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430 lines
14 KiB
430 lines
14 KiB
<chapter id="ktimemon">
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<chapterinfo>
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<title>&ktimemon;</title>
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<authorgroup>
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<author>
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<firstname>Martin</firstname>
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<surname>Maierhofer</surname>
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<affiliation>
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<address><email>m.maierhofer@tees.ac.uk</email></address>
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</affiliation>
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</author>
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<!-- TRANS:ROLES_OF_TRANSLATORS -->
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</authorgroup>
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<date>2001-11-29</date>
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<releaseinfo>0.03.01</releaseinfo>
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<abstract>
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<para>&ktimemon; is a system monitor for the K Desktop Environment</para>
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</abstract>
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<keywordset>
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<keyword>KDE</keyword>
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<keyword>ktimemon</keyword>
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<keyword>system monitor</keyword>
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<keyword>timemon</keyword>
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</keywordset>
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</chapterinfo>
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<title>Introduction</title>
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<para>&ktimemon; is a small program to keep track of your computer's system
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usage. It can display bar graphs containing information about
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<acronym>CPU</acronym>, memory, and swap usage as well as disk usage and
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context switch activity. In keeping with the spirit of <ulink
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url="http://www.kde.org/">KDE</ulink>, it supports configuration via a
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graphical user interface. It also supports <emphasis>docking</emphasis>,
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&ie; it can display information in the system panel tray.</para>
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<note>
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<para>Currently, &ktimemon; only supports a limited number of systems:
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&Linux; based installations with the <filename>/proc</filename> file
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system, &Solaris; based installations with the
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<filename>kstat</filename> library, and Digital &UNIX; (formerly
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DEC/OSF1) based installations with the
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<command>table</command>(2) system call. Help with
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porting it to other platforms is most welcome.
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</para>
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</note>
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<para>
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&ktimemon; can be started from the command line or from the &kde;
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<guimenu>start</guimenu> menu (in the <guisubmenu>Utilities</guisubmenu>
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submenu). If you choose to start from the command line, &ktimemon;
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honors the usual &X-Window; program flags such as
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<option>-geometry</option>. &ktimemon; is
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<emphasis>session-aware</emphasis>, &ie; it keeps track of the current
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state (colors, &etc;) and restores it in the user's next session.
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</para>
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<sect1 id="fund">
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<title>Onscreen Fundamentals</title>
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<para>
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After starting &ktimemon; a small window will appear displaying
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information gathered from the operating system. If you move the mouse
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pointer over the &ktimemon; window and let it rest for a small amount of
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time, a <emphasis>tool-tip</emphasis> (&ie; a small transient window)
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will appear. The tool-tip contains numeric information about the system
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parameters displayed by the bar graphs. Tool-tips can be disabled (refer
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to <link linkend="config">Configuration</link>).
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</para>
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<sect2 id="modes">
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<title>Display Modes</title>
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<para>
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&ktimemon; can display two different sets of system information. As
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explained in the <link linkend="config">Configuration</link> chapter,
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mouse buttons can be bound to various actions. Per default, the left
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mouse button is bound to the mode switch action, &ie; by clicking the
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&LMB; mouse button anywhere in the &ktimemon; window, the displayed
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information switches from <guilabel>Normal Mode</guilabel> (the default)
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to <guilabel>Extended Mode</guilabel>, and vice versa.
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</para>
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<sect3 id="normalmode">
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<title>Normal Mode</title>
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<para>After starting &ktimemon; for the first time, it will show
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information about the current CPU activity, as well as memory and swap
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usage. Three bar graphs are used to show this information; they are
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updated regularly (the default sample interval is 0.5s, but it can be
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changed, see <link linkend="config">Configuration</link>). The three bar
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graphs represent (from left to right):
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<variablelist>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><acronym>CPU</acronym> usage.</term>
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<listitem>
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<para>&ktimemon; shows the bar in three different colors, representing
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<acronym>CPU</acronym> time spent in various modes. From bottom to top
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they are: kernel mode, user mode, and user mode with lowered priority
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(<emphasis>nice</emphasis>) - since &Solaris; does not seem to support
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statistics for nice mode, the topmost part of the bar represents time
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spent in the <emphasis>wait</emphasis> state on such systems. The gap
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from the top of the bar to the top of the window represents the
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percentage the <acronym>CPU</acronym> idle time.</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term>Memory usage.</term>
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<listitem>
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<para>Similar to the <acronym>CPU</acronym> usage bar, this bar is
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composed of three sub fields, representing (from bottom to top):
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memory allocated by processes, memory used for I/O buffering, and
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memory used for file caching. For Digital &UNIX; based systems, the
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middle section represents <quote>inactive</quote> memory (&ie; memory
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allocated and not used for a certain amount of time), and for
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&Solaris; based systems, the middle section of the bar is not used,
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and the topmost section represents the amount of memory used by the
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kernel. Again, the gap from the top of the bar to the top of the
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window represents free memory.</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term>Swap usage.</term>
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<listitem>
