Plasma/Tips

    From KDE UserBase Wiki

    This page aims to list common tweaks a user might make to setup a nice KDE Plasma5 desktop.


    Autostarted Apps

    Desktop

    • Hide the ☰ button in the top corner

      Right Click the desktop wallpaper → Desktop/Folder View Settings
      Tweaks Tab → Uncheck: Show the desktop toolbox

    • Hide the ☰ button in the panel on the bottom right

      Right Click the ☰ button → Lock Widgets.

    • Always Hide System Tray Notification Icons

      Right Click the “Expand System Tray Triangle” → System Tray Settings.
      Entries Tab → Networks → Visibility: Hidden

    • Disable Icon in System Tray

      Right Click the “Expand System Tray Triangle” → System Tray Settings.
      General Tab → Extra Items → Uncheck: Clipboard, Battery

    • Classic “Start” Menu

      While the widgets are unlocked
      Right Click the “Start” menu → Alternatives → Application Menu

    • Don’t sort windows in Taskbar

      Right Click the empty area on the taskbar next to the tasks → Task Manager Settings
      General Tab → Sorting: Manual
      General Tab → Uncheck: Keep Launchers Separate

    • Hide windows from other Desktops in Taskbar

      Right Click a Task → Task Manager Settings
      General Tab → Filters → Check: Current Desktop

    • Pin Apps to Taskbar

      Launch App
      Right Click app in Taskbar → Check: Show Launcher When Not Running

    • Hide audio indicator in window list

      Right Click a Task → Task Manager Settings
      General Tab → Uncheck: Mark applications that play audio

    • Disable Middle-Click Paste Notes Widget

      Right Click Desktop Wallpaper → Configure Desktop
      Mouse Actions Tab → Press the Delete icon next to the Middle-Button row.

    • Lock Widgets

      Plasma 5.18 and above has hidden the "lock widgets" toggle. It's very easy to enter "edit mode" with a long press. If you want to get the old locked mode behavior, run the following command:
        qdbus org.kde.plasmashell /PlasmaShell evaluateScript 'lockCorona(!locked)'
      
      If you want an easier way to toggle locking widgets in Plasma 5.18, install Win7ShowDesktop widget which has a "Lock Widgets" toggle in it's right click menu.

    • Disable Top Left “Hot Corner”

      System Settings → Desktop Behaviour
      Screen Edges Tab → Top Left: No Action

    • Bind Ctrl+Alt+Left/Right to Switch Desktop

      System Settings → Desktop Behaviour
      Virtual Desktops Tab → Switching → Shortcuts
      Switch One Desktop Left: Ctrl+Alt+Left
      Switch One Desktop Right: Ctrl+Alt+Right
      Switch To Desktop 1, 2, …: None

    • Disable Switch Desktop when scrolling over desktop wallpaper

      Right Click the desktop wallpaper → Desktop/Folder View Settings
      Mouse Actions Tab → Remove: Vertical Scroll → Switch Desktop

    • Disable bouncing cursor when apps open

      System Settings → Applications
      Change "Bouncing" Cursor to "No Feedback"

    • Disable focus stealing prevention

      System Settings → Window Management
      Window Behaviour Tab → Focus Stealing Prevention: None

    • Fix Alt+Click in certain games/software

      Note: Plasma 5.20 has changed the default to Meta+Click+Drag, but these instructions are the same for changing back to Alt+Click+Drag.
      Alt+Click+Drag was a standard keybinding for moving a window in Linux. It tends to conflict with software designed for Windows like Games, Inkscape and Blender. To fix, we'll change it to Meta+Click+Drag.
      System Settings → Window Management
      Window Actions Tab → Inner Window, Titlebar, Frame → Modifier Key: Meta
      OR set Left button: "Nothing" to disable it completely.

    • “Normal” Alt+Tab popup

      System Settings → Window Management
      Task Switcher Tab → Click the "star icon"
      Install "Thumbnail Grid", then close the installer window.
      Select "Thumbnail Grid" in the dropdown.

