Konqueror
Encyclopedia
Not to be confused with the Conqueror
web browser.
Konqueror is a web browser
and file manager
that provides file-viewer
functionality for file systems such as local files, files on a remote ftp server and files in a disk image. It is a core part of the KDE
desktop environment
. Konqueror is developed by volunteers and can run on most Unix-like
operating system
s and on Windows systems. Konqueror, along with the rest of the components in the KDEBase package, is licensed and distributed under the GNU General Public License
version 2.
The name "Konqueror" is a reference to the two primary competitors at the time of the browser's first release: "first comes the Navigator
, then Explorer
, and then the Konqueror". It also follows the KDE
naming convention: the names of most KDE programs begin with the letter K.
Konqueror was released with version 2 of KDE on October 23, 2000. It replaces its predecessor, KFM (KDE file manager). With the release of KDE4, the file manager functionality of Konqueror was replaced by Dolphin
.
A complete list is available in the KDE Info Center's Protocols section.
is somewhat reminiscent of Microsoft
's Internet Explorer
(in turn design
ed 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 an Internet 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. Panels are quite flexible and can even include, among other KParts,components, a console window, a text editor, a media player. 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, and navigation can be conducted through an assignment of letters to nodes on the active file by pressing the control key. The address bar has extensive autocompletion support for local directories, past URL
s, and past search terms.
The application uses a tabbed document interface, wherein a window can contain multiple documents in tabs. Multiple document interface
s are not supported, however it is possible to recursively divide a window to view multiple documents simultaneously, or simply open another window.
project. It uses KHTML
as its layout engine
, which is compliant with HTML
and supports JavaScript
, Java applet
s, CSS
, SSL
, and other relevant open standard
s. An alternative layout engine, kwebkitpart, is available from the Extragear
.
While KHTML is the default web-rendering engine, Konqueror is a modular application and other rendering engines are and have been available. Especially the WebKitPart that uses the KHTML-derived WebKit
engine has seen a lot of support in the KDE 4 series.
Konqueror integrates several customizable search services
which can be accessed by entering the service's abbreviation code (for example, gg: for Google
) followed by the search term(s). One can add their own search service; for instance, to retrieve Wikipedia
articles, a shortcut may be added with the URL
KHTML's rendering speed is on par with that of competing browsers, but sites with customized JavaScript are often problematic due to KHTML's much smaller mind- and market-share.
As of version 10.10, Kubuntu
's default browser switched from Konqueror to rekonq
.
s and layout. Files can also be execute
d, viewed, copied, moved, and deleted.
The user can also open an embedded version of Konsole
in which they can directly execute shell commands.
Although this functionality is not removed from it, in KDE 4 Konqueror is replaced by Dolphin
as the default file manager. Dolphin can - like Konqueror - divide each window or tab into multiple panes. Konqueror makes more powerful use of this feature, allowing as many vertically and horizontally divided panes as desired. Each can link to different content or even remote locations, so that Konqueror is a powerful graphical tool to manage content on multiple servers all in one window, "drag and dropping" files between locations.
In order to make folders open in Konqueror by default, open System Settings, then navigate to, "Default Applications". Here is a section called, "File Manager", where you can choose Konqueror, Dolphin or another file manager of your choice.
, 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 an OpenDocument
(via KOffice
) or PDF
document directly from within Konqueror. Any application that implements the KParts model correctly can be embedded in this fashion.
KParts can also be used to embed certain types of multimedia content into HTML pages; for example, KMPlayer's KPart enables Konqueror to show embedded video on web pages.
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 (called IOslaves) to access ZIP file
s and other archives, smb (Windows) shares, to process ed2k links (edonkey/emule), or even to browse audio CDs, ("audiocd:/") and rip
them via drag-and-drop
. The FISH ("fish://user@host") IOslave allows Konqueror up to and including version 4.2.x to manage files on remote secure shell
servers; this is replaced in Konqueror 4.3.x and later by the SFTP ("sftp://user@host") IOslave.http://osdir.com/ml/kubuntu-users/2009-06/msg00729.html Likewise, the "man:" and "info:" IOslaves are handy for fetching nicely formatted documentation.
