# Frequently Asked Questions (&FAQ;)

If you have problems with &krusader; please check the Installation procedure, as your problem may be caused by a bad installation.

The &FAQ; is divided into three sections:

- Installation &FAQ; (this page)

- Usage &FAQ; (issues with running/using &krusader;)

- General &FAQ; (bug reports, forum, mailing list, ...)

If you feel that a &FAQ; is missing or if something is not clear to you, please let us know.

## Installation &FAQ;

Does &krusader; need &plasma; to run?

No, &krusader; does not need the &plasma; window manager to run on your computer but &krusader;'s natural environment is &plasma;, because it relies on services provided by the &kf5-full; base libraries. Only some shared libraries are needed ⪚ &kf5; libraries, &Qt; libraries, &etc; This means that &krusader; runs on GNOME, AfterStep, XFce and other window managers provided the appropriate libraries are installed on your computer. All this is not a problem since the apt-get world can resolve these dependencies instantly.

You do not need to switch to the &plasma; window manager to use &krusader;; you can still use GNOME, AfterStep, XFce or another window manager. However, the configuration of the &krusader; fonts and some behavior is done by running `systemsettings`.

A lot depends on what you want to do with &krusader;. You should know that &krusader; uses the &kf5; KIO Slaves to access remote file systems, and support for only a limited number of file system types are shipped with &kf5; libraries, most of the KIO Slave are bundled with &kf5-full; (including fish, sftp and tar).

To summarize, if you want a working &krusader; - install &kf5-full;. If you want a functional &krusader; then you need &kf5-full; and some additional &plasma; packages. For maximum functionality, &krusader; needs some &kde; Applications (&ark;, &kdiff3;, KRename), but the &plasma; window manager is optional.

Which libraries does &krusader; need to run?

For running &krusader; (⪚ when you have installed &krusader; with a binary RPM) you need less libraries than if you compile &krusader; from source. ⪚ you only need the C-compiler &gcc; when you compile &krusader; from source (see the next question).

Take a look at the &krusader; dependencies paragraph of our install chapter.

If you need more details please take a look at the &krusader; requirements on Ubuntu. The "depends" are required, the "suggests" make &krusader; more powerful.

I have followed all the steps but `make` complains about missing libs or headers. What do I need to do?

Install the missing packages.

Take a look at the Compilation requirements paragraph of our install chapter.

Most RPM-based distributions separate the headers from the libs. The headers are needed to compile &krusader;. Look for packages in the form foo-devel-*.rpm (⪚ `kdelibs-devel-foo.i586.rpm`) or foo-dev-*.deb for Debian based distributions. These are usually included with your distribution.

If you cannot find the needed package, use rpmfind and click 'missing lib or header' in the search line. Or use `apt-cache search `foo`` to find the corresponding package for Debian based distributions.

How do I compile &krusader; when I am using a 64 bit processor?

As far as we know, there are no issues. &krusader; is also available on many other architectures.

I have downloaded the Source RPM `krusader-x.xx.dist.src.rpm`, what to do now?

1. Check the ownership and the permissions on `/usr/src/RPM/` and all recursive directories that your normal user can read-write-execute in these directories.

2. To produce the binary RPM for your computer, do this:

       $ rpm --rebuild </path/to/rpmfile/> krusader-x.xx.dist.src.rpm

3. If all dependencies are OK, a binary RPM `krusader-x.xx.dist.rpm` will be created at `/usr/src/RPM/RPMS/i586` (replace i586 with your architecture).

4. Test the binary RPM for errors before installing:

       $ rpm -i --test </path/to/rpmfile> krusader-x.xx.dist.rpm

   If the prompt returns without any message, then everything is OK.

5. Install the binary RPM as usual, for example:

       $ su -c 'rpm -Uvh </path/to/rpmfile> krusader-x.xx.dist.rpm'

   You will be asked to enter your root password.

6. Now you can start &krusader;.

For more information about RPM, visit rpm.org and read the RPM Guide by Eric Foster-Johnson.

I am trying to install binary foo (RPM or DEB package), but it fails. What is wrong?

Since we only prepare (and use) the source, we have no way of knowing this. Did you test the binary RPM before installing?

