Glossary
ASCII 	 Stands for American standard code for information interchange. This is what many people mean when they say plain text. can read and write documents in ASCII format.
Aspect Ratio 	 This is the ratio of the measurement of a screen or document horizontally compared to the vertical measurement. All standard computer monitors have the same aspect ratio, regardless of their vertical resolution. Any document that conforms to the standard screen will look good on any monitor.
Binary code 	 Binary code is the actual instructions for the computer. So if we refer to binaries we mean the executable program. While computers have no difficulties reading binary files, they are not easily understood by people. Compare to Source Code.
Bitmap Image 	 Bit mapped images are composed of individual dots. This type of file is very good for photographs and complex drawings. The downside of using bitmap images, is that when you change the size of the image on the page, there is a loss of detail. The file names of such pictures often end in jpeg, png or gif. Compare to Clipart.
Cells 	 Tables are made up of rows and columns of cells. Each cell is defined by a combination of the row and column of a heading.
Clipart 	 Clip art refers to vector based graphics. These graphic files describe the picture as a collection of lines, curves and dots. These file formats are preferable to bit-mapped images, because their size can be made larger or smaller, without any loss in quality. The downside of vector formats, is that it can be quite difficult to describe certain types of photographs using only lines and curves. This results difficult, complicated files and most of the benefits of vector formats are lost. Compare to Bitmap images.
Clipboard 	 The clipboard is a temporary storage area in memory. Whenever you use the Cut or Copy command, you are placing the object that was selected into this memory location. Then when you use the Paste command, you insert the information from the clipboard into the document. For more information see the section on Cut/Copy/Paste.
Compiling 	 When you compile a program, you are converting it from a source file (which is easily edited by a programmer) into a binary file (which the computer uses). If you are planning on compiling , please try to find a binary version of first. Compiling programs is not for the beginner. For more information on versioning , see the section entitled Installation
Custom Variables 	 Using custom variables you can store certain values (⪚ numbers or text) for later use in your document or in a script. If you want to find out more about custom variables, see Inserting Variables.
DEB 	 This is a binary file format that is used by Debian and Debian based distributions. This will be the suffix of a file specifically for these distributions. An example would be koffice-1.1.deb. For more information on installing these files, refer to the Debian Web Site.
Dialog Box 	 A dialog box is a small window that appears on top of your working document. This window usually has questions, information or configuration options related to the task you are performing. When you are finished with the dialog box, it will disappear and return you to your document (possibly after making some changes to the document).
DTP 	 Stands for Desktop Publishing.
FAQ 	 Stands for Frequently Asked Questions and normally means a document, where those questions are answered. If you have a question to the developers of , you should always have a look at the FAQ first. You'll find the latest version here.
File Mask 	 A file mask can be thought of as a strainer for you. On the average computer, there are several thousand files. These files are sorted into sub-directories, but it is not uncommon for many users to have 100's of data files in a single sub-directory.
Fortunately for us, most applications use a suffix to their filenames. By applying a file mask, will only show you the files which are not filtered out by the mask. (That is to say only shows the files that fit through the strainer). This can be helpful if you have many files from many different applications. The file mask is incorporated in the File Type line of the save and load dialog boxes.
As an example. If you use a file mask for files, the file mask will try to filter out all files that are not for .
Filter 	 A filter takes a document file from one program (⪚ Word), and filters out the text and formatting information and converts that information into a document. Filters are used to read and write files for other programs.
Footer 	 The footer of a page is an area below the normal text area. Often it contains the page numbering and maybe some additional information. The contents of the footer are normally the same for most pages, and changing the footer on one page will change all other pages as well. See Header.
Frame 	 Well, about everything in is in a frame. Text is always in a text frame. Pictures are in picture frames. Parts are in part frames. A frame is basically just a rectangle that can contain some part of your document. Frames can be moved, resized, deleted etc.
Frameset 	 A frame-set is a group of frames which are connected together. If you're writing text that doesn't fit into the first frame of a frame-set, it will continue in the next frame belonging to that frame-set.
	 is the File Transfer Protocol. It's an Internet protocol that allows you to retrieve files from so-called servers. If you want to download from the Internet, you'll probably use .
Hard Frame Break 	 Normally, automatically adjusts text so it fits into a text frame. By inserting a hard frame break you can force to always start the next frame in the framset with the text that follows the break.
Header 	 The header of a page is an area above the normal text area. Often it contains the page numbering and maybe some additional information. The contents of the header normally are the same for most pages, and changing the header on one page will change all other pages as well. See Footer.
HTML 	 Stands for HyperText Markup Language. Most web pages on the Internet are written in HTML. can read and write HTML documents for publishing on the World Wide Web.
	 Stands for the K Desktop Environment which is required for to operate. The KDesktop Environment is user interface which allows users to manipulate files and operate programs graphically. For more information, please visit www.kde.org.
Key Binding 	 All of the features of are available through the menubar. You will find, however, that there are certain features of that you use on a regular basis. You can bind a certain key combination to that function. Once this combination is bound to the function, you can use it as a shortcut to the function. comes with several predefined key-bindings. For more information on changing the default key-bindings, click here.
Landscape 	 When you have a standard sheet of paper, you can either orient your document with the long side vertically or horizontally. When the horizontal dimension is greater than the vertical, this is termed Landscape.
Example:
Compare with Portrait.
Menubar 	 The menubar is located at the top of the screen. You can use it to access all features of .
Menubar:
Picture 	 Yes, I know what your thinking--Who doesn't know what a picture is? When we speak of pictures with , however, the term has a very specific meaning and should not be confused with clip-art. Pictures are bit-mapped images. See Clipart for more information.
Portrait 	 When you have a standard sheet of paper, you can either orient your document with the long side vertically or horizontally. When the vertical dimension is greater than the horizontal, this is termed Portrait.
Example:
Compare with Landscape.
RPM 	 This is the binary file format for distributions based on the package manager, a widely used packaging tool for the operating system. If you still have to get and your system supports RPM packages, you should get packages ending in .rpm. They're very easy to use.
Scaling Pictures 	 Whenever you change the size of a graphics image, you are scaling that image. In you scale the pictures by changing the shape of the frame which surrounds the graphic.
Source Code 	 Source code is the human readable version of an application (such as ). Computers cannot use source code directly. Instead, source code must be compiled into binary code, before use.
TAR 	 Tar is a tool used for the archiving of files in so-called tar-files which you recognize by their suffix .tar. You'll find source and binary distributions as gzipped tar-files. However, you shouldn't use them if there are special packages for your system and package manager. See RPM, DEB.
tar.gz 	 See TGZ.
TGZ 	 Files ending in .tar.gz or .tgz are tar-files compressed with the gzip program. This makes the tar files smaller and quicker to download. You'll find source and binary distributions in this format. However, you shouldn't use them if there are special packages for your system and package manager. See RPM, DEB.
Toolbar 	 A toolbar is a line of buttons which are shortcuts to more of the commonly used features of . More information on tool bars can be found here.
Example Toolbar:
Vector Image 	 A vector based graphic is described in terms of lines and shapes, not in terms of dots. These files are often referred to as clip-art.Because of this, Clipart usually scales better than bit-mapped images.
WYSIWYG 	 Stands for What You See Is What You Get. is a WYSIWYG word processor, which means that the document will appear the same on the screen while you are editing it, as it will on the printed page.
system 	 The System (also known simply as X) is required for to operate. More information on for can be found at http://www.xfree86.org