Conqueror Browser
Not to be confused with the Konqueror web browser.Conqueror Browser is an open source web browser using the Trident and Chakra Engine rendering engines by Microsoft. Version 1.2, released in February 2011, is the a major update to the browser. In future versions starting from version 2, the its...
web browser.
Konqueror is a web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
and file manager
File manager
A file manager or file browser is a computer program that provides a user interface to work with file systems. The most common operations performed on files or groups of files are: create, open, edit, view, print, play, rename, move, copy, delete, search/find, and modify file attributes, properties...
that provides file-viewer
File viewer
A file viewer is application software that presents the data stored in a computer file in a human-friendly form. The file contents are generally displayed on the screen, or they may be printed...
functionality for file systems such as local files, files on a remote ftp server and files in a disk image. It is a core part of the KDE
KDE
KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
desktop environment
Desktop environment
In graphical computing, a desktop environment commonly refers to a style of graphical user interface derived from the desktop metaphor that is seen on most modern personal computers. These GUIs help the user in easily accessing, configuring, and modifying many important and frequently accessed...
. Konqueror is developed by volunteers and can run on most Unix-like
Unix-like
A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s and on Windows systems. Konqueror, along with the rest of the components in the KDEBase package, is licensed and distributed under the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
version 2.
The name "Konqueror" is a reference to the two primary competitors at the time of the browser's first release: "first comes the Navigator
Netscape Navigator
Netscape Navigator was a proprietary web browser that was popular in the 1990s. It was the flagship product of the Netscape Communications Corporation and the dominant web browser in terms of usage share, although by 2002 its usage had almost disappeared...
, then Explorer
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
, and then the Konqueror". It also follows the KDE
KDE
KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
naming convention: the names of most KDE programs begin with the letter K.
Konqueror was released with version 2 of KDE on October 23, 2000. It replaces its predecessor, KFM (KDE file manager). With the release of KDE4, the file manager functionality of Konqueror was replaced by Dolphin
Dolphin (software)
Dolphin is a free and open source software file manager for and part of the KDE Software Compilation. It is the default file manager in the current version, KDE Software Compilation 4, and can be optionally installed on K Desktop Environment 3...
.
Major supported protocols
- FTP and SFTP/SSH browser
- SAMBA (Microsoft file-sharing) browser
- HTTP browser
- IMAP mail client
- ISO (cd image) viewer
- VNC viewer
A complete list is available in the KDE Info Center's Protocols section.
User interface
Konqueror's user interfaceUser interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
is somewhat reminiscent of Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
(in turn design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
ed after Netscape Navigator
Netscape Navigator
Netscape Navigator was a proprietary web browser that was popular in the 1990s. It was the flagship product of the Netscape Communications Corporation and the dominant web browser in terms of usage share, although by 2002 its usage had almost disappeared...
and NCSA Mosaic
Mosaic (web browser)
Mosaic is the web browser credited with popularizing the World Wide Web. It was also a client for earlier protocols such as FTP, NNTP, and gopher. Its clean, easily understood user interface, reliability, Windows port and simple installation all contributed to making it the application that opened...
), though it is more customizable. It works extensively with "panels", which can be rearranged or added. For example, one could have an Internet bookmarks panel on the left side of the browser window
Window (computing)
In computing, a window is a visual area containing some kind of user interface. It usually has a rectangular shape that can overlap with the area of other windows...
, and by clicking a bookmark, the respective web page
Web page
A web page or webpage is a document or information resource that is suitable for the World Wide Web and can be accessed through a web browser and displayed on a monitor or mobile device. This information is usually in HTML or XHTML format, and may provide navigation to other web pages via hypertext...
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. Panels are quite flexible and can even include, among other KParts,components, a console window, a text editor, a media player. Panel configurations can be saved, and there are some default configurations. (For example, "Midnight Commander
Midnight Commander
GNU Midnight Commander is a free cross-platform orthodox file manager and a clone of Norton Commander originally created by Miguel de Icaza.Midnight Commander is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License.-Design:...
" 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, and navigation can be conducted through an assignment of letters to nodes on the active file by pressing the control key. The address bar has extensive autocompletion support for local directories, past URL
Uniform Resource Locator
In computing, a uniform resource locator or universal resource locator is a specific character string that constitutes a reference to an Internet resource....
s, and past search terms.