    • Show Alt+Tab popup as fast as possible

      Normally it will wait 90 milliseconds before trying to show the popup. This makes quick switches faster since it doesn't need to draw anything.
      We need to set DelayTime=0 under the group [TabBox] in the file ~/.config/kwinrc, then reload kwin.
      It's easier to use these commmands than doing it by hand.
      kwriteconfig5 --file ~/.config/kwinrc --group TabBox --key DelayTime 0
      qdbus org.kde.KWin /KWin reconfigure
      
      You can also disable the highlight window effect by going to:
      System Settings → Window Management → Task Switcher Tab
      Uncheck: Show selected window

    • Disable Lock Screen

      System Settings → Desktop Behaviour → Screen Locking Tab
      Uncheck: Lock screen automatically after __ min
      Uncheck: Lock screen on resume

    • Disable Logout/Shutdown Confirmation

      System Settings → Startup and Shutdown
      Desktop Session Tab → Uncheck: Confirm Logout

    • Windows Keybindings for moving windows

      System Settings → Shortcuts → Global Keyboard Shortcuts Tab
      KWin → Show Desktop: Win+M
      KWin → Maximize Window: Win+Up
      KWin → Minimize Window: Win+Down
      KWin → Quick Tile Window to the Left: Win+Left
      KWin → Quick Tile Window to the Right: Win+Right
      To open the “Start Menu” with the Windows key see the section below.

    • Present all windows with Win+Tab

      System Settings → Desktop Behavior
      Desktop Effects Tab → Check Present Windows
      Click the Gear Icon → Change the Ctrl+F10 shortcut to Meta+Tab
      Layout mode: "Natural" → "Flexible Grid"

    • Change titlebar height

      System Settings → Fonts
      Window title → Edit Font Size

    • Hide titlebars when maximized (like Ubuntu)

      We need to set BorderlessMaximizedWindows=true under the group [Windows] in the file ~/.config/kwinrc, then reload kwin.
      It's easier to use these commmands than doing it by hand.
      kwriteconfig5 --file ~/.config/kwinrc --group Windows --key BorderlessMaximizedWindows true
      qdbus org.kde.KWin /KWin reconfigure
      

    • Launch app with discrete GPU

      Also known as using prime-run (PRIME wiki) or using the DRI_PRIME=1 environment variable.
      Open Application Launcher → Right Click app
      Application Tab → Advanced Options
      Discrete GPU → Check: Run using dedicated graphics card

    Windows/Meta Key

    • Open “Start Menu” with Windows/Meta key

      Feature has been added by default since Plasma 5.8.
      If it's not working, make sure your Application Launcher ("Start Menu") widget has a global shortcut like Alt+F1 set (you can't assign it directly to Meta, but it will open with Meta if another shortcut is assigned).
      Right Click the KDE Icon → Configure Application Launcher
      Keyboard Shortcuts tab → Shortcut: Alt+F1
      Latte Dock
      If you're using Latte Dock, you will need to run the following commands mentioned in it's Wiki.
      kwriteconfig5 --file ~/.config/kwinrc --group ModifierOnlyShortcuts --key Meta "org.kde.lattedock,/Latte,org.kde.LatteDock,activateLauncherMenu"
      qdbus org.kde.KWin /KWin reconfigure
      
      If you wish to revert what the Meta key opens because you changed it to open KRunner or a Latte Dock widget, run the following:
      kwriteconfig5 --file ~/.config/kwinrc --group ModifierOnlyShortcuts --key Meta "org.kde.plasmashell,/PlasmaShell,org.kde.PlasmaShell,activateLauncherMenu"
      qdbus org.kde.KWin /KWin reconfigure
      

    • Do not open the "Start Menu" with Windows/Meta key

      We need to set Meta= under the group [ModifierOnlyShortcuts] in the file ~/.config/kwinrc, then reload kwin.
      It's easier to use these commmands than doing it by hand.
      kwriteconfig5 --file ~/.config/kwinrc --group ModifierOnlyShortcuts --key Meta ""
      qdbus org.kde.KWin /KWin reconfigure
      

    • Open KRunner with Windows/Meta key

      We need to set Meta= under the group [ModifierOnlyShortcuts] in the file ~/.config/kwinrc, then reload kwin.
      It's easier to use these commmands than doing it by hand.
      Plasma 5.18 and above:
      kwriteconfig5 --file ~/.config/kwinrc --group ModifierOnlyShortcuts --key Meta "org.kde.kglobalaccel,/component/krunner_desktop,org.kde.kglobalaccel.Component,invokeShortcut,_launch"
      qdbus org.kde.KWin /KWin reconfigure
      
