Bug 505884 - Difference in custom icon between application in kickoff menu, task bar and system tray
Summary: Difference in custom icon between application in kickoff menu, task bar and s...
Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 493034
Alias: None
Product: plasmashell
Classification: Plasma
Component: Application Launcher (Kickoff) widget (other bugs)
Version First Reported In: 6.3.5
Platform: Manjaro Linux
: NOR normal
Target Milestone: 1.0
Assignee: Plasma Bugs List
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2025-06-21 04:15 UTC by Sevenseraphim
Modified: 2025-06-26 15:36 UTC (History)
4 users (show)

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


Attachments
Differences in application custom icon based on location (3.46 MB, video/mp4)
2025-06-21 04:15 UTC, Sevenseraphim
Details
Icon for testing purposes where this odd issue occurs (551.27 KB, image/png)
2025-06-25 04:58 UTC, Sevenseraphim
Details

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Description Sevenseraphim 2025-06-21 04:15:52 UTC
Created attachment 182458 [details]
Differences in application custom icon based on location

SUMMARY:
Changing an application icon from the kickoff menu shows the wrong icon in kickoff, the correct icon in task manager (after dragging it there) and the original icon (old icon) in the system tray.

So there are now three different icons for the same application.

STEPS TO REPRODUCE
1. Open the kickoff menu and right click on an application and click edit application
2. Click on the application's icon to set a new custom icon
3. Click save

OBSERVED RESULT
The kickoff menu application icon is neither the new icon nor the old one (it's different)
The task bar manager shows the new application icon
The system tray shows the old application icon

EXPECTED RESULT
All three locations/instances of the application should show the new icon

SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Operating System: Manjaro Linux 
KDE Plasma Version: 6.3.5
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.14.0
Qt Version: 6.9.0
Kernel Version: 6.12.28-1-MANJARO (64-bit)
Graphics Platform: Wayland

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Please see the attached video
Comment 1 TraceyC 2025-06-24 21:44:43 UTC
Thanks for the bug report, and the screen recording, which shows exactly what's happening.

In the video:
- Open the Applications menu
- Right click an application in Favorites - Edit Application (GPU Screen Recorder, a flatpak)
- Click the icon button and choose a custom png icon with Browse, Save and close the editor
- In the App menu, a different icon is shown which is neither the default or chosen icon (incorrect)
- Drag the icon from the App menu to the taskbar, it shows the chosen icon (correct)
- Opening the application shows the default icon in the system tray

I'm not able to reproduce the bug entirely on git-master or Manjaro using these steps and that application., using the default Breeze icon set
Both the Application menu and task manager show the custom icon I chose.
The system tray shows the incorrect, default icon when I open the application - that is reproduced on git master (it won't launch on Manjaro)
This can also be reproduced with VLC

My feeling is that the system tray icons are set by the application and can't be changed. I'll let the developers clarify that.

One question for you, do you also see the difference in the task bar icon with a brand new user?
Comment 2 Sevenseraphim 2025-06-25 03:44:24 UTC
Hi, thank you for replying.

> using the default Breeze icon set

I'm currently using the Qogir item theme (https://store.kde.org/p/1296407) installed through: system settings > colours & themes > icons

I don't know if this makes a difference or not?

> One question for you, do you also see the difference in the task bar icon with a brand new user?

I initially noticed this issue on my main user account but then I created a new user account with default settings for testing and noticed the same behaviour. The video recording was taken from the new user account.
Comment 3 Sevenseraphim 2025-06-25 04:57:42 UTC
Ok I just noticed something very strange, the issue as it was recorded seems to only happen with that specific icon I chose, I tested it with a different custom icon and it worked. The application and task manager both changed to the correct icons (only the system tray still shows the old icon)

Just for the sake of testing I will upload the original icon for you to test since this may be a niche case that affects certain icons which we are not aware of. (Strange that it shows in task manager but not in the application)
Comment 4 Sevenseraphim 2025-06-25 04:58:49 UTC
Created attachment 182632 [details]
Icon for testing purposes where this odd issue occurs
Comment 5 Nate Graham 2025-06-25 18:46:07 UTC
What is the *file name* of the custom icon?
Comment 6 Nate Graham 2025-06-25 18:47:12 UTC
I ask because if the custom icon has a name that looks rather like a standard FreeDesktop-compatible icon name, then this is probably Bug 493034. And if you change the name if your custom icon to some gobbledygook like "abcdefghijk.png" and then the issue goes away, it's 100% that issue.
Comment 7 Sevenseraphim 2025-06-26 04:48:36 UTC
(In reply to Nate Graham from comment #6)

So I took inspiration from your comment and renamed the file to "gobbledygook.png" 😇 (the original file name was "browser.png")

Can confirm that changing the icon name as you suggested solves the issue for the application launcher, which now displays the right icon. 

But why was the task manager unaffected by this though? it showed the correct icon before as well.

The system tray still shows the old icon though. Is this an issue with the program (which is a flatpak) itself or can it be "fixed" from KDE's side?
Comment 8 Nate Graham 2025-06-26 15:36:11 UTC
Sounds exactly like Bug 493034. The implementations can differ a bit and cause the issue to not always happen.

The System Tray icon is hardcoded by the app itself, and isn't able to see the custom icon that you applied. It's one of the many reasons why app-provided System Tray icons suck IMO.

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 493034 ***