Version: (using KDE KDE 3.4.1) Installed from: Gentoo Packages Compiler: 3.3.5-20050130 OS: Linux Here's the rundown: - Have a few windows open - Hit the "Show Desktop" button to minimize all the windows - Launch an app or file from the desktop or panel - app is launched an all windows minimized by the "Show Desktop" click are restored I would figure this was a "feature", but it was quite apparenly labeled as a bug when it existed in kde 3.2 http://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=67406
That's intended, it's called "Show Desktop" and not "Minimize All Windows".
I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but I can't see how a behavior which hasn't exisited in KDE's history except for one time when it was clearly labeled a bug could possibly be intended. Additionally, I'm confused as to why you would be so quick to label this an intended behaviour when you touched the previous bug 6 times without doing so?
If my memory serves me well this feature has worked in several different ways over the time. And I personally think marking the current behaviour as bug back than was a mistake. As for the intention, it's called "Show desktop" - I don't see anything unclear about that. It's meant for temporarily making the desktop available. If you want a "Minimize all" action, I suggest you submit a wish to Kicker.
The current bahavior of "Show Desktop" is, in my opinion, extremely undesirable. Windows XP has a very smooth behavior. When you click "Show Desktop", all of your windows are minimized. If you choose to open only one window, or launch a single program, only that one window is then shown. If you want your entire desktop back the way it was previously, clicking "Show Desktop" again will bring it back. In KDE, If I click "Show Desktop", all of my windows are minimized. (And I'm pretty sure they are minimized, because if I right click on them on the kicker, minimized is checked). I simply don't understand why restoring an individual window from the taskbar will only restore that one Window, but launching an application from the Kicker or the desktop will restore all of the Windows. It just doesn't make any sense.
It makes about as much sense as a "show desktop" feature that doesn't sometimes show you the desktop. And this is not the right place to discuss this anyway, as almost nobody besides me and you reads this. If you feel it's wrong, find some mailing list for the discussion (say, kde-usability).
I agree with comment #4, as do the people in bug 113552. The new behaviour is definitely a mis-feature: it's inconsistent with KDE's behaviour in every version for the last 4 years; it's confusing and it's unhelpful. KDE here is trying to second-guess what I want, and it is doing so wrongly. "Show desktop" quite correctly toggles all windows to minimise and back again. BUT, if I press "show desktop" only once, and then start some new window, I don't want all the other windows to suddenly re-maximise. If I wanted that to happen, I'd ask for it by clicking "show desktop" again. If this is to be the new behaviour, is there any workaround for it?
The real problem arises when you want to show desktop and then do stuff on the desktop itself, rather than just temporarily expose it. Eg if I right-click a desktop file/icon, and choose properties, then the properties window does come up on top, but it is very confusing to find all the other windows have re-maximised without being requested, and are now obscuring the desktop which I was trying to look at! That part is definitely a bug: please can we have the old behaviour back, [and a pref to configure it if some people prefer the new behaviour] Workaround: Unfortunately, kicker/DCOP don't expose sufficient functionality to restore the old behaviour (there is no "listAllWindows() function, nor is there a maximiseWindow() or minimiseWindow() function). However, there is wmctrl: http://sweb.cz/tripie/utils/wmctrl/ So, I shall write a shell script to do this....
Unfortunately, wmctrl doesn't support the one feature necessary: minimising windows. (It can maximis, raise, shade, slice and dice, but it can't minimise!) Is there *any* way to emulate the old behaviour? I used to use it 20 times a day, and I very much miss it! Please, someone...HELP!
I also find the current behavior (v3.5.2) very confusing. I am sorry to say this but the way Windows handles this feature makes much more sense.
Good news: I have finally managed to create a workaround - which exactly mimics the old behaviour. It's a bit of an ugly hack, but so far, it works great :-) You can download it all (~800kB) from here: http://www.richardneill.org/src/kshowdesktop.tar.gz Read the source kshowdesktop.sh for explanations. [The 800kB includes the source for wmctrl and devilspie, and some RPMs for Mandriva 2006] Here's how it works: 1)Use wmctrl to list the windows on the current desktop. Also list sticky windows on all desktops; filter out kicker and KDE Desktop. 2)xwininfo tells us which windows are visible. 3)Either read in the previous state, or save the current state of relevant windows. Ignore old state if it is stale. 4)Write a devilspie rule to match the relevant windows. [I had to add support for unminimize to devilspie] 5)Invoke, then kill devilspie to make it happen.
*** Bug 129709 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
In 3.5.4 I also suffer from this "intended feature". I want my windows minimized unless I tell them myself to restore. Please change this behaviour. Thank you, vatbier
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*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 67406 ***