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KDE Plasma 6 gets double-click to open by default and other improvements

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Something that has proven to be quite divisive in the Linux community for KDE Plasma users is single or double-click to open something, as Plasma 6 will default to double-click.

It will still be configurable of course, but it's a change that has people split with lots of posts across social media arguing about it. Me though? I'm happy about it! Single click to open just seemed like such an odd default to have. Especially so for people coming from Windows, which as we all know is the most used desktop platform - for such a small thing, it just makes sense to match the behaviour there.

On top of that, Plasma 6 will also have touchpads have tap to click turned on by default now that touchpads aren't as bad as they were 9 years ago when the original decision was made.

Another big change is how bug reporting happens when apps crash on Plasma, with it being much more simplified with an option to report the issues automatically. So you won't even need to sign up for a Bugzilla account, bugs get reported quicker and hopefully this will means bugs get solved faster.

There's so much more the KDE team have been doing for Plasma lately, here's some highlights:

  • Keyboard brightness level on many laptops now shows an on-screen display for the change.
  • When toggling keyboard backlight off / on it now remembers the original brightness level.
  • Minimum screen brightness now set to 1 so you can't accidentally turn it off.
  • Dolphin’s settings window has gotten an overhaul to re-arrange things to be more logical.
  • Starting a Plasma Wayland session in VirtualBox is now more reliable.
  • They fixed the ability to monitor NVIDIA GPUs using System Monitor, and improving compatibility with multi-GPU setups (Plasma 5.27.8).
  • System Settings' minimum window size is now smaller, fitting better into low-resolution 1366×768 screens with thick panels.
  • Plasma Wayland improvements like keeping copied text from XWayland apps after it quits.

What do you think to all the changes coming to Plasma 6? Is there something you're particularly pleased or displeased with coming to Plasma 6?

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: KDE, Misc, Open Source
13 Likes
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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27 comments
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TheSHEEEP Aug 31, 2023
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Quoting: Mountain ManI never implied that you were stupid. You came up with that yourself.
Quoting: Mountain ManFrankly, I don't have a problem with randomly clicking around the desktop


Quoting: Mountain ManBut we're not talking about anything like that, we're talking about activities like navigating files and directories in Dolphin where the user's chances of doing anything catastrophic that would warrant an "Are you sure?" prompt are essentially zero.
No, it isn't just about catastrophic consequences...
I think this has proven sufficiently you really don't understand the argument and after trying twice with increasing detail, I apparently suck at explaining it and I don't know how else to try.
Might as well stop here.


Last edited by TheSHEEEP on 31 August 2023 at 6:52 am UTC
Mountain Man Aug 31, 2023
Quoting: TheSHEEEP
Quoting: Mountain ManI never implied that you were stupid. You came up with that yourself.
Quoting: Mountain ManFrankly, I don't have a problem with randomly clicking around the desktop


Quoting: Mountain ManBut we're not talking about anything like that, we're talking about activities like navigating files and directories in Dolphin where the user's chances of doing anything catastrophic that would warrant an "Are you sure?" prompt are essentially zero.
No, it isn't just about catastrophic consequences...
I think this has proven sufficiently you really don't understand the argument and after trying twice with increasing detail, I apparently suck at explaining it and I don't know how else to try.
Might as well stop here.

Sometimes it's best to quit when you're behind.
wvstolzing Sep 2, 2023
Quoting: bingus
Quoting: Mountain ManSingle click to open is the right way as far as I'm concerned. It just makes the most sense when you consider that the interface in every other piece of software you use on a computer only requires single clicks, so why should the desktop be the sole exception?

Because of Windows. I grew up on Windows, and first experienced single click in KDE when trying to select a file. I thought my mouse button was super sensitive or something.

Funnily enough, I believe it was Windows 98 that first introduced the single click default, because they wanted to fashion the desktop after a webpage. That's when they put 'favorites', 'back/forward' buttons, etc. on the file manager; which persist to this day.

Even they had to backtrack from that — considering that of all vendors, they have the power to train users into new habits, that's pretty remarkable. Same thing happened with the idiotic 'metro' interface.
wvstolzing Sep 2, 2023
Quoting: Mountain ManSingle click to open is the right way as far as I'm concerned. It just makes the most sense when you consider that the interface in every other piece of software you use on a computer only requires single clicks, so why should the desktop be the sole exception?

'Requires single clicks' to do what, though? It depends on the context whether the click selects an object (with which you go on to do something), or whether it does whatever action that's assigned to it, on whatever object that's already understood to be selected?

On file managers & such, there's a lot that you can do *after* having selected an object. When it's obvious that the object & the action are, then the single click can do whatever it's supposed to do. The 2nd click of the double click is just to say, "do the default action".

It's not Windows that established this, by the way; it was there on the original Mac OS.
Mountain Man Sep 2, 2023
Quoting: wvstolzing
Quoting: Mountain ManSingle click to open is the right way as far as I'm concerned. It just makes the most sense when you consider that the interface in every other piece of software you use on a computer only requires single clicks, so why should the desktop be the sole exception?

'Requires single clicks' to do what, though? It depends on the context whether the click selects an object (with which you go on to do something), or whether it does whatever action that's assigned to it, on whatever object that's already understood to be selected?

On file managers & such, there's a lot that you can do *after* having selected an object. When it's obvious that the object & the action are, then the single click can do whatever it's supposed to do. The 2nd click of the double click is just to say, "do the default action".

It's not Windows that established this, by the way; it was there on the original Mac OS.

The typical behavior in software is for single click to perform the default action. So, for example, if you want to save a document in a word processor, you simply click the save icon; therefore, logically, a single click should open that same document if you're working in a file browser.

But I guess that's why we like options. People like me who prefer their computer interfaces to follow consistent logic () can simply enable that feature in future versions of KDE.
wvstolzing Sep 2, 2023
Quoting: Mountain ManThe typical behavior in software is for single click to perform the default action. So, for example, if you want to save a document in a word processor, you simply click the save icon; therefore, logically, a single click should open that same document if you're working in a file browser.

Except a file browser and a word processor are entirely different contexts, which is the point I was trying to make. The save button on the word processor can safely assume what its object is (it's already been decided for it); on the other hand, the simplest, most intuitive, & safest assumption one can make for a click, in a file browser, on a file, is that it *selects* that object for the many actions the file browser can *then* perform on it.

The 'logical' conclusion you seem to draw follows from the idea that "the simplest, most intuitive, & safest assumption one can make for a click, in a file browser, on a file" is that it should *open* that file. I'm disagreeing with that assumption. There's nothing 'illogical' here.
14 Sep 3, 2023
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I like most of the changes highlighted. I have to wonder if people want to turn their screen brightness all the way to black intentionally though. Playing audio or letting a download finish. Can't please everyone I guess.

I also prefer double-click to open files and programs, but I didn't care too bad what the default was. One or more of my kids like it at single-click. What do I care? For me, I like to click on a file and then use Ctrl+C to copy. Can't do that with single-click opens. I don't like right-clicking and then selecting copy. Ew.
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