    $ rpm -i --test </path/to/rpmfile> krusader-x.xx.dist.rpm

If the prompt returns without any message, then everything is OK. RPM's downloaded from our website are usually provided by &krusader; users. Visit your distro website and search for an updated RPM.

If the RPM is not OK, try to find another package at &Linux; software archives such as freshmeat.net or linux-apps.com. If you still cannot find the appropriate package for your &Linux; distribution, we recommend searching for it with rpmfind or rpmpbone.

In general, a package for an older version of your distribution or even for another distribution might work on your computer (⪚ FC RPM's often work on Mdk and RH, and vice versa), but it is always the best that you install only RPM's that exactly match your distribution. If you cannot find a package that matches your distribution version, architecture or distribution, then use a source RPM. When you use a source RPM, the Krusader sources will be built, on your computer, guaranteeing a suitable binary RPM for your specific distribution and architecture. In addition, this method results in maximum system speed, since the resulting binary is customized for your computer. Please read the previous question, it explains how to install a source RPM. The best solution is explained in the next question.

I cannot find an RPM or DEB package for &krusader;, what to do?

Check if your distribution provides &krusader;, if it does not then contact your distribution creator and ask them to include &krusader;!

Did you take a look at the &URL;s on the Installation procedure page? If you have and found nothing, you can always compile &krusader; from source. Even if you feel you have not got the necessary skills, you will probably succeed in compiling &krusader;: we provide a very detailed installation procedure. This HowTo enables newcomers to compile &krusader; from source, even if they have never done a compilation from source before, just follow the instructions carefully. Feel free to post a help request if you encounter problems.

Some new menu items are missing after updating &krusader;, what is wrong?

The `krusaderui.rc` file is stored in `/usr/share/kxmlgui5/krusader/krusaderui.rc`. When you change the Toolbar, &plasma; makes a copy of that file in the home folder at `~/.local/share/kxmlgui5/krusader/krusaderui.rc`. If &krusader; was previously installed on your computer, and you install a newer &krusader; version the `~/.local/share/kxmlgui5/krusader/krusaderui.rc` file must be replaced with the newer version. Note: this will also reset all your changes on toolbars and shortcuts!

The first line of `krusaderui.rc` contains the version number. After installing a newer &krusader; version, &plasma; will automatically replace the old `~/.local/share/kxmlgui5/krusader/krusaderui.rc` with the newer version when starting the new &krusader; for the first time (&plasma; will detect the newer version number in the first line).

If you install a development or beta version and &krusader; was already installed on your computer then you should delete the `krusaderui.rc` file from your home directory to activate the new menu entries `$` ``rm` `~/.local/share/kxmlgui5/krusader/krusaderui.rc``

If the `~/.local/share/kxmlgui5/krusader/krusaderui.rc` file is older, then the new menu elements will not be shown. Read the previous question for information on how to update the `krusaderui.rc` file. If `krusaderui.rc` is missing or in a wrong directory, only the Help menu appears, please read the previous question.

The default folder for the local configuration file `kxmlgui5/krusaderui.rc` is `~/.local/share`. You can determine the needed folder in your system using the `qtpaths --paths GenericDataLocation` command in terminal.

I am having trouble compiling and installing &krusader;, how do I send a help request?

Please read our detailed installation procedure and the FAQ. If you cannot find a solution to your problem then feel free to post a help request at our &krusader; forum or use the &krusader;-users mailing list. But before posting a help request, please try the following:

1. Use the search function on the &kde; Forum, your problem might be solved or discussed already.

2. If you cannot find a solution, please make a note of the following issues:

   - the &krusader; version used

   - the &Linux; distribution + version used

   - a good description of the problem

   Without this information, it is very difficult for us to help you.

   If you give us the error messages (⪚ `make` error messages) please start with the FIRST error message, all the error messages which follow the first error message are consequences and not the cause of your problem.

3. Send out your help request.

Thank you for your co-operation!

How can I build an RPM package for &krusader;?

If you have experience with compiling from source, you will probably be able to build a &krusader; RPM too. Information about RPM can be found at rpm.org and in the RPM Guide by Eric Foster-Johnson. The following is the short procedure howto on building an RPM.

