The Preferences Dialog
Selecting Settings Configure KEdit from the menu brings up the preferences dialog box. This dialog can be used to alter a number of different settings. The settings available for change vary according to which category the user chooses from a vertical list on the left side of the dialog. By means of a row of five buttons along the bottom of the box the user can control the process. She or he may invoke the Help system, set the options to their Default values, accept the current settings and close the dialog by means of the OK button, Apply the current choices to the document without closing the dialog, or Cancel the process. The categories Font, Color, Spelling, and Miscellaneous are detailed below.

Font
The preferences dialog opens with this, the first category, chosen. Here the user can change four settings and see the effects of any changes in the text sample displayed in the rectangle at the bottom or the box. The settings are:
Character set: 	 This small dropdown box is located on the right side in the vertical middle of the dialog. Should the user have more than one set of characters available on his or her computer this may be used to select which set should be used for text in the editor.
Font 	 This scroll box allows the user to select by name from among the various fonts available. The appearance of any selected font may be seen in the sample text displayed in the rectangle at the bottom of the dialog.
Font style 	 This, the center, selection box is used to choose between the four basic styles of Regular, Italic, Bold, and Bold Italic. The appearance of the selected style may be seen in the sample text displayed in the rectangle at the bottom of the dialog.
Size 	 This, the rightmost scroll/selection box allows the user to change font size. The larger the number chosen the larger the font size will be. The sample text displayed in the rectangle at the bottom of the dialog will reflect the choice of size.

Colors
This section provides access to two different color settings, described below. Each of these settings may be changed by clicking on its corresponding button. These are special wide buttons that are the color of the current setting. Clicking on one of the buttons calls a special color dialog box used to change the setting.
The color dialog box provides a convenient and graphical way to select a color. In the upper left of the box is a rectangular display of a spectrum of colors. To the immediate right of this, is a vertical bar displaying a range of intensity from the most dark at the bottom to the most light at the top. The user may select and adjust a color by clicking in these two boxes. Clicking in the rectangular display selects a particular mix of red, green, and blue colors and in the vertical bar selects a level of intensity (value). The various color attributes are displayed in numerical form in small text boxes located directly below the spectral rectangle and the user can see them change as the color is adjusted. These attributes include the mix of the basic color components (red, green, and blue) as well as hue and saturation levels. Alternatively the user can enter figures directly in these boxes. There is also a square at the bottom center of the dialog box which displays the color which is under consideration at any time. To the right of this display is another text box labeled HTML: This shows the user the color code that would be used to specify the particular displayed color in HTML code which is widely used for web pages.
In addition to the above, the color dialog allows the capture of any color currently displayed on the desktop or in another program. Clicking on the button with the dropper icon (located on the right side of the dialog box) changes the shape of the mouse cursor to a set of crosshairs. Clicking again will pick up the color attributes of whatever color is displayed under the cross hairs.
Furthermore the user has the option of adding any color to a personal palette of Custom Colors by clicking on the wide button labeled Add to Custom Colors (which is located above the display square.) This adds the current color to the custom color palette. This palette and any other available palettes can be displayed using the drop down selection box located directly above the palette display at the top right of the dialog box. Besides the custom colors, the user can access a number of pre-prepared palettes.
Foreground 	 Here the user can specify a color for the text used in .
Background 	 Here the user can specify a color for the general background of .

Spell Checker
A spell checker is a program designed to help the user catch and correct any spelling errors. This section of the preferences dialog allows certain key settings to be adjusted in this regard.
Create root/affix combinations not in dictionary 	 Selecting this option allows the spell checker to register as correct combinations of root words with suffixes or prefixes even if the particular combination is not listed in its dictionary database of words.
Consider run-together words as spelling errors 	 Selecting this will cause the spell checker to register as misspelled two or more correctly spelled words that are run-together, , that do not have spaces separating them.
Dictionary: 	 Depending on the user's installation, one or more different language spelling dictionaries may be available. This drop down box allows the user to choose which language the spell checker should use.
Encoding: 	 There are different coding systems used to associate particular codes with particular characters and symbols. If the user knows which code he or she is using this drop down box allows this code to be specified so that the spell checker can do its job correctly.
Client: 	 Since does not contain its own spell checker, an external one must be chosen. This is where the user may specify which spell check program to use.

Miscellaneous
This category deals with three different properties detailed below.
Word Wrap: 	 Word wrap is a feature that causes the editor to automatically start a new line of text and move (wrap) the cursor to the beginning of that new line. The drop down box at the top of the dialog provides the following three word wrap choices:
Disable Wrapping 	 Choosing this will keep the editor from doing any wrapping. The user will have to start new lines manually (with the Enter key.)
Let editor width decide 	 This choice has the editor automatically adjust the line lengths to fit its current width. In other words, the wider the user makes the editor the longer the lines will be; and the narrower the editor, the shorter the lines will be.
At specified column 	 Choosing this activates a text box immediately below, labeled Wrap Column:. Here the user may specify the maximum number of characters in a line of text.
Each character including spaces fills one column.
Make backup when saving a file 	 This checkbox tells the editor to rename the last saved version of the current document before carrying out a save command. The editor does this by adding a tilde (~) at the end of the name of the original file. In this way the user has a chance to recover a document if she or he had mistakenly saved something over it.
Mail Command: 	 This textbox is used to enter a command whereby the File Mail command can be used to email the current document. The editor is setup by default to use the command line mail program. The user will need to consult the documentation of whatever email program he or she prefers to see if and how it would be possible to call that program in a similar manner.