On a freshly installed plasma desktop, icons (on the desktop) are arranged "in rows", what imho is not a sane "default"! The 2 main reasons, why it would be a better solution to standardly arrange icons "in columns" are the following: 1. Other common desktop environments (Linux, Windows, MacOS) arrange their icons in columns, too! Therefore, new users would not be somewhat confused (or forced to reconfigure), when trying plasma the first time. 2. Usually, users use "landscape" displays! If icons are arranged in column, it's (normally) much easier to "drag & drop" files between the desktop and other applications (e.g. dolphin): +--------------------+ | o o +-----------+ | | o o | dolphin | | | o o | o o o o o | | | o | o o o o o | | | o | o o o | | | o +-----------+ | +--------------------+ Please consider changing the mentioned default behavior (back to where it was even on KDE <= version 3). Thx & regards, Gerhard (alias Gerardo)
There is an option to change this under icons -> arrangements. Defaults are very subjective, and it is not possible to match everyone's preference. Your opinion has been noted, but I don't see a compelling reason to have inconsistent behaviour from every other file manager.
Hi David, thanks for your quick reply! I guess we've been talking at cross purposes. I already know the option to change the mentioned behavior. And of course you're right that defaults are very subjective! But my thoughts are based on the basis of providing something as default what people are already familiar with. Also, I'm not referring to file managers (in general). Just talking about the Desktop in particular (what only from a technically standpoint could be seen as a file manager). Do you now any other desktop environment arranging icons in a row? ;-) Please have a look at these desktops (arranging in columns): - Windows: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fa/Windows_10_1909_Desktop.png - MacOSX: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X_Jaguar#/media/File:Jaguar_on_G4.png - Ubuntu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu#/media/File:Ubuntu_19.10_Eoan_Ermine.png - Mate, XFCE, Cinnamon, ... I know that you guys have a lot of other (much more) important stuff to work on. And this would be only a minor improvement (imho)... ...perhaps you reconsider one day. Thanks and keep on your excellent work, Gerardo
What Gerardo is saying makes sense to me. A desktop is not a a resizeable window so I don't think using the same layout as in a file manager is necessarily warranted due to consistency reasons. It does tend to be easier to do drag-and-drop if desktop icons are arranged in column.
Hi, I just want to point out (again) that "arrangement in columns" had also been standard on our side till the "rejection of desktop icons" took place with "Plasma 4" coming out. I'm quite sure that the switch to "rows" (only) took place as part of the introduction of the "folderview plasmoid"...: - KDE 3: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/KDE_3.0n.jpg - Plasma 4: https://kde.org/announcements/4.1/screenshots/desktop.png ...but with the _reintroduction_ of "standardly showing icons on the desktop" (Plasma >= 5.10), I really think one should think about "earlier" behavior/settings/thoughts, too. Again, this is not a big deal and it's probably an extremely minor issue. But as KDE/Plasma is still kinda famous for its complexity due to its massive configuration abilities, it's just (/ even more) important to deliver the best default configuration possible... (I'm gonna reopen this issue in the hope to give some more awareness/time for overthinking...) Thx & regards, Gerhard
Personally I don't have strong feelings about the default setting. I came from macOS where the icons are in columns by default but I don't recall even noticing the difference between the Mac desktop and Folder View. Arranging in columns is consistent with the desktop arrangement on other platforms, but inconsistent with the default arrangement in our file manager. Arranging in rows is the opposite. So we're always going to be inconsistent with *something*, which makes a consistency argument harder to make since you then need to prioritize one of those things to be consistent with and provide justifications for why it's the more important one. I can see the merit in the argument in particular that arranging in columns makes more sense for landscape displays because it decreases the distance to reach most icons, and makes it easier to access the desktop icons when a file manager window is also open, because it's easily to avoid overlapping any of them with the window. This is in fact a very minor irritation of mine and I see now that arranging in columns resolves it. CCing VDG for further comment.
I also don't have strong feelings, but if most desktops are using columns, it's probably best to be consistent with those.
If nobody has very strong feelings, that's probably a good argument in favor of keeping it the same, as evidently the status quo isn't very annoying. :)
Hi Nate, thanks for your active contribution here! Of course lots of us do not have strong feelings about this -- me neither! ;-) But one should take into account that people discussing here, are (most likely) longtime Plasma users and therefore already used to it ... at least kind of. Users, trying Plasma the first time, form also a party out there -- potentially (and hopefully) the biggest party we also want to give a warm welcome... ;-) Imho, it's no big deal in neither direction. Leaving it as it is, or changing the default ... But doing one thing -- even if it's a small thing -- differently than others, should imho provide profound arguments for doing so. (Filip and veggero seem to feel my way, by the way... :-) )