NEVER build RPMs when logged in as root. Mistakes in building packages (⪚ a bad `krusader.spec` file) can do serious damage to your system when logged in as root.

1. Compile &krusader; from source to check that the compilation works fine.

2. Check the ownership and the permissions on `/usr/src/RPM/` and all recursive directories that your normal user can read-write-execute in these directories.

3. Copy `krusader-1.xx.tar.gz` to `/usr/scr/RPM/SOURCE`

4. Copy `krusader.spec` to `/usr/scr/RPM/SPECS`

5. Edit `krusader.spec` and add your name, your email address, the rpm name, ... Other changes may be needed if `rpmbuild` fails.

6. Build the binary and the source RPM with:

       $ rpmbuild -ba /usr/scr/RPM/SPECS/krusader.spec

   If everything went OK you will have a binary RPM in `/usr/src/RPM/RPMS/i586` (depending on your architecture) and a source RPM in `/usr/src/RPM/SRPMS/` ⪚ `krusader-1.70-beta1.suse10.i586.rpm` and `krusader-1.70-beta1.suse10.src.rpm`

7. If the build is not OK you will receive an error message during the rpmbuild process, try to fix it and run `rpmbuild` again.

8. And finally: test the RPM before sending it in.

Why does &krusader;-git show an old version number in the about box?

Because we only change the version number just before we do a new release. &krusader;-git will show an older version number, so ignore the version number and check the download date. We simply have not yet decided what the next version number will be.

Why does &krusader; not start on &MacOS;?

Please read carefully the macports.org installation instructions. Do not forget to start dbus.

    ##########################################################
    # Do not forget that dbus needs to be started as the local
    # user (not with sudo) before any KDE programs will launch
    # To start it run the following command:
    # launchctl load /Library/LaunchAgents/org.freedesktop.dbus-session.plist
    ##########################################################

    ######################################################
    #  Programs will not start until you run the command
    #  'sudo chown -R $USER ~/Library/Preferences/KDE'
    #  replacing $USER with your username.
    ######################################################

## Usage &FAQ;

Why does &krusader; freeze or hang on a dead mountpoint?

When &krusader; is ⪚ browsing an NFS share and the NFS server goes down, &krusader; will freeze. This &krusader; (and all other open internal viewers/editors) freeze is fatal, and can only be corrected with the `kill -9`. We have no solution for this. This is an issue not confined to file managers, or even the &Linux; OS! The problem is that you "hang" on the first access to the dead share - so there is no way around it, no check to avoid it, even `ls` will freeze. Just trying to read something - anything - is enough to get you stuck. The one and only way around this architectural problem is using a multi-threaded design - this way if we get stuck, we do not hang the entire application event loop, but we do not think that the time is right for adding threads, we are not sure that *all* the &kf5; systems out there are using &Qt;-mt (the multi threaded version of the &Qt; library), and the &krusader; Krew may not be the right people to address this major issue in any case; so currently this is just a bug we have to learn to live with.

When I try to resize &krusader; to make it smaller, I discover that I cannot resize it below a certain size. Why?

See the F1, F2 (&etc;) buttons? They are not allowing &krusader; to downsize as they have a minimum size. Just disable them Settings Show FN Keys Bar and you will be able to resize &krusader; to your liking. Since version 1.51 we have improved this greatly: when downsizing the buttons will look like 'F5 ..py'. When the button faces are too small to read a tooltip will give the complete text. The minimum width is 45 pixels for each button.

Samba ISO 8859-x codepage / What to do if &krusader; does not read shared directories containing special international characters?

&krusader; does not handle (yet) Samba ISO 8859-x codepages, if you use a codepage different than 8859-1 you will have to do a manual configuration. Create or modify the file: `~/.smb/smb.conf`

    [global]
              workgroup = MyWorkGroup (ex. WORKGROUP)
              client code page = MyCodePage (ex. 852)
              character set = MyCharSet (ex. ISO8859-2)

You can try to configure smb.conf with appropriate &systemsettings; module.

&krusader; reports "krarc:... protocol not supported" error at opening an archive file, what to do?

