How can I organize projects in KDE?

[kenj70]

A few months ago I switched from my 3 year "adolescence" in Linux using Mint/Cinnamon to the cutting edge KDE Neon 5 and I am enjoying the experience. Although I say adolescence I am no neophyte, being an aging geek of 70 years. However, I am having a difficult time using all the wonderful tools this system offers.

I am seeking to organize my sessions into various projects such as video editing, web development, writing and so on. I have looked at virtual desktops and "Activities" and find Activities is (maybe) what I want, but I'm not sure. Even the experts can't seem to tell us. So, this question is not so much how to use Activities as it is whether I can do what I visualize doing.

What I visualize doing is (maybe) creating a new activity and having available on my desktop all the tools (applications) and resources (files) for a particular set of tasks. I am a tool collector so I have dozens of tools and it is a hindrance to go hunting for a particular tool each time I need it. It sure would be nice to have a customized launcher on my desktop for each collection of tools and a customized set of folders as well.

As I mentioned, I tried using Activities but the use of Widgets seems underwhelming to me and for the most part useless for what I am trying to do. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks,

-=Ken=-

Signature: KDE Neon 5.12 AMD Ryzen 3 1200 16 gb ram nVidia GT710

[GreyGeek]

I haven't used Activities so I don't know how that work or if they can be adjusted to do what you want.

I do know of one way -- using the "Switch User" button from the LOCKED screen menu. When you lock your current screen a password dialog appears. Below it is an icon outline of a person with an arrow pointing to it labeled "Switch User".
If you created different users (you0, you1, you2, you3 or some other names more descriptive) you could set up each user with the tools for the specific tasks you want that user to do. Give each user sudo rights.

Then, you could log into any user from the bootup, or switch to any user from any other user by locking the screen on the current user and clicking the "Switch User" icon at the bottom.

[claydoh]

You can set your desktop "layout" to be either a "Desktop" - widgets and icons on the desktop, or you can use the "Folder View", which is a classic one where the desktop is an actual directory, so you see files/folders as well as widgets. If you have multiple activities each one can have a different layout.

You can't have unique application launcher/panel on each Activity using the stock panel, however there an alternative panel called Latte dock that can provide this. This is quite customizable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74EA3nijbTU

If you use the Folder View layout, you can specify a specific folder to be used, unique to that activity, or if you like the Desktop layout, there is a Folder View widget so you can display the contents of an individual folder.

Also, as you can turn activities off and on as you need them, and applications open at the time will reopen when you turn them back on.

I think you can do what you want, it may just take some experimentation.

[kenj70]

Thanks, guys for your replies. I think claydoh has given the key! It didn't occur to me that I could add a configurable dock like Latte Dock to the Activities. All I have to do now is learn how Latte Dock works.
I now see that the Activity Manager Widget works quite well with that dock - and it is all starting to make sense!

Now I will spend some time experimenting with this set up and see how it goes.

Thanks again for your time and interest.

BTW, I have come to this forum and have largely given up on the KDE Forum because there is so little participation there. My most recent question there went unanswered for over a month! So, you guys are a breath of fresh air.

(I couldn't find the Free Beer smiley)

-=Ken=-

[Worzel]

Also within Activities you can use the Plasma Vault widget - basically a folder linked to a specific activity, opened by Dolphin using a password and encrypted when closed, disabled whenever you switch to another activity.

[kenj70]

Thank you, Worzel, for pointing that out. I have been trying out some alternative dock apps. Now trying Cairo-Dock. I don't know if I have opened "The Matrix" or Pandora's Box! The options are seemingly endless. This may take a while...

-=Ken=-

[vinnywright]

I did not see any need to use any "docks" at all to do something like this .

I have a video activity that I leave Kdenlive open in and as in a "new" activity the desktop is set on "folder view" and I have links to the video folders on the desktop for easy getting to , you can use "meta+tab" to tab through activities , what is open and displayed in one activities panel/taskbar dose not show in the next , you can turn off the activity (to close all the programs running in it ) and when you restart it all the programs restart as well.

VINNY

[claydoh]

I did not see any need to use any "docks" at all to do something like this .

I have a video activity that I leave Kdenlive open in and as in a "new" activity the desktop is set on "folder view" and I have links to the video folders on the desktop for easy getting to , you can use "meta+tab" to tab through activities , what is open and displayed in one activities panel/taskbar dose not show in the next , you can turn off the activity (to close all the programs running in it ) and when you restart it all the programs restart as well.

VINNY

But can you have a unique panel per activity? Well, I guess you can just drag individual app icons into the desktop, or something crude like that. I used to have an activity just for writing that had no taskbar, etc just the editor and a folder view. Somewhere in the early days of KDE4 they took that ability away, as far as I can recall because it was sort of buggy (supposedly probably, lol this WAS early KDE 4 ) and people would accidentally forget how to switch activities etc and get lost, or something like that.

