[SOLVED] FX and panel

[Qqmike]

Boy, I think I lost my thinker! I messed up big time and had to completely re-install K 22.04. No problem. Now I am looking at my desktop and it just ain't working like my previous one.
Specifically:

1. The panel and taskbar (is my terminology right?) See Screenshot. First off, how in the world do you adjust the space BETWEEN the widget icons on the panel -- over on the left, where you see the Start button, Firefox, and T-Bird -- all spread out like inches apart. I did something to get them spaced far apart and have tried for 30 minutes to close up the spacing. Same question for the widgets on the taskbar on the right, where you see notifications, sound volume, networks, show hidden icons, the clock, the trash, and 'minimize all windows' (=show desktop). Also, that taskbar should be much smaller than it shows in the screen shot: occupying maybe just 5" over on the right, with all those icons placed together, side by side.

2. Firefox widget on the panel: I click it to open Firefox, it opens, I open Bookmarks and Manage Bookmarks, but I am not getting an indicator showing me that the Bookmark
window is open (a small blue-colored indicator on that Firefox panel widget). When I minimize Firefox, it seems to CLOSE Firefox. Sometimes it shows Firefox(1) and Firefox(2), but how do I switch between (1) and (2)?

What the heck am I doing wrong here? Am I making any sense?

[Schwarzer Kater]

Yes, you do make sense.

Honestly, before going into every little detail:
just right-click on the bottom panel -> Enter Edit Mode -> More Options… -> Remove Panel
then
right-click on your desktop -> Add Panel -> Kubuntu Default Panel

Everthing should be fine again now.

Perhaps afterwards you would like to create another user account just to play around with the Plasma panels and try out all the amazing stuff that is possible - if you are interested (and to be free to break the panel layout for another 20 times… - that's how I learned years ago).

[Qqmike]

OK, it is fine now! And my Firefox widget icon is working correctly. Actually, on the Firefox widget icon, there is a small green circle showing a plus sign when more than two instances/tabs are open, or when I have the Manage Bookmarks window open. And all that now is working. I sure don't know * how * I messed up that panel and task bar! But I messed it up real good. Thank you.

[Qqmike]

Perhaps afterwards you would like to create another user account just to play around with the Plasma panels and try out all the amazing stuff that is possible - if you are interested (and to be free to break the panel layout for another 20 times… - that's how I learned years ago).

Good idea!

[jlittle]

Been there, screwed up in similarly.

With the icons-only task bar it is easy to misidentify "pinned" tasks as widgets. I think the spaced-out icons were "pinned" tasks; to remove them right-click. go to "Pin to Task Manager", and uncheck every box.

The task manager has a setting "Fill free space on Panel". That's what pushes the system tray to the right, and it looks like you turned it off.

[Qqmike]

Thanks, jlittle. I'm going to have to create a 2nd user and experiment, as S-K suggested, and I'll mess around with what you are talking about. It looks like my 'old' terminology might be recognized. I think of those things on the far right as being in the Tray. The stuff on the left is in a Panel. Some of the panel icons are fixed and represent things I can click on and open (like Firefox, T-Bird, etc.). After clicking on an icon, an instance opens and there is another identical icon (in that left "panel") representing that newly opened app (like T-Bird). Thanks, again.

[claydoh]

My guess is that the task manager widget was somehow removed from the panel, based on the image. This explains the spacing for the remaining widgets, including the two launcher icons for tbird and FF.
Each one of those spaced-out elements is an individual widget. Application menu, two app launchers, the pager, the system tray, the clock, and the trash icon

[Qqmike]

Thanks.
Well, I'll find time, sometime, to experiment using another user, as S-K suggests. When in doubt, read the manual, stupid. It doesn't tell all, but it is certainly a good start,
https://userbase.kde.org/Plasma/Tasks
https://userbase.kde.org/Plasma/SystemTray