Install the krarc slave properly:

Copy the `kio_krarc.so`, `kio_krarc.la` files into `/usr/{lib or lib64}/qt5/plugins`

Copy the `krarc.protocol` file into `/usr/share/services`

or the directory where the KIO slaves are placed in your &Linux; distribution.

I get the error message "Protocol not supported by Krusader: "krarc:/path/to/foo-archive", when I try to open foo-Archive, what to do?

The icons, kio_slaves and documentation must be installed in the correct places in the &kf5; directory tree. The `kio_krarc.*` files must be in the same directory with the other KIO slaves. Try this: locate `kio_tar.*` and copy/link the `kio_krarc.*` files to the same location. Do not forget to run `# ldconfig` on this directory when you are done.

What to do if an external tool does not seem to work?

&krusader; uses several programs as external tools, and sometimes they appear not to work. Open a terminal and check if tool foo is installed.

    $ foo

Check if tool foo is properly configured in the Konfigurator Dependencies page. For Archiving tools: autodetect the archives again with the Auto Configure button in the Konfigurator archive page. Check the Konfigurator Protocol page If it does not work, backup your ``XDG_CONFIG_HOME`/krusaderrc` (default is `$`HOME`/.config/krusaderc`) configuration file and remove it from this location. Restart &krusader;, &krusader; will now start the first start configuration wizard, follow these guidelines.

How to executing jar files (and not enter the jar archive)?

Go to the Konfigurator Protocol page and remove application/x-jar from the krarc node, &krusader; should no longer enter the archive. Global file associations are handled by &plasma; and not by &krusader;. To associate the jar extension:

- Open &plasma; &systemsettings;: systemsettings

- Applications File Associations

- Enter `jar` as filename pattern

- Add `java` as application

Why do I have trouble with my &FTP; connection?

This problem often occurs when you are behind a firewall or proxy. Open System Settings Network Settings Connection Preferences , Enable Passive Mode (PASV) has to be turned on or off, depending on its current setting. Now try your &FTP; session again to see if it works. Also, make sure you have no other &FTP; sessions open (using web browsers, &etc;), they can cause complications. More information can be found in Active &FTP; vs. Passive &FTP;, a Definitive Explanation.

I get FTP protocol not supported by &krusader; error when trying to open a remote &FTP; directory, what to do?

The reason for this error is that '&FTP; via &HTTP; proxy' feature is not yet supported by &krusader;. This error may be caused by a misconfiguration of the proxy settings in &systemsettings;. Modify the proxy settings to not use &HTTP; proxy and &FTP; will work.

How do not add `.part` suffix when copying files via &FTP;?

When uploading files a `.part` suffix is added to the filename, once the upload is complete the filename is renamed automagically to remove the `.part` suffix. This works great but sometimes some &FTP; servers do not allow a rename operation. You can solve this by unchecking the checkbox Mark partially uploaded files in &plasma; &systemsettings;. The check box is located at Network Settings Connection Preferences .

How can I close a remote connection (⪚ a &FTP; connection)?

It is explained in the remote connections chapter.

I am experiencing problems with the media:/ protocol, why?

The media:/ protocol was removed since &kde; 4. Please use mtp:/ protocol instead.

How can I disable the default sounds, ⪚ when I do a delete action?

Those are the default &plasma; System sounds, and not related to &krusader;. If you want to disable them globally open your &plasma; &systemsettings; ( systemsettings): Personalization Notifications Manage Notifications , Event Source: "Plasma Workspace" and uncheck sound items you do not like.

Where the remote connection manager?

Use our Bookmark Manager. Use a remote &URL; and bookmark it.

Why does not MIME type magic sometimes work inside archives?

When you enter an archive and press F3 to view a file that has no known extension, ⪚ `README, INSTALL` &etc; And if the viewer opens in hex-mode instead of the usual mode, than you need to configure: KDE System Settings File Associations Application octet-stream , binary viewer needs to be removed.

Where is Konfigurator, do i need to install the &plasma; to use it?