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<para>This bar consists of a single field representing
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the current swap usage relative to the system's total amount of swap
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space. </para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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</variablelist>
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</para>
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<para>Clicking the mouse button bound to <quote>mode switch</quote> in
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the &ktimemon; window switches to <quote>Extended Mode</quote>.</para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="xtndmode">
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<title>Extended Mode </title>
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<para>In this mode, the three bar graphs are used to display a different
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set of system information. Again from left to right, they show:</para>
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<variablelist>
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<varlistentry>
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<term>Paging activity.</term>
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<listitem>
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<para>This bar consists of two parts, the lower half
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of which shows the number of memory pages written to secondary
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storage in the last sample interval. Similarly, the upper half
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indicates the number of pages read from secondary storage.</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term>Swapping activity.</term>
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<listitem>
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<para>The second bar displays the analog
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information for swap activity.</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term>Context switches.</term>
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<listitem>
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<para>Again, this bar graph consists of a single
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field which indicates the number of context switches in the last
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sample interval.</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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</variablelist>
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<para>Since there is no <quote>natural</quote> way of scaling the
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information shown in <quote>Extended Mode</quote>, by default
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&ktimemon; uses <emphasis>autoscaling</emphasis> (explained in the
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<link linkend="autoscaling">Common Questions Section</link>). There
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is, however, the possibility of specifying the scaling information,
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see the <link linkend="config">Configuration</link> section.</para>
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<para>Note that the two sets of bar graphs share the same colors, &ie;
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the colors setup for <quote>Normal Mode</quote> is also used for
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displaying information in <quote>Extended Mode</quote> (see also <link
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linkend="config">Configuration</link> on how to change the color
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scheme).</para>
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</sect3>
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</sect2>
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</sect1>
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<sect1 id="menu">
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<title>Menu Structure</title>
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<para>
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By default, the &RMB; mouse button is bound to the <quote>menu
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pop-up</quote> action, &ie; clicking the right mouse button anywhere in
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the &ktimemon; window brings up a menu, which is discussed in the
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following sections.
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</para>
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<sect2 id="config-menu">
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<title><guimenuitem>Settings...</guimenuitem></title>
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<para>The <guimenuitem>Settings...</guimenuitem> menu item is used to
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pop up the configuration dialog. Configuration options are discussed in
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section <link linkend="config">Configuration</link>.
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</para>
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</sect2>
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<sect2 id="docked-in-panel">
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<title><guimenuitem>Docked In Panel</guimenuitem></title>
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<para>
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By selecting the <guimenuitem>Docked In Panel</guimenuitem> menu item,
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&ktimemon; switches between its standard display (&ie; a normal window)
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and the panelized state, where the &ktimemon; window disappears and a
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smaller version is displayed in the system panel. Apart from the
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reduction in size, the <quote>panelized</quote> &ktimemon; behaves
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exactly like its big brother.
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</para>
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</sect2>
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<sect2 id="help">
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<title><guimenu>Help</guimenu></title>
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&help.menu.documentation;
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</sect2>
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<sect2 id="horizontal-bars">
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<title><guimenuitem>Horizontal Bars</guimenuitem></title>
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<para>By selecting the <guimenuitem>Horizontal Bars</guimenuitem> menu
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entry, &ktimemon; switches from vertical bars to horizontal bars and
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vice versa. Not very useful, but it was easy to implement ;-)
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</para>
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</sect2>
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<sect2 id="quit">
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<title><guimenuitem>Quit</guimenuitem></title>
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<para>
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The <guimenuitem>Quit</guimenuitem> menu item - surprise, surprise
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-- is used to terminate &ktimemon;. It will save the current state
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(⪚ the color scheme, window size, whether it is displayed in the
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panel) and restore the state in the next invocation.
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</para>
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<para>
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The configuration information is saved in the file
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<filename>$<envar>HOME</envar>/.kde/share/config/ktimemonrc</filename>,
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where <filename class="directory">$<envar>HOME</envar></filename> refers
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to the user's home folder. If this file is deleted, &ktimemon; will
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start in its default state in the next invocation.
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</para>
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</sect2>
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</sect1>
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<sect1 id="config">
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<title>Configuration</title>
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<para>
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&ktimemon; can be configured via a straight-forward dialog (see also the
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discussion of the <link linkend="config-menu">Configuration
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Menu</link>). On the <guilabel>General</guilabel> page, the sample
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interval can be specified as well as scaling information (see also the
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discussion of the <link linkend="xtndmode">extended mode</link>). If the
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<guilabel>Autoscaling</guilabel> check box is ticked (autoscaling is
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explained in the <link linkend="autoscaling">FAQ</link> section), the
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scaling factors cannot be edited, since &ktimemon; determines them
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automatically.
