<SOLVED> task manager settings access lost - how to restore???

[tomcloyd]

I have been unable to locate a solution to this problem, and so turn to the forum.

For some days, I have been having trouble getting taskbar program window icons to stack, so that, say, all windows for Firefox are stacked under one icon. Left click on that one icon and popup list of all windows appears. I have asked for help in topic http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...3530#msg263530, and received none.

I can FORCE stacking by R-clicking on any of several unstacked icons for a set of windows belonging to a program, then keying "V" ("Advanced"), then selecting "Do not allow this program to be grouped" (I know - makes no sense, as it is NOT grouping, and that's my problem!). The popup menus then clear, at which point I repeat the process (sigh), only this time the option available for selecting reads "Allow this program to be grouped" (or something like that). Click that, and the windows group nicely.

A short while back, I was executing this procedure to force grouping of some icons on the taskbar, and somehow I either made a keying error or the OS burped, because ALL my program icons disappeared. After a reboot, they still are all gone. I have no idea why.

Thinking that somehow I tripped some setting I can restore, I went looking for it, and cannot find anything helpful anywhere at all. Nothing - searched via Google, Kubuntu Forums search, etc. On another computer, right-clicking a taskbar icon (which I now cannot do in my desktop, since there ARE no taskbar program-icons!) gives me access to the Task Manage Settings window. This is the group of settings I'm hoping to twiddle so I can get back taskbar icons (although as yet I don't see how to do this).

Ironically, looking at this settings window tonight I see how to get forced taskbar icon grouping (and will post about it on my other thread soon). But here's the problem I need help with now -

I cannot find a way to get this Task Manager Settings window to appear on my desktop, as it only seems to be available via R-click on an existing program icon in the taskbar, and my desktop now has NO such icons - ever.

I appear to be completely stuck and have no way to get out of it.

Can anyone suggest possible solutions?

[kubicle]

Re: task manager settings access lost - how to restore

Maybe the task manager widget has been removed from the panel?

Try
1. Unlock widgets
2. Click on the panel cashew to bring up panel config bar
3. Click add widgets
4. Add task manager widget to the panel

[josefko]

Re: task manager settings access lost - how to restore

I hope you know the last help - rename .kde folder.

[tomcloyd]

Re: task manager settings access lost - how to restore

kubicle - yikes - it never occurred to me that such basic functionality was OPTIONAL, that it was a widget. Just never noticed. Don't know how I missed it, but I did. Thanks for catching me up with this critical fact. Problem fully resolved, now, of course.

Josefko - yeah, I need to remember this. Don't know if it would have fixed my problem, but it might have caused as restoration to a default state, which well may have the task manager widget installed on the taskbar.

Thanks to you both. It's REALLY annoying not to have access to this functionality. Never happened to me before.

[kubicle]

Re: task manager settings access lost - how to restore

kubicle - yikes - it never occurred to me that such basic functionality was OPTIONAL, that it was a widget. Just never noticed. Don't know how I missed it, but I did.

In plasma, pretty much everything is a widget.

That makes it easy to replace the default task manager with alternatives (like smooth tasks or fancy tasks, for example) if someone wants to...of course it also means it is rather trivial to remove "key" widgets by accident (you're not the first or last one to do that, believe me).

To avoid mis-click removals, it helps to keep the widgets locked when not editing them on purpose.

[tomcloyd]

Re: task manager settings access lost - how to restore

To avoid mis-click removals, it helps to keep the widgets locked when not editing them on purpose.

Oh, THAT's what that option's for - to protect me from myself. I've needed that a loooong time. Tks.