Projects/SuperKaramba/FAQ

    From KDE TechBase
    Revision as of 10:30, 12 December 2007 by Wirr (talk | contribs) (Add FAQ entry on how to add SK themes to the Widget Browser)

    Installation

    How to install SuperKaramba

    SuperKaramba is part of most Linux distributions as it is released with KDE 3.4 and later. On most distributions it can be found in a package named kdeutils (kdeutils3-extra on openSUSE not kde4-superkaramba!) or a special package named superkaramba (on K/Ubuntu).

    If your distribution doesn't come with superkaramba or you want to install it manually you can find the source package here.

    To compile the SuperKaramba package manually you will need the KDE development packages and the Python development packages. Both are shipped with your distribution. Beside that you will also need a working tool chain to be able to compile the sources. These will also come with your distribution.

    Usage

    How can themes be started automatically on start up?

    To start themes automatically with the KDE start you just need to keep SuperKaramba running with the themes when you log out of KDE.

    On some systems (e.g. openSUSE) this will not work. In this case you need to create a link to SuperKaramba in the Autostart directory of KDE (~/.kde/Autostart/).

    How to run SuperKaramba themes inside Plasma

    If you want to use SuperKaramba themes in Plasma you have to first run the theme at least once in SuperKaramba. After that the theme will appear in the Plasma Widget Browser like normal widgets do.

    Problems

    Themes can't be reinstalled with SuperKaramba

    Delete the file ~/.kde/share/config/superkarambarc

    Black Frame around Themes

    You are probably trying to run SuperKaramba with a window manager (Fluxbox, GNOME) that isn't supported by SuperKaramba. Unfortunately SuperKaramba is currently limited to KDE due to the high integration into the KDE framework.

    This also can happen on KDE when using a desktop background that is a plain color or a tiled image.

    If you use openSUSE you probably installed the package kde4-superkaramba. Remove that package and install the kdeutils3-extra package. See How to install SuperKaramba

    Themes don't refresh sensor values

    You are probably trying to run SuperKaramba with a Window Manager (Fluxbox, GNOME) that isn't supported by SuperKaramba. Unfortunately SuperKaramba is currently limited to KDE due to the high integration into the KDE framework.

    SuperKaramba gets minimized with the Show Desktop toggle

    You are probably trying to run SuperKaramba with Compiz or Beryl. Unfortunately this is currently not fully supported with SuperKaramba. In Compiz-Fusion, the Fade to Desktop module is known to work better than the Show Desktop module.

    SuperKaramba not below all other windows or on all desktops

    Make sure that you are running KDE and not another window manager. If you are running Compiz-Fusion, while it is not supported, you can enable Compiz-Fusion's Window Rules module and enter a Window Match rule for the Below and Sticky entries as needed based on the name or class values (given in "Writing Compiz Window Match rules" below). As a last resort, try restarting X.

    Writing Compiz Window Match rules

    Running SuperKaramba with Compiz, Beryl or the merged Compiz-Fusion project is not fully supported. However, it can be useful to use Window Match rules within Compiz to achieve the desired behavior. The following window matching rules are based off of xprop results for SuperKaramba. The most preferable rule to use for SuperKaramba specific behavior is either the name or the class rule. While the other rules will match SuperKaramba, it is easier for non-SuperKaramba windows to match as well.

    (Note that Window Match rules are usually case-sensitive and cannot have spaces around the equals sign.)

      class=Superkaramba
      name=superkaramba
      type=dock
      title=superkaramba
    

    Development

    Where are themes config stored?

    Themes configs are stored in ~/.superkaramba/

    How to set sensors arguments from Python ?

    Sensors arguments are set in the 'sensor' argument of function like setImageSensor(), setTextSensor(), etc...

    Example: txt = karamba.createText(widget, 0, 0, 200, 20, "") karamba.setTextSensor(widget, txt, 'SENSOR=DISK MOUNTPOINT="/" FORMAT="Free space: %f MB"') karamba.redrawWidget(widget)

    Other Things

    If your question wasn't answered, you need some additional help or you want to contribute to SuperKaramba. Feel free to join us at #superkaramba on irc.freenode.net.