Use Kfind in Dolphin to search for files

Ok, as many of my fellow KDE users know Kfind (the KDE file search utility) is no longer integrated into Dolphin or even launchable from a toolbar button any longer. Never fear though, there is a simple work around to still make it easy to use Kfind to search for files/folders from Dolphin. What you need to do is to right click on a folder that you want to search and choose 'Open With', then choose 'Other...' (at the bottom of the list of applications). Now you should be presented with a list showing the various application categories and a text entry field at the top, in the text entry field type in 'kfind' (without the quotes), now before you click 'Ok' make sure there are NO checks in any of the checkboxes on that window, otherwise you'll possibly run into problems (such as a console shell opening before Kfind opens and remaining open while Kfind is running, or possibly Kfind being launched by default when you double click on a folder with the intent to open it to browse it's contents, or if some other application tries to open a folder to show you the contents of it). As long as you have made sure there are no checkboxes checked you can now click 'Ok'. Kfind should open now with the 'Look in:' field filled in with the folder you clicked on. Of course you could always just launch Kfind from the launcher too and then browse to the folder you want it to search, but if you want a permanent easy way to launch Kfind without leaving Dolphin read below.

WARNING MAKE SURE YOU READ AND UNDERSTAND THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW BEFORE PROCEEDING TO IMPLEMENT THEM ON YOUR SYSTEM, FAILURE TO DO SO COULD CAUSE PROBLEMS!! IN EITHER CASE PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK, I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIFFICULTIES YOU MAY ENCOUNTER. THE STEPS OUTLINED BELOW HAVE BEEN TESTED AND KNOWN TO WORK ON KUBUNTU 12.04 32 BIT, WITH KDE VERSION 4.10.0.0 (AND A FEW VERSIONS PRIOR TO THAT), AND DOLPHIN VERSION 2.2. BUT SHOULD ALSO WORK WITH ANY VERSION OF KDE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO EDIT THE FILE ASSOCIATIONS AS OUTLINED.

If you want to make Kfind permanently available in the 'Open With' menu it takes a little more work. You'll need to create a file association for it to associate it with directories. You can do this by going into 'System Settings'>'File Associations' and expanding the section labeled 'inode' and choosing 'directory', then on the right side click the button labeled '+ Add...' and enter 'kfind' (without the quotes), don't check any checkboxes on that little window though. Then you'll need to move the newly created entry which will be labeled 'Find Files/Folders' down so that it's below your File Managers entry (in my case I moved it below the entry for Dolphin since I use Dolphin as my file manager). Once you've done that go ahead and click 'Apply' and you should be all set now. Now when you choose 'Open With' when you right click on a directory/folder you should see an entry for 'Find Files/Folders' (which is Kfind), you should also be able to right click on any empty space in the folder you're currently viewing (assuming you're not viewing in tree view, but have actually opened the entire folder in a tab/window of it's own) and be able to choose 'Open With' there to have Kfind search for items in the current folder. I hope this helps, Aeronya Arai

Link Generator Version 1.0 Released

Just a quick note to let anyone interested know that I've released the first version of my program for creating HTML code for links (named "Link Generator"). The program is aimed at people that are at least slightly familiar with HTML coding and is mainly designed to help avoid having to manually type in all of the code formatting. This is the first release that I am fairly happy with so I thought I'd share it here since it could possibly help people include links in their profiles or blogs. It features the ability to generate a 'list' of links that you can embed in a page (for an example go see my blog on Blogger, I used Link Generator to generate the links in the "SECOND LIFE RELATED LINKS" section on the right side of the page, admittedly I didn't use it for the other sections, but I plan to convert those sections to use links generated by Link Generator). It also features a number of features to allow you to take some measure of control of the formatting on the links it generates (add extra blank lines, place each link on it's own line, associate an image with a link so that when people click on the image it will open the link, open links in new windows/tabs, use link labels and images together, and place a clickable border around images). I plan on eventually adding the ability to 'drag and drop' links & images from existing web pages and the ability to import links from your favorites/bookmarks as well as possibly adding some colorization options at some point.

Currently Link Generator is only available for Microsoft Windows operating systems (I was only able to test it on Windows XP Professional 32 bit so I don't know if it will run on any other versions, if you try it on other versions and it works please let me know by submitting feedback using the feedback link on the 'About...' screen under the Help menu).

You can download the setup file for Link Generator at:

http://linkgenerator.sourceforge.net/

Source code is also available on that site as well for anyone wishing to attempt to port Link Generator to other operating sytems, I do ask that if you make changes to the source code to improve/add functions that you submit them to me to incorporate into the next release of Link Generator (you will be credited accordingly of course). Link Generator was written using Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition (The Express Edition is a FREE version of Visual Basic from Microsoft, some of the features of the full version are missing/disabled (mainly features related to network computing)). If you want to know more about the Express Editions of the Visual Studio suite you can find it here:

http://www.microsoft.com/express/download/

Can't they just 'change the channel'??

