MX-21 KDE beta 1 feedback thread

[asqwerth]

I have a problem in dark mode. I set Breeze Dark theme but some gtk apps do not follow theme settings: Audacious, Synaptic, and even MX Package Installer and MX Tools.
Looks like it's a known problem since plasma 5.17 (or is it 5.19?) because there is no more Breeze Dark, but only Breeze and it is expected gtk3+ apps to follow settings. But they don't :)
If I change gtk theme (Settings -> Application Style -> Configure GNOME/GTK....) to Adwaita Dark, Audacious changes but both package managers do not (even after reboot)
Same problem exists in Debian 11 KDE


Oh, almost forgot... no problems installing HP network printer (HP OfficeJet Pro 8710) via Settings -> Printers :)

Note that the mx apps are not gtk but qt based.

[markol]

I have a problem in dark mode. I set Breeze Dark theme but some gtk apps do not follow theme settings: Audacious, Synaptic, and even MX Package Installer and MX Tools.
Looks like it's a known problem since plasma 5.17 (or is it 5.19?) because there is no more Breeze Dark, but only Breeze and it is expected gtk3+ apps to follow settings. But they don't :)
If I change gtk theme (Settings -> Application Style -> Configure GNOME/GTK....) to Adwaita Dark, Audacious changes but both package managers do not (even after reboot)
Same problem exists in Debian 11 KDE


Oh, almost forgot... no problems installing HP network printer (HP OfficeJet Pro 8710) via Settings -> Printers :)

Note that the mx apps are not gtk but qt based.

Thank you for clarification!

But the question remains, how to unify the looks of all apps? Not a real problem, but annoying af.

[shmu26]

I did the upgrade, as detailed here, from MX 19 ahs kde to MX 21 kde.
https://mxlinux.org/wiki/upgrading-from ... nstalling/
I had a little problem with bluetooth: I have BOSE bluetooth headphones, and when I switched them to headset mode (that's the mode in which the mic works), and did a Google Meet session with someone, he heard loud interference that made it hard to understand what I was saying. When I switched to the high fidelity mode (in which the mic does not work) and I used a USB-connected mic, the screeching noise stopped.

I tested the headphones afterwards on a different OS, and they worked as expected, so I am ruling out hardware failure.

I have since then rolled back to MX 19, but if anyone out there has a bluetooth headphone, please test for this issue. Preferably on a real (not VM) system.

[agnivo007]

@shmu26 Try lowering the mic input level and check.

[asqwerth]

I have a problem in dark mode. I set Breeze Dark theme but some gtk apps do not follow theme settings: Audacious, Synaptic, and even MX Package Installer and MX Tools.
Looks like it's a known problem since plasma 5.17 (or is it 5.19?) because there is no more Breeze Dark, but only Breeze and it is expected gtk3+ apps to follow settings. But they don't :)
If I change gtk theme (Settings -> Application Style -> Configure GNOME/GTK....) to Adwaita Dark, Audacious changes but both package managers do not (even after reboot)
Same problem exists in Debian 11 KDE

...

Note that the mx apps are not gtk but qt based.

Thank you for clarification!

But the question remains, how to unify the looks of all apps? Not a real problem, but annoying af.

Question 1: are you sure the main MX Tools window does not follow the Plasma Breeze theming (with dark colour scheme) ? I've not installed MX KDE yet as I've not had time. All I know is that my MX XFCE alpha, which I installed plasma onto, does have MX Tools follow the Breeze theming with the same dark colour scheme I set. As do the NON-ROOT mx apps. These are all Qt.


Question 2: is adwaita dark preinstalled in MX21 KDE beta? If it's not, how did you install it? It's preinstalled in the xfce alpha and beta but I'm unsure about the KDE version.

Package managers run as root, so if your themes are installed in your home folder your root applications (both package managers) won't apply those themes. You will need to move your gtk themes to /usr/share/themes for root gtk apps to use them.

Because my adwaita dark is in root, Synaptic does use that theme if I set it in (Settings -> Application Style -> Configure GNOME/GTK....) .

MXPI won't be changed by that gtk theme in root since it's Qt. However, I confirm that changing to Breeze Dark colour scheme (which is in /usr/share) does not seem to make MXPI follow the dark colours. Not sure why.

Perhaps someone else on KDE beta can chip in. I won't have time to test it until next week.

It might be that some env setting needs to be changed in root, so that root apps are also affected?

[markol]

Note that the mx apps are not gtk but qt based.

Thank you for clarification!

But the question remains, how to unify the looks of all apps? Not a real problem, but annoying af.

Question 1: are you sure the main MX Tools window does not follow the Plasma Breeze theming (with dark colour scheme) ? I've not installed MX KDE yet as I've not had time. All I know is that my MX XFCE alpha, which I installed plasma onto, does have MX Tools follow the Breeze theming with the same dark colour scheme I set. As do the NON-ROOT mx apps. These are all Qt.

Question 2: is adwaita dark preinstalled in MX21 KDE beta? If it's not, how did you install it? It's preinstalled in the xfce alpha and beta but I'm unsure about the KDE version.

Package managers run as root, so if your themes are installed in your home folder your root applications (both package managers) won't apply those themes. You will need to move your gtk themes to /usr/share/themes for root gtk apps to use them.

Because my adwaita dark is in root, Synaptic does use that theme if I set it in (Settings -> Application Style -> Configure GNOME/GTK....) .

MXPI won't be changed by that gtk theme in root since it's Qt. However, I confirm that changing to Breeze Dark colour scheme (which is in /usr/share) does not seem to make MXPI follow the dark colours. Not sure why.

Perhaps someone else on KDE beta can chip in. I won't have time to test it until next week.

