Projects/Plasma/Plasmoid-Issues

The following list describe resizing problems (and not only) for all tested plasmoids.

Some thougths

If not already specified, some guidelines should be taken to archieve an uniform behaviour. At least developers should be careful to the following points:

1. When size has to be proportional (width and height)?
2. How plasmoids with only an icon (or an icons list) should behave?
3. When fonts should be scaled with the plasmoid and when not?
4. Having multiple type of frames (mainly panels and Desktop views), some plasmoid needs to be painted differently according to the frame (a good example is the folder view plasmoids).
5. A minimum size should be advisable to be set.
6. When a plasmoid is developed, the developer should think how it should behave in a containment like the panel and in a containment like the desktop. Usually panel doesn't have much height, so in most cases having a small and usable version of the plasmoid should be more advisable. Assuming this, a plasmoid placed in a panel should resize with the panel and the behaviour should be the same for all plasmoid. Usually there are two use cases for enlarging a panel:
   1. having objects more big and more readable: this needs scaling plasmoids into the panel
   2. having more space: scaling plasmoids doesn't give more space, so plasmoid should stay small, but even if small they are not aligned in a grid, so enlarge the panel for having more space is actually not supported.
7. An additional problem is that plasma themes could have differents color settings. For example if the text foreground color is white (like in oxygen theme), plasmoids should use it (because the background color is black) but developers should be care of cases like the notes plasmoid which uses yellow as default background color and in this case the note is unreadable.

The list

Activity Bar

• Desktop: The gray element of the plasmoid has a minimum height. If you resize too much vertically, the gray element goes out the frame. If you resize horizontally, some arrows appear to move right or left but they haven't a real usefulness: the plasmoid is too much small. Then both vertical and horizontal minimum size could be assumed.
• Panel: If the horizontal panel is made less high, the name of the Activity Bar is not centered and fade off as in Pager tabs elements. If the vertical panel is set, the name of the Activity Bar doesn't fade off as in Pager tabs elements.

Analogue Clock

• Desktop: It works fine. If the plasmoid is made larger, the applet handler for resizing, rotating, settings and closing the plasmoid is larger than normal.

• • This is the correct behaviour.
• Panel: It works quite well, exept that in trunk it uses more horyzontal space than needed.

Application Launcher

• Desktop: Vertical and horizontal resize shouldn't be proportional like in the panel: it's more useful free resizing.
• Panel: It works fine, but when you enlarge the panel the icon doesn't resize: is it the desired behaviour?

Application Launcher Menu

• Desktop: It hasn't a minimum size: it should be added.
• Panel: When you enlarge the panel the icon doesn't resize: is it the desired behaviour?

Battery

• Desktop: Works fine
• Panel: Works fine

Bball

• Desktop: A minimum size should be adopted because it disappears when the plasmoid is reduced too much.
• Panel: Maybe an icon should be introduced in the panel even if the ball goes in the Dekstop: the behaviour of this plasmoid is unpredictable.

Binary clock

• Desktop: It works fine.
• Panel: It works fine.

Bubblemon

• Desktop: It works fine.
• Panel: It works fine.

Calculator

• Desktop: Font size should scale with the plasmoid.
• Panel: Font size should scale with the plasmoid.

Calendar

• Desktop: When height or width of the panel is small, the calendar plasmoid in the panel becomes a calendar icon.

The calendar plasmoid could behave in the same way in the Desktop. Currently, it has a minimum size in which the table of the days aren't displayed. There are two solutions:

1. Set a minimum size with a readable font
2. Under the minimum size with a readable font display an icon: clicking on the icon will display the "popup" with the calendar.

• Panel: It works fine.

Character Selector

• Desktop: IHMO, height and width shouldn't be proportional because chars table is less high than large.
• Panel: If the panel is enlarged, the icon of the character selector plasmoid does't resize.

Color Picker

• Desktop: The icons should resize with the plasmoid. If the plasmoid size is decreased too much, the two icons goes out the frame because they have a minimum size whereas the plasmoid haven't. A minimum size should be taken.
• Panel: The icons should resize with the panel. In the horizontal panel, when the icons are put vertical but the panel isn't enought high, the circle goes below the monitor screen.