Konfigurator is &krusader;s configuration module, if you have installed &krusader; then you have also Konfigurator. For some reason some people think it is an other &plasma; application, but it is not, so you do not need to install the full fledged &plasma; to use Konfigurator. When running &krusader;, use Settings Configure &krusader; , and it will start Konfigurator. Please read the manual, &krusader; has many many configuration options, a lot of things can be customized to your needs with Konfigurator.

How can I set the look & feel of 2 different users to be the same?

Presuming that the current setup is the good configuration, you can copy the configuration to the other user.

    # cp ~/.config/krusaderrc /home/foo_user/.config

And when the other user is Root use:

    # cp ~/.config/krusaderrc /root/.config

## General &FAQ;

How can I report a wish, a suggestion, or a comment?

An open source project's greatest strength is derived from getting user feedback. That is why we love to hear what you have to say. Your "gripes" are our instructions. After about 6 months, programmers can no longer see their own mistakes. It is natural. We want the ideas, qritiques, and feedback because we all want to make &krusader; the best and most useful file manager available anywhere.

The most convenient way to contact us is to use the krusader-users mailing list. For information on what remains to be done look at the &krusader;-devel mailing list. We review and discuss every submission.

How can I send a patch?

It is not easy to write patch guidelines, but here are some.

1. Patches, new code or new features are always welcome!

2. Focus only on one problem at a time, so the developers can easily understand you, and commit your patch it works.

3. Preferably, you can start a discussion with the developers on the krusader-devel mailing lists or on the &krusader; Phabricator page. Unfortunately, we cannot apply a patch if the patch is in conflict with the "general design" of the &krusader; code (read for more instructions in this FAQ). Please send only one change request per mail, so that the discussion is easier to follow. The modifications should be committed step by step, checking each line.

4. Submit your patch files into the &krusader; group on the Phabricator, so that all patch proposals stay organised and do not get lost, tar.gz archives or diffs are usually ok. Do not copy changes into a mail. Most mailers will change the white spaces, so that the diff will not apply or the code snipped does not diff. In the past, patch mails went lost or disorganized in many many mails, so please use the Phabricator, thanks!

5. Use portable solutions, &krusader; should run on:

   - All POSIX (&Linux;/BSD/&UNIX;-like OSes), &Solaris;.

   - All BSD Platforms (FreeBSD/NetBSD/OpenBSD/&MacOS;).

   - &kde; 3.3- &kde; 3.5 and even on GNOME with &kde;libs (for &krusader;-2.x) .

   - GCC 2.95 - GCC 5.4

   Architecture changes are made by the team only.

6. A final note: always keep in mind a patch might be rejected. Either it has side effects, which we could not fix or it contradicts with the idea behind the patched module. In this sense, a software project differs from, let's say a wiki: a software project has to have someone to make all the final decisions. Otherwise the software will not work. Furthermore: keep in mind that the examination of patches might take time, as we all have private lives.

How can I report a bug?

Bugs?!?!? Well, ok.... We have an online Bug Tracking System.

Using the online bug-tracker helps us have a clear and orderly way to know how many bugs are open, bug priority and follow-ups. It saves us from browsing through the entire &krusader; forum, searching for yesterdays bug. Please use this system.

Before reporting a bug, please read the following:

1. Check if the bug is already posted in the online bug list of the Bug Tracking System.

2. If you cannot find this bug mentioned, please submit it into the bug tracker by clicking the Submit New button in the bug-tracker window. Please submit the following issues: the &krusader; version used, the &Linux; distribution + version used, processor type, and as good a description of the problem as you can manage.

Thank you for your co-operation!

If possible, try to do the same operation with &konqueror; or another &kde; application. If you encounter the same problem then it is possibly a KIO Slaves or &kf5-full; bug, and not a &krusader; bug. &krusader; uses the &kf5; libraries and the KIO Slave for many operations. In some cases you can encounter problems if your distribution is incorrectly configured, please test it first as explained above.

How can i send good debug or crash reports?

Usually binary packages that are been used by your distribution do not contain debug information. Since we usually only develop and fix &krusader;-git, compile &krusader;-git in debugmode and install it, than check if the bug still exist.