The application uses a tabbed document interface, wherein a window can contain multiple documents in tabs. Multiple document interface
Multiple document interface
Graphical computer applications with a multiple document interface are those whose windows reside under a single parent window , as opposed to all windows being separate from each other . Such systems often allow child windows to embed other windows inside them as well, creating complex nested...
s are not supported, however it is possible to recursively divide a window to view multiple documents simultaneously, or simply open another window.
Web browser
Konqueror has been developed as an autonomous web browserWeb browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
project. It uses KHTML
KHTML
KHTML is the HTML layout engine developed by the KDE project. It is the engine used by the Konqueror web browser. A forked version of KHTML called WebKit is used by several web browsers, among them Safari and Google Chrome...
as its layout engine
Layout engine
A web browser engine, , is a software component that takes marked up content and formatting information and displays the formatted content on the screen. It "paints" on the content area of a window, which is displayed on a monitor or a printer...
, which is compliant with HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
and supports JavaScript
JavaScript
JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
, Java applet
Java applet
A Java applet is an applet delivered to users in the form of Java bytecode. Java applets can run in a Web browser using a Java Virtual Machine , or in Sun's AppletViewer, a stand-alone tool for testing applets...
s, CSS
Cascading Style Sheets
Cascading Style Sheets is a style sheet language used to describe the presentation semantics of a document written in a markup language...
, SSL
Transport Layer Security
Transport Layer Security and its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer , are cryptographic protocols that provide communication security over the Internet...
, and other relevant open standard
Open standard
An open standard is a standard that is publicly available and has various rights to use associated with it, and may also have various properties of how it was designed . There is no single definition and interpretations vary with usage....
s. An alternative layout engine, kwebkitpart, is available from the Extragear
Extragear
The Extragear is a collection of KDE applications that are associated with the KDE project. Those applications are not part of the main KDE software compilation, which is released regularly, but they are still part of the project...
.
While KHTML is the default web-rendering engine, Konqueror is a modular application and other rendering engines are and have been available. Especially the WebKitPart that uses the KHTML-derived WebKit
WebKit
WebKit is a layout engine designed to allow web browsers to render web pages. WebKit powers Google Chrome and Apple Safari and by October 2011 held over 33% of the browser market share between them. It is also used as the basis for the experimental browser included with the Amazon Kindle ebook...
engine has seen a lot of support in the KDE 4 series.
Konqueror integrates several customizable search services
Web search engine
A web search engine is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web and FTP servers. The search results are generally presented in a list of results often referred to as SERPS, or "search engine results pages". The information may consist of web pages, images, information and other...
which can be accessed by entering the service's abbreviation code (for example, gg: for Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
) followed by the search term(s). One can add their own search service; for instance, to retrieve Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
articles, a shortcut may be added with the URL
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=\{@}&go=Go KHTML's rendering speed is on par with that of competing browsers, but sites with customized JavaScript are often problematic due to KHTML's much smaller mind- and market-share.
As of version 10.10, Kubuntu
Kubuntu
Kubuntu is an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system using the KDE Plasma Desktop instead of the Unity graphical environment. It is part of the Ubuntu project and uses the same underlying system. It is possible to install both the KDE Plasma Desktop as well as the Unity desktop on...
's default browser switched from Konqueror to rekonq
Rekonq
rekonq is a lightweight, QtWebKit-based web browser developed inside the free software project KDE. It is the default web browser in Kubuntu 10.10 and Chakra GNU/Linux.rekonq has been officially included into KDE Extragear the 2010-05-25...
.
File manager
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 iconIcon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
s and layout. Files can also be execute
Execution (computers)
Execution in computer and software engineering is the process by which a computer or a virtual machine carries out the instructions of a computer program. The instructions in the program trigger sequences of simple actions on the executing machine...
d, viewed, copied, moved, and deleted.
The user can also open an embedded version of Konsole
Konsole
Konsole is a free terminal emulator which is part of KDE Software Compilation. Konsole was originally written by Lars Doelle.The KDE applications Konqueror, Krusader, Kate, Konversation, Dolphin and KDevelop use Konsole to provide embedded terminal functionality.- Features :* Tabbed terminals...
in which they can directly execute shell commands.
