The name "Konqueror" references the two primary competitors at the time of the browser's first release: "first comes the Navigator, then Explorer, and then the Konqueror".[3] It also follows the KDE naming convention: the names of most KDE programs begin with the letter K.[4]
Konqueror first appeared with version 2 of KDE on October 23, 2000.[5] It replaced its predecessor, KFM (KDE file manager).[6] With the release of KDE 4 in 2008, the functionalities of web browser and file manager were separated: Dolphin replaced Konqueror as the default KDE file manager, while the KDE community continues to maintain Konqueror as the default KDE web browser.
Major supported protocols
Konqueror can utilize all KIOslaves installed on the user's system. Some examples include:
A complete list is available in the KDE Info Center's Protocols section.
User interface
Konqueror supports tabbed document interface and Split views, wherein a window can contain multiple documents in tabs. Multiple document interfaces are not supported, however it is possible to recursively divide a window to view multiple documents simultaneously, or simply open another window.
Konqueror's user interface is somewhat reminiscent of Microsoft's Internet Explorer, though it is more customizable. It works extensively with "panels", which can be rearranged or added. For example, one could have an Internet bookmarks panel on the left side of the browser window, and by clicking a bookmark, the respective web page would be viewed in the larger panel to the right. Alternatively, one could display a hierarchical list of folders in one panel and the content of the selected folder in another. Panels are quite flexible and can even include, among other KParts (components), a console window, a text editor, and a media player. Panel configurations can be saved, and there are some default configurations. (For example, "Midnight Commander" displays a screen split into two panels, where each one contains a folder, Web site, or file view.)
Navigation functions (back, forward, history, etc.) are available during all operations. Most keyboard shortcuts can be remapped using a graphical configuration, and navigation can be conducted through an assignment of letters to nodes on the active file by pressing the control key. The address bar has extensive autocompletion support for local directories, past URLs, and past search terms.
While KHTML is the default web-rendering engine, Konqueror is a modular application and other rendering engines are available. In particular, the WebKitPart component using the KHTML-derived WebKit engine has seen a lot of support in the KDE 4 series. However, the KHTML rendering backend contains unique features, such as the ability to save a full archive of any given webpage into a single file with the ".war" extension.
Konqueror integrates several customizable search services which can be accessed by entering the service's abbreviation code (for example, gg: for Google, or wp: for Wikipedia) followed by the search term(s). One can add their own search service; for instance, to retrieve English Wikipedia articles, a shortcut may be added with the URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=\{@}&go=Go.
KHTML's rendering speed is on par with that of competing browsers, but sites with customized JavaScript are often problematic due to KHTML's much smaller mind- and market-share, resulting in fewer JavaScript features built into the JS engine.
Kubuntu's 10.10 Maverick Meerkat release switched the default browser from Konqueror to rekonq, as well as a Firefox installer being added.[9] Kubuntu subsequently switched from rekonq to Firefox, with the release of 14.04 Trusty Tahr.[10]
File manager
Konqueror also allows browsing the local directory hierarchy—either by entering locations in the address bar, or by selecting items in the file browser window. It allows browsing in different views, which differ in their usage of icons and layout. Files can also be executed, viewed, copied, moved, and deleted.
The user can also open an embedded version of Konsole, via KDE's KParts technology, in which they can directly execute shell commands. In addition to the Konsole KPart, Konqueror can also use a Filelight KPart, to view a radial diagram of the user's filesystem.
Although this functionality has not been removed from Konqueror, as of KDE 4, Dolphin has replaced Konqueror as the default file manager. Dolphin can – like Konqueror – divide each window or tab into multiple panes. Konqueror makes more powerful use of this feature, allowing as many vertically and horizontally divided panes as desired. Each can link to different content or even remote locations, so that Konqueror becomes a powerful graphical tool to manage content on multiple servers all in one window, "dragging and dropping" files between locations.
Konqueror's file manager
A screenshot of Konqueror 20.12.2 showing the default homepage
Konqueror displaying the contents of an audio CD
File viewer
Using the KPartsobject model, Konqueror executes components that are capable of viewing (and sometimes editing) specific filetypes and embeds their client area directly into the Konqueror panel in which the respective files have been opened. This makes it possible to, for example, view an OpenDocument (via Calligra) or PDF document directly within Konqueror. Any application that implements the KParts model correctly can be embedded in this fashion.
KParts can also be used to embed certain types of multimedia content into HTML pages; for example, the KMPlayer KPart enables Konqueror to show embedded video on web pages.
In addition to browsing files and websites, Konqueror utilizes KIO plugins to extend its capabilities well beyond those of other browsers and file managers. It uses components of KIO, the KDE I/O plugin system, to access different protocols such as HTTP and FTP (support for these is built-in), WebDAV, SMB (Windows shares), SFTP and FISH (a handy replacement to the latter when the SFTP subsystem is disabled on the remote host).
Similarly, Konqueror can use KIO plugins (called IOslaves) to access ZIP files and other archives, to process ed2k links (edonkey/emule), or even to browse audio CDs, ("audiocd:/") and rip them via drag-and-drop. Likewise, the "man:" and "info:" IOslaves can be used to fetch man and info formatted documentation.