      Plasma 5.17 and below:
      kwriteconfig5 --file ~/.config/kwinrc --group ModifierOnlyShortcuts --key Meta "org.kde.kglobalaccel,/component/krunner,org.kde.kglobalaccel.Component,invokeShortcut,run command"
      qdbus org.kde.KWin /KWin reconfigure
      

    Login Screen (SDDM) / Lock Screen

    • Change Login Screen Wallpaper

      System Settings → Startup and Shutdown
      Login Screen (SDDM) Tab → Background → Load From File
      We should also change the lock screen.
      System Settings → Desktop Bahviour
      Screen Locking Tab → Wallpaper → Wallpaper Type: Image

    Dolphin (File Manager)

    • Double Click to open files

      Plasma 5.13
      System Settings → Desktop Behavior → Workspace
      Click Behavior: Double Click to open files and folders
      <= Plasma 5.12
      System Settings → Input Devices
      Mouse Tab → Icons: Double Click to open files and folders

    • Always Show Hidden Files

      ☰ Control → Adjust View Properties
      Check: Show hidden files
      Apply view properties to: All Folders
      Check: Use these view properties as default

    • Browse (.zip / .tar.gz / .rar) with Dolphin

      ☰ Control → Configure Dolphin
      Navigation Tab → Check: Open archives as folder

    • Clean up Context Menu (Right Click Menu)

      ☰ Control → Configure Dolphin
      Services Tab → Uncheck: “Copy To”, “Delete”, “File to activity”, “Send as Email”, “Send to IM”, “Send via Bluetooth”, “Send via KDE Connect”

    • Show Terminal Panel

      ☰ Control → Panels → Terminal (F4)

    • Paste into Terminal Panel

      ☰ Control → Configure Shortcuts
      Paste → Set Alternative (Defaulted to Shift+Insert) as “None”

    • Disable File Indexing (Baloo)

      Some user may want to disable the indexing when:
      For some users, the baloo_file process can slow down the system.
      The ~/.local/share/baloo/index can use over a Gigabyte of space.
      Run balooctl indexSize to break the database usage down.
      System Settings → Search
      Uncheck: Enable File Search

    LibreOffice Writer

    LibreOffice Calc

    • Set Default Font Size/Family/CellPadding

      Styles → Manage Styles
      Right click Default → Modify
      Font → Family: Noto Sans (Office uses Carlito/Calibri)
      Font → Size: 12 (Office uses 11)
      Borders → Padding: 1.00mm
      Ok
      File → Templates → Save As Template
      Name: Default
      Category: My Templates
      Check "Set as default template"

    Steam

    • Hide “Big Picture”, etc in the System Tray Context Menu

      Steam → Settings → Interface Tab
      Set Taskbar Preferences → Only Check: Library, Friends, Exit Steam

    • Cleanup Friends List

      Steam → Friends → View Friends List
      Click on the Cog / Settings Icon
      Ignore 'Away' status when sorting friends: On
      Compact Favorites Area: On
      Compact Friends List: On
      Append nickname to friend's name: On
      Hide offline friends in custom categories: On

    • Hide “Friend is playing ____” Notifications

      Steam → Friends → View Friends List
      Click on the Cog / Settings Icon
      Notifications → Uncheck: When friend joins a game
      Notifications → Uncheck: When comes online

    • Never Show Advertisement Popups

      Steam → Settings → Interface Tab
      Uncheck: Notify me about additions to my games and other releases

    • Startup in Tray

      Find Steam in the App Launcher widget
      Right Click Steam → Edit Application
      Application Tab → Command: /usr/bin/steam -silent %U
      If you added Steam to the autostarted apps, you will need to edit the command there as well.
      Relevant bug report.

    • Close Steam to Tray

      We need to launch steam using STEAM_FRAME_FORCE_CLOSE=1 steam as mentioned in this bug report, but editing every single game shortcut that Steam generates is a hassel. So we'll set a session environment variable by adding export STEAM_FRAME_FORCE_CLOSE=1 to ~/.config/plasma-workspace/env/path.sh. It's easier to run this commands:
      echo 'export STEAM_FRAME_FORCE_CLOSE=1' >> ~/.config/plasma-workspace/env/path.sh
      
      Then logout and back in so that your "panel" is launched with the session variable so that it can pass it to Steam when Steam is launched from the app launcher or desktop shortcut.

