Bug 341325

Summary:	Panel options "Windows Can Cover" and "Autohide" do the same
Product:	[Unmaintained] plasma4	Reporter:	Lukas ThyWalls <thywalls>
Component:	panel	Assignee:	Plasma Bugs List <plasma-bugs-null>
Status:	RESOLVED INTENTIONAL
Severity:	wishlist	CC:	cfeck, teohhanhui
Priority:	NOR
Version First Reported In:	unspecified
Target Milestone:	---
Platform:	Kubuntu
OS:	Linux
Latest Commit:		Version Fixed/Implemented In:
Sentry Crash Report:

Description Lukas ThyWalls 2014-11-27 14:15:00 UTC

More than a bug, it's a bad decision, a redundant option, a obvious missing option, or a bad explained option.

A panel visibility options are (like said here https://userbase.kde.org/Plasma/Panels/en#The_.22More_Settings.22_Menu):
- Always Visible: Keeps the panel visible at all times, even when windows are maximised.
- Auto Hide: Hides the panel off screen until the mouse is placed near the screen edge.
- Windows can cover: This allows windows to cover the panel and if maximised, will cover the panel.
- Windows go below: This allows windows to go below the panel, even when maximised.

But focusing in "Auto Hide" and "Windows Can Cover", the real behaviour are:
- Auto Hide: Hides the panel off screen until the mouse is placed near the screen edge (with animation)
- Windows can cover: Hides the panel off screen until the mouse is placed near the screen edge (without animation)

With "Windows can cover", if i place the mouse in the border where is the panel it appears and the panel cover the window (The option is exactly the opposite!). Indeed this is exactly the same as "Auto hide" but without an animation.

The solution could be:
- "Windows can cover", the panel is in the background and it doesn't bring to the front in any case (This is my favourite, it should be useful for some desktop customizations)
- Remove "Windows can cover" option because do the same like "Auto hide".
- Change "Windows can cover" name or explanation to another more accurate (lazy bad solution, but solution anyway...).

Like i said i prefer the panel always in the background and have widgets arranged in them and not floating in the desktop, and with the panel always hidden until i see the desktop.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Panel with "Windows can cover" option
2. Put the mouse in the border of the panel

Actual Results:
The panel appears like it have the "Auto hide" option

Expected Results:
The panel doesn't appears

System: KUbuntu 14.10, KDE 4.14.1 (Although, this problems happens since a lot of time, it seems)

There are a some related questions/bugs, but all any of them talk about the same "Windows can cover"/"Auto hide" behaviour: https://bugs.kde.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=panel%20%22windows%20can%20cover%22&list_id=1158245

Comment 1 Lukas ThyWalls 2014-11-27 14:24:10 UTC

Something i forgot, "Auto-Hide" and "Windows can cover" do the same WITH maximized windows in the desktop. Without any windows, "Auto-Hide" hides the panel until you put the mouse in the panel border, and with "Windows can cover" the panel is here.

This is because maybe is a misinformation, and should be another explanation of "Windows can cover" brings the panel to the front, and maybe (and this is a feature) add another option what put the panel always in the background.

Comment 2 Christoph Feck 2014-11-27 20:05:34 UTC

> maybe is a misinformation

Yes, you are misinformed, it works as intended.

> put the panel always in the background

Just remove the panel, and put the widgets directly on the desktop.

Comment 3 Lukas ThyWalls 2014-11-27 22:50:21 UTC

Well, here don't said any of that: "Windows can cover: This allows windows to cover the panel and if maximized, will cover the panel", but it's true, i'm misinformed, it should be added anyway "The panel appears if you reach the panel border" or something like that.

I place widgets in the background, but some widgets can be placed well outside a panel (i.e. Taskbar icons in vertical), and there is always bugs/problems of position reset of the widgets outside the panels (i don't post them because there are already posted), and being a logical option in other desktops/SOs to organize the desktop tools... well, anyway, i'm misinformed.

Thanks.

Comment 4 Teoh Han Hui 2023-12-04 18:07:09 UTC

My use case for this:

I'm trying to replicate GNOME Shell's "Activities Overview" in KDE Plasma. Consider that GNOME Shell's "dash" only shows up in the "Activities Overview" (default binding to the Super / Meta key). If "windows can cover" would not show the panel on hovering the screen edge, it'll be perfect for this, assuming of course that we can also trigger (without focusing), display, and use a panel in the "Overview" desktop effect.