# The KOrn Handbook

Sirtaj Singh Kang,

    taj@kde.org

Version 0.3, 14 September 1998

This documentation was last updated for KOrn version 0.3. Please make any comments and additions to the author.

The KOrn Handbook

KDE
KOrn
e-mail
notification

## Introduction

### What is KOrn?

KOrn is a KDE-compliant X11 program that monitors UNIX mailbox files for incoming and unread messsages. It periodically scans each mailbox and displays the number of unread messages it contains in a small on-screen button. Features include:

- Per-box scan frequency (poll time)

- Horizontal or vertical layout of buttons

- Per-box customization of commands to be executed on new mail notification and button click

- Fairly simple dialog for setup and customization

- Doesn't use Xt/Xaw :-)

### Why is it named "KOrn"?

For those who asked, it is named KOrn because:

- `1.` it begins with K

- `2.` there are too many KDE programs with serious-sounding functional names

- `3.` I attended a fabulous KoRn concert around the time 0.1 was written.

### For whom is KOrn written?

People who are subscribed to several internet mailing lists and/or filter received email messages into separate folders (with procmail, for example). No need to run 10 xbiffs or qbiffs... just run one KOrn.

## Installation

### How to obtain KOrn

The latest version of KOrn is 0.3. It can be fetched from

- The KDE FTP Site and mirrors, in ftp://ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/unstable/apps/network/.

- From the author's FTP repository, at ftp://ftp.ph.unimelb.edu.au/pub/users/taj/kde/.

### Requirements

You will also require a computer running X11, UNIX and the K Desktop Environment and Qt libraries. So far it has only been tested on Linux/x86 with XFree86, and MkLinux/PPC with X11R6.

### Compilation and installation

Compiling and installing instructions are generic to the KDE.

## Fundamentals

### How do I set up KOrn?

To configure KOrn to your taste once it is installed, simply run KOrn (or type "korn" at the UNIX command line). You will be lead through a (hopefully) simple installation procedure. Here are the explanations for the various options you can set:

- `Name` A short unique reference name for the box. Do not put commas in this name.

- `Caption` The message to be displayed in the tooltip for the box.

- `Path` The pathname of the mailbox to monitor

- `Poll time` The interval, in seconds, between scans of this box. It is not wise to make this value much smaller than 20 seconds, since smaller intervals mean higher CPU usage.

- `Notify Command` The shell command to be executed when new mail is received in this box. This is useful for playing sounds, for example.

- `Click Command` The shell command to be executed when the button for the box is double clicked or left-clicked when there is new mail

### Command-line options

- `--nomouse` If KOrn is executed with this option, it will ignore all mouse events. This is useful for running KOrn swallowed by KPanel or FVWM.

## Known bugs and limitations

- Old boxes are not removed from the configuration file when they are renamed. A duplicate box entry is created with the new name. This cannot be fixed till a method to remove groups in the KDE KConfig class.

- Needs to restart completely to reload new configuration.

- Lots of others.

## Epilogue

### Developers

`Sirtaj Singh Kang - Author, maintainer (Home page)`

### Authors

`Sirtaj Singh Kang - Redactor`

`Eric Bischoff - Editor`