Making Applications Start Automatically Getting Started Guide 123 Making Applications Start Automatically Once you have created a KDE Link file for an application as described in the pre- vious section, you can make KDE launch that application automatically when you start KDE. All of the applications in the Autostart folder on your Desktop are launched each time you start KDE. To add an application to the Autostart folder: 1. Create a KDE Link file for an application as described previously. 2. Open a file manager window so that you are viewing the KDE Link file that you created. 3. Arrange your Desktop windows if necessary so that you can see the Autostart folder on your Desktop. 4. Drag the icon for the KDE Link file from the file manager window and drop it on the Autostart folder. A pop-up menu appears enabling you to Copy, Move, or Link this file. NOTE: The Link option creates a symbolic link at the new location that refers to the place you dragged the icon from. 5. Depending on whether you need to use this KDE Link file a second time, choose Copy, Move, or Link. The next time you start KDE, the application that your KDE Link file refers to is launched automatically. In addition to launching applications using the KDE Autostart folder, you can use the Linux start-up scripts to launch applications each time you log in to Open- Linux. These scripts are more difficult to use than the KDE Autostart folder, but you can start non-graphical applications from a script. CAUTION: The startup scripts are all hidden files in your home directory; you won’t see them in a file manager window unless you choose View|Show Hidden Files. Don’t move hid- den files; shell and login processes expect them to be there. The startup scripts in your home directory that are used by OpenLinux include: • .profile Commands in this file are executed when you first log in to OpenLinux. Include commands in this file that you want executed once, as you log in.