Bug 166328

Version:            (using KDE 4.0.83)
Installed from:    SuSE RPMs

klauncher is very useful for launching applications quickly.  However, you have to type in the name of the program even to get commonly-used programs.  This is useful for programs that you don't use very often, but not as useful when you have a small set of programs you launch often.  For instance I have to type three characters to get firefox.  There is no way to have easily access a list of common applications.

At least when my current version of klauncher opens, there is a large empty black box below the input area.  It has nothing in it until you start typing in the text box.  My idea is that when the launcher first appears, this box is filled with a set of commonly-used applications that you can just click on immediately without having to type anything.  Once you start typing these immediately vanish and are replaced with the applications matching what you are typing.  This allows you to have your most commonly-used applications immediately available without having to type anything, but will not require you to have a second program launcher nor will it in any way interfere with the existing uses of klauncher.  There is already a system in place to turn on or turn off elements of klauncher (the options dialog where you can check or uncheck elements).  I would have it on by default but allow users to uncheck the box to disable it.

Although there would be a default set to begin with, the list applications would have to be set up so the user can change it to match his or her needs.  I have three ideas about how this could be implemented.  

The first is to simply use your list of favorites from the application launcher, and in the same order.  Klauncher already supports multiple pages of applications if there are too many to show at one time.  In practice, this would be very much like the application launcher where you start out with your favorites when you first open it but this list is replaced with your search results when you type something at the top.  The issue here is that I am not sure the list of favorites from the application launcher is accessible from other parts of KDE.  I would guess it is accessible since both the kickoff-style and classic-style application launchers use it.

The second idea is to have a menu within klauncher that allows you to set what applications you want independently of your favorites.  This would be somewhere in the options I suppose.

The third idea is to have a folder somewhere and anything in that folder, like .desktop files or symlinks, will be listed.  This is not a very elegant solution nor is it very user-friendly but may be relatively easy to implement (or it may be extremely hard, I'm not sure).