Comic strip

• Desktop: This plasmoid height and width could be proportional (depending from the ratio of the loaded image).
  • It looks that this would introduce some usability issues, ask to mat69 for further details --FiNeX 22:40, 13 September 2009 (UTC)
• Panel: Horyzontal panel is ok. In the vertical panel, the configure button is cutted if the panel is too tight. In both it should be resized proportionally.

Device Notifier

• Desktop: It works fine.
• Panel: When you enlarge the panel, the icon doesn't resize: is it the desired behaviour?

Dictionary

The mouse doesn't change when it's over link. If the word doesn't exist in the dictionary, no message is displayed.

• Desktop: It works fine.
• Panel: It works fine.

Why this plasmoid is inserted in the panel if you enlarged it whereas for example calculator or character selector doesn't (they ever display the icon when inserted in a panel)?

Digital clock

• Desktop: A minimum size should be adopted.
• Panel: Relevant font [size] changes in Systemsettings should trigger a resize. mutlu_inek 21:43, 14 October 2009 (UTC)

Eyes

• Desktop: It works fine.
• Panel: It works fine.

Fifteen puzzle

• Desktop: A minimum size should be adopted. Font size should scale with plasmoid.
• Panel: If the panel both vertical and horizontal is made bigger, fifteen puzzle is stretched too but it doesn't increase horizontally (or vertically, depending on the panel orientation). It is not possible to play with this plasmoid in the panel and it is too little. Maybe it should behave like the unit converter, for example: if the icon in the panel is clicked the a popup appears and you can play.

File Watcher

• Desktop: A minimum size should be taken for the frame because when the plasmoid is reduced too much the file content goes out the frame.
• Panel: When the plasmoid is added to the panel the content goes outisde the plasmoid area and goes over the near plasmoid. Is should behave like the calculator plasmoid (an icon in the panel with a popup that appears if the icon is pressed).

Folder view

• Desktop: Maybe a minimum size should be appreciated.
• Panel: Folder icon should resize with the panel.

Fuzzy clock

• Desktop: The plasmoid goes around the Desktop when it's resized. IMHO because there's a maximum height for a specific width and when the plasmoid reaches the maximum height it move up and down instead of increase.
• Panel: Text is cutted when the panel is enlarged, because text doesn't resize with the panel.

Incoming Message

• Desktop: A minimum size should be taken: when the plasmoid is made smaller, the content goes out the frame.
• Panel: If the panel is enlarged it increases horizontally but not vertically, so the plasmoid takes up horizontal space.

In higher horizontal panel, for example:

 "KMail account is changed"

should became:

 "KMail
 account
 is changed"

(three lines) A different solution is to keep the plasmoid as icon on the panel and display the message in a popup.

KGet Barchart Applet

• Desktop: A minimum size should be taken: when the plasmoid is made smaller, the content goes out the frame.
• Panel: No icon or something like that appears in the panel. An item appears in the Desktop, but something should be present in the panel to remeber that is in the panel.

KGet Panelbar Applet

• Desktop: A minimum size should be taken: when the plasmoid is made smaller, the content goes out the frame.

The plasmoid has a maximum size. When you click on the download arrow, a new popup appears. It is not attached to the plasmoid so if it's moved the new popup doesn't move too. The text in the new popup is not centered on the "white" area. I've selected the text so we can read it on the gray background:

• Panel: In the vertical panel the plasmoid is not faded (when the panel is too tight). When the panel is too wide or high, the download arrow disappears because it has a maximum height.

KGet Piechart Applet

• Desktop: A minimum size should be taken: when the plasmoid is made smaller, the content goes out the frame.
• Panel: No icon or something like that appears in the panel. An item appear in the Desktop, but something should be present in the panel to remeber that is in the panel.

KGet Session Applet

• Desktop: A minimum size should be taken: when the plasmoid is made smaller, the content goes out the frame.
• Panel: unable to test

Kate Session Applet

• Desktop: Height and width shouldn't be proportional. Defaults items are 4 and they're larger than high.
• Panel: It works fine.

Konqueror Profiles

• Desktop: Height and width shouldn't be proportional because it's larger than high with standard items.
• Panel: IHMO, when the panel is made higher or wider, the plasmoid should be an icon that increase its size otherwise the white rectangle should be made larger as an user wants.