Below is the text of a post I made in the forums for Second Life (SL) concerning Linden Labs (creators of Second Life) decision to change the way 'Adult Content' is handled in SL, the post is entitled "Can't they just 'change the channel'??" and it is primarily directed at those people that have been pressuring Linden Labs about this subject.

Here is a link to the post itself for those of you that would like to view the original:

http://forums.secondlife.com/showpost.php?p=2366267&postcount=1783

So here's the text from the post then:

Ok that said, now let's be realistic, we all encounter 'adult content' in some form or another in the real world, how we deal with it is our own choice (those of you trying to force your opinion that adult content should be banned or whatever should reread that last comment 'our own choice'). In real life if we see objectionable material on television we always have the option of changing the channel (of course there is always the fact that for most people 'television program listings' are readily available, that would inform us prior to even turning on the television that the channel we are going to tune into may infact contain objectionable material!! Immediately giving the person the option of not tuning in to that channel). Additionally if you encounter 'objectionable material' on your private radio, you always have the option of turning the radio off or tuning in to a station that has material that you don't find objectionable. If you see a 'sexy' billboard advertising deodorant or underwear or some other product no one and I repeat NO ONE is FORCING you to look at it, you always have the option of turning your head away from it or simply ignoring it altogether, I may not like something that you enjoy viewing or participating in, but that does not automatically give me the right to force MY opinions on the subject matter on you and make you abide by my personal feelings on such matters.

My point is that 'objectionable material' is present all around us day and night, yet most of us manage to go through our daily lives just fine even with it there. Additionally the places search in SL notifies you that the place you are about to teleport to is an area where 'Mature' content may be encountered even before you actually go there, just like knowing that you are travelling through a 'seedy neighborhood' in real life should alert you to the fact that you may encounter things like strip clubs and porno shops among other types of possibly 'objectionable material', if it doesn't then maybe you need to crawl out from under the rock you've been living under for the last couple hundred years and look around, the real world wasn't created for just one particular type of person to inhabit it, nor was SL. I guess one thing I was thinking of when I began writing this post is the fact that here in the United States of America our Constitution was founded on the very principle of tolerance, not just tolerance of other people's religious background, but tolerance of such things as their nationality, their ethnicity, their social habits, their personal habits!!!

I guess another one of my points is that if you encounter 'objectionable material' in SL anyplace you ALWAYS have the option of going elsewhere or practicing some degree of tolerance, or of course even logging off, any of those choices may be YOUR choice!!

I'm not saying that there isn't some need for improvement in the way access to mature areas is handled, maybe something similar to the standard warning you find on adult websites, something to the effect that "By remaining on this property you accept the fact that you may be exposed to material that you may find offensive or distasteful, furthermore you indicate that it is not illegal for you be it due to age or real life locale to view or interact with material of this nature". And due to the fact that so many people on the internet do infact lie about their ages age verification is a valid idea in my opinion, and before anyone complains about that, consider the lawsuits you hear about on the news where a child managed to gain access to an adult site because the parent did not take a more active role in limiting that childs exposure to things of that nature. It's high time we made parents and even minors responsible for their actions or lack of action in matters of this nature, instead of just pointing the finger at the person that posted the information on the internet and trying to say 'it's your fault', maybe we need to give them the ability to say 'no it's your fault for not monitoring your childs internet access, or for not educating them about the fact that it may be illegal for them to access sites of this particular nature', there's been entirely too much finger pointing and not enough making people take responsibility for their own actions!!

Getting back to the issue of age verification, I believe Linden Labs has done a great deal to make it simple for anyone of legal age to verify their age and hence at least give some indication of whether they can legally view some of the material contained in SL. I myself utilized the Drivers License method of age verification, many other web sites that require age verification give you only one option typically, the use of a 'Credit Card' wherein the site will obtain the date of birth for the person holding the card. I realize that in many cases non US citizens may think that they can't use any of the age verification methods that Linden Labs has provided but let's be real again here, all across the world banks issue 'Debit Cards' or 'Credit Cards' and typically applying for them is fairly simple, in most cases with 'Debit Cards' from my experience you are often allowed so many transactions a month for free and then you may be charged a small fee, additionally most of these cards are usable at locations that accept 'Credit Cards' (including online age verification at websites, I know this from personal experience using my debit card for such a purpose). Additionally SL (not TeenSL) is designed for adults above the age of 18 anyway, so theoretically you shouldn't even be in SL unless you are 18 or older, if you are underage then as far as I know you are in violation of the terms of service agreement (viewed by some countries as representing a binding contract between 2 parties). Also I know that in the USA it is illegal for a minor to enter into a legally binding contract without parental consent (in most states at least).

Hopefully people will take everything I've said here (especially about your own choice to expose yourself to 'objectionable material' or not based on the choice you make to either stay in the region that contains said material or deciding to leave that region) in mind and realize that we each live our own lives our own way, as well we should be permitted to (even our SL lives). Again It's entirely up to EACH individual to limit his/her/it's own exposure to material they find objectionable, NOT force their opinions on such matters onto others, I feel this applies just as much in SL as it does in the real world.

Thank you everyone,
Aeronya Arai