerts when there is an update for your Red Hat Linux
system. Refer to the following URL for more information about the applet:
[Link]
15.2. Errata List
It is recommended that new users use Red Hat Network to download and install/upgrade
packages. Updating Errata packages from the Red Hat Linux Errata website is
recommended for more experienced Red Hat Linux users. It also requires users to resolve
software dependencies manually. A software dependency is when a package is dependent
on other package being installed.
All Security Alerts, Bug Fix Alerts, and Enhancement Alerts (collective known as Errata
Alerts) can also be downloaded from the Red Hat website at
[Link] Click on the Red Hat Linux
version you are using to view a list of all available errata for Red Hat Linux. Click on the
name of the Errata Alert that you want to apply to your system. Instructions for updating
 149
the packages are on the individual Errata pages. Red Hat, Inc. tests and approves the
RPMs posted on this site. RPMs downloaded from other sites are not supported.
For more information about installing packages downloaded from our errata sites, refer
to Section 15.4 Downloaded Packages.
15.3. Installation CD-ROMs
Place the first Red Hat Linux CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive. Select Yes when asked if you
want to run the autorun program from the CD. It then prompts you for the root password
so that you can install packages.
If you enter the correct root password, the Package Management Tool interface appears
and allows you to select packages groups to install as well as individual packages within
the groups.

Figure 15-3. Installing Software with the Package Management Tool

The Package Management Tool marks what packages are already installed on your
system with a checkmark. You can add packages by clicking the checkbox next to each
package. To uninstall a package, remove the checkmark (see Figure 15-4).
150

Figure 15-4. Individual Package Selection

After selecting packages, click the Update button to install or uninstall the selected
packages.
15.4. Downloaded Packages
If you have downloaded packages from an errata on the Red Hat website, you can install
them by opening your file manager and double-clicking the package you want to install.
The Package Management Tool should open up and check the package for any
dependencies you need to fulfill before installation, such as package or library files
needed. If all goes well, the package will be installed and you can immediately begin using
the software from the installed package. However, if there are dependencies, the
Package Management Tool will alert you with suggested files and packages you need to
install.
 151

Figure 15-5. RPM Package Dependencies

The packages necessary to fulfill the dependency issues can be installed by following the
steps in Section 15.3 Installation CD-ROMs.
Refer to the Red Hat Linux Customization Guide for more information about the
Ch 33 Package Management Tool pp 298-301.
152

Chapter 16.
Frequently Asked Questions
This chapter answers some of the most common questions about using Red Hat Linux
that you may ask as you become more familiar with it. From recovering forgotten
passwords to troubleshooting package installation problems, this chapter will ease you
step-by-step through some common tasks and get you on your way.
16.1. Localhost Login and Password
I have installed Red Hat Linux. After rebooting, I get a message telling me it needs a
localhost login and password. What are these?
Unless you specified a host name for your computer, or received that information from a
network, your Red Hat Linux installation will call your machine
[Link] by default.
When you get to that initial prompt, it is asking you to log in to your system. If you
created a user account with the Setup Agent, you can log in using that user name and
password. If you did not create a user account, then you can log in as the super user, also
known as root. The root password is the system password you assigned during
installation.
It is highly recommended that you create at least one user account for regular use of your
Red Hat Linux system. You can create a new user after logging in as root with the
User Manager graphical tool or the useradd shell prompt utility. For more information,
refer to Section 1.6 Creating a User Account.
16.2. Error Messages During Installation of RPMs
How do I install an RPM from a CD or the Internet? I keep getting an error message
when I use rpm.
If you are getting an error message similar to
failed to open /var/lib/rpm/[Link], it is because you do not have proper
permission to install RPM files.
When you install software, you are often required to make system-wide changes which
only root can make, such as creating new directories outside of your user home directory
or making changes to your system configuration. If you are using your normal user
account, you will not have permission to make such changes by default.
You need to be the root user in order to install RPM files. At a shell prompt, switch to the
root user by running the following command:
su
 153
After entering the root password when prompted, you should then be able to install the
RPM file without further errors. For more information about using RPM and
Package Management Tool, refer to the Red Hat Linux Customization Guide on the
Red Hat Linux Documentation CD or online at [Link]
16.3. Starting Applications
I installed an application I downloaded from the Internet, and everything seemed to go
fine, but I still get "command not found" when I type its name. I think I have the right
name, so why will it not start?
If you are trying to start an application from the shell prompt and it is not working, try
typing out the full directory path before the name of the application’s executable (such as
/usr/local/bin/myexecutable).
For example, imagine that you have downloaded the setiathome client application
and want to try it out. You follow the directions for installing the software, which creates
a subdirectory in your home directory called seti/. Now, start the application using the
full path to the executable file as shown below:
/home/joe/seti/setiathome
The reason you may need to type the full pathnames in order to start an application is
because the executable was not placed in a directory where your user shell environment
knew it could be found (such as /usr/local/bin).
You can customize your settings so that you are not required to use the type the full path
to the application each time. To do this, you will have to edit your PATH environment
variable.
16.3.1. Editing Your PATH
If you frequently start programs that are not located in a directory that your user shell has
been configured to search, you will have to edit your user shell configuration file to add
the directory containing the executable you wish to run. You can do this by adding the
directory to your PATH environment variable.

Caution
These instructions are intended only for user accounts. Avoid modifying files such
as the root user’s .bash_profile, because of the potential security risks.
Start a text editor, such as gedit or vi, at a shell prompt. You can open the file called
.bash_profile by typing the following: gedit .bash_profile
You will see a PATH statement, similar to the one shown below.
PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin:/usr/local/bin:
To the end of this statement, add $HOME/seti as shown below:
PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin:/usr/local/bin/:$HOME/seti:
154
Save the file and exit the text editor.
You can then make the changes to .bash_profile take effect immediately by typing
the following command:
source .bash_profile
By adding paths to your .bash_profile, you can place utilities and programs in your
path and be able to execute them without having to type ./ in front of the command.

