Bug 274150

Summary: task bar and desktop cannot sensibly span dual displays
Product: [Unmaintained] plasma4 Reporter: davidblunkett <dav1dblunk3tt>
Component: generalAssignee: Plasma Bugs List <plasma-bugs>
Status: RESOLVED UNMAINTAINED    
Severity: normal CC: alex, cfeck
Priority: NOR    
Version: 4.6.0   
Target Milestone: ---   
Platform: openSUSE   
OS: Linux   
Latest Commit: Version Fixed In:
Sentry Crash Report:

Description davidblunkett 2011-05-25 22:53:13 UTC
Version:           4.4 (using KDE 4.4.4) 
OS:                Linux

task bar and desktop cannot sensibly span dual displays.

The task bar won't span displays and the desktops won't which is a pain.  I know i can have two task bars and two desktops but this isn't a solution.  For instance if i want my desktop files to be displayed why would I like them to be duplicated on both displays rather than taking off on the 2nd display where the space on the first ran out?

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
Can't get the task bar to span both displays

Can't get a single desktop to span both displays



Actual Results:  
taks bar and desktops limited to individual displays

Expected Results:  
Should be able to treat multple displays as one desktop (and have windows etc be aware of the joint).

Kde 3.5 used to do this just fine and dandy and it looked nice.

BTW is there anyway to stop maximised windows resizing to 2/3 height when dragged from one display to the other - this is a real pain!
Comment 1 Christoph Feck 2011-05-25 23:38:29 UTC
There are a lot of fixes in KDE 4.5 and KDE 4.6 regarding multiple screen handling. If you can reproduce the bug with KDE SC 4.6.x, please add a comment.
Comment 2 davidblunkett 2011-07-04 21:48:38 UTC
It appears to be exactly the same in 4.6:

The taskbar cannot span screens.

The desktops do not behave sensibly with multiple screens - try this, select "folder view" - you get folders over one screen.  now imaging there are more folders than fir in one screen (and the are alphabetically sorted) so that the first screen gets files A-N, you'd probably think it was sensible that they continued tiling over the next screen starting with O-Z? the best you can get is A-N one one and A-N on the other.  It is daft and so backward cf 3.5.

BTW is there any way to rid myself of the bloody cashew? it is bad enough having one but I've got two - and the one in the middle at the join between my screens is particularly irritating!
Comment 3 Christoph Feck 2011-07-04 22:44:05 UTC
The cashew is movable, just unlock widgets and drag it. If it keeps appearing between the screens, I suggest to report a separate bug.
Comment 4 davidblunkett 2011-07-05 08:12:15 UTC
My point about the cashew is that I don't want any cashew, but having to have two adds insult to the injury.  Much the same problem as not being able to stretch the taskbar across two screens or being able to have icons span the two screens.
Comment 5 davidblunkett 2011-07-07 08:33:22 UTC
Another irritating bug to do with dual screen behaviour has also been carried over from 4.4.x:

When borders are enabled on maximised windows it is possible to drag a window from one screen to another or place it inbetween). Without borders the window snaps to one screen or the other.

However, when borders are enabled and a window is dragged from one screen to the other such that it snaps to the new screen (rather than in the middle) the window resizes so that it is 2/3 height and then snaps to the top or bottom of the screen.  

This is bizarre and really annoying.
Comment 6 Christoph Feck 2011-07-07 18:30:47 UTC
Please do not mix multiple bugs in a single report. What comment #5 describes is a KWin issue, and should be (or already is) reported separately.
Comment 7 davidblunkett 2011-07-07 19:20:08 UTC
Ok - but it seems to me that because this bug can only occur with dual monitors that it is part of the same bug report "kde 4.xx" doesn't handle dual screen elegantly (multiple symptoms)".
Comment 8 Nate Graham 2018-06-08 19:03:10 UTC
Hello!

This bug report was filed for KDE Plasma 4, which reached end-of-support status in August 2015. KDE Plasma 5's desktop shell has been almost completely rewritten for better performance and usability, so it is likely that this bug is already resolved in Plasma 5.

Accordingly, we hope you understand why we must close this bug report. If the issue described  here is still present in KDE Plasma 5.12 or later, please feel free to open a new ticket in the "plasmashell" product after reading https://community.kde.org/Get_Involved/Bug_Reporting

If you would like to get involved in KDE's bug triaging effort so that future mass bug closes like this are less likely, please read https://community.kde.org/Get_Involved#Bug_Triaging

Thanks for your understanding!

Nate Graham