Konsole Profiles

• Desktop: Height and width shouldn't be proportional because it's larger than high with standard items.
• Panel: IHMO, when the panel is made higher or wider, the plasmoid should be an icon that increase its size otherwise the white rectangle should be made larger as an user wants and it shoudn't have proportional height and width.

LCD Weather Station

• Desktop: A minimum size should be taken: when the plasmoid is made smaller, the content goes out the frame.
• Panel: The "configure" button goes out of the plasmoid area.

Lancelot Launcher

• Desktop: A minimum size should be taken.
• Panel: The icon should resize with the panel.

Lacenlot Part

• Desktop: How do you setting this plasmoid?
• Panel: The icon should resize with the panel.

Leave A Note

• Desktop: It works fine.
• Panel: The icon doesn't resize with the panel.

Life

• Desktop: It works fine.
• Panel: When it's added, the panel goes down the bottom of the monitor as the panel takes the plasmoid height (or width if the panel is vertical). It doesn't resize proportionally.

Lock/Logout

• Desktop: Vertical and horizontal resize are proportional. It hasn't a minimum size: is it the wanted behaviour?
• Panel: When you enlarge the panel too much (both vertical and horizontal panel), icons doesn't enlarge anymore. Moreover the default panel size cuts it off.

Magnifique

• Desktop: a minimum size should be considered.
• Panel: It should resize with the panel.

Media Player

• Desktop: It could have a minimum size.
• Panel: KDE 4.3, it display the controls, on trunk it doesn't display anything

Microblogging

• Desktop: It works fine.
• Panel: It works fine at small panel size. On intermediate panel size the icon is not scaled and on bigger sizes it is fully rendered.

Moon

• Desktop: A minimum size should be adopted.
• Panel: When the panel is enlarged, the moon is stretched (vertically in the horizontal panel).

News

• Desktop: It works fine.
• Panel: On small panel size an icon is displayed (and scaled). when the panel is more than ~44 pixels it display the news and two scrollbars. It is unreadable and unusable.

Notes

• Desktop: A minimum size should be taken. Moreover if it is placed in a desktop containment (it means that it is probably the monitor of a PC), the font size should not scale with the plasmoid. Probably when an user enlarge a note on the desktop, it is because he needs more space, not for having the text bigger. I suggest to set the fixed size of the font as default setting.
• Panel: It is not usable. Probably it should behave like digital clock or any other plasmoid which display an extender when placed in the panel.

Now Playing

• Desktop: Font size doesn't resize with the plasmoid, the icons do.
• Panel: The plasmoid looks a bit different from plasmoid in the Desktop: only two buttons are displayed (play and play next) and no information is available (author, time etc) and no popup is available to see this contents.

Pager

• Desktop: If the default number of desktop is 4, the minimum size of the pager should be coeherent with that number of desktop because with 4 desktops the plasmoid has an empty area. If numbers or names of desktops are displayed, font size could scale with the plasmoid. Height and withd should't be proportional.
• Panel: It works fine.

Paste

• Desktop: Minimum height shouldn't display the vertical scroll bar. A better minimum width should be choosen.
• Panel: It works fine.

Pastebin

• Desktop: A minimum size should be taken.
• Panel: The icon doesn't resize with the panel.

Picture Frame

• Desktop: It looks fine.
• Panel: It looks fine.

Previewer

• Desktop: A better minimum size should be taken or the dinamic wrapper should be adopted by default (even if the text doesn't scale resing the plamsoid and the line could go out the frame). When the desktop is locked the "collapse" icon doesn't works.
• Panel: It should ever behave like calculator (an icon with a popup). When the panel has default size, the popup windows is displayed with minimum size and text aren't fully shown (because it's too long) both on vertical and horizontal panel. The arrow to collapse the plasmoid is not useful because the popup area is not collapsed too.

Quicklaunch

• Desktop: Icons should resize with plasmoid.
• Panel: Icons should resize with plasmoid.
  • Lukas Applehans is fixing the application launcher behaviour. The default settings will be to scale icons with the plasmoid, the "manual" size setting is optional. It will be implemented the row number setting too. --FiNeX 21:44, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Remember The Milk

I can't fully test this plasmoid because I haven't an account.

