Created attachment 187524 [details] The 'accesories-text-editor' one, pinned to the task bar (panel). SUMMARY Please consider changing Kate's default icon to something more intuitive | easy to understand! STEPS TO REPRODUCE 1. Look at Kate's default icon. 2. Optionally you can also add it to the desktop and to the task bar to see how it looks like there too. OBSERVED RESULT To me, it's one of the few icons that has absolutely nothing in it that can give me any hint that it's a program with which I can open text files to edit them or to just view them. When I first saw it, especially as small as you can see it in the menu or pinned to the task bar or even added on the desktop I though it's a person with a pretty horizontal hat, like this: https://i.etsystatic.com/23975812/r/il/b52757/3124251751/il_1140xN.3124251751_lvgt.jpg Falling on his back on the left side, like this: https://png.pngtree.com/thumb_back/fw800/background/20240725/pngtree-worker-with-hard-hat-falling-from-ladder-isolated-image_15917698.jpg Or like this (which is even more accurate to how I imagined as I saw 2 arms and 2 legs: https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/young-man-falling-down-male-person-frightened-expression-her-face-falling-back-cartoon-style-vector-young-man-falling-down-194480982.jpg Only after a few years I heard someone saying that is supposed to be a "K" letter, which I would've never figured out by myself as it's too far away from it and I never expect letters on icons. EXPECTED RESULT I expect an icon that is much more intuitive and easy to understand. Like the one I manually switched to, which you can see in the attachment. That is named 'accessories-text-editor'. Which seems the only one that somewhat matches what I'm thinking it's pretty close, after searching in the list of available icons for terms like 'text' and 'editor'. As for having letters on icons, I'm not much fun of, even more a "K" that is not native for for my language and we use it only for foreign words. Even more, too many KDE programs still start with a K so I still have to read what program it is to figure out which program really is. To me, icons like these seem good: https://www.svgrepo.com/show/442380/text-editor-symbolic.svg https://img.freepik.com/premium-vector/text-editor-icon_1134104-19058.jpg I wouldn't mind if you would make them blue to be more clear that they are made by KDE and the program is one of the core programs, like Dolphin. Or you can make them black-and-white and make just the pencil blue. I of course would like it even more if it was colored and 3D-looking. SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS Linux/KDE Plasma: KDE Plasma Version: 6.5.3 KDE Frameworks Version: 6.20.0 Qt Version: 6.9.2 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Whatever you decide I think it will be better than the current one. And before anyone ask why I created this issued when I was able to change it to what I want... It annoys me to have to do this change after every single install / reinstall of the OS on my computer, my family's computers and my friends' computers. Plus, I bet it's not as intuitive as it could be for a lot of new users that are coming to Linux and Plasma. The transition should be as easy as possible for them. If they try the "Desktop Mode" on Steam Deck for example and they find it intuitive and easy enough to use, they might install SteamOS or other Linux distro with Plasma on their desktop and laptop computers too.
We can improve the icon, sure. Previous discussion about this: https://invent.kde.org/utilities/kate/-/issues/84 The current icon: https://invent.kde.org/utilities/kate/-/blob/master/apps/kwrite/icons/sc-apps-kwrite.svg?ref_type=heads Improvements are welcome. I am not sure if this bug is needed for that though. Probably should be closed/replaced with an MR to improve the icon.
Sorry, but I think he means the Kate icon, not KWrite, and no, we will not change that. You can alter it, like you did, but the Kate icon is now like that for years and has a good branding. We will not go back there to some generic one. Code, Brave, Firefox, Chrome, ... they all have such branding icons and that works well.
the attached screenshot is for kwrite icon, thats what made me think this might have been for kwrite.
Yes, but that seems to be the icon that was wanted, at least I read that out of: Like the one I manually switched to, which you can see in the attachment. That is named 'accessories-text-editor'. I see the point that our icon not conveys editor, but that is the case for I would say 90% of all application icons. And without a branding, you can not differentiate between any editor, all will just look the same. Users can adjust the icons themself, if they like.
Indeed this is for Kate, my bad. Yeah, we are not changing that. Also, it's a bird, shaped like letter K
(In reply to Christoph Cullmann from comment #2) > Sorry, but I think he means the Kate icon, not KWrite, and no, we will not > change that. > You can alter it, like you did, but the Kate icon is now like that for years > and has a good branding. > We will not go back there to some generic one. > Code, Brave, Firefox, Chrome, ... they all have such branding icons and that > works well. Yes, I meant Kate's icon. I didn't know that the icon I switched to is also the icon that Kwrite uses or very similar to create a confusion. As for good branding I don't think that many of the new people switching to Linux and to Plasma care so much about branding and unique things compared to having things intuitive. As for Code, Brave, Firefox, Chromium&Chrome, they have really good icons already, so there is indeed not much point to switch to anything else. Anyway, do as you wish! I did my part for something that is annoying me for years and always planned to make a change request about it. I bet you will eventually change it one day, like everyone does, no matter how much branding there is to their old icons. Plus I don't think that the flat, 2-colors-max is the future of good design, when most of the people I know an saw talking on the internet are praising the design of Windows 7, with fully colored 3D-looking icons.