    $ cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=debugfull

Install valgrind, a suite of tools for debugging and profiling &Linux; programs. Run Valgrind/&krusader;

    $ valgrind --tool=memcheck {foo_path}/krusader

The valgrind tool will write to stdout, what really happens. If you could send these information before the crash, it is almost sure, that we may fix or tell you what to do.

What to do if the KDEcrashhandler sends no useful backtrace information?

Usually binary packages that are been used by your distribution do not contain debug information. Since we usually only develop and fix &krusader;-git, compile &krusader;-git in debugmode and install it, than check if the bug still exist.

    $ cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=debugfull

If the KDEKrashhandler still does not provide useful backtrace information, than sometimes a coredump will give better information. Run Krusader, with disabled crashhandler.

    $ krusader --nocrashhandler

On a crash you will get a `.core` file, usually in your home directory. Run gdb, the GNU Project Debugger

    $ gdb -c corefile krusader

Now type `bt` to get the backtrace and type `q` to quit gdb. Often the best debug results will be given when using the valgrind tool.

Does &krusader; have a mailing list?

Yes, currently we have 5 mailing lists. No spam, no bother, just &krusader;. Feel free to subscribe and unsubscribe.

Tip. our mailing lists can be browsed online or read with a newsreader, so that you do not even need to subscribe to follow the action on the mailing lists.

- &krusader;-devel is the developer mailing list (read-only). If you want to follow the development of &krusader; on the cutting edge, this is the list to follow.

- &krusader;-users is the &krusader; users mailing list. Here you can ask for help and talk with the &krusader; users and developers.

Does &krusader; provide news feeds?

Yes, we do. Several news feeds in various formats are available. krusader-devel feed, krusader-users feed.

Does &krusader; have an IRC channel?

Yes, we do. Feel free to talk to the &krusader; Krew and fellow-users via freenode.org servers. The server is irc.freenode.org, the channel is #krusader. Everyone is welcome.

How does the &krusader; forum work?

In the spirit of freedom of speech, everything that is &krusader; related can be discussed in our forum. It does not matter if you are a newcomer or an advanced user, everyone is welcome. An open source project's greatest strength is derived from getting user feedback. That is why we love to hear what you have to say. With your feedback we can make &krusader; better and better; otherwise, we are not aware of issues and ideas you may have. But please remember the following, so that we can maintain some order in the chaos.

If the Documentation, FAQ and &krusader;-devel (please use the search function ) cannot help you, do not hesitate to post on our forum. The &krusader; Krew or the &krusader; community is always available to help you.

Please use the search function of the &kde; Forum, your issue may have been previously discussed (this allows us to minimize the double/triple/... postings). If your issue has already been discussed in the past there is a great chance that you will have an instant solution to your problem. If the issue is currently being discussed, you can join in the discussion. Some questions are asked over and over again, that is why we have created this FAQ. This allows us to spend more time developing &krusader;.

Thank you for your co-operation!

How can I translate &krusader; into my native language?

If you are interested in translating the &krusader; GUI or documentation, please contact the KDE translation team of your language.

How can I support &krusader;?

You can support &krusader; in many different ways. Please send us feedback, bug reports, patches, donations, translations, ...

Is there a &MacOS; X port?

Yes, there is a &MacOS;-X port with the help of macports.org , the port is maintained by Jonas Bähr, all feedback is welcome. A recommended native file manager for &MacOS; is Disk Order (shareware).

Is there a &Windows; port?

No, there was a port but it is unmaintained and unavailable now. A recommended native file manager for &Windows; is Total Commander (shareware).

If you want to help with porting please join The KDE on Windows Initiative. Some useful tips on porting can be found in the `INSTALL` file of the &krusader; sources, it contains all latest compilation instructions.

Why is &konqueror; in "midnight commander style" not an OFM?

The two panels and a commandline are available, all the other stuff like OFM features and the OFM interaction with the user is missing from this profile.

Why should I use an OFM?

An Orthodox File Manager (OFM) is much faster than a one panel filemanager and faster than the command line. If you would like to know how &krusader; feels, there is only one way to discover: install it on your computer and use it for a while. If you prefer to waste time and lose productivity, continue to use one panel filemanagers which are based on &Windows; Explorer. Matej Urbančič has written a blog on why OFM is better than a one panel filemanager.