Bug 464162 - Auto-hide Panel only appears when cursor is directly over the panel area
Summary: Auto-hide Panel only appears when cursor is directly over the panel area
Status: RESOLVED INTENTIONAL
Alias: None
Product: plasmashell
Classification: Plasma
Component: Panel (show other bugs)
Version: 5.26.5
Platform: Kubuntu Linux
: NOR normal
Target Milestone: 1.0
Assignee: Plasma Bugs List
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2023-01-11 17:29 UTC by tim
Modified: 2023-01-18 21:10 UTC (History)
2 users (show)

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Description tim 2023-01-11 17:29:11 UTC
SUMMARY:

When set to use Floating Panel and Auto-Hide, Floating Panel only appears when cursor is directly over the panel area. In other words, it doesn't appear when just scrolling to any "empty" area along the bottom, as would be the normal, expected behavior.

STEPS TO REPRODUCE
1. Create a Floating panel, center-aligned, with space on either side
2. Set it to Auto Hide
3. Scroll to the bottom of the screen, but in an area where the floating panel doesn't exist.

OBSERVED RESULT
Panel stays hidden and won't show unless you scroll to where the actual panel is defined.

EXPECTED RESULT
Panel should un-hide when you scroll to anywhere on the bottom screen edge.

SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Operating System: Kubuntu 22.10
KDE Plasma Version: 5.26.5
KDE Frameworks Version: 5.101.0
Qt Version: 5.15.6
Kernel Version: 5.19.0.30
Graphics Platform: X11 and Wayland


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
This should be the default, but is it's something users DON'T want for whatever reason, maybe "un-hide panel" can be added as an option for Screen Edge behavior. Just a thought.
Comment 1 Nate Graham 2023-01-11 18:33:01 UTC
Can you clarify what you mean by "Scroll to the bottom of the screen"? A hidden panel is only supposed to appear when your cursor touches its screen edge; no scrolling is involved.
Comment 2 veggero 2023-01-16 14:21:32 UTC
BTW, this applies to all panels - not just floating ones - and it seems to be an intentional design decision
Comment 3 tim 2023-01-16 17:10:20 UTC
(In reply to Nate Graham from comment #1)
> Can you clarify what you mean by "Scroll to the bottom of the screen"? A
> hidden panel is only supposed to appear when your cursor touches its screen
> edge; no scrolling is involved.

Sorry, "scroll" was probably the wrong word. I meant when you move the cursor to where it hits the bottom edge of the screen. If the panel is floating and therefore doesn't extend all the way to the edge, if the cursor hits an "empty" area, the panel stays hidden. Even if it's only a few pixels, but it's especially noticeable when the minimum size of the panel is defined to where there is significant empty space on either side. 

I could see how this behavior would make sense for e.g. a tiny side panel with a clock plasmoid, or if a person had more than one panel on a screen edge, but I don't think it makes sense for the "main" panel that has the launcher, task manager and system tray by default. Especially being that it is generally the only panel on the bottom screen edge.

I would propose that the panel which contains the launcher and/or task manager should unhide when the cursor touches anywhere on the edge where that panel lives. This is the behavior on (I'm so sorry) MacOS and I believe Latte as well.
Comment 4 Nate Graham 2023-01-17 16:51:00 UTC
I can't reproduce that. When my panel is configured as both floating and auto-hide, it appears whenever I move the cursor to any area where the panel would be , including the empty areas around it that include its extended hitbox.

Can you attach a screen recording of the issue so I can make sure I'm testing the same way? Thanks!
Comment 5 tim 2023-01-18 03:56:45 UTC
(In reply to Nate Graham from comment #4)
> I can't reproduce that. When my panel is configured as both floating and
> auto-hide, it appears whenever I move the cursor to any area where the panel
> would be , including the empty areas around it that include its extended
> hitbox.
> 
> Can you attach a screen recording of the issue so I can make sure I'm
> testing the same way? Thanks!

Sure thing:


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m8AhEK9JtxFNq1RyV9bMym7WKN4R-LFd/view?usp=drivesdk
Comment 6 Nate Graham 2023-01-18 19:11:40 UTC
Oh! Your panel is not maximized. A non-maximized panel will indeed only appear when the cursor touches a part of the screen edge that would have the Panel on it when visible. This behavior is currently intentional.
Comment 7 tim 2023-01-18 20:55:59 UTC
(In reply to Nate Graham from comment #6)
> Oh! Your panel is not maximized. A non-maximized panel will indeed only
> appear when the cursor touches a part of the screen edge that would have the
> Panel on it when visible. This behavior is currently intentional.

Yes, it's not maximized, hence why I specified that it is set to floating. 


>Intentional

OK, but this deviates from the standard used by Latte, Dash to Dock and MacOS. I found it very frustrating, being a relatively seasoned Plasma user, I would imagine new users would be extra confused. If Plasma wants to start pushing a floating panel, which given the popularity of Latte is a great idea, it would be worth considering a different default for the main panel.
Comment 8 Nate Graham 2023-01-18 21:06:49 UTC
"Floating" actually isn't the same as "non-maximized." It's a distinct state that makes the panel actually no longer touch *any* screen edges, with an invisible hitbox that reaches them anyway to preserve Fitts' Law.
Comment 9 Nate Graham 2023-01-18 21:07:51 UTC
If you want to formally suggest that the entire screen edge should un-hide an auto-hidden panel rather than just the part that has the hidden panel on it, that's a valid wish, but this history of this bug report is kind of messy due to the back-and-forth. If you want to do it, could you make a new bug report that requests that as a wishlist thing?
Comment 10 tim 2023-01-18 21:10:36 UTC
(In reply to Nate Graham from comment #9)
> If you want to formally suggest that the entire screen edge should un-hide
> an auto-hidden panel rather than just the part that has the hidden panel on
> it, that's a valid wish, but this history of this bug report is kind of
> messy due to the back-and-forth. If you want to do it, could you make a new
> bug report that requests that as a wishlist thing?

Sure thing, I will do it in the next few days. Thanks!