Version: (using KDE 4.3.2) OS: Linux Installed from: Gentoo Packages When numer of new emails is shown in kmail's tray icon, background of that numer is filed with colour from kde colour theme. So when we have dark theme, with a loth of gray or black numer of new emails is very hard to read. Backgroud of that numer should be transparet.
^number // sory for english. Btw this bug is very old, strange noone reported it yet.
KMail uses the LinkText color on the appropriate View background, which seems correct and has actually been added to avoid unreadable text. You could check your color scheme with systemsettings if the "Link Text" color contrasts well to the "View" background color.
Christoph you are incorect, try changing theme to Highland Mist, Obsidian Coast or other darker one. In all dark ones there is dark background. Number is blue link set in "LinkText" box, but like i said, backgroud of it is dark like theme colours. I tryed changing color of "LinkText" to white, and all i get is white text with gray backgroud.
Created attachment 37708 [details] Screen of kmail icon with dark theme.
I still don't understand the problem. You seem to confirm that it really uses the LinkText foreground color (which is blue with Obsidian Coast, but you changed that to white and it worked). To make sure that the selected LinkText color is actually readable in the icon (it might be the same color as the icon), the background of the number is rendered with the View color (which is the valid background for LinkText). If this does not sound right, how do you want it to look?
I would like to have tansparent background behind emial's number. Default icon of kamil is white/gray so blue number is ok on it. Take a look on attachment, and say that all numbers with that theme will be readable, I can say to you they will not. As those are themes from kde pacakge, they should look fine on kmails default kde icon for kmail. But they dont with dark styles. So all people that want to use one of darker themes should edit default set becase it looks bad with default icon set? Its quite funny. Background for emails numer should be transparent always by default or it should have oposite color. Like if numer white background black, now i have dark blue number, with dark backgroud. And there should be style type or something to change it if users wants to. Why to change backgroud if it will look like <bad word> in half of themes that kde team gives users? BTW, if user have a smal screen with big resolution , and you will show him few dark blue numbers on black screen he will say there are almost unreadable. That is my point: Numer of emails on transparent background, and option to change it.
What could be done is comparing the actual contrast of the text color against both the icon background and the scheme background, and choose whatever has more contrast. For this case (bright icon, relatively dark text, and dark background), that comparison would chose the icons background instead, using some "average color" algorithm. Leaving the background purely transparent should not be done, as the icon might have arbitrary complex graphics that might make the text unreadable, regardless of its color.
Hope your idea will do. Waiting for that functionality. Thx
Another "feature" added to kde4 that was not here before :( I loved that the background was transparent, but now it it not. I understand that you changed it, but does it hurt to give a CHOICE? I mean Linux is all about choice, I don't want another windows... One little chekcbox and that's it, please? With a cherry on top? :)
I just changed to a dark theme (a slight modification of Obsidian Coast), and now my KMail icon looks like something has gone wrong: http://p173.de/s/1276910177.png I understand that simply making the background transparent is not an optimal solution - but having the text with a background colour overlaid over the icon image certainly is also not. Two IMO better solutions (of which I prefer the first): - Make the *tray icon text colour* customisable, just like many other colours are customisable in KMail, and make the background transparent - Give the user an option to change the image for the icon, and maybe offer a dark version of the icon, and make the background transparent
Created attachment 66450 [details] KMail default systray barely readable This is default KMail theme and number of emails in systray is barely readable. It would be nice if some usability / graphics expert could have a look at that.
Created attachment 66463 [details] Systray with barely readable icons My system colors are gray and green, but kmail forces light blue on gray
Thank you for taking the time to file a bug report. KMail2 was released in 2011, and the entire code base went through significant changes. We are currently in the process of porting to Qt5 and KF5. It is unlikely that these bugs are still valid in KMail2. We welcome you to try out KMail 2 with the KDE 4.14 release and give your feedback.
After 6 years from taking time to fill a bug i can say "I don't use kmail anymore and i will not take time to try KMail 2 again". Thank you.