# Kapitel 11. KDE with non-KDE applications

# 11.1. My non-KDE apps like emacs and kterm are running amok with large windows and strange fonts!

It probably has to do with KDE trying to "apply KDE defaults to non-KDE apps", which means it uses xrdb to apply X defaults that are supposed to mimic the color, font and other settings that you have set for KDE. However, experience tells us that this usually breaks things, particularly if you have carefully tuned the X resources of your non-KDE apps.

The official solution is to bring up the Settings->Desktop->Style config panel and disable the "apply KDE settings to non-KDE apps" checkbox. If the new setting does not seem to stick, make sure you have clicked 'ok' directly without clicking 'apply' after making the change. If it still refuses to work, there's a brute-force solution: rename or delete the $KDEDIR/share/apps/kdisplay/app-defaults directory. This will prevent KDE from finding the X resource files it applies, and solve the problem. You have to exit your session and log back in for everything to return to normal.

If you don't want to, or can't rename or delete the system-wide app-defaults directory, you can always copy it to your personal kde directory (eg. $HOME/.kde/share/apps/kdisplay/app-defaults) and then edit/add/remove files to taste.

The Settings->Desktop->Style panel exists in 1.1pre2, I am not sure of its location in previous versions (it exists since around 1.0).