How to modify icons on panels?

[ubersoft]

On my Kubuntu Utopic machine I can right-click on an icon on any of my panels and change that icon, just as I could if it were in the menu bar or if I were viewing it in Dolphin. This feature seems to be missing in Plasma 5, since any time I right-click on an icon on a panel and try to modify it the only option I get is assigning a keystroke to it.

Is this a permanent omission, or just an omission for now? Does anyone know?

[claydoh]

I think it is coming, but can't find if/where I saw that....

As plasma 5 is a rewrite of things from the ground up, there will be things missing here and there, feature wise until they are implemented again. This is not likely one that will permanently go away.

[Rog132]

These things will take time...

The first step has been taken. This is for the Kickoff but the other plasmoids will follow - Allow changing Kickoff's icon: https://git.reviewboard.kde.org/r/122192/

Description
This patch brings back behaviour from KDE4-Kickoff, where the applet's icon in panel could be changed.

This patch only adds a config option to set the icon, but no config UI for users to change it - mostly because there does not seem to be any ImageChooser component in PlasmaQuick that I could use and I don't feel like writing one on my own right now :-)

The reason to bring this back is that distributions might want to customize the icon like they did in KDE 4 and patching .desktop files is not the nicest way to do it. Also once we have the ImageChoose QML component, an option can be added to config UI for users to fully customize it...

[ubersoft]

Has there been any update on this?

I know this seems trivial... and well, to be honest it *is* trivial... but in my current setup I have an entire panel on my desktop that contains nothing but icons of folders linking to different projects, and I need to be able to customize what the icons look like to be able to tell them apart. It's kind of frustrating (and hilarious, actually) that this is what's keeping me from making the switch to Plasma 5, since everything else seemed to be working remarkably well.

[SteveRiley]

an entire panel on my desktop that contains nothing but icons of folders linking to different projects

This use case perfectly describes KDE Activities -- it's one of the workflows that Activities were designed for. You might try that -- create an activity for each project, and place the appropriate resources there.

[ubersoft]

Yes, I could abandon the method I'm using right now--the one I know that works because I've been using it for years--and learn something else that would ALSO work, but actually requires that I stop doing my work while I learn a new way to manage my work...

...or I could keep using my current version of Kubuntu until Plasma 5 supports customizing folder icons. ;-)

[SteveRiley]

The alternative is that you might find Activities to be even more useful than panels full of icons.

http://www.linux-magazine.com/Online...nal-Case-Study
http://www.datamation.com/open-sourc...ivities-1.html

Just something to think about. Sure, it's a temporary interruption to your work flow. However, you might find the learning time to be a good investment overall.

[Wheel Inventor]

Bleeding edge

ubersoft

Has there been any update on this?...

A safe way to test the plasma 5 is to make a virtual installation.


Installing the 15.04+ KCI unstable to the VirtualBox.

Kubuntu PPA's: https://community.kde.org/Kubuntu/PPAs
--> Kubuntu Continuous Integration: https://community.kde.org/Kubuntu/PP...ation_.28CI.29

The launcher button can be changed



but not the other widgets.



If the plasma 5.2 doesn't have it - maybe the 5.3 or maybe the 5.4


The plasma 5 release schedule: https://techbase.kde.org/Schedules/Plasma_5

[ubersoft]

The alternative is that you might find Activities to be even more useful than panels full of icons.

http://www.linux-magazine.com/Online...nal-Case-Study
http://www.datamation.com/open-sourc...ivities-1.html

Just something to think about. Sure, it's a temporary interruption to your work flow. However, you might find the learning time to be a good investment overall.

My projects aren't application specific enough to warrant the time it would take to customize them.

Here's what I do:

- webcomic (Inkscape, GIMP, Gwenview, Firefox, FileZilla)
- ebooks (Scribus, LibreOffice, Jutoh, Inkscape, GIMP, Gwenview, Firefox)
- PDF books (Scribus, LibreOffice, Inkscape, GIMP, Gwenview, Firefox)
- web serials (Scribus, LibreOffice, Inkscape, GIMP, Gwenview, FileZilla)
- the occasional video (kdeenlive, FileZilla)

Each of these projects have FILES that I need to keep track of, but they all rely on the same APPLICATION. Some of them use the same core files but spin out into different output files. Some of them use graphics that are important, but incidental to, the core files, adn THOSE graphics are spun out into different formats.

So it's important that I keep the files separate and organized so I know where to find what I'm looking for. And since some of the progress at the same time for a while and then branch off into their own work streams.

My understanding of activities is that you can create a virtual desktop that will show only the applications and folders you need for the project you're working on. Well I don't need to filter out applications, I can right click on the file I want to work on and choose the application to open it in. The important thing for me is to keep all the book covers in one place, all the fiction files in one place, all the video files in one place, all the comic files in one place... and all I need for that is folders. Setting up an activity to replicate something that is already managed using simple file structure is overkill.

I'm not knocking activities. I just don't see how they're relevant to what I need to do.

[vinnywright]

how about using several folder view widgets that are set to show one of those locations each ,,,,,,,,,,~/book-covers, ~/fiction, ~/video, ect, etc

VINNY