SUMMARY Drop shadow strength changes as windows go in and out of focus. This is jumpy and jarring and disturbs visual overview. The in focus window is not the most important window for me. When I work I look back and forth at several windows at the same time. Having the lighting and 3D appearance different for only one window is disorientating. That it continuously changes as I change focus is even more disorientating. The whole desktop appears flat except the in focus window which then jumps out. If I turn off drop shadow decorations then the whole desktop is too flat and lifeless. Drop shadows are a valuable enhancement. If some people need to emphasize their in focus window then I need at least a setting to have them even for all windows. People have different work flows and I need to view multiple windows side by side with even emphasis. STEPS TO REPRODUCE 1. Settings/Appearance/Decorations/Breeze/Edit/Shadows: choose a size, strength and color. Large, 100%, black 2. Open several windows on the desktop, arrange them to see many of them at once side by side. My desktop stretches across two 1440p monitors OBSERVED RESULT Change focus from one to another, the in focus window has dramatic drop shadows, the others less. If you change focus from one to another it's visually jumpy. If you need to view content from several windows at the same time, the in focus window distracts attention. EXPECTED RESULT The lighting and 3d effect of each window is the same and doesn't make some content more prominent than other content. SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS Linux: debian (unstable) KDE Plasma Version: 5.21.5 KDE Frameworks Version: 5.86.0 Qt Version: 5.15.2
This is an intentional effect to help people see which window has active focus. There are many ways that this is indicated--most notably with shadows and color scheme changes--but all of these can be disabled by users, so we need more than one to be active by default to ensure that it gets communicated properly. A lot of people don't notice subtle effects on their own and need more than one visual cue. If you don't like the effect, you're welcome to disable shadows in the Breeze Window Decoration theme settings or use less stark visual settings.
Using drop shadows as the in focus indicator ignores the workflow with modern ultra wide monitors and having several windows on a desktop at once. I often have three browser windows, several konsole windows, several kate windows all side by side as I compare code and content back and forth. Drop shadows are a separate feature than in focus accentuation. The current setting for drop shadows only allows off or accented on the in focus window. Drop shadows are one of the main reasons I use compositing. No drop shadows makes my desktop too flat with no distinction. Only one window drop shadowed while many more are being used is unnatural and disorienting. In the old days there were many flexible settings for drop shadows. How can I have nice deep drop shadows on my whole desktop rather than on just one window? The way it is now 10% of my desktop has drop shadows and 90% doesn't. The choice of not having drop shadows ignores the whole topic of having a compositing desktop.
That sounds like a configuration problem. I see drop shadows on all my windows, it's just that the active window has deeper shadows. Can't you get that look working?
The configuration does not let me have nice shadows evenly on all windows. The not in focus windows have a very subtle drop shadow while the in focus window has a deep shadow. Please consider the importance this has on a workflow with many windows being used at the same time. I'm sure it's as important as the person who needs to know which window is in focus. Why should it be only one or the other? I really need a setting for all windows to have the same shadows.
I have many windows open at the same time and I consider the feature to be beneficial. It helps me see which window has active focus. This is a real concern with you have a lot of windows visible at the same time. If we allowed this to be configured or reverted the change, and you gave all windows the same drop shadow irrespective of focus, wouldn't that make it *harder* for you to tell which window has active focus?
You're describing a workflow where one window's content has priority. I do understand and use it. But when I'm using many windows side by side at a time, when I look at my desktop as a whole, it's really unnatural and jarring to have one with deep shadows and many more not. It seems to me a separate setting for in focus could help honor both work flows. KDE has always been the most beautiful and useful desktop of any I ever use. When the drop shadows started being uneven, I'm really perceptually affected. When I look out my window I see shadows everywhere not just at the tree I'm looking at. To see one window shadowed more than the others hits me as perceptually off.
For workflows where many windows are open and visible simultaneously, it is still useful to be able to tell which one has active focus. This is the window that will respond to keyboard shortcuts, to provide one example. That's important to know. So on a conceptual level, making it harder to distinguish the active window is a bad thing, not a good thing. However on an aesthetic level, it's not a completely unreasonable request. Re-opening and marking as a wishlist item.
Thank you, I really believe it's worth it. To be clear, I'm not in any way objecting to the in focus window having distinction. I used to like the blue glow of oxygen. Or the blue outline within the focus element in Dolphin. My objection is using drop shadows as the way to indicate focus. The way it is now if I have 4 windows open side by side, 75 percent of my windows don't have enough drop shadow. With ultra wide monitors I often have 10 windows open, making 90 percent of the windows on the screen without enough drop shadows. Having the majority of windows on my screen without drop shadows is perceptually off when viewed as a whole.
Consensus from our designers seems to be that we don't want this as an option, so I'm marking as RESOLVED INTENTIONAL for now.