Bug 446548 - Let Trash applet be in the system tray
Summary: Let Trash applet be in the system tray
Status: RESOLVED INTENTIONAL
Alias: None
Product: plasmashell
Classification: Plasma
Component: Trash widget (show other bugs)
Version: 5.23.3
Platform: Other Linux
: NOR wishlist
Target Milestone: 1.0
Assignee: Plasma Bugs List
URL:
Keywords: usability
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2021-12-06 12:14 UTC by Thomas Rossi
Modified: 2023-08-18 02:27 UTC (History)
2 users (show)

See Also:
Latest Commit:
Version Fixed In:
Sentry Crash Report:


Attachments
Mockup: trash displayed when not empty (11.86 KB, image/png)
2021-12-06 12:14 UTC, Thomas Rossi
Details
Mockup: Trash in grid view (41.43 KB, image/png)
2021-12-06 12:15 UTC, Thomas Rossi
Details
Mockup: Trash in configuration, section "Entries" (102.56 KB, image/png)
2021-12-06 12:16 UTC, Thomas Rossi
Details
Screenshot: Why widget sucks (33.08 KB, image/png)
2021-12-06 12:16 UTC, Thomas Rossi
Details
Screenshot: Why .desktop icon sucks (73.08 KB, image/png)
2021-12-06 12:17 UTC, Thomas Rossi
Details
Emptying the trash (right click) (23.00 KB, image/png)
2021-12-06 23:55 UTC, Thomas Rossi
Details

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Description Thomas Rossi 2021-12-06 12:14:43 UTC
Created attachment 144254 [details]
Mockup: trash displayed when not empty

SUMMARY
I just got a wild idea... how about adding the trash to the system tray elements ?
That would make it always accessible, it can be made visible only when there is something in the trash.
Somehow, I never thought about it before, but now it feels so natural to have it there!

Please see mockup images: 
- systray-trash-full.png
- systray-grid.png
- systray-entries.png


Here is the little story that led me there:
I wanted to find a way to have easy access to my trashbin.
I was not happy to have it on the desktop for several reasons: 
- I rarely see my desktop, there's always some kind of window on it for some reason...
- Using the widget is not an option as I use the Folder view for my desktop, meaning icons will overlap the widget... (see why-desktop-widget-sucks.png)
- Using a .desktop element is not an elegant way either as the "Empty trash" option available on right click is totally drown under all the other menu elements (and just below options to delete the very icon, using the same kind of icon, so that's not mis-click proof... (see why-desktop-icon-sucks.png)
- I'm not using a dock or anything, just the regular vanilla panel.
Comment 1 Thomas Rossi 2021-12-06 12:15:20 UTC
Created attachment 144255 [details]
Mockup: Trash in grid view
Comment 2 Thomas Rossi 2021-12-06 12:16:04 UTC
Created attachment 144259 [details]
Mockup: Trash in configuration, section "Entries"
Comment 3 Thomas Rossi 2021-12-06 12:16:35 UTC
Created attachment 144260 [details]
Screenshot: Why widget sucks
Comment 4 Thomas Rossi 2021-12-06 12:17:02 UTC
Created attachment 144261 [details]
Screenshot: Why .desktop icon sucks
Comment 5 Thomas Rossi 2021-12-06 23:55:30 UTC
Created attachment 144288 [details]
Emptying the trash (right click)
Comment 6 Nate Graham 2021-12-07 03:58:55 UTC
I agree, this is a sensible idea. I used to put a Trash widget on my panel as a standalone applet but removed it as it took up too much space when empty. Being an auto-hide item in the tray makes a lot of sense to me.

And it would be surprisingly easy to do: add a little bit of metadata to the Trash applet to tell it that it can show up in the system tray, and then give it the conditions under which it will appear.

Would you like to give it a try?
Comment 7 Thomas Rossi 2021-12-07 13:10:37 UTC
(In reply to Nate Graham from comment #6)
> Would you like to give it a try?

That's a pretty great idea, I would love to learn doing that!
Comment 8 Thomas Rossi 2021-12-08 12:41:03 UTC
I could do it on my computer and it works pretty well, even though there are few wrinkles to iron out.

Now, I'd like to understand the KDE Folks' way of doing things so i don't make a mess  ^_^
- Where can I find the master project of this trash plasmoid (a search on KDE invent was unfruitful) ?
- Where to discuss the little details (those wrinkles i'd like to iron out) with devs ?
(i also never used GIT yet, but I think I can find my way there with some doc)

Can anyone please help me getting in the train ?
Comment 9 Nate Graham 2021-12-08 17:02:53 UTC
Sure, I'd be happy to help!

The applet's code lives here: https://invent.kde.org/plasma/plasma-desktop/-/tree/master/applets/trash

General documentation can be found at:
- https://community.kde.org/Get_Involved/development (setting up your development environment)
- https://community.kde.org/Infrastructure/GitLab (using git to submit your merge request)

And the kde-devel room on Matrix is a good place to ask for help in real-time.
Comment 10 Thomas Rossi 2021-12-09 18:00:26 UTC
(In reply to Nate Graham from comment #9)
> Sure, I'd be happy to help!
> 
> The applet's code lives here:
> https://invent.kde.org/plasma/plasma-desktop/-/tree/master/applets/trash
> 
> General documentation can be found at:
> - https://community.kde.org/Get_Involved/development (setting up your
> development environment)
> - https://community.kde.org/Infrastructure/GitLab (using git to submit your
> merge request)
> 
> And the kde-devel room on Matrix is a good place to ask for help in
> real-time.

Thank you very much!
I'm already doing good progress making it look nice locally on my own system and getting used to the KDE API doc, and hope I can dedicate some time soon to propose the changes
Comment 11 Bug Janitor Service 2023-08-11 00:13:35 UTC
A possibly relevant merge request was started @ https://invent.kde.org/plasma/plasma-desktop/-/merge_requests/1656
Comment 12 Nate Graham 2023-08-18 02:27:37 UTC
We didn't achieve consensus that this is better, so I'm afraid that at this time the feature request will not be implemented, sorry!