Tip
For more information about using and configuring your shell prompt refer to
Chapter 13 Shell Prompt Basics.
16.4. Accessing a Windows Partition
I have a dual-boot system with Red Hat Linux and Windows 98. Is there a way to access
my Windows partition while I am running Linux?
You can access another partition on your system (for example, a Windows partition), in
two different ways.
You should first determine where your Windows partition is located by determining what
physical hard disk your Windows partition is located in (such as the primary master IDE
drive or the the first SCSI drive).
To find this information, you can use the Hardware Browser, which lists detailed
information about the hardware in your Red Hat Linux system.
To start the Hardware Browser, choose Main Menu => System Tools => Hardware
Browser. Figure 16-1 shows Hardware Browser in action.
 155

Figure 16-1. Hardware Browser hard disk device listing

Select Hard Drives from the panel and find your Windows partition from the Disk
Information displayed. Windows partitions normally use the FAT or FAT32 file system
type. This file system type can be mounted and read within Linux; however, if your
Windows partition uses NTFS, then you cannot mount and read from it as Red Hat Linux
does not support NTFS file systems. Note the Device information for your Windows
partition, as this is the device that you mount to access your Windows data.
Once you have determined where your Windows partition is located on your hard drive,
log in as root (type su and then enter the root password) at a shell prompt.
Create a directory in which the Windows partition will be mounted by typing the
following command. For example:
mkdir /mnt/windows
Before you can access the partition, you will need to mount it in the directory you just
created. As root, type the following command at a shell prompt (where /dev/hda1
is the Windows partition you found via Hardware Browser):
mount -t vfat /dev/hda1 /mnt/windows
You may then logout of root user mode and access your Windows data by changing into
the mounted Windows partition:
cd /mnt/windows
156
To automatically mount a Windows partition every time you boot your Red Hat Linux
system, you must modify the /etc/fstab file, which configures all file systems and
disk device mounting options.
At a shell prompt, su to root, following the above example.
Next, open the /etc/fstab in a text editor by typing (for example):
gedit /etc/fstab
Add the following on a new line (replacing /dev/hda1 with the Windows partition
you found via Hardware Browser):
/dev/hda1 /mnt/windows vfat auto,umask=0 0 0
Save the file and exit your text editor.
The next time the system is rebooted, the /etc/fstab file is read, and the Windows
partition is automatically mounted in the directory /mnt/windows. To access the
partition at a shell prompt, type the command cd /mnt/windows. To navigate
through directories or files with spaces, surround the name of the directory or file
with quotation marks, as in ls "Program Files".
16.5. Finding Commands Quickly
I was looking at a man page yesterday, but I cannot remember the name of the
command I was reading about, and I did not write it down. How do I get the man page
back?
The command you used will most likely be stored in a file called .bash_history. By
default, this file records the last 500 commands you typed at the shell prompt.
You can glimpse the history of your commands by typing history at the shell prompt,
but the results will speed by too quickly for your to read ever line.
Another way to view .bash_history is with a utility such as less. Type
less .bash_history at the shell prompt and the results will display one page at a
time. To move forward a screen, press the [Space] bar; to move back a screen, press
the [b] key, and to quit, press [q].
Paging through .bash_history to find a command can be tedious. Alternatively,
you can search through the file for keywords using grep, a powerful search utility.
Say you were reading the man page the day before, but cannot recall its name. To
search for the command, type:
history | grep man
You will see a list of all the commands you typed which have the word man in them.
There are plenty of ways to your command history. For other tips and tricks, see
Section 16.6 Tips on Using Command History.
 157

16.6. Tips on Using Command History

What are some other ways I can use command history?
If you type history, you will see a numbered list scroll by very 2 quickly, showing you
the previous 500 commands you have used.
You probably do not need to see all of the last 500 commands, so the command
history 20 might be useful. This way, only the previous 20 commands you typed will
display (you can use any quantity as an argument of the history command).
16.6.1. Other Shortcuts
Here are other command history shortcuts which may be useful to you:
 "Bang, bang": Typing !! (called "bang bang") executes the last command in the
history.
 "Bang number": Typing !number (as in !302) will execute the command which is
numbered 302 in the history file.
 "Bang string": Typing !string (as in !rpm) will execute a command with the most
recent matching string from the history file.
 [Up arrow] and [down arrow]: At the shell or GUI terminal prompt, you can press the up
arrow to move back through previous commands in your history list (the down arrow
will move you forward through the commands) until you find the command you want.
Press [Ente r] to execute the command, just as if you had typed it on the command
line.
16.7. Keep ls Output from Scrolling
Whenever I type ls I can barely see the output of the directory because it scrolls by too
quickly. How can I actually read the output?
To prevent the output of ls from scrolling by too quickly, pipe the output to a utility
such as less or more. You will then be able to see the output
one screen, or "page" at a time.
To read the contents of /etc with less, type the following command at the shell
prompt:
ls -al /etc | less
To move forward a screen, press [Space] bar; to move back a screen, press the [b]
key; to quit, press [q].
You can achieve the same results with more, another paging utility.
16.7.1. Printing ls Output
You can also print directory listings by piping the output to a printer in the same way that
you piped the output to your screen. If you have configured a printer, type the following
to pipe the output of a command to the printer:
ls -al /etc | lpr
158

