Red Hat Linux 7.2

The Official Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide

Red Hat, Inc.
2600 Meridian Parkway
Durham, NC 27713
USA
Phone: +1 919 547 0012
Phone: 888 733 4281
Fax: +1 919 547 0024
PO Box 13588
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
USA

ISBN: N/A

Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Manual — Read This? Please?
Introductory Terms
A Note About Environments
Documentation Resources
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I. The Basics

1. Getting Started

Logging In
Creating a user account
Logging Out of Root

2. The GNOME Desktop Environment

GNOME Fundamentals
The Desktop
The Nautilus File Manager
The Panel
Main Menu Button
Finding Help
Multiple Desktops
Switching Environments
Quitting from GNOME
Adding a Log Out Button
Shutting Down from the Run Program Menu
Shutting Down at the Shell Prompt

3. The KDE Desktop Environment

Using Your Mouse
The Desktop
The Panel
The Main Menu K Icon
The Taskbar
Finding Help
Switching Environments
Quitting from KDE
Shutting Down at the Shell Prompt

4. Customizing Your Desktop

Customizing with the GNOME Control Center
Customizing with the KDE Control Center

5. Getting Online

Internet Druid
Network Configuration
Connecting and Disconnecting
Connecting With Cable

6. The Mozilla Web Browser

Mozilla User Accounts
Mozilla Navigator
The Mozilla Navigator Sidebar
Customizing Mozilla Preferences
Mozilla Mail
Mozilla and Newsgroups
Mozilla Composer

7. Printer Configuration

Adding a Local Printer
Modifying Existing Printers
Additional Resources

8. Audio, Video, and General Amusement

Configuring a Sound Card
Speakers, Headphones, and Sound Etiquette
Playing CDs
Configuring a Video Card
Games and Amusements

9. Manipulating Images With GIMP

GIMP Basics
Using the GIMP to Create Images for the Web
Additional Resources

II. Intermediate Tasks

10. Shell Prompt Basics

Shell Prompt Basics
The History of the Shell
Bash Environment Variables
Creating a Boot Disk
Use Man Pages for Information
Determining Your Current Directory with pwd
Changing Directories with cd
View Directory Contents with ls
Locating Files and Directories
Printing From The Command Line
Clear and Reset the Window
View, Redirect, and Append Files with cat
Pipes
More Basic Commands for Reading Text Files
Command History and Tab Completion
Stringing Commands Together
Ownership and Permissions
Changing Permissions With Numbers

11. Managing Files and Directories

The GNOME File Manager
The KDE File Manager
Creating Files and Directories
A Larger Picture of the Filesystem
Identifying and Working with File Types
File Compression and Archiving with Gzip, Zip, and Tar
Viewing PDFs
Manipulating Files at a Shell Prompt

12. Updating and Adding Packages to Red Hat Linux

Introduction to RHN
Red Hat Network
Red Hat Update Agent
Red Hat Network Software Manager
Synchronizing Your System Profile
Updating With Errata
Installing RPMs From the Installation CDs

III. Q & A

13. Frequently Asked Questions

Using a Diskette
Putting Linux Files on a Windows Disk
Localhost Login and Password
Displaying ls in color
Switching Environments
Shutting Down
Error Messages During Installation of RPMs
Starting Applications
Accessing a Windows Partition
Finding Commands Quickly
Keep ls Output from Scrolling
Tips on Using Command History
Forgotten Password
Changing Login from Console to X at Startup
Configuring X

IV. Appendixes

A. Computer Basics

Introduction

B. A Comparison of Common DOS and Linux Commands

C. Identifying/Finding File Extensions

Introduction
Missing or Incorrect Extension?

D. System Directories

E. Keyboard Shortcuts

Index