In computing, Konqueror is part of the K Desktop Environment (KDE), primarily developed for the Linux platform, but also available for some other platforms (including BSD and, recently, Microsoft Windows, although Windows support is very limited). It functions as a file manager, web browser, and file viewer. Like the rest of the "kdebase" package, Konqueror is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
| Table of contents |
|
2 Web browser 3 File browser 4 File viewer 5 KIO 6 See also 7 External links |
User interface
Konqueror's user interface is somewhat reminiscent of Microsoft's Internet Explorer (in turn designed after Netscape Navigator and NCSA Mosaic), though it is more customizable. It works extensively with "panels," which can be rearranged or added. For example, one could have a bookmarks panel on the left side of the browser window, and by clicking a bookmark, the respective web page would be viewed in the larger panel to the right. Alternatively, one could display a hierarchical list of folders in one panel and the content of the selected folder in another. The panels are quite flexible and can even include a console window. Panel configurations can be saved, and there are some default configurations. (For example, "Midnight Commander" displays a screen split into two panels, where each one contains a folder, web site, or file view.)
Navigation functions (back, forward, history, etc.) are available during all operations. Most keyboard shortcuts can be remapped using a graphical configuration. The address bar has extensive autocompletion support for local directories, past URLs, and past search terms.
The application uses a Single Document Interface; multiple window mode is not supported. Version 3.1 of Konqueror supports multiple tabs in a window.
Web browser
Konqueror has been developed as an autonomous web browser project. It normally uses khtml as its renderer, which is compliant with HTML 4.0, supports JavaScript, Java applets, Cascading Style Sheets, SSL, and other relevant standards.
Because of Konqueror's modular nature, the Gecko layout engine from Mozilla can be used instead of Konqueror's khtml renderer. This ability is called kmozilla and can be found in the kdebindings package.
Konqueror integrates several customizable search services which can be accessed by entering the service's abbreviation code (e.g., gg: for Google) followed by the search term(s). One can add their own searcy service; for instance, to retrieve Wikipedia articles, one adds a web shortcut called wp: with the URL http://www.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?search=\\{@}&go=Go.
Konqueror's rendering speed is on par with that of competing browsers, but sites with malformed HTML are sometimes less leniently rendered than by other browsers. Problems can also result from the use of plug-ins on a web site which cannot be run under the operating system on which Konqueror is run; the use of Quicktime movies or Shockwave animations (see also, crossover plug-in) can result in such problems. SWF (Flash), PDF, and Java applets are supported, if the respective software is installed.
File browser
Like Internet Explorer, Konqueror also allows browsing the local directory hierarchy—either by entering locations in the address bar, or by selecting items in the file browser window. It allows browsing in different views, which differ in their usage of icons and layout. Files can also be executed, viewed, copied, moved, and deleted.File viewer
Using the KParts object model, Konqueror executes components that are capable of viewing (and sometimes editing) specific filetypes and embeds their client area directly into the Konqueror panel in which the respective files have been opened. This makes it possible to, for example, view a KOffice document directly from within Konqueror. Any application that implements the KParts model correctly can be embedded in this fashion.KIO
In addition to browsing files and web sites, Konqueror utilises KIO plugins to extend its capabilities well beyond those of other browsers and file managers. It uses components of KIO, the Konqueror I/O plugin system, to access different protocols such as http and ftp (support for these is built-in). Similarly, Konqueror can use KIO plugins to access zip files and other archives, smb (Windows) shares, to process ed2k links (edonkey/emule), or even to browse audio CDs, and rip them via drag-and-drop.