Bug 514497

Summary:	Bringing a visible-on-all-desktops app to the foreground in one desktop brings it to the foreground in all desktops
Product:	[Plasma] kwin	Reporter:	Boukthor <vinz>
Component:	general	Assignee:	KWin default assignee <kwin-bugs-null>
Status:	RESOLVED FIXED
Severity:	normal
Priority:	NOR
Version First Reported In:	5.27.11
Target Milestone:	---
Platform:	Kubuntu
OS:	Linux
Latest Commit:		Version Fixed/Implemented In:
Sentry Crash Report:

Description Boukthor 2026-01-12 16:31:16 UTC

When an app that was made visible on all virtual desktops is brought to the foreground in one desktop (by switching to it), it brings it to the foreground in all desktops. It is especially annoying because that app will not necessarily have the focus on the other desktops...

STEPS TO REPRODUCE
1. Select an app in the taskbar, right-click then "Move to virtual desktop" > "Visible on all desktops". For clarity's sake, I'll call this app the "omnipresent app" and the current desktop, the "main desktop".
2. Make sure the omnipresent app is drawn behind another one on this desktop. Select an app you want to see (let's call it the "wanted app") and drag its window so it's above the omnipresent app one (or maximize it).
3. Switch to a secondary desktop and bring the omnipresent app to the foreground (with Alt-Tab or by click on it in the taskbar).
4. Switch back to the "main" desktop.

OBSERVED RESULT
The omnipresent app will be drawn above the wanted app on the main desktop, but if won't have the focus.
Worse still, if you try to alt-tab twice to bring back the wanted app to the foreground, you just compound the problem: in the process you brought the omnipresent app to the foreground... on all desktops.

EXPECTED RESULT
Bringing a visible-on-all-desktops app to the foreground on one desktop shouldn't bring it to the foreground in all desktops. If this is impossible to achieve, it should at the very least have the focus.

SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Linux/KDE Plasma: Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS
KDE Plasma Version: 5.27.12
KDE Frameworks Version: 5.115.0
Qt Version: 5.15.13

Comment 1 Bug Janitor Service 2026-01-12 16:33:48 UTC

Thank you for the bug report!

However Plasma 5.27.11 no longer receives updates or maintenance from KDE; active versions are 6.4 or newer. Please upgrade to an active version as soon as your distribution makes it available to you. Plasma is a fast-moving project, and bugs in one version are often fixed in the next one.

If you need help with Plasma 5.27.11, please contact your distribution, who bears the responsibility of providing help for older releases that are no longer receiving updates from KDE.

If you can reproduce the issue after upgrading to an active version, feel free to re-open this bug report.

Comment 2 Boukthor 2026-01-15 08:04:03 UTC

I upgraded my system to a non-LTS version. The bug is still here...
SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Linux/KDE Plasma: Ubuntu 25.10
KDE Plasma Version: 6.4.5
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.17.0
Qt Version: 6.9.2

Comment 3 Vlad Zahorodnii 2026-01-15 13:41:12 UTC

Stacking order is global. Due to the technical reasons, changing it will be difficult too. This is intentional.

Comment 4 Boukthor 2026-01-15 14:16:53 UTC

If it's intentional then I guess it's a feature not a bug... Should I post this as a feature request, then?
I suspected stacking order to be global and I understand that it would be difficult to change but I firmly believe that it should be desktop-related.
Why should interacting with an omnipresent app on one desktop ruin the window layout you manually organized on a different desktop?