Bug 184100

Version:            (using 4.2.00 (KDE 4.2.0), Arch Linux)
Compiler:          gcc
OS:                Linux (i686) release 2.6.28-ARCH

I find the PowerDevil configuration interface quite confusing.

For example, instead of using regular tabs for "Actions", "Screen" and "CPU and System" in the "Edit Profiles" section, some kind of vertical tabs are used.

With regular tabs (like in konqueror etc), the user has a quick idea of which is the "capability tree", I mean, he instantly knows what are the available configuration sections. With the current "vertical tab" (I don't know the real name) model, depending on which tab you are in, the other tabs positions vary: sometimes, both at the bottom, sometimes both at the top, somethimes, mixed bottom and top.

Once you are used to it, it's not a problem, but for a new user it's difficult to tell that those "Screen" and "CPU and System" text labels at the bottom of the window are actually buttons you can click to get further configuration capabilities.

And this is probably worse in the "General settings" section, I just realized there's an "Advanced battery settings" tab, after using KDE 4.2 since its official release. The lack of feedback when the mouse cursor hovers the "tab" label makes it even harder to see.

Furthermore, in the "Edit profiles" section, with the default window size there's an horizontal scroll bar in all subsections, even if it's not needed. In the "Actions" and "CPU" subsections, a layout rearrangement would be needed, but in the "Screen" section the layout is already fine, but for some reason there's still an horizontal scroll bar which lets you see... a gray void space: http://imagebin.ca/view/KIIm7R.html

On a side note, I think it'd be nice to configure a "default profile", like a "superclass profile", where you define the default behaviour, for example, on the lid close and button pressed events. All other profiles, or "subclass profiles", would inherit those default preferences, but with the possibility of overriding them (this could be just a checkbox besides "When laptop is closed" that enables or disables the field, meaning if the field is enabled, the behaviour is overriden, and if it's disabled, it'd be inherited from the default profile). For example, I really hate the "suspend on lid close" feature, so I had to change that action in every single profile, and the same for all the other actions (changing to "prompt log out" when power button is pressed in every profile, etc).

I'm not sure I'm explaining myself; if further explanations and/or screenshots are needed, here I am.