16.8. Forgotten Password

Help! I forgot my root password. How do I log in now?
You can log in using single-user mode and create a new root password.
To enter single-user mode, reboot your computer. If you use the default boot loader,
GRUB, you can enter single user mode by performing the following:
1. At the boot loader menu, type [e] to enter into editing mode.
2. You will be presented with a boot entry listing. Look for the line that looks similar
to the following:
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.18-0.4 ro root=/dev/hda2
Press the arrow key until this line is highlighted and press [e].
3. Press the Spacebar once to add a blank space, then add the word single to tell
GRUB to boot into single-user Linux mode. Press [Enter] to make the editing
change take effect.
4. You will be brought back to the edit mode screen. From here, press [b] and
GRUB will boot single-user Linux mode. After it finishes loading, you will be
presented with a shell prompt similar to the following:
sh-2.05#
5. You can now change the root password by typing
bash# passwd root
You will be asked to re-type the password for verification. Once you are finished,
the password will be changed. You can then reboot by typing reboot at the
prompt; then you can log in to root as you normally would.
16.9. Password Maintenance
I forgot or want to change my user account password.
Open a shell prompt and type the following:
passwd username
Replace username with your normal user name.
The passwd command will then ask for the new password, which you will need to
enter twice. You can now use the new password to log in to your user account.
16.10. Changing Login from Console to X at Startup
How do I change my login from the console to the graphical screen?
Instead of logging in to your system at the console and typing the startx command to
start the X Window System, you can configure your system so that you can log in directly
to X.
You must edit one file, /etc/inittab, by changing just one number in the runlevel
section. When you are finished, reboot the computer. The next time you log in, you will
have a graphical login prompt.
 159
Open a shell prompt. If you’re in your user account, su to root by typing
su
Now, type gedit /etc/inittab to edit the file with gedit.
The file /etc/inittab will open.
Within the first screen, you will see a section of the file which looks like this:
# Default runlevel. The runlevels used by RHS are:
# 0 - halt (Do NOT set initdefault to this)
# 1 - Single user mode
# 2 - Multiuser, without NFS
(The same as 3, if you do not have networking)
# 3 - Full multiuser mode
# 4 – unused
# 5 - X11
# 6 - reboot (Do NOT set initdefault to this)
# id:3:initdefault:
To change from a console to a graphical login, you should change the number in the line
id:3:initdefault: from a 3 to a 5.

Warning
Change only the number of the default runlevel from 3 to 5.
Your changed line should look like the following:
id:5:initdefault:
When you are satisfied with your change, save and exit the file using the [Ctrl]-[x]
keys. You will see a message telling you that the file has been modified, and asking you to
confirm your change. Type [Y] for yes.
Now, your next login after reboot will be from the graphical screen.
160

Appendix A.
KDE: The K Desktop Environment
A.1. Introducing KDE
The K Desktop Environment (KDE) is a graphical desktop that uses common graphical
objects such as icons, windows, menus, and panels; it allows you to access your
Red Hat Linux system and applications using your mouse and keyboard.
This appendix covers the basics of using KDE: system navigation, working with files and
applications, and customizing the desktop to suit your needs.
If you would like to learn more about KDE, visit the official website at
[Link]
A.2. Finding Help
You can access a comprehensive set of documentation about KDE through the
HelpCenter.

Figure A-1. The HelpCenter

 161
You can access the HelpCenter from the Main Menu by selecting Help.
To access HelpCenter from the desktop, right-click on the desktop and
select the Help => K Desktop Handbook.
The opening screen of the HelpCenter browser appears like Figure A-1.
From this main page, you can view help documentation on topics such
as using and configuring the desktop, working with the many
applications included with KDE, and working with the Konquerer file
manager.
A.3. Using The Desktop
Once you start KDE, your default desktop will look similar to Figure A-2.
The KDE desktop displays application launchers, document windows, file
folders, and so on. You can also access the main menu and configure the
desktop to suit your needs.

...

Figure A-2. A Typical KDE Desktop

The long bar across the bottom of the desktop is the panel. The panel contains

application launchers ,

status indicators ,

and the desktop manager .

You can have up to 16 desktops running at the same time in KDE. The panel taskbar

... shows your currently running applications.

Icons located on the desktop can be files, folders, device links, or application launchers.
Click on an icon to open the associated resource.
162
The KDE desktop works similarly to other graphical desktop environments. You can drag
and drop files and application icons to any location on the desktop. You can also add new
icons for all types of applications and resources to the desktop, panel, or file manager.
The desktop itself is also highly customizable. You can change the appearance of buttons,
window and frame decorations, and backgrounds. Configuration tools are also available
which allow you to customize the way the desktop behaves at events such as single- and
double-clicking mouse buttons and chording keystrokes to create time-saving shortcuts.
The default KDE desktop displays icons

for the can, your directory, the icon for applications

and configuration tools, and a diskette icon . You can access any one of these resources
by double-clicking on the associated icon.
When you right-click on these icons, you see several options for working with these
resources, such as Delete, Rename, Move to Trash, and Copy.
You can drag and drop unwanted items such as files you no longer need

to the icon. Right-click on the Trash can and

select Empty Trash Bin to delete the items from your system permanently.
A.4. Using The Panel
The panel stretches across the bottom of the desktop.

By default, it contains the main menu icon and

quick-launch icons for starting a Web browser ,

email client ,

word processor ,

and other commonly used applications .

 163

...

Figure A-3. The Panel

The panel is highly configurable. You can add and remove buttons that launch
applications easily.
Right-click on the panel and
select Configure Panel to
open the panel Settings. You can configure panel

orientation and size

set a panel hiding configuration

(where the panel remains hidden until you hover over the panel area), and
customize your main menu .
Click Help at any time to learn more about configuring your panel.
164

...

