Bug 502298

Summary:	Icon spacing setting not available for pinned app icons of Icons-and-Text task manager
Product:	[Plasma] plasmashell	Reporter:	Bo Zhang <ndawinteractive>
Component:	Task Manager and Icons-Only Task Manager widgets	Assignee:	Plasma Bugs List <plasma-bugs-null>
Status:	CONFIRMED ---
Severity:	minor	CC:	nate, qydwhotmail
Priority:	NOR
Version First Reported In:	master
Target Milestone:	1.0
Platform:	Manjaro
OS:	Linux
Latest Commit:		Version Fixed In:
Sentry Crash Report:
Attachments:	Task manager icon spacing demo

Description Bo Zhang 2025-04-01 21:20:36 UTC

SUMMARY

STEPS TO REPRODUCE
1. Switch to Icons-only task manager
2. Open settings dialog, adjust Icon Spacing setting to "medium"
3. Switch Icons-and-Text task manager

OBSERVED RESULT
The launcher, or icon only elements in the task manager is still crowded together with smallest spacing

EXPECTED RESULT
Icon spacing for the launchers in Icons-and-Text task manager should be adjustable, with the Icon Spacing UI element exposed in the settings dialog and follows the settings of the Icons-only task manager. The "Medium" default in the Icons-only task manager looks better aesthetically because the icons are not so crowded. This also makes both task managers appear consistent in terms of looking when switched back and forth.

SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Windows:
macOS:
(available in the Info Center app, or by running `kinfo` in a terminal window)
Linux/KDE Plasma: Manjaro 24.2
KDE Plasma Version: 6.3.3
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.12.0
Qt Version: 6.8.2

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
I did some digging in the code, in taskmanager code Task.qml:
Layout.maximumWidth has hard-coded width for Icons-and-text task manager, but the width is variable according to the Icon Spacing settings for Icons-only task manager (tasks.iconsOnly). Update the width calculation for Icons-and-text task manager launchers to incorporate the Icon Spacing settings would fix it. It won't break current look, as users can choose to have "Small" spacing to make it look like current implementation. Users however, gains the ability to choose wider spacing for launcher icons.

Comment 1 Nate Graham 2025-04-01 22:15:22 UTC

It's currently intentional that spacing is only controllable in the icons-only version.

Are you by any chance using a vertical panel? Can you share a screenshot that shows the problem in a way that indicates why you'd want to change the spacing?

Comment 2 Bo Zhang 2025-04-02 01:53:45 UTC

Created attachment 179924 [details]
Task manager icon spacing demo

I have taken screen shots of current Icon-text, modified Icon-text (added 8px spacing for testing), and Icon-only task manager for comparison. Adding a 8px spacing will make Icon-text task manager behave consistently compared to Icon-only task manager and make the icon launchers less crowded.

Comment 3 Nate Graham 2025-04-02 21:22:19 UTC

I see, so you want for the setting to be present and only affect the icons-only pinned app launchers, not the expanded icons-and-text tasks? Do I have that right?

Comment 4 Bo Zhang 2025-04-02 21:52:34 UTC

(In reply to Nate Graham from comment #3)
> I see, so you want for the setting to be present and only affect the
> icons-only pinned app launchers, not the expanded icons-and-text tasks? Do I
> have that right?

Exactly. If the Icon Spacing setting is applied in the pinned launchers, it would make the appearance of both task managers consistent. It can also reduce the crowded look of the pinned launchers in Icons-and-Text task manager. As I see it, it's a step towards unifying both launchers, albeit a minor one.

Comment 5 Nate Graham 2025-04-02 21:59:38 UTC

That seems reasonable. If you're already working on this, feel free to submit a merge request!