Understanding activity types

[pwabrahams]

If I click the cashew, then go to Folder View Settings, then Activity, I get a choice of four Activity Types:
Newspaper
Folder View
Desktop (Default Activity Containment)
Search and Launch

i've sort of figured out what the Folder View does: it displays icons for folders and applications that have been installed on the desktop, much like the pre-Plasma desktop. I've also figured out what Search and Launch does: it provides a graphical view of the choices on the K Menu, including submenus.

But what do the Newspaper and Desktop views do? If I select either one of them, I get a desktop with nothing on it. How does each of those two views get populated with content? I cannot find any documentation on this subject.

[claydoh]

Re: Understanding activity types

Folder view is just that - a view of whichever folder you choose - the default is your Desktop folder, so it acts like a 'normal' desktop with icons, etc. it is basically a full-screen version of the Folder View widget.

Desktop is just the default "blank" desktop, where you can place and move your widgets wherever you want, however you want.

newspaper puts things into columns, so all your widgets are 'stacked', some widgets can expand and contract, such as the microblogging widget when they gain or loose focus. you can consider i a variation of the Desktop activity

Search and launch is directly from the Netbook interface, and it is a different method of finding and launching your apps

In both you have to add your own selection of widgets

[pwabrahams]

Widgets and apps

The reason I didn't discover that is that I don't use many widgets, and the ones I use, I keep on the panel bar. I've never had a reason to put widgets on the desktop, since mostly I use apps to accomplish my tasks. I guess it's partly a difference in orientation. I'd like to know how the designers of KDE view the distinction in intent between widgets and apps. Or do they believe that all apps should really be widgets, including all the stuff on the K menu?