Create database/password problem

Currently, I'm running FC5, KDE3.5, Postgresql v8.1.4 and trying to use 
pgadmin.  I'm a refugee from windoze, Paradox, Delphi, 
Interbase/Firebird (about 16 years) and Oracle but my cat about wore her 
eyeballs out watching me try to get Postgresql/pgadmin to create the 
first database. It will not take the password. It appears to me that 
pgadmin is supposed to create the password file when one clicks the 
create (database) button. Since I can't find the .pgpass, postgresql 
probably isn't going to find it either. Could you explain to me how that 
file gets created on a _new_ installation? I think that's the problem. 
At any rate I have to get this running and I sure would rather use 
pgadmin than the command line.

Thanks,
Phil