Mandrake Control Center is Mandrake Linux's main configuration tool. It enables the system administrator to configure the hardware and the services used for all users. The tools accessible through the Mandrake Control Center greatly simplify the use of the system, notably by avoiding the use of the evil command line.
Mandrake Control Center is also available from the command line in text mode by running drakconf.
The following image shows you the window which pops up when you click on the desktop's Mandrake Control Center icon (Figure 11.1).
Among the few menu entries available, we will detail four of them:
Logs frame at the bottom of the main window. It will display all the changes made on the system by the configuration tools launched from within the Mandrake Control Center.
-> . When activated, this option displays aMandrake Control Center can be displayed in two different modes. The embedded mode will display the tool in the main frame. If you deselect this option, the tools will be displayed in their own window.
-> . Configuration tools launched from the-> . This will open the help browser with help for the configuration tool.
-> . This will open a dialog box to help you report a bug to the development team. Choose the correct application in the first list, and note all the information displayed here. Then click on the button and follow the instructions.
The tools are sorted into six categories (or more depending on the packages installed) on the left of the window. You can open a category by clicking on the label. Following are all the tools and references to the corresponding manual sections.
Table 11.1. A Fast Review of Mandrake Graphical Tools
This last category, Software management appears only if the rpmdrake package is installed. An eighth category, Configuration Wizards, appears if the wizdrake package is installed. The documentation for those wizards is available inline or in the Quick-Configuration Server Guide. This category contains 13 wizards for the basic configuration of common LAN services, as well as web and FTP servers.