Introduction

Once your ApcUps plasmoid has been installed, you have to add and configure one or more instances of it to your desktop.

Configuration

To add it to your desktop (an activity in KDE-speak) simply click on on Add Widgets... on the context menu or from the cashew, look for the ApcUps plasmoid and drag and drop it to the desktop, with the result shown in the image below.

By default, ApcUps attempts to connect to localhost on port 3551. If your apcupsd daemon is running on a different machine, you will need to open the plasmoid's configuration dialogue to enter the correct host name or IP address.

You may also adjust the tresholds for triggering battery charge and load warnings on the same dialogue. Press Shift+F1 while the cursor is on one of the fields, or use the What's This? question mark icon to get additional help on any parts of the configuration form.

Notifications from the plasmoid may be configured via KDE System Settings.

Usage

After a successful connection, ApcUps will show the target UPS load as a percentage of maximum rated load, and the battery charge, also as a percentage.

If the plasmoid is dragged into a panel it will iconify itself. Click on the icon to show the load and charge details.

The icon itself will change colour according to the UPS status, as follows:

When the UPS is on the ONBATT (running on batteries) state, an indication of estimated time left is shown

Note that it is possible to have an instance of ApcUps on the system tray. If you only have one UPS to track, this might be the best approach in terms of saving screen real estate.