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</para>
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<para>
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The <guilabel>Colors</guilabel> page can be used to tailor the colors of
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the bar graph to individual preferences. A small sample bar graph gives
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immediate feedback.
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</para>
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<para>
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In the <guilabel>Interaction</guilabel> page, mouse bindings can be
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adapted. Clicking a mouse button on the &ktimemon; window can be
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ignored, trigger a mode switch (see also <link
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linkend="modes">Modes</link>), invoke the context menu (see also <link
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linkend="menu">Menu</link>), or invoke an external process. The command
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line specified for external processes is interpreted by the standard
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shell, &ie; shell commands, environment variables, redirection &etc; can
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be used.</para>
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<para>The <guilabel>Interaction</guilabel> page also contains a check
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box which can be used to disable to automatic appearance of tool-tips
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with numeric information about the bar graphs (compare <link
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linkend="fund">Onscreen Fundamentals</link>).</para>
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</sect1>
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<sect1 id="faq">
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<title>Common Questions and Answers </title>
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<qandaset>
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<qandaentry>
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<question>
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<para>Which operating systems does &ktimemon; support?</para>
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</question>
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<answer>
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<para>
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&ktimemon; supports &Linux; based systems with the <filename
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class="devicefile">/proc</filename> file system, &Solaris; based
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systems with the <filename>kstat</filename> library, and Digital
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&UNIX; (formerly DEC/OSF1) systems with the
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<command>table</command>(2) system call interface. Only the &Linux;
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version has been thoroughly tested, if you experience any problems
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with the &Solaris;/Digital &UNIX; port, please do not hesitate to
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contact me.
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</para>
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<para>
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Also, contributions to &ktimemon; to adapt it to other platforms are
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most welcome. Please contact me at
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<email>m.maierhofer@tees.ac.uk</email> if you intend to port &ktimemon;
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to other flavors of &UNIX;.
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</para>
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</answer>
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</qandaentry>
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<qandaentry id="autoscaling">
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<question>
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<para>
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How does autoscaling work?
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</para>
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</question>
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<answer>
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<para>
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Glad you asked. Since there is no sensible predetermined scaling factor
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for paging/swapping operations and context switches (unlike ⪚ memory
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utilization, where you can take the total memory size as baseline),
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&ktimemon; uses a semi-intelligent (well, ...) autoscaling
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mechanism. Autoscaling works as follows:
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</para>
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<itemizedlist>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Each of the three bar graphs as described in the <link
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linkend="xtndmode">extended mode section</link> has an associated
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scaling factor. The initial values of these factors are set to some
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predetermined value.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Each time a new sample is displayed, the respective value is tentatively
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scaled with the corresponding factor. If the value can be displayed in
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the scale chosen by the factor, no change occurs (&ie; small changes in
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the activity are reflected by a changing height of the bar).
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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If the scaled value would be either too large or too small to be
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displayed with the current scaling factor, the scaling is adjusted so
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that the new value displayed is roughly halfway up the bar graph. Thus,
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subsequent changes should have a good chance of getting displayed
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relative to the current value, without having to change the scale again.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</itemizedlist>
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</answer>
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</qandaentry>
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<qandaentry>
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<question>
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<para>
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Why does a message box with <errorname>diagnostic output from child
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command</errorname> pop up?
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</para>
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</question>
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<answer>
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<para>
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If you bind a mouse button to an external command as described in the
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<link linkend="config">Configuration</link> chapter, &ktimemon; does
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not check for a valid command name. Instead a command shell is invoked
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to execute the statement, so shell commands, environment variables and
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more can be used. To allow some feedback to the user, &ktimemon;
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monitors the <systemitem>stderr</systemitem> output of the command
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shell, and reports it in this message box.
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</para>
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<para>
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While this scheme can be helpful in case a command is not found, it can
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be quite annoying if the invoked command prints harmless diagnostic
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information on <systemitem>stderr</systemitem>. A simple and elegant
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solution to this problem is to add <userinput>2>/dev/null</userinput>
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at the end of the command specification. This redirects diagnostic
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messages to message nirvana, and stops the message box popping up.
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</para>
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</answer>
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</qandaentry>
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</qandaset>
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</sect1>
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<sect1 id="ktimemon-thanks-and-acknowledgements">
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<title>Thanks and Acknowledgments</title>
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<para>&ktimemon; is based on an Xt version by my brother.</para>
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<para>Thanks to Tobe Toben,
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<email>ttoben@artis.uni-oldenburg.de</email>, Cristian Tibirna
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<email>ctibirna@gch.ulaval.ca</email>, Dirk A. Mueller
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<email>dmuell@rhrk.uni-kl.de</email>, Mark Krischer
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<email>krischem@amp.com</email>, and Lubos Lunak
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<email>l.lunak@sh.cvut.cz</email> for bug reports, patches, comments,
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suggestions.
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</para>
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<!-- TRANS:CREDIT_FOR_TRANSLATORS -->
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&underGPL;
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</sect1>
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</chapter>
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