Setting up the desktop like "normal" (like in 13.1)

The system settings seem to have been changed in 42.1. Workspace Theme, Application Style, and Icons, seem to me to have settings randomly divided between them. Makes no sense to the categories to me. At first, I thought 42.1 was tacky or crude or old view looking. But then I found on Icons where you change the theme and things look better for “Small Icons”. (Make sure you do a refresh of dolphin or you won’t see the changes) So, it appears I just need help in getting things set up. It’s like relearning a lot of things.

More on those later. First annoying question is, where is the quicklauncher for the task bar? I use it to have a dolphin button. I usually have several dolphin windows open all the time. To click the start, and then click again I find to be inconvenient and slow. I just as well right click on an open dolphin and then start new instance. I like to see where I want to click and then click it to open a new dolphin window. Has this capability been moved somewhere? Is there another way to accomplish this?

I tried searching for it but doesn’t seem like anyone else has missed it. I did find some issues in the past where if you add too many things it has issues. But I only have one or two items.

I suppose you are using KDE?
This has not changed at all.

Right-click on a running application’s entry in the task bar and choose “Show A Launcher When Not Running”.

Or right-click on an entry in the application menu and choose “Add to Panel” to create a standard launcher that doesn’t disappear when the application is launched. Alternatively you can just drag’n’drop an entry from the application menu to the panel or desktop.

Sorry, I forget to specify those things. Maybe I have not been able to distinguish between the operating system and the desktop?

Yes, KDE. I was running 13.1 and previous versions and there was a “quicklauncher”.

Right-click on a running application’s entry in the task bar and choose “Show A Launcher When Not Running”.

Or right-click on an entry in the application menu and choose “Add to Panel” to create a standard launcher that doesn’t disappear when the application is launched. Alternatively you can just drag’n’drop an entry from the application menu to the panel or desktop.

Since I need more than one instance, showing one when not running doesn’t work. I tried dragging from the menu and the first time it was just a launcher and the second time was an icon which worked as I wanted. I also tried right-clicking and the option to add to panel was what I wanted rather than add as a launcher. I wasn’t aware I could do that. Guess I didn’t ever know “which panel” and what adding to it did. Thank you, this is one thing that works better now.

Another annoying, but admittedly, insignificant, thing is the dolphin “expander”. I like the “+” and “-” instead of the triangles. Maybe I should get used to the triangles as that seems to be what the computer world is using. In the past, I went to Configure Desktop, selected Application Appearance -> Style (On Oxygen Configure) -> Views and selected not to use triangle expander. Now there’s something called Widget Style, which doesn’t have “Oxygen” in the list, and the few listed doesn’t have any option I can find for “expander”.

Well, you can run a whole bunch of desktops on the “Linux” (or openSUSE) operating system.
This is not Windows, where you don’t have a choice… :wink:

Yes, KDE. I was running 13.1 and previous versions and there was a “quicklauncher”.

Ah, so you mean the applet called “quicklauncher” I suppose.
This got “lost” in Plasma5 because nobody ported it in time.

It is back in 5.5 released recently, Leap 42.1 only has 5.4.3 though.
I don’t know whether 5.5 will be released as official update, it’s not a bugfix version.
You can always get the latest version from the KDE:Frameworks5 repo though, see:
https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:KDE_repositories#KDE_Frameworks_5_.26_Plasma_5
It is advisable to do a full switch to that repo, feel free to ask if you want to do that and need help.

Another annoying, but admittedly, insignificant, thing is the dolphin “expander”. I like the “+” and “-” instead of the triangles. Maybe I should get used to the triangles as that seems to be what the computer world is using. In the past, I went to Configure Desktop, selected Application Appearance -> Style (On Oxygen Configure) -> Views and selected not to use triangle expander. Now there’s something called Widget Style, which doesn’t have “Oxygen” in the list, and the few listed doesn’t have any option I can find for “expander”.

Right, this isn’t configurable in “breeze” (KF5’s default widget style) it seems.
Oxygen is still available, but you need to install oxygen5-style manually. It is included in the standard repos though, so you should just find it in YaST->Software Management.

On Mon, 28 Dec 2015 17:26:01 GMT wolfi323 wrote:

> It is back in 5.5 released recently, Leap 42.1 only has 5.4.3 though.

Just for the info: Leap has libQt5Core5 5.5.1-4.1 in the “normal” update
repo.

I know, and 5.5.0 in the standard repo.

But this is about the Plasma 5 version, which is 5.4.3 in the “normal” update repo.

On Mon, 28 Dec 2015 20:36:01 GMT wolfi323 wrote:

> But this is about the Plasma 5 version, which is 5.4.3 in the “normal”
> update repo.

Ah, sorry my mistake.

Another option available to you is
Configure Desktop>Application Style>Window Decorations
Once there you can click Get New Decorations
My personal favorite is Seven Blue.

Yes, even though Gnome was the only other one I’ve tried. But what I’m saying is, I confuse which is the operating system and which is the desktop. Microsoft has attempted to merge the two parts. Maybe I can think of the operating system as DOS and the desktop as the “windows”?

Ah, so you mean the applet called “quicklauncher” I suppose.
This got “lost” in Plasma5 because nobody ported it in time.

