KDE 4 Hide Panel Button (Widget) Solution

KDE 4 Hide Panel Button (Widget) Solution

Description:
It is not a KDE 3 style panel hiding button, but a widget,
which toggles given panel visibility.
So you need to add it somewhere -
on separate panel or on desktop activity.

Of course, you can add as much of them as you wish.
I have 4 panels, so I have added 4 of those ‘Hide Buttons’ widgets.
I found that special separate panel for them is quite convenient.

How does it look:
http://forums.opensuse.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=769&d=1281890984

Source:
[KDE] Index of /trunk/playground/base/plasma/applets/togglepanel](http://websvn.kde.org/trunk/playground/base/plasma/applets/togglepanel/)

Package:
plasma-applet-togglepanel-0.0-0.1049487.1mdv2010.1.i586 RPM
or
RPM Search Mandrake�Other plasma-applet-togglepanel-0.0-0.1049487.1mdv2010.1.i586.rpm

Installation:
As you have noticed “togglepanel” is not packaged for openSUSE.
So I just used google and have found that this thing is packaged fo Mandriva.
I just used package listed above and it installed without problems
on my 32-bit openSUSE 11.2 and worked fine in KDE 4.4, KDE 4.5.0.
**
Configuration:**

  1. Add a widget
    called TogglePanel 1. Press 'Configure’
    on the TogglePanel widget 1. Optional: choose keyboard shortcut
    , so you will be able to toggle panel visibility with keyboard
  2. Tricky part: choose the panel, which you want to hide
    .If you have several panel on one side of the screen,
    they are all a listed with the same name.
    In my system there are three “LeftEdge” panels.
    So you just choose them one by another until you find the one you want.
    Fortunately, it won’t list the panel on which the widget resides itself
    (if you place it on a separate panel). But theoretically
    you can do ‘cross-hiding’ by placing one hiding button
    on one panel and one on another. It might be useful… or not useful.
  3. Optional: begin with step 1)
    for your next panel 1. Enjoy
    your perfect panel setup

Disclaimer:
I cannot guarantee this will work for you or
that Mandriva package in your system won’t
kill your house or set your dog on fire.
And I think it might not work at all on 64-bit openSUSE.

Actually it would be nice to package this for openSUSE,
but I don’t know how to make packages.
If you make one with “TogglePanel”, please let me know.

btw:

I packaged it https://build.opensuse.org/package/show?package=plasma-applet-togglepanel&project=home%3Adamianator

Good job! Thanks!

Though, that old Mandriva package still works for me.

I wish they somehow incorporated panel hiding in KDE more tightly,
as at the moment this is more like an old workaround for a missing feature
(however, this workaround still works quite well).