I long ago got bored of Activities, as I stopped doing things that prompted such organization, and become a boring old sod.

[GreyGeek]

....

I long ago got bored of Activities, as I stopped doing things that prompted such organization, and become a boring old sod.

Ditto!

[woodsmoke]

A few months ago I switched from my 3 year...

Signature: KDE Neon 5.12 AMD Ryzen 3 1200 16 gb ram nVidia GT710

WHAT YOU JUST POSTED IRRITATES THE HOLY HOT HE33 OUT OF ME!!

the TALKING HEADS...the "nattering nabobs of negativism" who GET CLICKS from posting about...

how HARD...KDE is...

MAKE MONEY...that is CASH...

dumping $#@! on KDE...

I AM SO DAM@ MAD about this...

My advice...

"just go with the flow"...

a) right click on your desktop or click the "DETESTED OF CLICK BAIT REVIEWER TALKING HEAD SMARTER THAN THOUS"... "cashew"...or three dots...

and duuuhhh

make an activity...

Depending on your particular incarnation of "KDE / Kubuntu" you can right click or click the cashew...

and IN THE ACTIVITY...

OPEN AN APPLICATION...does not matter what it is...

go up to the top left and click the "thingy" and go through the menu system to... associate the application to the activity...

DONE...

AS...

DONE...

simple as that...

No matter where you are in a jillion activities when you click that app it will open on that activity...

save some "things" and associate the activity to the activity...

done as done...

kind of like...click a video and it opens in the videoplayer that is default...

THIS IS A NO BRAINER...

ONLY THE TALKING HEAD REVIEWERS WHO MAKE MONEY OFF

BAD MOUTHING KDE

have created this situation...

go with the flow... make an activity, open an app, associate the app with the activity... it autiomagically associates the susequent things to that activity...

just...

sittin on the dock of the bay...

not listenin to the nattering nabobs of negativism...

going with the flow...

let your fingers press the mouse buttons on the activity...



woodsoMADatreviewerswantingclicksIN LINUX UBUNTU...grrrrahhh smoke

[woodsmoke]

I have to WORK...

as IN...I produce MULTIPLE documents / p;resentaitons / "collages" on a several day a week basis...

KDE produces a workflow that is EFFORTLESS...

I need a pic?

I right click and go to the activity associated with GIMP...

import the pic from...duuuhhhhh dowloads that I sent through KDEconnect to...my computer...

process the image and send it back to my phone using KDE connect and to my e-mail using Thunderbird...post the pic to my class using the schools e-mail and send the pic to my grandkids as about what grandpa is doing this week...

Activities have been SO BAD MOUTHED by the politic ally CORRECT IN LINUXLAND AND UBUNTULAND that it is just pitiful...

WHY IS THIS...

because the KDE DEVELOPERS will not get off their dead rear ends to actually ADMIT

that maybe they DO NOT HOLD THE KEYS TO THE EVERLOVING NON GOD LOV ING KINGDOM...

ATHIESTS ALLllll

that maybe...a great unwashed USER could maybe PUT their...

MICROSOFT PROGRAMMED...

"case study" subheaded politicaly correct way of doing thing..."on the net"...

THE USERS walked past the micrsoshft and linux way of doing things about two years ago...

"the users"...

MY STUDENTS...

...just "do it" and the rest of you be damn#$.



wood...the "users"...have said to he@@ with all of US...INCLUDING...the old woodsmoker...

and you are clueless as was I for about three years.,..

[TWPonKubuntu]

woodsmoke, remember Breath, Exhale, Breath, Exhale, Breath, Exhale.

Listen to this song:

Metallica - "Nothing Else Matters"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAGnKpE4NCI

Breath, Exhale

[woodsmoke]

lol
woodsmoke

[whatthefunk]

I used activities for a while but found that I really didnt need them. If I want to use a program, I open it. If Im not using one, I close it. The number of tools that I use for any given work that I do doesn't justify setting up and maintaining all these different activities.

[kenj70]

Holy, um... "smoke" I spend part of my weekend with my grand kids and new great grand daughter, return and find my topic hath runneth over! Well, it sure beats the KDE forums.

I have played with this new interface just enough to get it messed up. I went back to Latte Dock because I was way overloaded with the options in Cairo Dock. I managed to change the KDE default dock from the bottom to the top of the screen - but I decided I don't like it there - and now I can't figure out how to get it back on the bottom I think I had better learn how the default KDE dock works first.

Whenever I create a new one it appears right smack on top of the existing one! Huh?

So, I'm just now catching up with you guys. Thanks again for your participation.

BTW, can anyone tell me why my Smileys don't show up?

-=Ken=-