Figure A-4. Panel Settings

Other tabs in Settings contain options to further customize your panel and taskbar.
Click on Help for more information on these options.
Applications and utilities can be added easily to the panel. To add an application launcher
to the panel, right-click on the panel and choose Add. Then select Application Button and
make your choice from the menus.
A.4.1. Using The Main Menu
The Main Menu is the central point for using KDE. Clicking on the Main Menu
icon on the panel displays a large master menu from which you can perform tasks such as
launch applications, find files, and configure your desktop. The main menu also contains
several submenus that organize applications and tools into several categories, including
Graphics, Internet, Office, Games, and more.
From the Main Menu, you can lock your screen, which will display a password-protected
screensaver. You can also run applications from a command line as well as logout of your
KDE session.
A.4.2. Using Applets
Applets are small applications that run on the panel. There are several types of applets
performing functions such as system monitoring, time and date display, and launching
applications by typing commands in a text box.
There are some applets that run on the panel by default. This section covers them in
detail.
A.4.2.1. Working with Multiple Desktops
By default, KDE provides four desktops that you can use to display multiple applications
without having to crowd all of them onto one desktop. Each desktop can hold icons, open
applications, and be individually customized.
For example, while you are writing a message in Evolution on desktop one, you can have
Mozilla browsing the Web on desktop two, the [Link] Writer word
processor open on desktop three, and so on.
You can change the number and names of desktops available in KDE by making these
adjustments:
1. Right-click on the desktop; you will see a brief menu of actions you can choose.
2. Select Configure Desktop; the KDE desktop configuration tool will open.
3. Click the Multiple Desktops icon (see Figure A-5).
 165

...
Figure A-5. Virtual Desktop Configuration
You can change the names of your desktops (from Desktop 1, Desktop 2, etc.) by deleting
the default names and typing a new name in each desktop’s corresponding text box.
You can also change the number of desktops available to you by adjusting the slider in the
Number of Desktops. For more desktops, drag the bar to the right; for fewer desktops,
drag the bar to the left.

The , , and , and icons

are where you can make various desktop configuration changes. For example, to
customize each virtual desktop to have different backgrounds,

click the icon, uncheck the

Common Background checkbox,
166
click the virtual desktop you want to change, and
choose the color

or image you want to make your

background
using the associated tabs

...

Figure A-6. Desktop Background Configuration

After you make any adjustments to your desktop configuration,

click Apply to save the changes.

Click OK to close the desktop configuration tool.

Buttons for your desktops appear on the panel in the Desktop Pager.

Click on a tile to move to a different desktop.

 167

Tip
You can use the keyboard combination of the [Ctrl] and Function keys to
switch desktops. For example, [Ctrl]-[F2] switches to desktop two,
[Ctrl]-[F3] takes you to desktop three, and so on.
A.4.2.2. Viewing The Taskbar
The taskbar displays all running applications, both minimized and displayed, on all
desktops.
168

Figure A-7. Applications on the Taskbar

You can maximize running applications or bring them to the front of your working
windows by clicking on the associated item on the taskbar.

Tip
Another way to bring minimized or background windows to the front is to use the
[Alt] and [Tab] keys. To pick an item from the taskbar, hold down both the
[Alt]-[Tab] key. To scroll through the tasks, hold down the [Alt] key,
while tapping the [Tab] key. When you have found the task you want to
maximize and bring to the front, release both keys and the application appears on
the desktop.
A.4.3. Adding Icons and Applets to the Panel
To further customize the panel for your particular needs, you can include additional
launcher icons to start applications without using the main menu or Start Here.
To add a new launcher to the panel, right-click the panel and choose
Add => Application Button and choose the application or resource you wish to add to the
panel. This automatically adds an icon on the panel. You can move the icon anywhere you
want on the panel by right-clicking the icon and choosing Move Application Button,
where Application is the name of the application associated with the icon.
A.4.4. Configuring the KDE Panel
You can hide the panel automatically or manually, place it on any edge of your desktop,
change its size and color, and change the way it behaves. To alter the default panel
settings, right-click the panel and choose Configure Panel. The Settings window will
appear, allowing you to adjust all panel settings, or any one of the specific properties
(Arrangement, Hiding, Menus, and so on). Choose the Hiding tab,
click Hide automatically, and adjust the number of seconds to elapse before the panel is
hidden. Click Apply then OK to close the Settings

dialog. The panel will remain hidden until you hover over the panel area to make it
reappear.
 169

A.5. Managing Files

Konqueror is the file manager and a Web browser for the KDE desktop. Konqueror allows
you to configure your KDE desktop, configure your Red Hat Linux system, play multimedia
files, browse digital images, surf the Web, and more from one interface. This section
explains some of the ways Konqueror can help you work with and enjoy your
Red Hat Linux system.
To start Konqueror for file management, click on your home directory icon .
Konqueror will open up in a window on your desktop, allowing you to navigate through
your home directory and throughout your Red Hat Linux file system. After exploring,
you can return to your home directory by clicking the Home button on the toolbar.

...
...

Figure A-8. The Konqueror File Manager

You can navigate through the file system by clicking on folders within the main window
frame or through the hierarchical file system viewer on the navigation panel as shown
in Figure A-8. Files and folders in the main window frame can be moved or copied to
another folder or sent to the trash. You can also delete files and folders by right-clicking
on the item and choosing Delete.
Konqueror also displays thumbnail icons for text, images, PostScript/PDF files, and
Web files. It can also preview sounds from digital audio files.
170

A.5.1. The Navigation Panel

Another useful feature of Konqueror is the navigation panel. This panel
appears on the left side of the Konqueror file browser window by default.
The navigation panel makes many of your system resources available to
you in convenient tabbed icons. Figure A-9 shows the navigation panel.
The navigation panel lets you access your Web bookmarks, browsing
history, network resources, file system, and has a built-in media player for
playing multimedia files without having to open a separate application.
The navigation panel makes Konqueror an efficient solution for users who
want fast and easy access to all of their files and information.
Figure A-9. Working with the Navigation Panel
A.6. Browsing the Web with Konqueror
Konqueror not only allows you to browse your local and network file system, but with
component technology used throughout KDE, Konqueror is also a full featured Web
browser, which you can use to explore the World Wide Web.
To launch Konqueror choose
Main Menu => Internet => More Internet Applications => Konqueror Web Browser.

Figure A-10. Welcome to Konqueror

 171
When you first launch Konqueror, you will be presented with an Introduction screen. This
screen offers basic instructions for browsing webpages.
If you click Continue at the end of the webpage, you will be presented with the Tips page.
This page shows you basic tips for using Konqueror so that you can begin to take
advantage of the many features.
By clicking Continue from the Tips screen, you will see the Specifications screen. This
screen displays information on supported standards (such as Cascading Stylesheets,
plug-ins, and OpenSSL), featured protocols, and more.
To begin your Web session, enter a URL in the Location field.
For additional information on using Konqueror, click on Help
(on the top menu panel) and then on Konqueror Handbook.

