Bug 224240

Summary: Apply button fails when changing the theme (in Desktop theme settings)
Product: [Applications] systemsettings Reporter: marco <marcomelo>
Component: kcm_desktopthemedetailsAssignee: Plasma Bugs List <plasma-bugs>
Status: RESOLVED FIXED    
Severity: normal CC: annma, asraniel, greatbunzinni, martinstolpe, ndbecker2, plasma-bugs, richard.llom
Priority: NOR    
Version: unspecified   
Target Milestone: ---   
Platform: Compiled Sources   
OS: Linux   
Latest Commit: Version Fixed In:
Sentry Crash Report:

Description marco 2010-01-25 22:43:39 UTC
Version:            (using Devel)
OS:                Linux
Installed from:    Compiled sources

Desktop Theme Details fails to change theme, 

Procedure:

1) Go to Configure desktop, select advanced tab
2) Click on Desktop theme settings
3) Select any theme 
4) The apply button does not get activated. (it should be activated when selecting a new theme)

Tested in Opensuse 11.2 with KDE 4.4 SC RC2 (Second Release Candidate)
Comment 1 Beat Wolf 2010-01-26 22:52:47 UTC
i cannot reproduce this here...
Comment 2 marco 2010-01-27 02:55:04 UTC
Beat Wolf, what distro are you using?
Comment 3 Beat Wolf 2010-01-27 08:27:44 UTC
i just tried kde 4.4 compiled from trunk (but i use kubuntu if it really matters). Ok to be fair, it's kde from trunk not the actual 4.4 branch, but it should be quite close
Comment 4 Anne-Marie Mahfouf 2010-01-27 08:38:55 UTC
The theme cannot be changed globally in this module marco, that's why it does not work.
The proper way to change a whole plasma theme is to go to System Settings -> General -> Appearance -> Style -> Workspace and change the theme there.
Desktop Theme details is for customizing the desktop theme, i.e. for mixing themes on some plasma elements.

Personally I find those 2 settings areas very confusing. I would think like marco did that in Desktop Theme Details one could also change the whole theme. Currently if one wants to customize his desktop he needs to go to Style to get new themes via GHNS and then come back to Desktop Theme Details to choose the customization. 

Beat Wolf: go to Desktop Theme Details and on top all the available themes are listed, in an horizontal bar. Say you have "Air" and want to get "Air for Netbook", choose it there and nothing happens, you cannot Apply it. That what marco means.
Comment 5 Beat Wolf 2010-01-27 08:52:02 UTC
ah now i see. then this is not a plasma bug but a kcm one. thx
Comment 6 Anne-Marie Mahfouf 2010-01-27 10:00:00 UTC
It's a usability problem as the kcms work as designed but the whole thing is not intuitive and users just do not get it. I improved the Desktop Theme Details doc to try to explain how it works but it really does not make sense to go back and forth between 2 different kcms.
Comment 7 marco 2010-01-27 18:26:47 UTC
Uff now i understand the  problem, anyway it's totally confusing...

Hope it's fixed.
Comment 8 Martin Stolpe 2010-04-01 13:34:39 UTC
I'm using 4.4.2 and it's still not fixed (if fixed means that one can change the desktop theme using the "Desktop Theme Details" tab). It's really confusing that you can set the theme at two places. I think it would be better to put all the options at one place. Perhaps the "Desktop Theme Details". could be merged into "Appearance" or at least make the apply button available when another theme is selected in "Desktop Theme Details".
Comment 9 Anne-Marie Mahfouf 2010-04-01 14:43:51 UTC
Martin you do not understand that the Desktop Theme Details kcm is NOT designed to change a whole Plasma theme. For that you go to General -> Appearance -> Style -> Workspace

The Desktop Theme Details allows you to customize your plasma theme, i.e. to set different themes for different widgets.

This bug report should only stay open if some design is suggested otherwise it's pretty non productive. Where to add the Get New Themes... button if you want to change global themes here as well as customizing? How to make all this theme management more intuitive?
Comment 10 Martin Stolpe 2010-04-01 16:44:01 UTC
All I was saying is that it's not intuitive for me that I have to change a single item under the "Theme Item" settings then to set it back just to be able to click apply. Probably the "Desktop Theme Details" is not designed to change the whole theme but obviously me and others tried to so and I still fail to see why it isn't supported to click apply after the theme is changed. What is allowed currently is select another theme change at least on item and then click apply. I don't really mind having it in two places where one just gives you a very basic option and the other allows you to more finely tune your settings. I just don't get why the apply button is handled the way it is handled?
Comment 11 Dario Andres 2010-04-06 14:35:56 UTC
*** Bug 198943 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 12 Dario Andres 2010-04-06 14:36:01 UTC
*** Bug 204781 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 13 Richard Llom 2013-03-21 14:44:35 UTC
Hello,
I think this bug can be closed, since in the new System Settings the design is improved (both settings are now in same module, each on a tab right next to each other).
However there are still some usability issues I filled bug 317131 for this.
Comment 14 Anne-Marie Mahfouf 2013-03-21 15:56:34 UTC
Hi Richard, thanks for your feedback, I am closing this now.