The K Desktop Environment

Chapter 2. Using KAlarm

Graphical mode

When it is run with no command line parameters, KAlarm starts in graphical mode. It displays the current list of outstanding alarms.

Main window

For a repeated alarm, the list shows its next scheduled time for display and the number of times which it is due to repeat after that.

The alarms may be ordered by date/time, repeat count, colour or message text by clicking on the title bar for the appropriate column. To reverse the sort order, click the column title bar again.

When KAlarm starts in graphical mode, it checks whether the alarm daemon is running. If it is not already running, KAlarm starts it.

Adding a new alarm

To add a new alarm message, select Actions->New (Ins) . This displays the alarm message edit window:

Alarm edit window

Enter the message text in the Message edit box. The message text may include newlines.

Enter the date and time when the message is to be displayed.

If you want the alarm to be repeated, enter the number of repetitions (after the initial display) and the interval (in hours and minutes, in the range 1 minute to 99 hours) between repetitions.

The Cancel if late checkbox determines what happens if the alarm can't be displayed at its scheduled time. Check this box to cancel the alarm if it can't be displayed within 1 minute after the right time. Leave the box unchecked to display the alarm at the first opportunity starting at the scheduled time.

Note

An alarm can only be displayed while you are logged in, and while both X and the alarm daemon are running.

Check the Beep checkbox if you want an audible alarm to sound when the alarm message is displayed.

Select the background colour for the alarm message window.

Press the Set Alarm button when all details are correct, to add the alarm to the scheduled list.

Modifying an existing alarm

To modify an existing alarm message, do one of the following:

  • Select it by clicking on its entry in the alarm list. Then choose Actions->Modify (Ctrl-M) from the menu.

  • Right-click on its entry in the alarm list and choose Modify from the context menu.

This displays the alarm message edit window as described above.

Deleting an existing alarm

To delete an existing alarm message, do one of the following:

  • Select it by clicking on its entry in the alarm list. Then choose Actions->Delete (Del) from the menu.

  • Right-click on its entry in the alarm list and choose Delete from the context menu.

Resetting the alarm daemon

To reset the alarm daemon, select Actions->Reset Daemon (Ctrl-R) .

See the Alarm daemon section for a discussion about resetting the alarm daemon.

Configuring default options

To set default options for KAlarm, select Settings->Configure KAlarm ... . This displays the configuration dialog:

Configuration window

Here, you can set the default font and background colour to use for alarm message display.

Quitting the program

To exit from KAlarm, select File->Quit (Ctrl-Q) .

Tip

This has no effect on the alarm daemon, which if already active will continue to monitor scheduled alarms and request their display when they become due.