...
Figure A-11. The Konqueror Handbook
172

A.7. Using Konqueror to View Images

You can also use the Konqueror file manager to view images. If you chose KDE as your
default desktop environment, click on your home directory desktop icon to access the
Konqueror file manager:

.
Using Konqueror as an image browser works similarly to Nautilus
(see Chapter 11 Working with Images for more information). Image files
automatically generate thumbnail image icons for you to preview within the file browser
window. When you double-click on a thumbnail icon, the browser displays the image in
its native size, as shown in Figure A-12.

Figure A-12. Viewing an Image in Konqueror

To zoom in and out of an image, you first need to change the way Konqueror renders the
image. From the window menu, choose View => View Mode => Image Viewer Part.
 173

This will re-display the image and allow you to rotate and
zoom in on the image using the two magnifying glass icons

or the magnification percentage drop-down menu

on the toolbar, as shown in Figure A-13.

...
Figure A-13. Image viewing configuration on the Konqueror Toolbar

You can also open the image

with more advanced image
viewers, as well as with
The GIMP.
Right-click on the image,
choose ,
then .
A pop-up menu will appear
allowing you to open the
application you wish to use.
To launch the GIMP, choose
Graphics and scroll down the
list of applications. Click on
174
the GIMP icon and click OK , as seen in Figure A-14.

Figure A-14. The Open With... Dialog Box

A.8. KMail
KMail is an email tool for KDE. It has an intuitive graphical interface similar to Evolution
that allows you to send and receive email using a graphical interface. To open KMail, click
on the Main Menu => Internet => More Internet Applications => KMail.
 175
Before you can really use KMail, you must configure it so it can send and receive mail. To
run the configuration tool, select Settings from the KMail toolbar, and
click on Configure KMail.
The Configure Mail Client window consists of the following sections: Identities, Network,
Appearance, Composer, Security, and Folders. To begin sending and receiving messages
you will have to change the settings in the Identities and Network tabs. Have your email
information from your service provider or administrator handy so that you can fill in the
required information to begin using KMail. For additional information, refer to the KMail
user manual (Help => KMail Handbook) or visit KMail’s homepage at
[Link]

Figure A-15. KMail Main Screen

Once you have your email settings configured, you can begin sending and receiving email.
The folders on the left side of the KMail screen allow you to view emails
you have received, emails ready to be sent, emails you have sent, and more.

To compose a mail, click on the new message icon in the tool bar:
176

...

Figure A-16. KMail New Email Message Screen

Once you have composed a message and entered an email address to send the email to,

click Send in the toolbar:

A.9. Customizing KDE
KDE allows you to configure the desktop and your system to suit your needs. The KDE
Control Center, available by selecting Main Menu => Control Center, lets you customize
the look and behavior of the desktop. The following list explains some of the
configuration options in detail.
KDE Components
This section lets you configure the Konqueror file manager and customize certain
file operations. You can also associate files to applications that you prefer (for
example, assigning all digital music files to open in XMMS instead of the default
player).
Appearance & Themes
This sections allows you to customize the visual aspect of your desktop
environment. You can customize background images and configure fonts, themes,
icons, panel elements, screensavers, and window border appearance. You can also
customize mouse and keyboard events which makes working with the desktop as
efficient for your needs as possible.
Regional & Accessibility
 177
This section allows you to set country and language options to your particular
locale. For users with sight or hearing impairments, you can also configure
accessibility features such as audible and visual cues and keyboard/mouse
customization.
System Administration
This section is an advanced system configuration interface. You will need your root
password to configure most of these options. This section allows you to configure
system boot settings, Linux kernel configuration, login management, and more. It is
strongly recommended that you leave these settings at their default values unless
you understand the consequences of changing them.
Web Browsing
This section allows you to configure the Konqueror Web browser. You
can configure options such as cache sizes, website cookies, plugins, proxy settings
(if available), and enhanced browsing using keyword shortcuts.
A.10. Logging Out of KDE
There are two ways to log out of your KDE session. From the Main Menu, select
Logout User, where User is your account username. To log out from the desktop,
right-click on the desktop and, from the menu, select Logout User where User is
your account username. In either case click Logout and your session will end.

Figure A-17. KDE Logout Screen

178
176

Appendix B.
Applications
The following table shows some of the Red Hat Linux applications that are available to
perform many common tasks. This is not a complete list of all applications available.
Applications in between (parentheses) denotes the formal name of the application.
Category Recommended Application Extras
Word Processors [Link] Write KWord
Spreadsheets [Link] Calc Gnumeric, KSpread
Presentations [Link] Impress KPresenter, MagicPoint
Charts and Dia Kchart, Kivio, XFig
Diagrams
Graphics The GIMP, Paint Program (KPaint) Icon Editor (K Icon Editor)
Image Viewers GThumb Image Viewer (Kuickshow),

The GIMP
Digital Digital Camera Tool (gtKam), Scan and OCR Program
Cameras/Scanners Scanning (XSane) (Kooka), The GIMP
PDAs Jpilot KPilot, Evolution
CD Recording CD Creator, cdrecord, X-CD- KOnCD
Roast
Text Editors Text Editor (gedit) vi, Emacs, Kate
Email Clients Evolution Kmail, Mozilla Mail, mutt
Web Browsers Mozilla Galeon, Konquerer,
links, lynx
Chat/Instant Instant Messenger (GAIM) X-Chat, Chatzilla
Messaging
PDF/PostScript xpdf Ghostview
Viewers
Personal Finance Gnucash
Fax Fax Viewer (KFax)
Sound Audio Player (XMMS), KDE CD Player, aumix,
CD Player (GNOME CD), KDE Sound Mixer, KMid
Sound Recorder (GNOME Sound),
Volume Monitor (VUMeter)
177
178