It might be that some env setting needs to be changed in root, so that root apps are also affected?

1. It started when I changed colors (Settings -> Colors... or was it Application Style?) to something else and then back. However apps still use the light (default?) theme

2. Adwaita Dark is not included by default, I installed it via PM (gnome-themes-extra)

3. Regarding your comment "Package managers run as root, so if your themes are installed in your home folder your root applications (both package managers) won't apply those themes." I ran System Settings as root

Code: Select all

/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libexec/kf5/kdesu systemsettings5

and tried to set Breeze Dark. Theme was set, but colors did not change so I checked the "Colors". There was an error message stating "The color scheme 'Breeze Dark' is not installed. Selecting the default theme instead.". I also noticed that there was no "Configure GNOME/GTK Application Style" button in Settings -> Application Style.
Nothing else could be done so I closed it.

I added the row

Code: Select all

gtk-application-prefer-dark-theme=true

to /usr/share/themes/Breeze-Dark/settings.ini and MX tools (including MX PM) went dark. Great success!

No luck with Audacious so I installed Breeze-Darker gtk theme, which works fine for now.

Only Synaptic remains untouched by the dark :)

[asqwerth]

@markol

I can't help any further, since I'm not on KDE beta.

All I can say is that a normal install of plasma onto Xfce alpha was able to get Synaptic on Adwaita dark (preinstalled) using Plasma Settings Manager run as user, with the GTK applications setting.

I also didn't need to mess around to get MX Tools (non root main window and the non-root mx apps) to follow the Breeze theme plus colour scheme (which is my own mod made from Breeze Dark colour scheme). [ADDED - I also switched back to original Breeze Dark colour scheme to test - no problem with non-root MX apps]

I don't really mind MXPI (and root mx apps) showing up in breeze light (which it has been doing in MX19 KDE) since I like to have a differentiation between root and user apps.

[Adrian]

If the programs running as root don't match the theme I guess you could do something like "sudo systemsettings5" and set the theme there to match the theme for regular apps. I don't know if that's the recommended way, probably not, but it worked when I tried.

[davemx]

KDE5.20 — Lock and Unlock the desktop — The moderator has asked me to repost this here. It will still be a valid idea after MX21KDE has gone final:

I know that MX21KDE hasn't gone final yet, but here's an idea you might want to try if you are testing it, and it will still work after it's gone final:

One of the better things about the version of KDE being used in MX21 Beta, is the absence of the hamburger or its b*st*rd offspring, the ham sandwich. More than anything, I really didn't like that, in the older version shipped with MX19, there were multiple menus all over the place with the option to lock/unlock the plasmoid layout. But with the new version, there is no way at all! What this post describes is a way to put a single Lock/Unlock applet on a panel.

Anyway, I did a search on Google and some clever person at Reddit had the solution to a lock which I then adapted using the "Configurable Button" plasmoid which you can get from the KDE store. Maybe you can get it from "Discover" but I've already deleted that.

You add a "Configurable Button" to your desktop or panel. This enables you to add two alternating scripts, an On-script and Off script, each with their own icon. The Off script should be your start-up mode, so if you want to start the desktop with the desktop locked, your Off-Script will be:

Code: Select all

qdbus org.kde.plasmashell /PlasmaShell evaluateScript "lockCorona(true)"

To unlock the desktop, the On-Script is:

Code: Select all

qdbus org.kde.plasmashell /PlasmaShell evaluateScript "lockCorona(false)"

For the icons, I've looked in "all" and searched on lock, and found an open padlock icon for the on-script, and a closed one for the off-script. Don't add a Plasmoid Label (leave it blank) because that will appear as text on the panel next to the Icon which will take up space. It would have been nice if the Configurable Button's author made that a Pop-Up text instead.

To allow for the desktop to start Locked you need to create two scripts, I put them in /usr/local/bin/ and saved them as root. Once saved, right-click on their icons in a Root Dolphin in order to set the properties to allow them to be executed.

First is lock-desktop

Code: Select all

#!/bin/bash

sleep 10

qdbus org.kde.plasmashell /PlasmaShell evaluateScript "lockCorona(true)"

Second is lock-desktop-startup

Code: Select all

#!/bin/bash

lock-desktop &

Having two executable files might appear complicated, but doing it this way allows the locking to be delayed by the number of seconds after "sleep", while control is handed back to the system to get on with other stuff. Otherwise the KDE start-up sequence will unlock the desktop again. You have to add the lock-desktop-startup in the KDE System Settings under Startup and Shutdown > Autostart > Login Scripts

Now when you log in, your Panels will be locked, and you have to click on the padlock icon to unlock them.

P.S. Don't try this with MX19. I did, and some icons on my panels became permanently locked! And you're still stuck with the Lock/Unlock options on the panel in any case.

[davemx]

Choice of Package Managers

I've half-raised this and others have mentioned it too, but I think that MX-KDE should stick with apt-notifier to work alongside mx-package-installer, with synaptic as backup. Although Discover is part of KDE, apt-notifier is part of MX linux, and I think that should be the default.

I remember adding a Plasmoid from the KDE store that didn't work in MX19KDE, but found if I used a slightly earlier version it worked just fine. If Discover automatically updates Plasmoids (something that the MX developers would have no control over), we may find that as the KDE version advances, but Debian and therefore MX stick with 5.20, that many plasmoids will suddenly stop working as they've been updated to a version that is incompatible with KDE5.20. Perhaps Discover takes the KDE version into account when updating plasmoids, but, again, it's something that MX has no control over. The time to look for updated plasmoids is when MX22 or 23 is released and we have a later version of KDE. Until then, I prefer to have control over my own plasmoids!

P.S. I do approve of dropping muon. When I installed MX19KDE it was the first thing I got rid of!