KDE Plasma

Table of Contents

Overview of KDE Plasma

KDE Plasma is a popular, highly customizable desktop environment for Linux. It focuses on:

A familiar, Windows-like layout by default (panel at the bottom, menu on the left).
Strong visual customization (themes, widgets, effects).
Tight integration with KDE applications (like Dolphin file manager, Konsole terminal).

Many distributions offer editions with Plasma preinstalled (e.g., Kubuntu, Fedora KDE Spin, openSUSE KDE).

Key Components of the KDE Plasma Desktop

KDE Plasma is made up of several visible parts you interact with every day.

The Panel (Bottom Bar)

The panel is the bar usually at the bottom of the screen. It typically contains:

Application Launcher (K menu icon)
Pinned application icons
Task manager (buttons for open windows)
System tray (network, volume, battery, etc.)
Clock and calendar

You can:

Right-click the panel → Edit Panel to change:

Panel position (bottom, top, left, right)
Height (thickness)
What widgets it contains

Add extra panels (e.g., a vertical panel on the side for specific tasks).

Application Launcher

The Application Launcher is the main menu (often a K or distribution logo).

Common views:

Favorites: Your most-used apps (you can right-click an app → Add to Favorites).
Applications: Organized by categories (Internet, Office, Multimedia, etc.).
Search: Type an app name or setting to quickly find it.

You can change its style:

Right-click the launcher icon → Show Alternatives...

Standard launcher (menu style)
Application dashboard (full-screen)
Application menu (compact, classic-style)

The Desktop and Widgets

The desktop itself can show:

A traditional wallpaper with icons.
Folders (for example, your Desktop directory).
Widgets (called “Plasmoids”) like clocks, notes, system monitors.

To work with widgets:

Right-click desktop → Add Widgets...
Drag widgets onto desktop or panel.
Right-click a widget to:

Move or resize it
Configure its appearance or behavior
Remove it

Common widgets:

Analog/Digital clock
Sticky notes
CPU/memory monitor
Weather

System Tray and Notifications

The system tray is on the panel, usually near the clock. It includes:

Network manager
Volume control
Battery and brightness (on laptops)
Clipboard manager
Update notifier (varies by distribution)
Notifications icon (a bell or speech bubble)

You can customize what’s visible:

Click the little “up arrow” (if present) → Configure System Tray
Choose which icons are:

Always shown
Shown only when active
Hidden

Notifications appear in the corner and also in the notification history; you can adjust their behavior in system settings (see below).

KDE Plasma System Settings

Most Plasma customization is done through System Settings (sometimes called Settings).

You can open it from:

Application Launcher → System Settings
Right-click desktop → Configure Desktop and Wallpaper... (for display-related settings)

Within System Settings, some key areas for beginners:

Appearance

Global Theme: Changes overall look (window decorations, colors, icons) in one go.
Colors: Set color schemes (light/dark themes, accent colors).
Icons: Change icon sets.
Plasma Style and Window Decorations: Adjust panel and window borders.

You can often download extra themes directly from within these panels via Get New ... buttons.

Workspace Behavior

Controls how your desktop acts:

Desktop Effects: Animations like window minimizing effects.
Screen Edges: Actions when you move your mouse to a screen corner (e.g., show all windows).
Touch Screen / Gestures (if supported): Basic gesture behavior.

Window Management

Configure how windows behave:

Focus behavior (click to focus vs focus follows mouse).
Titlebar actions (double-click to maximize, right-click actions).
Window snapping and tiling behavior.

Shortcuts

Here you can:

View and change global keyboard shortcuts.
For example, set:

Meta (Windows key) to open the launcher (often already set).
Custom shortcuts for launching apps or taking screenshots.

Customizing the Desktop Layout

One of Plasma’s strengths is flexible layout customization.

Changing Wallpaper and Desktop Layout

Right-click on the desktop → Configure Desktop and Wallpaper...

Here you can:

Choose wallpaper:

Static images
Slideshows (rotating through multiple images)

Change how icons are shown:

Show a specific folder’s contents on the desktop (e.g., $HOME/Desktop).
Use a clean desktop with only widgets.

Moving and Resizing the Panel

Right-click the panel → Edit Panel

Drag the handle to adjust thickness.
Move the panel to another screen edge.

Add or remove widgets (like extra launchers, system monitors, or a second task manager).

You can also create an additional panel:

Right-click on the desktop (not on the panel) → Add Panel → choose a type.

Adding Application Launchers to the Panel

There are several ways:

Drag an application from the launcher menu onto the panel.
Right-click an application in the launcher → Pin to Task Manager or Add to Panel.

You can similarly add frequently used directories or widgets to the panel.

KDE Core Applications

Plasma integrates with several default KDE applications. Names may vary slightly by distribution, but common ones include:

Dolphin: File manager with tabs, split view, and good network share support.
Konsole: Terminal emulator with tabs and profiles.
Kate: Advanced text editor.
Okular: Document viewer (PDF, eBooks, etc.).
Gwenview: Image viewer.
Discover: Graphical software center (on many KDE-based distros).

All of these follow KDE’s design, so they behave consistently and integrate with system themes and settings.

Activities and Virtual Desktops (Brief Overview)

Plasma offers:

Virtual Desktops: Multiple workspaces to organize windows (e.g., one for work, one for browsing).
Activities: Higher-level groupings of desktops and widgets for different tasks.

For a beginner:

Start with Virtual Desktops:

System Settings → Workspace Behavior → Virtual Desktops.
Configure number of desktops, switch shortcuts, etc.

Activities are more advanced; you can explore them later via the Activity icon (often near the launcher) or Meta+Q / Meta+Tab on some setups.

Power Management and Lock Screen

On laptops and desktops, Plasma manages power behavior:

Access via:

System Tray → Battery icon → Power and Brightness
System Settings → Power Management

You can control:

Screen dimming and blanking.
What happens on lid close (suspend, do nothing, etc.).
Sleep/suspend behavior when inactive.

The lock screen:

Appears when you lock the session or wake from sleep.
You can set automatic locking times in System Settings → Workspace Behavior → Screen Locking.

Getting Help and Learning More

To learn about Plasma features:

Tooltips: Hover over icons and options to see explanations.
Help inside apps: Many KDE applications have a Help menu.
Online resources:

The official KDE user documentation and wiki.
Distribution-specific KDE documentation (e.g., Kubuntu, openSUSE KDE).

Experimenting is safe: most settings can be reset to defaults, and you can easily switch themes or layouts if you don’t like a change.

Comments

Please login to add a comment.

Don't have an account? Register now!