Appendix C.
A Comparison of Common DOS and Linux Commands
Many Linux commands typed at a shell prompt are similar to the commands you would
type in DOS. In fact, some commands are identical.
This appendix provides common commands used at the DOS prompt in Windows and
their counterparts in Linux. Basic examples of how the command are used at the Linux
shell prompt are also provided. Note that these commands usually have a number of
options. To learn more about each command, read its associated man page (for example,
type man ls at the shell prompt to read about the ls command).
Command’s MS-DOS Linux Basic Linux Example
Purpose
Copies files copy cp cp [Link]
/home/thisdirector
y
Moves files move mv mv [Link]
/home/thisdirector
y
Lists files dir ls ls
Clears screen cls clear clear
Closes shell exit exit exit
prompt
Displays or sets date date date
date
Deletes files del rm rm [Link]
"Echoes" output echo echo echo this message
to the screen
Edits files with edit gedit(a) gedit [Link]
simple text editor
Compares the fc diff diff file1 file2
contents of files
Finds a string of find grep grep this word or
text in a file phrase
[Link]
Formats a format a: mke2fs or /sbin/mke2fs
diskette (if diskette is in mformat(b) /dev/fd0 (/dev/fd0
A:) is the Linux equivalent of
A:)
 179
Command’s MS-DOS Linux Basic Linux Example
Purpose
Displays command /? man(c) man command
command help
Creates a mkdir mkdir mkdir directory
directory
Views a file more less(d) less [Link]
Renames a file ren mv(e) mv [Link]
[Link]
Displays your chdir pwd pwd
location in the
file system
Changes cd pathname cd pathname cd
directories with a /directory/directo
specified path ry
(absolute path)
Changes cd .. cd .. cd ..
directories with a
relative path
Displays the time time date date
Shows amount of mem free free
RAM in use
Notes:
a. Gedit is a graphical text editor; other editors you can use in place of Gedit
include Emacs and vi.
b. This formats a disk for the DOS file system.
c. You can also use info for some commands.
d. The more pager can also be used to page through a file one screen at a time.
e. The mv command can both move a file and, if you want to rename a file in the same
directory, "move" that file to the same directory with a new name, as seen in this
example.
Table C-1. Similar Commands
180

Appendix D.
System Directories
This is a list of the primary Red Hat Linux system directories. Each directory is described
briefly. For additional directory information, refer to the
Ch 16 Network File System (NFS) pp 142-8, Ch 17 Samba pp 150-8,
Ch19 Apache HTTP Server Configuration pp 168-186,
Ch 26 Gathering System Information pp 232-240 Red Hat Linux Customization Guide and
Ch 3 File System Structure pp 26-31, Ch 4 The sysconfig Directory pp 34-47,
Ch 5 The proc File System pp 48-85, Ch10 Apache HTTP Server pp 132-16,
Ch 13 Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) pp 212-222
Red Hat Linux Reference Guide.
• /bin/ — Used to store user commands. The directory /usr/bin/ also stores user
commands.
• /sbin/ — Location of many system commands, such as shutdown. The directory
/usr/sbin/ also contains many system commands.
• /root/ — The home directory of root, the superuser.
• /mnt/ — This directory typically contains the mount points for file systems mounted
after the system is booted. For example, the default CD-ROM mount point is
/mnt/cdrom/.
• /boot/ — Contains the kernel and other files used during system startup.
• /lost+found/ — Used by fsck to place orphaned files (files without names).
• /lib/ — Contains many library files used by programs in /bin/ and /sbin/.
The directory /usr/lib/ contains more library files for user applications.
• /dev/ — Stores device files.
• /etc/ — Contains configuration files and directories.
• /var/ — For variable (or constantly changing) files, such as log files and the printer
spool.
• /usr/ — Contains files and directories directly relating to users of the system, such as
programs and supporting library files.
• /proc/ — A virtual file system (not actually stored on the disk) that contains system
information used by certain programs.
• /initrd/ — A directory that is used to mount the [Link] image file and
load needed device modules during bootup.
 181

Warning
Do not delete the /initrd/ directory. You will be unable to boot your
computer if you delete the directory and then reboot your Red Hat Linux system.
• /tmp/ — The temporary directory for users and programs. /tmp/ allows all users
on a system read and write access.
• /home/ — Default location of user home directories.
• /opt/ — Directory where optional files and programs are stored. This directory is
used mainly by third-party developers for easy installation and uninstallation of their
software packages.
182

