Version: (using KDE 3.5.8) Installed from: Ubuntu Packages OS: Linux I have my Main Panel located vertically along the left edge of my screen (with the taskbar at the bottom). Most panel buttons are clickable when the cursor is on the leftmost pixels, but that is not the case with system tray icons. What I want is to be able to press the mouse against the left edge of the screen and click there and have the icon respond. Currently I have to position the mouse in both dimensions to target an icon. Screen edges and corners are very important usability-wise, please take care that all controls located there be usable from the outermost pixels. This is already true for almost everything; the exceptions are scrollbars and system tray icons (at least on vertical panels). See also: bug 123333.
Unless your panel is less than 48 pixels wide, you'll always need to position the mouse in both dimensions. The system tray tries to fit as many icons into the smallest area as it can, which usually means multiple columns in a vertical panel. It is then centered in the available space. The available space, however, is dictated by the theme and there are themes which force the icons to the edge of the screen.
Let me elaborate. First of all, Microsoft is right in calling it ‘notification area’ rather than ‘system tray’: it should only contain icons that provide some information to the user, not icons that are shortcuts or something like that. I mean Kopete, KMail, kkbswitch, maybe KNetworkManager (for Wi-Fi users), Update Notifier deserve being there, while KMix, Klipper and others will be of better use elsewhere—in a menu, or on a panel with autohide. There’s no reason to have many icons in the notification area. Having said that, I disagree with your position on the matter. Even for those who have lots of icons, there’s no benefit in the edge pixels not being clickable. Is it really hard to extend the clickable area all the way towards the edge? For the record, here’s how my desktop looks: http://files.rsdn.ru/48787/kde3-panels.png (since then it has changed slightly, but the general principle remains). I have, in fact, set up hotkeys for most of applications, so this bug is now less of an issue for me, but anyway you should make use of Fitts’ law and take care panel themes place their icons on the very screen edge. ------ To summarize: there are benefits and no drawbacks in making screen edges behind icons clickable, and I’d guess it shouldn’t be difficult in implementation, because everything except notification area (at least in KDE 3) extends its clickable area all the way to its edge. TIA.
Roman: two notes: a) do not re-open bugs you did not close. comment on them and we will re-open if necessary. b) "and I’d guess it shouldn’t be difficult in implementation, because everything except notification area" <-- don't ever assume such things, nor try and tell us what is easy or not without knowing the details. it's just frustrating to the people who have to do the work. those two things said, i agree that we should work on making at least the icons near the screen edges edge-clickable by forwarding events in. it's a small issue, but one we can eventually get to.
Still impossible in KDE SC 4.5 Beta 1.
doesn't work for xembed icons, but for all DBus or plasmoid entries it now does.