Created attachment 160579 [details] Windows taskbar with profile overlay on Chrome icon In Windows the taskbar allow you to use icon overlays. Is is used by Chrome and Edge to indicate a profile image. See screenshot. It is very convenient when you work with several browser windows simultaneously. But in KDE it does not work. It would be good to support such feature. STEPS TO REPRODUCE 1. Open Chrome window (it will be your first profile) 2. Create another profile (if not done yet) and open window with it 3. Minimize both windows OBSERVED RESULT You cannot differentiate windows, because icons are the same. EXPECTED RESULT Would be convenient to have profile icon overlays over the application (chrome) icon to easily pick window that you want. SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS KDE Plasma Version: 5.27.6 KDE Frameworks Version: 5.108.0 Qt Version: 5.15.10 Graphics Platform: Wayland ADDITIONAL INFORMATION There is already a badge overlay implemented, in Arch Linux you need to install libunity for that. See screenshot here https://github.com/telegramdesktop/tdesktop/issues/4404 Also, there is a "sound" overlay, as can be seen in screenshot https://bugs.kde.org/attachment.cgi?id=138206 https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/shobjidl_core/nf-shobjidl_core-itaskbarlist3-setoverlayicon - Windows API ITaskbarList3::SetOverlayIcon allowing to make overlay
So are you proposing a new API that we would provide and then apps would implement it to opt into the functionality?
Yes. I also want it in some other places. For example, CLion allows you to set custom project icons. If I have two windows minimized for two different projects, I would like to have them be overlayed over clion app icon. I can also imagine other use cases, maybe for KMail for example. As a workaround, I currently create my custom icons with overlay, create a custom .desktop file, then create a window rule to force use that desktop file (so the icon applies).
Ok! Since it's a good idea, and you're a developer, would you be interested in implementing this? Might even make sense to do it as a FreeDesktop spec that we would then comply with, as this would give app developers a more solid spec to implement in their own code.
I would be glad to do everything I can. Note, however, that I am a beginner. Would be glad to take some directions.
Sure. I would recommend reaching out to someone like David Edmundson regarding an overall direction here, as he's much more knowledgeable about this sort of thing than I am.
>There is already a badge overlay implemented This is the relevant spec we support https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Unity/LauncherAPI You don't need libunity, we have code in KDE using the badge overlay (kmail/akregator) without any deps, it's just a few DBus calls. Sound is handled differently. >Might even make sense to do it as a FreeDesktop spec. That's a horrible place to send someone on their first patch! I would suggest extending what we have rather than building something new and separate. Given the DBus spec is just: signal com.canonical.Unity.LauncherEntry.Update (in s app_uri, in a{sv} properties) we can shove in any new properties in that last entry, such as an "overlay-icon"
Another cool idea where it can be used. When you open an application settings, some apps open another window for that (for example, web browser). And it could make the gear subicon on that.
Based on the lack of activity, I guess it's safe to say that Andrew was unable to make any progress here. Would anyone on the KDE team be in a position to dedicate some cycles to this? The taskbar integration that Windows offers with this feature increases productivity and efficiency for users who make use of multiple browser profiles. I find this extremely useful where I may have multiple organization accounts with a single provider, e.g. Google, and can use a single browser with the profile feature to easily distinguish between the accounts. The taskbar badges eliminate the trial and error of finding the right browser tab for the account/profile.
> Based on the lack of activity, I guess it's safe to say that Andrew was unable to make any progress here. I was not working on this yet. I currently still develop kde-builder most actively.
I wanted to note another place where this would be appropriate. When you open some archive with ark, the external viewer window has an icon of Ark, which is confusing. For example, some zip archive contain a pdf file inside it. You open archive. A window with list of files open. You click a pdf file in the list. A new window opens that shows you pdf. You minimize window (or somehow switches to another task, for example, go to browser to the page from where you downloaded the zip file). You see two Ark icons in the Task Panel. Instead, the window that shows the actual pdf cound have an Ark icon _WITH_ the Okular sub-icon.