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Hi!
It would be nice, if the activity-overview ("zoom out") would be a Plasmoid which could be placed in a normal way on the desktop.
I know: It would be infinite recursion to place the activity-overview on an activity.
But other activities could be controlled on an activity via the overview, you do not have to change to the current-activity, that would be useless, so there is no recursion.
Why should it be useful?
The activity-overview is very large, but less space would also be enough. Then a "controlling-activity" containing the activity-overview, workspace-overview, system-monitor and application-launcher could be created by the user. This simple feature combined with Layouts and Containers could be even more powerful than the upcoming Gnome Shell. (Gnome Shell has also a few additional features for Workspace-management)
[align=center]A few links:
KDE Brainstorm: Layouts/Containers
[url=http://live.gnome.org/GnomeShell/Features][img=200x150]http://live.gnome.org/GnomeShell/Screenshots?action=AttachFile&do=get&target=Gnome-shell2.png[/img]
Gnome Shell[/url]
[url=http://gallerie.the-user.org/?dir=KDE-Brainstorm][img=200x160]http://plainimages.the-user.org/KDE-Brainstorm/layouted.png[/img]
A possible solution in Plasma (the activity-overview (inserted using Gimp) could be in a stack-widget in front of folder-view, web-browser, workspace-overview or anything else)[/url]
[/align]

I hope I have expressed it clearly.
The User

Of course a simplier KMenu could be used. The Lancelot-Menu in the screenshot does not really fit.
But Plasma is flexible. The User could choose any menu.
I think there was an idea, to create a more interactive Pager-Plasmoid. It would also be an improvement and it would provide some of the Gnome Shell Features for window-management.
Gnome Shell has some nice ideas, but Plasma is a more flexible and already implemented dependency of such control-activities.

The User

I still don't understand what an "activity" in KDE4 is, but this idea sounds like a good way to clarify the concept to users: something like virtual desktops.

I have understood the concept a few days ago:
Each activity is a seperate containment in plasma-desktop-appletsrc and has its own Plasmoids and preferences.
A virtual desktop has its own windows.
It is possible to merge the concepts so that each virtual desktop has its own activity.
It's not really important if there is an activity- or a virtual-desktop-overview or either a folder-view. But a fast controller-activity would be a real advantage for the user: Plasma would be really used for controlling the applications and windows. For now the activity overview does not have a real usage. You can change the activity via zoom-in and zoom-out,the remaining space on screen is not used.

I also think that virtual desktop can be replaced by activity.

An activity is more powerful than a virtual desktop.
It's better to let "pager" applet switch between activities.

I guess the reason to still keep virtual desktops
is to conform freedesktop standard. :undecided:

Need someone knows more about activity/ZUI/virtual desktop to explain the differences.
Or why we still keep virtual desktop.

wkai wrote:Need someone knows more about activity/ZUI/virtual desktop to explain the differences.
Or why we still keep virtual desktop.

Actually, I use both and like it that way...

For example, I have one activity I only use when I do things for my studies. The desktop is a lot less cluttered than my main one which for one thing makes me less likely to be distracted by other things. Then I have one virtual desktop with a folderview pointing to relevant material for the class in question. That is, one virtual desktop per class. That way I only see things I currently need.

Now, it could be better. I'd love to be able to set up how many virtual desktops I have on an activity basis. That is, activity X has 2 desktops, activity Y has 4, and activity Z has only one. Add that and the ability for the panels to change depending on activity I'd be VERY happy.

I think our Virtual Desktop- and Activity-Concept is good for us.
We are free to choose.
But the Pager and the Activity Overview only have one basic feature: switching. But it should also be possible to move indows and applets between Activities or Virtual Desktops using these Plasmoids.

You can move windows between virtual desktops using pager (drag window thumbnails). And you can move widgets between Activities when zoomed out (and widgets are unlocked).

Hans wrote:You can move windows between virtual desktops using pager (drag window thumbnails). And you can move widgets between Activities when zoomed out (and widgets are unlocked).

Or with Activity bar.
But I still think that best way would be to manage activities and desktops with same widget; as I proposed in this idea:
folding-and-unfold ... 39197.html

That said I do believe that you should be able to add standalone widgets to "corona" (the canvas that activities are on).

With a Stack-Widget it would be very simple to switch between activity- and virtual desktop-management.