Konqueror Embedded
Konqueror Embedded on a Linux PDA
An embedded systems version, Konqueror Embedded was previously available. Unlike the full version of Konqueror, Embedded Konqueror is purely a web browser. It does not require KDE or even the X window system. A single static library, it is designed to be as small as possible, while providing all necessary functions of a web browser, such as support for HTML 4, CSS, JavaScript, cookies, and SSL. [11]
As of June 2019, this project's page on the KDE website has been taken down.[12]
Download manager
KGet
KGet on KDE Plasma 5.10.5, showing an ongoing download
KGet is a freedownload manager for KDE and is the default download manager for Konqueror. It is part of the KDE Network package. By default, it is the download manager used for Konqueror, but can also be used with Mozilla Firefox and Chromium-based web browsers[15][16] as well as rekonq. KGet was featured by Tux Magazine[17] and Free Software Magazine.[18]
The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard communication protocol used for the transfer of computer files from a server to a client on a computer network. FTP is built on a client–server model architecture using separate control and data connections between the client and the server. FTP users may authenticate themselves with a plain-text sign-in protocol, normally in the form of a username and password, but can connect anonymously if the server is configured to allow it. For secure transmission that protects the username and password, and encrypts the content, FTP is often secured with SSL/TLS (FTPS) or replaced with SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP).
KHTML is a discontinued browser engine that was developed by the KDE project. It originated as the engine of the Konqueror browser in the late 1990s, but active development ceased in 2016. It was officially discontinued in 2023.
Harri Porten is a software engineer. Porten, a KDE developer and former Trolltech employee, is the CEO of Froglogic, a consultancy company related to Qt development. He lives in Hamburg, Germany.
KIO is a system library incorporated into KDE Frameworks and KDE Software Compilation 4. It provides access to files, web sites and other resources through a single consistent API. Applications, such as Konqueror and Dolphin, which are written using this framework, can operate on files stored on remote servers in exactly the same way as they operate on those stored locally, effectively making KDE network-transparent. This allows for an application like Konqueror to be both a file manager as well as a web browser.
WebKit is a browser engine primarily used in Apple's Safari web browser, as well as all web browsers on iOS and iPadOS. WebKit is also used by the PlayStation consoles starting with the PS3, the Tizen mobile operating systems, the Amazon Kindle e-book reader, Nintendo consoles starting with the 3DS Internet Browser, and the discontinued BlackBerry Browser.
The KDE Advanced Text Editor, or Kate, is a source code editor developed by the KDE free software community. It has been a part of KDE Software Compilation since version 2.2, which was first released in 2001. Intended for software developers, it features syntax highlighting, code folding, customizable layouts, multiple cursors and selections, regular expression support, and extensibility via plugins. The text editor's mascot is Kate the Cyber Woodpecker.
This is a comparison of both historical and current web browsers based on developer, engine, platform(s), releases, license, and cost.
Krusader is an advanced orthodox file manager for KDE and other desktops in the Unix world. It is similar to the console-based GNU Midnight Commander, GNOME Commander for the GNOME desktop environment, or Total Commander for Windows, all of which can trace their paradigmatic features to the original Norton Commander for DOS. It supports extensive archive handling, mounted filesystem support, FTP, advanced search, viewer/editor, directory synchronisation, file content comparisons, batch renaming, etc.
A JavaScript engine is a software component that executes JavaScript code. The first JavaScript engines were mere interpreters, but all relevant modern engines use just-in-time compilation for improved performance.
The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of notable file managers.
KDE Software Compilation 4 was the only series of the so-called KDE Software Compilation, first released in January 2008 and the last release being 4.14.3 released in November 2014. It was the follow-up to K Desktop Environment 3. Following KDE SC 4, the compilation was broken up into basic framework libraries, desktop environment and applications, which are termed KDE Frameworks 5, KDE Plasma 5 and KDE Applications, respectively.
KDE Platform 4 was a collection of libraries and software frameworks by KDE that served as technological foundation for KDE Software Compilation 4 distributed under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL). KDE Platform 4 was the successor to KDElibs and the predecessor of KDE Frameworks. KDE Platform 4 is the only version of KDE Platform, and in 2013 it was replaced by KDE Frameworks 5.
Dolphin is a free and open source file manager included in the KDE Applications bundle. Dolphin became the default file manager of the KDE Plasma desktop environments in the fourth iteration, termed KDE Software Compilation 4. It can also be optionally installed on K Desktop Environment 3. It replaces Konqueror as the default file manager for KDE SC 4, but Konqueror can still be used as an alternative file manager.
K Desktop Environment 3 is the third series of releases of the K Desktop Environment. It was one of the two major desktop environments for GNU/Linux systems between 2002 and 2008. There are six major releases in this series. After the release of KDE 4, version 3.5 was forked into the Trinity Desktop Environment.
K Desktop Environment 2 was the second series of releases of the K Desktop Environment. There were three major releases in this series.
Mozilla Firefox 4 is a version of the Firefox web browser, released on March 22, 2011. The first beta was made available on July 6, 2010; Release Candidate 2 was released on March 18, 2011. It was codenamed Tumucumaque, and was Firefox's last large release cycle. The Mozilla team planned smaller and quicker releases following other browser vendors. The primary goals for this version included improvements in performance, standards support, and user interface.
KDE Projects are projects maintained by the KDE community, a group of people developing and advocating free software for everyday use, for example KDE Plasma and KDE Frameworks or applications such as Amarok, Krita or Digikam. There are also non-coding projects like designing the Breeze desktop theme and iconset, which is coordinated by KDE's Visual Design Group. Even non-Qt applications like GCompris, which started as a GTK-based application, or web-based projects like WikiToLearn are officially part of KDE.
↑ Compare: "Konqueror FAQ". konqueror.org. Retrieved 2017-08-23. Where does the name Konqueror come from? [...] It's a word play on the other browsers' names. After the Navigator and the Explorer comes the Conqueror; it's spelled with a K to show that it's part of KDE. The name change also moves away from "kfm" (the KDE file manager, Konqueror's predecessor) which represented only file management.
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