Bug 333120

Summary: Add more colors to mouse mark effect
Product: [Plasma] kwin Reporter: Lucas Kane <box0>
Component: effects-variousAssignee: KWin default assignee <kwin-bugs-null>
Status: RESOLVED INTENTIONAL    
Severity: wishlist CC: ashark, kdedev, nate, vlad.zahorodnii
Priority: NOR    
Version First Reported In: 4.11.8   
Target Milestone: ---   
Platform: unspecified   
OS: Linux   
Latest Commit: Version Fixed/Implemented In:
Sentry Crash Report:

Description Lucas Kane 2014-04-06 11:06:28 UTC
I'm using the mouse mark effect to mark stuff on screen while recording math video tutorials. Sometimes I would like to use different colors to mark different objects and this is not possible with the actual implementation of the effect, since you only have one color available.

It would be nice if there was the possibility to set different marks to be called via different shortcuts while recording videos.
Comment 1 Vlad Zahorodnii 2018-08-26 17:41:48 UTC
(In reply to Lucas Kane from comment #0)
> I'm using the mouse mark effect to mark stuff on screen while recording math
> video tutorials. Sometimes I would like to use different colors to mark
> different objects and this is not possible with the actual implementation of
> the effect, since you only have one color available.
> 
> It would be nice if there was the possibility to set different marks to be
> called via different shortcuts while recording videos.

I'm not a UX guy but different shortcuts for different colors will be quite problematic. Better would be to have some window where folks can pick different colors and line width, I guess.
Comment 2 Vlad Zahorodnii 2018-08-26 17:44:55 UTC
CC'ing Nate as a VDG member.
Comment 3 Nate Graham 2018-08-26 20:12:51 UTC
Yeah, in order to provide the requested feature for multiple colors that you can switch between, we'd need to change the configuration window for the effect to allow you to add additional styles, and attach global shortcuts to each individual one. Probably with this, their shortcuts should be visibly connected with each style. Seems doable UI wise, if such a thing is implementable.
Comment 4 Martin Flöser 2018-08-27 20:01:08 UTC
I would recommend against it as adding more global shortcuts is always problematic. And for all I know hardly any user knows this effect, even less the global shortcut. Even I have to look it up, when wanting to use the effect. So if we add more shortcuts to it: who would know them? And the price is an application we might break by stealing it's shortcut.
Comment 5 Andrew Shark 2023-08-06 16:55:29 UTC
> And for all I know hardly any user knows this effect
I disagree, this is a very much used effect, for example for those who do screen sharing while having a video call with somebody. I use it very often.

But I agree that complicating this effect is not what we want. If user want to use different colors, why not use specific applications for this? Such application will allow to draw with shapes, remember the drawing, and so on.
But the purpose of this kde effect is to quickly mark something on the screen, and be simple (and not introduce new global shortcuts).
If agree, let's close this with Intentional resolution.
Comment 6 TraceyC 2025-06-17 22:12:32 UTC
Closing, since this didn't gain any traction.