Widgets/Open activities bar: More like Gnome?

[oguruma]

I'm really enjoying Kubuntu. I used gnome, up until now.

The one thing that really kills me is the way that open applications display in the tray. Specifically they seem to be displayed in the order in which they were opened, and are not necessarily going to be in the same place.

This gets inefficient and frustrating, since I have to look down in the tray for a bit to find the open application I need, instead of just being set in a static position, like with Gnome/Windows/Whatever.

Is there a way to get closer to what other desktops offer, in that the open applications are set in a static position, preferably able to activate open windows with the widget, itself (instead of opening a new instance if I click on the widget?

[Snowhog]

Welcome to KFN.

I'm not sure I fully understand your question, but you can check Task Manager Settings by right-clicking on an empty area of the Task Manager bar and selecting Configure Task Manager... and click on Behavior to examine the various options. Apologies in advance if you've already done this.

[DoYouKubuntu]

I'm really enjoying Kubuntu. I used gnome, up until now.

The one thing that really kills me is the way that open applications display in the tray. Specifically they seem to be displayed in the order in which they were opened, and are not necessarily going to be in the same place.

This gets inefficient and frustrating, since I have to look down in the tray for a bit to find the open application I need, instead of just being set in a static position, like with Gnome/Windows/Whatever.

Is there a way to get closer to what other desktops offer, in that the open applications are set in a static position, preferably able to activate open windows with the widget, itself (instead of opening a new instance if I click on the widget?

Yes, and then some!

Over the years, the taskbar has evolved to have a LOT of choices. Once you've tweaked them to your liking, it can look/act/function however you want.

To start, right-click on any empty space in the taskbar. On the menu that pops up, select "Show alternatives"--you're presented with a few choices, try each one to see which you like best. I use--and I think you'll want to use--Task Manager. Then right-click the taskbar again, and this time choose "Configure Task Manager"--be sure to step through all of its tabs/pages. Finally, right-click on taskbar again, this time choosing "Edit Panel"--step through its options, adding/removing widgets as you like, making its height whatever you want, and so on. Here's my taskbar; right now I'm only running SeaMonkey (browser and its e-mail client):



I've placed icons for programs I use often down by the menu button, widgets and clock over on the right, and in the middle my running programs are shown--clicking on one brings it back up if it's gotten hidden, it does not start another iteration. I've configured the clock to show the date and time exactly as I like.

If you need more help, please post again. Welcome aboard!

[jlittle]

The one thing that really kills me is the way that open applications display in the tray.

The usual terminology is that the tray is the widget usually on the right with icons such as the clipboard and network. I think you're talking about the task bar, as DYK implies.

The task bar is just another widget, and there may be an alternative in the KDE store that does what you want. It could be a mission to find one, though.

Note that you can rearrange the items in the default task bar, by dragging and dropping. On my second screen for work I do that, so that I know where they are.

[claydoh]

If you are talking about the system tray (normally on the far right of the standard panel), then no, there is no method to arrange or order the applets/icons within it. One can change the visibility of individual items, as well as the rows/size which seems to keep the movement to a minimum for me.
This is a long standing behavior of the try, I think going back to the earliest days, maybe even pre KDE 3.

To be honest, I never really notice this, until the fairly rare time a Gnomie brings it up

Mine stay (mostly) static


And I have no idea why the screenshot tool adds some extra space on the panel to the left of the menu icon. It is not there for me in real life.

[arsivci]

If I understand you correctly, you can try this:
Task manager settings -> behavior: Sort manually, uncheck keep launchers separate. You can now pin your apps to taskbar in the order you want.