    Clementine

    • Clean up UI

      Tools → Preferences
      Playback Tab → Uncheck: Show a glowing animation on the current track
      Search Tab → Uncheck: DigitallyImported, DropBox, Google Drive, Jazz
      Last.fm Tab → Uncheck: Show the “love” amd “ban” buttons
      Last.fm Tab → Uncheck: Show the scrobble button

    • Don’t fade between songs

      Playback Tab → Uncheck: Fade out when stopping a track
      Playback Tab → Uncheck: Cross-fade when changing tracks manually

    • Double Click song should play song now

      Behaviour → Using the menu to add a song will: Always start playing
      Behaviour → Double clicking a song will: Replace the playlist + Always start playing

    Gtk Apps (Gimp/Hexchat/etc)

    VirtualBox

    • Prevent Windows/Meta Key from opening the host App Menu

      Run the Virtual Machine.
      Press the host key (Right Ctrl)
      Press Alt+F3 → More Actions → Special Application Settings
      Window Matching Tab → Window class: [Exact Match] virtualbox machine
      Appearances & Fixes Tab → Check "Ignore Global Shortcuts"
      Change "Do Not Affect" to "Force", then select "Yes".

      Note that this also disables Spectable's screenshot global shortcuts while the VM window is focused.

    Chrome

    Firefox

    Firefox (userChrome.css)

    A firefox user can change the look of the browser by editing a css file. Checkout /r/FirefoxCSS/ for help.

    1. In FireFox v69 and later, we need to go to about:config and change toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets to true.
    2. Then navigate to ~/.mozilla/firefox/, inside will be a randomly generated folder similar to abcdef12.default which you should enter.
    3. Inside the "default" folder, create a new folder called chrome, then create a file called userChrome.css.
    4. You can now edit ~/.mozilla/firefox/abcdef12.default/chrome/userChrome.css, and changes will be applied upon restarting Firefox.
    • Show bookmarks toolbar only on hover

      ☰ → Customize
      Toolbars → Check: Bookmarks Toolbar
      Then paste the following CSS into userChrome.css (instructions) and restart firefox.
      #PersonalToolbar {
        visibility: collapse !important;
        display: block;
        position: absolute !important;
        z-index: 1;
        width: 100%;
        box-shadow: 0 6px 6px -6px #000;
      }
      #nav-bar:focus-within + #PersonalToolbar,
      #PersonalToolbar:focus-within,
      #PersonalToolbar[customizing="true"],
      #navigator-toolbox:hover #PersonalToolbar {
        visibility: visible !important;
      }
      

    • Remove left tabbar padding when not maximized

      Then paste the following CSS into userChrome.css (instructions) and restart firefox.
      .titlebar-placeholder[type="pre-tabs"] { display: none; } /* Firefox 64 */
      .titlebar-spacer[type="pre-tabs"] { width: 0 !important; } /* Firefox 65+ */
      

    • Cleanup right click menu (aka contextmenu)

      Click on µBlock → Click Settings Icon to open the dashboard
      Uncheck: Make use of context menu where appropriate
      To hide Firefox's default menu items, this mozilla forum thread mentions we need to edit userChrome.css. So paste the following CSS into userChrome.css (instructions) and restart firefox.
      #contentAreaContextMenu #context-openlinkincurrent,
      #contentAreaContextMenu #context-openlinkinusercontext-menu,
      #contentAreaContextMenu #context-bookmarklink,
      #contentAreaContextMenu #context-selectall,
      #contentAreaContextMenu #context-sendlinktodevice,
      #contentAreaContextMenu #context-sendpagetodevice,
      #contentAreaContextMenu #context-sep-sendlinktodevice,
      #contentAreaContextMenu #context-sep-sendpagetodevice,
      #contentAreaContextMenu #context-viewpartialsource-selection {
        display: none !important;
      }
      
      If you're not a web developer, you can hide "Take a screenshot" by going to about:config
      Search for extensions.screenshots.disabled and set it to true


    Note that this list is manually kept in sync with https://zren.github.io/kde/#configuration using this script. — Zren