Who's the maroon?

[ebtech]

Noob to KDE 4.X here.
What brainchild decided to not allow desktop icons in KDE 4.1? Damn! is all I can say. That crap is gonna have to cease. >

I get the idea from googling that there is a plasmoid panel or something that contains shortcuts. I saw it right after I installed Intrepid but it's gone now. Any idea how to get it back? (Still not sure what a plasmoid is)

Also how the heck does one set screen res manually. Every time I try to access System Settings>Display the machine locks tighter than a drum. I'd sort of like to set it to where I don't have to use an electron microscope to read webpages.

Did I say Damn already?

[muzicman0]

Re: Who's the maroon?

A Plasmoid is just a widget, I believe. You should be able to right click on the desktop and select add widget, and add the 'Folder View' widget (I think that is the name). that will allow you to have an area on your desktop that will act like the old desktop...you can also configure it to show any folder you would like.

Not sure on the screen resolution...what is your video hardware? I have seen some people having issues with resolution settings.

mm0

P.S. you can also right click on the task bar (KDE Panel), and add widgets their as well...

[footer]

Re: Who's the maroon?

ebtech: I feel your pain!

I'm a newb with KDE 4.X as well ... Tried it way back when it first came out, took the plunge on Friday (Halloween!) to Kubuntu 8.10 and here we are ...

I haven't decided if I like that 'Folder View' widget either. Too inflexible. Perhaps it will be tweaked so that it plays a bit nicer ... At this point I don't see any way to sort the icons (it's currently folders first and files by name). Resizing it is a bit weird but it works ...

I think I get that this new desktop is all about widgets and plasmoids and configurability (?) but it's almost to the point of when is enough enough Dare I say there's almost TOO much configurability ... ? Then again, this is Linux and it's all about choice! (Not to mention that it's FREE!)

Oh well, I'm committed, I'm going to help with finding bugs, etc. and just keep playing until I figure it all out and get it tweaked to my liking. Just hoping that the future continues to get more polished and bug free (I'm not a developer but I REALLY appreciate those guys!).

[dibl]

Re: Who's the maroon?

What brainchild decided to not allow desktop icons in KDE 4.1?

I can't find the link, unfortunately, but I read a really good blog by one of the "brainchildren" behind the KDE 4 interface a few weeks ago. Here's the upshot: "Desktop" was a reasonable metaphor for a screen display of work-related tools when the PC was primarily a replacement for the 1970s/1980s method of processing office paperwork. However, inasmuch as the PC today is as much for multimedia entertainment and/or production, and 'net-based productivity, over and above office work, the desktop metaphor is increasingly obsolete, and needs to be replaced by a user interface that more accurately reflects the range of likely purposes that the user has in mind.

So, there's a desktop widget available, on which you can certainly park icons, if that's what you want to do. But the entire screen isn't going to be "desktop" any more, in KDE 4.


EDIT: more background here

[aged hippy]

Re: Who's the maroon?

I thought a 'maroon' was a distress-flare...

Struggling to get back on-topic - i never do have any of what seems to be the usual stuff on the desktop, it's completely clean, and will remain so.

[toad]

Re: Who's the maroon?

Wait til Jan and you can clutter your desktop again to your heart's content :P

4.2.1 will have that functionality (or so I'm told)

[aged hippy]

Re: Who's the maroon?

What i love about KDE 4.x is that the desktop is an invisible directory.... that is, it doesn't show all the rubbish crucial bits-and-pieces i keep in it.

[dibl]

Re: Who's the maroon?

I use the KDE 4 desktop widget to park downloads on, temporarily. But I don't like a hundred icons on my 1600x1200 screen anyway -- life is cluttered enough, without my computer screen looking like a rectangular pizza.

[Objekt]

Re: Who's the maroon?

I was able to make a desktop shortcut for Konsole. This was necessary to keep my head from a'sploding, since I need to go to the command line frequently. I hate having to dig through 2 or 3 levels of menus for something I use quite often.

I could probably just put Konsole on the first level of the KDE "start menu" equivalent, but I'm OK with having a few things on the desktop itself.

[dibl]

Re: Who's the maroon?

I was able to make a desktop shortcut for Konsole.

I put it on the panel, alongside other frequently-used packages like Firefox. If you open Kmenu>System>Konsole, and right-click it, you have an option "Add to Panel" as well as "Add to Deskop". Just FYI.

[cantab]

Re: Who's the maroon?

I was able to make a desktop shortcut for Konsole. This was necessary to keep my head from a'sploding, since I need to go to the command line frequently. I hate having to dig through 2 or 3 levels of menus for something I use quite often.

I could probably just put Konsole on the first level of the KDE "start menu" equivalent, but I'm OK with having a few things on the desktop itself.

Try yakuake. Once installed and running, you get a console by pressing F12.

[JTN]

Re: Who's the maroon?

If you want to put icons on your desktop, just right-click anywhere on the screen & select 'unlock widgets'. Then, go thru your 'start menu' right click on the application you want and select 'add to desktop'. You can then re-lock your 'widgets'.

[muzicman0]

Re: Who's the maroon?

Try yakuake. Once installed and running, you get a console by pressing F12.

+1 for Yakuake...couldn't live without it! I have it autostart so it is always there.

[bsoderror]

Re: Who's the maroon?

I was able to make a desktop shortcut for Konsole.

I put it on the panel, alongside other frequently-used packages like Firefox. If you open Kmenu>System>Konsole, and right-click it, you have an option "Add to Panel" as well as "Add to Deskop". Just FYI.

I had that functionality at one time but have lost it. I right click on anything in Kmenu and it brings it up, just like a left click would. Where could I check to see what got borked? Any idea?? :P

[bsoderror]

Re: Who's the maroon?

Nevermind I got it. I had the old kmenu running, switched the the fancy one and it's working fine!