KRunner and GNOME Do: the run command evolves

KRunner and GNOME's Do are both descendants of the Run tools that have been part of desktop environments for years. However, instead of allowing you to enter a single command, both Do and KRunner are rapidly evolving into full-scale application launchers that rival main menus as a tool from which to control the desktop. Both require practice to use well, but, their compactness on the screen may appeal to intermediate to advanced users — especially those who prefer keyboard shortcuts to using the mouse.

A new version of KRunner has just been released along with KDE 4.2, and should be available soon in your distribution's repositories along with the rest of the new version, although some distributions may not include it in the default KDE installation.

By contrast, Do is less tightly integrated into its desktop's development cycles, but version 0.8.0 of Do was released in late January. You can find installation instructions on the Do project site. However, many of the distributions listed do not yet have the latest version in their repositories, so, in many cases, the best option is to compile the source code, after first installing Mono support.

Using KRunner

Like Do, KRunner opens in a small window. To use it, you press Alt+F2 to start the program, then start typing. In response, KRunner displays a list of programs that could complete your input, rather like tab completion in the BASH shell, except in visual form.

In the simplest cases, what you type can be a command. On this level, KRunner differs little from a Run command, aside from the fact that you can tab to a selection or click it with the mouse. However, two dozen plugins that are installed along with the basic program extend KRunner's capabilities far beyond those of a Run command. Provided that the calculator plugin is installed and enabled, you can enter basic calculations in KRunner, using an asterisk (*) for a multiplication sign and a forward slash (/) for division along with the plus and subtraction signs. Similarly, you use KRunner to convert units of measurement, or to open a web site for currency conversion. Other plugins allow you to open a web search or to search bookmarks, contacts, recent documents or your web browser history.

The one catch with many plugins is that you need to learn a simple syntax in order to use them. For example, if you want to do a web search for "LWN" using Google, you would enter "gg:LWN". In much the same way, if you wanted to convert the average human body temperature from the Fahrenheit to the Celsius scale, you would enter "98.8 F. in C.". Fortunately, KRunner is well-documented, so you should have little trouble learning the syntax for your favorite commands.

A small complication is that KRunner includes task-oriented and command-oriented views. But apart from the positioning of suggestions, the difference is chiefly what sort of completions KRunner offers. The main advantage of the different views is that by carefully selecting them and enabling or disabling plugins, you can make the completions more likely to be the ones you want.

In addition to the two views, KRunner also offers a view of currently running processes that you can use to kill misbehaving applications. Short of a link to other system settings, KRunner could hardly be more of a command center for desktop activities.

Using Do

Do works in approximately the same way as KRunner, differing mostly in the details. To invoke Do one generally uses the "Super + Space" (typically Windows key along with space bar) combination. Like KRunner, Do works on the most basic level by suggesting completions for the shell command, binary, or task that you type. When the completion you want appears, a Run button opens in a right-hand pane that you can navigate to via the Tab key.

One of Do's main differences from KRunner is in some of the plugins you can use. As you would expect, Do uses GNOME applications like Evolution and Rhythmbox to handle requests, while KRunner uses KDE choices such as KMail or Amarok. Besides having thumbnail file previews, Do is also noticeably more web-oriented than KRunner, with plugins for blogging, RSS feeds, and Google Contacts. In fact, if you choose, you can even use Do to write a tweet or short email.

The latest version of Do also includes support for themes. One of the most useful of these themes is Docky, which converts Do into a launchpad with configurable application icons, making it more of a main menu replacement than ever.

Conclusion

Both KRunner and Do are convenient tools, and run almost as well under other desktops as they do on their native ones. Both, too, amount to a centralized control center that is often more convenient than hunting down the individual program in the sub-menus.

All the same, neither is a tool for a beginner. True, both support task completions, so that you can, for instance, write an email without having to remember what program is the default for emails on your desktop. However, I suspect that most users are oriented to programs more than tasks. Since neither of these programs offers a complete list of available programs, new users may find either KRunner or Do hard to use.

While a traditional menu can be cumbersome, it does have the advantage of displaying a complete list of possibilities. By comparison, in KRunner or Do, you need to already know the possibilities. Otherwise, you can hardly begin to enter one or search for it. And, to further complicate matters, some users may not remember the necessary syntax to use certain plugins unless they use the plugins constantly. This limitation affects both KRunner or Do, although Do has a simpler interface.

But for more experienced users, after a brief learning period, programs like KRunner or Do are probably more efficient than menus — not least because you can use them while keeping both hands on the keyboard rather than one straying to the mouse. You might compare the two programs to learning touch-typing: Although neither is immediately accessible, the way that a mouse and a menu are, once you are comfortable, both offer significantly enhanced ease of use and efficiency.