• Desktop: A better minimum size should be taken.
• Panel: The "Configure" button goes out the frame.

Show Desktop

• Desktop: It works fine.
• Panel: The icon doesn't resize with the panel.

Show Widget Dashboard

• Desktop: It works fine.
• Panel: The icon should resize with the panel.

System Load Viewer

• Desktop: Some labels could be displayed (maybe optionally?). A minimum size should be taken.
• Panel: It should have a small bottom padding.

System Monitor - CPU

• Desktop: The font size doesn't resize when the plasmoid is resized. The minimum size should be larger. The minimum height and width should be the minimum height and width displaying scale values (20%-40%...40%).
• Panel: The plasmoid is unuseful because it's impossible displaying all the information in a small area. IHMO, the plasmoid should simply display a value. Alternatively it could behave like calculator: when you click on the icon, a popup appears.

System Monitor - Hard Disk

• Desktop: The minimum size should be larger.
• Panel: When the panel (both horizontal and vertical) is thin, the labels are cutted. When the panel is enlarged, the plasmoid doesn't scale.

System Monitor - Hardware Info

• Desktop: The font size doesn't resize when the plasmoid is resized. The minimum size could be improved.
• Panel: The plasmoid in the panel is an icon and you cannot display any information: it has no sense. It should behave like calculator or calendar: when you click on the icon, a popup appears. The icon doesn't resize when the panel is enlarged (both verical and horizontal one). Actually you've to hover the icon for display the information, but it looks not much usable (I've discovered it accidentally).

System Monitor - Network

• Desktop: The font size doesn't resize when the plasmoid is resized. The minimum size could be improved: the minimum height and width should be the minimum height and width displaying scale values (20%-40%...40%).
• Panel: The plasmoid doesn't resize when the panel is enlarged.

System Monitor - RAM

• Desktop: The font size doesn't resize when the plasmoid is resized. The minimum size could be improved: the minimum height and width should be the minimum height and width displaying scale values (20%-40%...40%).
• Panel: The plasmoid doesn't resize when the panel is enlarged. The text is not fully displayed and it's not clear: maybe physical and swap area should be reactangular instead of square. It is not so clear the distinction between the two plots.

System Monitor - Temperature

• Desktop: The font size doesn't resize when the plasmoid is resized. The minimum size could be improved: the minimum height and width should be the minimum height and width displaying scale values (20%-40%...40%).
• Panel: The plasmoid doesn't resize when the panel is enlarged. The text is not fully displayed and it's not clear: maybe physical and swap area should be reactangular instead of square. It is not so clear the distinction between the two plots.

System Monitor

• Desktop: When nothing it is displayed, the minimum size should be ok (maybe their height should be equal to the icon height). The icons don't resize when the plasmoid is resized. When an item is selected, the minimum width decreases and plot areas goes out the plasmoid area. No scale values (20%-40%...40%) are displayed.
• Panel: The plasmoid doesn't resize when the panel is enlarged.

System Tray

• Desktop: In KDE 4.3.1, the system tray doesn't ever display all the items presented in the panel. A minimum size should be adopted. The arrow to collapse the system tray remains larger even if the plasmoid is made smaller.
• Panel: The arrow to collapse the system tray remains larger sometimes even if the plasmoid is made smaller.
  • Size of the arrow doesn't resize in trunk --FiNeX 22:40, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

How icons are ordered in the system tray?

Task Manager

• Desktop: When you increase too much the frame, if not much tasks are opened, the frame bacomes larger than tasks and tasks don't increase anymore. Should icons and text scale resizing the plasmoid?
• Panel: It works fine.

Timer

• Desktop: If the title is shown, the text is displayed with different font size when seconds are displayed or not. A minimum size with a readable time (and title) should be choosen.
• Panel: If the horizontal panel is increased, the title font size scales but the time font size doesn't. In the vertical panel, the title font size scales and the time font size doen't (different behaviour). The resizing behaviour should be the same of digital clock: actually the plasmoid resizes only one dimension (on the horizontal panel it streches its height, on the vertical panel it increases its width).