Appendix E.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Here are a few keyboard shortcuts you can use to perform common tasks quickly. Many
more are available in addition to what is listed here. For more command line and
keyboard shortcuts, visit:
[Link]
 [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [Backspace] = kills your current X session. Kills your
graphical desktop session and returns you to the login screen. Use this if the normal exit
procedure does not work.
 [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [Delete] = shutdown and reboots your Red Hat Linux
system. Shuts down your current session and reboots the OS. Use only when the normal
shutdown procedure does not work.
 [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [Fn] = switches screens. [Ctrl]+[Alt] + one of the
function keys displays an available screen. By default, [F1] through [F6] are shell
prompt screens and [F7] is the graphical desktop screen.
 [Alt] + [Tab] = switches tasks in a graphical desktop environment. If you have
more than one application open at a time, you can use [Alt] + [Tab] to switch
among open tasks and applications.
 [Ctrl] + [a] = moves cursor to the beginning of a line. This works in most text
editors and in the URL field in Mozilla.
 [Ctrl] + [d] = logout of (and close) shell prompt. Use this quick shortcut instead
of typing exit or logout.
 [Ctrl] + [e] = moves cursor to end of a line. This works in most text editors and
in the URL field in Mozilla.
 [Ctrl] + [l] = clears the terminal. This shortcut does the same thing as typing
clear at a command line.
 [Ctrl] + [u] = clears the current line. If you are working in a terminal, use this
shortcut to clear the current line from the cursor all the way to the beginning of the
line.
 [Middle Mouse Button] = pastes highlighted text. Use the left mouse button to
highlight the text. Point the cursor to the spot where you want it pasted. Click the
middle mouse button to paste it. In a two mouse system, if you configured your mouse
to emulate a third mouse button, you
can click both the left and right mouse buttons simultaneously to perform a paste.
 183
 [Tab] = command autocomplete. Use this command when using a shell prompt.
Type the first few characters of a command or filename and then press the [Tab] key. It
will automatically complete the command or show all commands that match the
characters you typed.
 [Up] and [Down] Arrow = shows command history. When using a shell prompt,
press the [up] or [down] arrow to scroll through a history of commands you have typed
from the current directory. When you see the command you want to use, press [Enter].
 clear = clears the shell prompt screen. Type this command to clear all visible data
from the shell prompt screen.
 exit = logout. Type this at a shell prompt to logout of the current user or root
account.
 history = shows history of commands. Type this at a shell prompt to see a
numbered list of the previous 1000 commands you typed. To display a shorter list of
previously used commands, type history followed by a space and a number. For
example, history 20.
 reset = refreshes the shell prompt screen. Type this at a shell prompt to refresh the
screen if characters are unclear or appear corrupt.
184
Index
A cdrecord, 31
accounts CDs, playing, 73
creating, 7 chmod, 105
appending standard output, 98 numerical settings, 108
applets clear, 96
adding to KDE panel, 140 cron, 95
adding to the panel, 16 DOS, 149
on the desktop panel, 14 finding, 130
panel in KDE, 137 grep, 101
applications head, 101
and Red Hat Linux, 147 history, 130
starting from shell prompt, 127 locate, 94
archiving files, 113 ls, 93
B keeping output from scrolling, 131
bunzip2, 115 ls -a, 93
burning CDs, 26 ls -al, 93 ls,
additional resources, 32 common options with, 94
with CD Creator, 27 multiple, 104
with cdrecord, 30 print working directory (pwd), 90
with mkisofs, 30 pwd, 90
with X-CD-Roast, 28 reset, 96
bzip2, 115 rm (See files, deleting)
C rm -r (See directories, deleting)
stringing together, 104
cat, 96
su, 92
cd, 90
tail, 101
CD-rewritable (CD-RW), 26
common user questions, 127
additional resources, 32
compressing files, 113
and CD Creator, 27
conventions document, ii
and cdrecord, 30
copying and pasting
and mkisofs, 30
text when using X, v
and X-CD-Roast, 28
creating graphics with
CD-writable (CD-R), 26
[Link] Draw, 69
additional resources, 32
creating user accounts, 7
and CD Creator, 27
and cdrecord, 30 D
and mkisofs, 30 date configuration, 21
and X-CD-Roast, 28 dateconfig (See Time and Date
Properties Tool)
 185

desktop (See graphical desktop) E

applets, 14 email clients, 45
background changing, 18, 81 Evolution, 46
KDE, 135 KMail, 144
desktops Mozilla Mail, 48
multiple Newsgroups, 49
KDE, 138 mutt, 50
devices digital cameras, 87 plain text, 50
DHCP, 35 mutt, 50
digital cameras, 87 environment variables
directories PATH, 128
changing, 90 errata updating with, 125
copying, 119 Evolution
deleting, 121 (See email clients)
descriptions, 151 ext2 file system
listing contents, 93 and floppy disks, 24
managing from shell prompt, 89 F
moving, 120 FAQ, 127
diskettes, 23 accessing a Windows partition, 129
formatting, 24 finding previous used commands, 130
mke2fs, 25 history tips and tricks, 131
mounting, 23 keeping ls output from scrolling, 131
unmounting, 23 login problems, 132
using, 23 permissions for installing RPMs, 127
DNS starting applications, 127
definition, 35 feedback
documents, 63 contact information for this manual, v
[Link], 63 FHS
[Link] Writer, 64 (See Filesystem Hierarchy Standard)
PDF, 72 file, 113
text files, 70 file manager
dot files for KDE, 140
(See hidden files) Nautilus, 16
drag and drop, v file managers, 111
drawing File Roller, 114
[Link] Draw, 69 file system understanding, 111
file types, 112
186

files Nautilus, 16
archived, 112 panel, 14
archiving, 113 Start Here , 17
with File Roller, 114 using, 13
compressed, 112 workspace, 13
compressing, 113 graphical login
with File Roller, 114 changing to, 132
copying, 119 graphics GIMP, 82
copying at a shell prompt, 119 gThumb, 80
creating touch, 119 changing wallpaper with, 81
deleting, 121 gunzip, 115
deleting at a shell prompt, 119 gzip, 115
formats, 112 H
managing from shell prompt, 89 Hardware Browser, 129 help
moving, 120 with KDE finding, 135
moving at a shell prompt, 119 hidden files, 93
renaming at a shell prompt, 119 history
types of, 112 finding commands using, 130
Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, 112 I
floppy disks (See diskettes) images
formatting diskettes, 24 additional resources, 85
G manipulation, 79
games and amusements, 76 GIMP, 82
finding more online, 77 viewing, 79, 79
getting started logging in, 5 gThumb, 80
Setup Agent, 1 Konqueror, 143
GIMP, 82 Nautilus, 79
opening a file, 83 Internet configuring, 35
saving a file, 84 Internet Configuration Wizard, 35
GNOME desktop introduction, i
(See graphical desktop) IP address, 35
GNOME Print Manager, 58 K
change printer settings, 59 KDE, 135
graphical desktop, 13 Applets adding, 140
applets, 16 multiple desktops, 138
background changing, 18, 81 customizing, 146
customizing, 18 desktop, 135
logging out of, 20 desktop icons, 136
main menu, 14
 187