I remember reading the advertisement about Plasma5, but 13.1 has something called Plasma and I haven’t really noticed any difference.

It is back in 5.5 released recently, Leap 42.1 only has 5.4.3 though.
I don’t know whether 5.5 will be released as official update, it’s not a bugfix version.
You can always get the latest version from the KDE:Frameworks5 repo though, see:
https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:KDE_repositories#KDE_Frameworks_5_.26_Plasma_5
It is advisable to do a full switch to that repo, feel free to ask if you want to do that and need help.

Maybe briefly describe the concept. I think I tried something like that in a past version and felt things kind of got messed up. If KDE is part of the main repository, how does that work to do a “switch”? There’s so many things I don’t understand.

Right, this isn’t configurable in “breeze” (KF5’s default widget style) it seems.
Oxygen is still available, but you need to install oxygen5-style manually. It is included in the standard repos though, so you should just find it in YaST->Software Management.

I was looking for new window decorations, but didn’t have much luck. Instead, it’s in the repository? And there’s -style, cursors, decorations, and just plain. And how would you know what you want, or just install them all with plain oxygen5? Are these on the KDE site for new decorations somewhere?

I had tried that and Seven Blue was one of the ones I chose to download. Didn’t really like it. I found air-oxygen. What I really liked was in 11.2 operating system, but obviously that is really some KDE version. It was called Ozone, had stripes across the title bar and I thought it just looked real professional and crisp. I have searched for it ever since and never found it. I found that some others were disappointed it was dropped.

Now, if I have access to 11.2, could I copy it to my Leap operating system? I just don’t like some of these window decorations where you can’t see the title bar, or it’s just plain blah grey. That’s why I had picked Seven Blue, but there was some other things I didn’t like about it.

And since there are new decorations, which people have created, is there a tutorial about creating my own? I don’t even know if it’s a program, or a bunch of settings.

Yes, something like that.
Although Windows doesn’t use DOS at all anymore since XP, it is its own OS with the GUI integrated… :wink:

I remember reading the advertisement about Plasma5, but 13.1 has something called Plasma and I haven’t really noticed any difference.

Plasma is the name of KDE’s desktop, since KDE 4.0.
Plasma5 is the latest version, based on Qt5 and KDE Frameworks5.

Maybe briefly describe the concept. I think I tried something like that in a past version and felt things kind of got messed up. If KDE is part of the main repository, how does that work to do a “switch”? There’s so many things I don’t understand.

The point is to make sure all related packages come from that additional repo.
See here for how to do it:
https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Vendor_change_update#Full_repository_Vendor_change

If you have concrete questions, feel free to ask.

I was looking for new window decorations, but didn’t have much luck. Instead, it’s in the repository? And there’s -style, cursors, decorations, and just plain. And how would you know what you want, or just install them all with plain oxygen5? Are these on the KDE site for new decorations somewhere?

oxygen5-decoration is in the standard repos, yes.
If you install and set it, your windows will look similar to KDE4.

oxygen5-style is the widget style (again similar to KDE4’s default) for KF5 based applications, oxygen5-icons is the icon theme, oxygen5-cursors are the mouse cursors. You don’t need oxygen5 itself really, it’s just a “meta” package that installs all of the others.
All those are available in the standard repos.

IIRC, this was an openSUSE specific one based on KDE’s Oxygen, it got dropped because most of its changes got incorporated into Oxygen upstream anyway.

Now, if I have access to 11.2, could I copy it to my Leap operating system?

No.
Mainly because it is a KDE4 style and you are using “KDE5” now, but I also don’t think the old package would work in newer KDE4 versions…

I just don’t like some of these window decorations where you can’t see the title bar, or it’s just plain blah grey.

KDE4’s Oxygen does have an option to colour the title bar since years (that’s probably the main reason why Ozone got dropped, or existed in the first place…), but that seems to have been dropped in the KF5 version.

Breeze does colour the active window’s title bar anyway, you can change the colour in the “Colors” systemsettings5 module.

And since there are new decorations, which people have created, is there a tutorial about creating my own?

I don’t know.
Have a look at http://kde.org/ please, or maybe ask in their forums.

I don’t even know if it’s a program, or a bunch of settings.

A “normal” window decoration is some kind of a program, but with Aurorae (a theming engine shipped with kwin) you can create new ones without programming anything. The “Get New Decorations” button does offer you to download such themes (only).
I don’t know details on how you would create one though.
Maybe have a look at the files of a downloaded one, they should be stored somewhere in ~/.local/share/ I suppose.

On Mon, 28 Dec 2015 17:26:01 GMT wolfi323 wrote:

> It is back in 5.5 released recently, Leap 42.1 only has 5.4.3 though.

Just for the info: Leap has libQt5Core5 5.5.1-4.1 in the “normal” update
repo.

On Mon, 28 Dec 2015 20:36:01 GMT wolfi323 wrote:

> But this is about the Plasma 5 version, which is 5.4.3 in the “normal”
> update repo.

Ah, sorry my mistake.

FYI, this option is back now with Plasma 5.6.

See 358257 – Please forward port the option "Outline active window title" from KDE4