Trashcan

If the trash can't be emptied (i.e. files without permissions), the plasmoid should display a message like in dolphin.

• Desktop: It works fine.
• Panel: Both in vertical and horizontal panel, if you enlarge too much the panel, the trash plasmoid doesn't resize the icon anymore.

Unit converter

• Desktop: The minimum width has been set like the unit convert would be a single column plasmoid, then if you make smaller the plasmoid, the left column goes outside the frame.

• Panel: Combo box are cutted according to the height of the frame both in vertical and horizontal panel bug #207052.

Web Browser

• Desktop: It works fine.
• Panel: It works fine with a small panel, when the panel is enlarged it is transformed from an icon to the full plasmoid. Is this a correct behaviour on the panel?

World Clock

• Desktop: When the plasmoid is made at minimum size, plasma-desktop CPU usage increases more than 99%.
• Panel: It doesn't resize with the panel.

openDesktop

• Desktop: A minimum size should be taken: if the plasmoid is made smaller, the content goes out the frame.
• Panel: IHMO, only an icon should be inserted in the panel whereas the frame should be diplayied in a popup.

Common problem summary

Desktop behaviour

• Minimum size missing (or that could be improved [IM]) in following plasmoid:

1. Application Launcher Menu
2. Bball
3. Bubblemon
4. Calendar
5. Color Picker
6. Digital clock
7. Fifteen puzzle
8. File Watcher
9. Folder view
10. Incoming Message
11. KGet Barchart Applet
12. KGet Panelbar Applet
13. KGet Piechart Applet
14. KGet Session Applet
15. LCD Weather Station
16. Lancelot Launcher
17. Lock/Logout
18. Magnifique
19. Media Player
20. Moon
21. Notes
22. Pager [IM]
23. Paste [IM]
24. Pastebin
25. Picture Frame
26. Previewer [IM]
27. RSSNOW
28. Remember The Milk [IM]
29. System Monitor - CPU [IM]
30. System Monitor - Hard Disk [IM]
31. System Monitor - Hardware Info [IM]
32. System Monitor - Network [IM]
33. System Monitor - RAM [IM]
34. System Monitor - Temperature [IM]
35. System Monitor [IM]
36. System Tray
37. Timer [IM]
38. Unit converter [IM]
39. Weather Forecast
40. openDesktop

• Suggestions:

1. Plasmoid displaying an icon could have the same behaviour/minimum size (for example: Application Launcher Menu, Magnifique, Pastebin etc. and Color Picker, Lock/Logout etc.)
2. Minimum size should display readable contents (for example: Calendar, Fifteen Puzzle etc.) otherwise an icon should be adopted.

• Font size should be scaled accordly to plasmoid resizing as default behaviour:

1. Calculator
2. Fifteen Puzzle
3. Now Playing
4. Pager
5. System Monitor - CPU
6. System Monitor - Hard Disk
7. System Monitor - Hardware Info
8. System Monitor - Network
9. System Monitor - RAM
10. System Monitor - Temperature
11. System Monitor

• Font size shouldn't be scaled accordly to plasmoid resizing as default behaviour:

1. Notes

Panel behaviour

• Icons don't scale resizing the following plasmoids:

1. Application Launcher
2. Application Launcher Menu
3. Binary clock
4. Character Selector
5. Color Picker
6. Device Notifier
7. Folder view
8. Lancelot Launcher
9. Leave A Note
10. Lock/Logout
11. Magnifique
12. Quicklaunch
13. Pastebin
14. Show Desktop
15. Show Widget Dashboard
16. System Tray
17. Trashcan

• Popups (extender) which could be improved:

1. Dictionary
2. File Watcher
3. Incoming Message
4. Konqueror Profiles
5. Konsole Profilesbuff
6. Microblogging
7. News
8. Notes
9. Now Playing
10. Previewer
11. RSSNOW (maybe it coudl solve bug 182517)
12. System Load Viewer
13. Weather Forecast
14. Web Browser
15. openDesktop

• Suggestions:

1. It could be useful to think about the plasmoid "natural" containment to differentiate when plasmoid in the panel should have a popup (extender) or not. If the plasmoid is thought for staying in Desktop and the minimum size is larger than an icon, it should be useful to use a popup (or an extender) for make it readable.