KDE, (contin’ud) 135 logging out, 11

Applets adding, (contin’ud) 140 from the desktop, 20
desktops KDE, 146
multiple, 138 login problems
switching, 139 using single-user mode, 132
customizing, 146 ls, 93
desktop, 135 printing output, 131
desktop icons, 136 viewing output, 131
desktops multiple, 138 M
switching, 139 main menu in KDE, 137
documentation, 135 on the desktop, 14
Konqueror navigation panel, 141 mke2fs, 25
main menu, 137 mkisofs, 31
panel, 136 mouse how to use, v
applets, 137 Mozilla
switching tasks, 139 (See Web browsers)
Taskbar, 139 Mozilla Mail
website, 135 (See email clients)
keyboard shortcuts, 153 music
KMail Ogg Vorbis, 73
(See email clients) Wave, 73
Konqueror XMMS, 73
(See Web browsers) using, 74
KDE file manager, 140 mutt
navigation panel, 141 (See email clients)
viewing images with, 143 N
L Nautilus, 16
less, 100 disabling text icons, 17
linux commands disabling thumbnails, 17
(See shell prompt) viewing images with, 79
listing directories Network Time Protocol (See NTP)
(See commands, ls) new users creating accounts, 7
log in, 5 Newsgroups (See email clients)
logging in, 5 NTP configuring, 21
graphical, 132 ntpd, 21
graphical login, 6 ntpd, 21
virtual console login, 6 O
Online connecting with
Internet Configuration Wizard, 35
188

[Link], 63 adding local printer, 53

Draw, 69 cancel print job, 60
features, 63 default printer, 56
Impress, 67 delete existing printer, 56
Writer, 64, 65 ownership and driver options, 57
permissions, 105 Assume Unknown Data is Text, 57
P Convert Text to Postscript, 58
pagers, 100 Effective Filter Locale, 58
less, 100 GhostScript pre-filtering, 58
panel configuring, 16 Media Source, 58 Page Size, 58
configuring the, 140 Prerender Postscript, 58
KDE, 136 Send End-of-Transmission
adding applications, 137 (EOT), 57
customizing, 137 Send Form-Feed (FF), 57
hiding, 137 edit driver, 57
on the graphical desktop, 14 edit existing printer, 56
partitions GNOME Print Manager, 58
accessing Windows, 129 change printer settings, 59
password forgotten, 132 local printer, 53
passwords secure, 8 managing print jobs, 58
PATH, 128 modifying existing printers, 56
editing, 127 notification icon, 59
pathnames printing from the command line, 60
relative and absolute, 90 rename existing printer, 57
PDF viewing, 72 test page, 56
xpdf, 72 viewing print spool, 59
peripherals digital cameras, 87 viewing print spool,
permissions command line, 60
numerical settings, 108 printing
setting for new RPMs, 127 from command line, 95
permissions and ownership, 105 pwd, 90
pipes, 100 R
plain text (See text files) Red Hat Network, 123
Point-to-Point Protocol, 35 Red Hat Update Agent, 123
PPP, 35 redhat-config-date
presentations (See Time and Date Properties Tool)
[Link] Impress, 67 redhat-config-time
printer configuration (See Time and Date Properties Tool)
 189

redirecting standard input, 99 (See commands, su)

redirection, 96 switching desktops
reset, 96 KDE, 139
RHN switching tasks
(See Red Hat Network) KDE, 139
root, 111 system directories
and root login, 111 descriptions, 151
logging in as, 5 T
RPM, 125 tab completion, 103
installing packages, 123 Taskbar KDE, 139
upgrading packages, 123 terminal
RPMs (See shell prompt)
error message while installing, 127 Terms
installing with Gnome-RPM, 127 introductory, 3
S text files, 70
Setup Agent, 1 editing, 70
shell, 89 from a shell prompt, 71
history of, 89 KDE, 136
shell prompt, 7 troubleshooting sound card, 74
basic commands, 89 video card, 76
chmod, 106 The Graphical Desktop, 6
single-user mode, 132 time configuration, 21
software synchronize with NTP server, 21
installing, 123 time zone configuration, 22
upgrading, 123 timetool
sound card (See Time and Date Properties Tool)
configuring, 74 Trash icon
Sound Card Configuration Tool, 74 U
spreadsheets unzip, 115
[Link] Calc, 65 user account creating, 7
standard input redirecting, 99 importance of, 5
standard output appending, 98 utilities
redirecting, 96 cat, 96
Start Here, 17 less, 100
changing desktop background with, 18 V
startup messages vi , 71
dmesg | more, 100 W
startx, 6
wallpaper
su, 92
changing, 18
superuser
190

Web browsers, 39
Konqueror, 141
Mozilla, 39
using, 39
Windows accessing on a separate partition
add line to /etc/fstab, 129
World Wide Web browsers, 39
Mozilla, 39
X
X Configuration Tool, 76
xpdf, 72
 191

Colophon.
The Red Hat Linux manuals are written in DocBook SGML v4.1 format. The
HTML and PDF formats are produced using custom DSSSL stylesheets and
custom jade wrapper scripts. The DocBook SGML files are written in Emacs
with the help of PSGML mode.
Garrett LeSage created the admonition graphics (note, tip, important, caution,
and warning). They may be freely redistributed with the
Red Hat documentation.
The Red Hat Linux Product Documentation Team consists of the following
people:
Sandra A. Moore — Primary Writer/Maintainer of the
Red Hat Linux x86 Installation Guide;
Contributing Writer to the Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide
Tammy Fox — Primary Writer/Maintainer of the
Red Hat Linux Customization Guide;
Contributing Writer to the Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide;
Writer/Maintainer of custom DocBook stylesheets and scripts
Edward C. Bailey — Primary Writer/Maintainer of the
Red Hat Linux System Administration Primer;
Contributing Writer to the Red Hat Linux x86 Installation Guide
Johnray Fuller — Primary Writer/Maintainer of the
Red Hat Linux Reference Guide;
Co-writer/Comaintainer of the Red Hat Linux Security Guide;
Contributing Writer to the Red Hat Linux System Administration Primer
John Ha — Primary Writer/Maintainer to the
Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide;
Co-writer/Comaintainer of the Red Hat Linux Security Guide;
Contributing Writer to the Red Hat Linux System Administration Primer