Although this functionality is not removed from it, in KDE 4 Konqueror is replaced by Dolphin
Dolphin (software)
Dolphin is a free and open source software file manager for and part of the KDE Software Compilation. It is the default file manager in the current version, KDE Software Compilation 4, and can be optionally installed on K Desktop Environment 3...
as the default file manager. Dolphin can - like Konqueror - divide each window or tab into multiple panes. Konqueror makes more powerful use of this feature, allowing as many vertically and horizontally divided panes as desired. Each can link to different content or even remote locations, so that Konqueror is a powerful graphical tool to manage content on multiple servers all in one window, "drag and dropping" files between locations.
In order to make folders open in Konqueror by default, open System Settings, then navigate to, "Default Applications". Here is a section called, "File Manager", where you can choose Konqueror, Dolphin or another file manager of your choice.
File viewer
Using the KParts object modelObject model
In computing, object model has two related but distinct meanings:# The properties of objects in general in a specific computer programming language, technology, notation or methodology that uses them. For example, the Java objects model, the COM object model, or the object model of OMT...
, 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 an OpenDocument
OpenDocument
The Open Document Format for Office Applications is an XML-based file format for representing electronic documents such as spreadsheets, charts, presentations and word processing documents....
(via KOffice
KOffice
Calligra Suite is a graphic art and office suite by KDE created from KOffice in 2010. It is available for desktop PCs, tablet computers, and smartphones...
) or PDF
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
document directly from within Konqueror. Any application that implements the KParts model correctly can be embedded in this fashion.
KParts can also be used to embed certain types of multimedia content into HTML pages; for example, KMPlayer's KPart enables Konqueror to show embedded video on web pages.
KIO
In addition to browsing files and web sites, Konqueror utilizes KIOKIO
KIO is part of the KDE architecture. It provides access to files, web sites and other resources through a single consistent API. Applications, such as Konqueror which are written using this framework can operate on files stored on remote servers in exactly the same way as they operate on those...
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
File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server...
(support for these is built-in).
Similarly, Konqueror can use KIO plugins (called IOslaves) to access ZIP file
ZIP (file format)
Zip is a file format used for data compression and archiving. A zip file contains one or more files that have been compressed, to reduce file size, or stored as is...
s and other archives, smb (Windows) shares, to process ed2k links (edonkey/emule), or even to browse audio CDs, ("audiocd:/") and rip
Ripping
Ripping is the process of copying audio or video content to a hard disk, typically from removable media. The word is used to refer to all forms of media. Despite the name, neither the media nor the data is damaged after extraction....
them via drag-and-drop
Drag-and-drop
In computer graphical user interfaces, drag-and-drop is the action of selecting a virtual object by "grabbing" it and dragging it to a different location or onto another virtual object...
. The FISH ("fish://user@host") IOslave allows Konqueror up to and including version 4.2.x to manage files on remote secure shell
Secure Shell
Secure Shell is a network protocol for secure data communication, remote shell services or command execution and other secure network services between two networked computers that it connects via a secure channel over an insecure network: a server and a client...
servers; this is replaced in Konqueror 4.3.x and later by the SFTP ("sftp://user@host") IOslave.http://osdir.com/ml/kubuntu-users/2009-06/msg00729.html Likewise, the "man:" and "info:" IOslaves are handy for fetching nicely formatted documentation.
See also
- Comparison of file managersComparison of file managersThe following tables compare general and technical information for a number of notable file managers.-General information:Basic general information about the managers: creator/company etc.-Cross-platform file managers:...
- Comparison of web browsersComparison of web browsersThe following tables compare general and technical information for a number of web browsers. Please see the individual products' articles for further information.-Historical web browsers:...
- KHTMLKHTMLKHTML is the HTML layout engine developed by the KDE project. It is the engine used by the Konqueror web browser. A forked version of KHTML called WebKit is used by several web browsers, among them Safari and Google Chrome...
- KJS
- Konqueror EmbeddedKonqueror EmbeddedKonqueror Embedded is a version of the Konqueror browser designed to run on embedded systems. Unlike the full version of Konqueror, Embedded Konqueror is only a web browser. It does not require KDE or even the X window system...
- KSVG
- List of web browsers
- rekonqRekonqrekonq is a lightweight, QtWebKit-based web browser developed inside the free software project KDE. It is the default web browser in Kubuntu 10.10 and Chakra GNU/Linux.rekonq has been officially included into KDE Extragear the 2010-05-25...