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Activities with differen files on desktop

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johannesk
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Hello,
how can I have different (links to) files on different activities desktop.

Right now, I have two activities. Whenever I create a link to a file on one activity, it also shows on the other activity.
Even when I link this (link to) file to an activity with the local menu->activities->link to, it still shows on both activities.

Thanks,
Johannes
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claydoh
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If you are using the standard Folder View layout, each activity is probably using your ~Desktop directory, so anything created there will show up in an any activity that is using the same folder.

You can either switch other Activities to use a different folder - right-click on the desktop >> Configure Desktop >> Location

You can also switch an activity to use the 'Desktop' layout instead of the standard Folder View - right-click on the desktop >> Configure Desktop, and look for the 'layout' option. The Desktop layout does not show files and folders, only widgets, and does not share them with other Activities.


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airdrik
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You can also directly associate files with Activities. Right-click on files or folders in Dolphin and use the Activities submenu to assign them to Activities. Then for each Activity, right-click on the desktop and under Configure Desktop -> Location, select: Show files associated with the current activity.


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claydoh
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airdrik wrote:You can also directly associate files with Activities. Right-click on files or folders in Dolphin and use the Activities submenu to assign them to Activities. Then for each Activity, right-click on the desktop and under Configure Desktop -> Location, select: Show files associated with the current activity.


Cool!
I had totally forgotten about that option, thanks for mentioning it!


claydoh, proud to be a member of KDE forums since 2008-Oct, and KDE user since 2001
mozmck
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I'm a new kde user here on Kubuntu 18.04, and I've been trying to use activities but just quit due to the bugs.
In particular, I wanted my desktop folder displayed on the default activity desktop, and just associated files on another activity desktop like this thread mentions. What happens is that when I set the one activity to show only associated files, the desktop on the default activity goes blank. The setting still says to show the desktop folder. If I change it to something else and then back, the desktop folder shows up again but the icons are all rearranged. Then I look at the other activity and the desktop is blank.
Is there a fix for this? If not I'll simply forget the idea and use virtual desktops like I'm used to from Linux Mint and XFCE.
airdrik
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yeah, my experience with the folder view desktops (also using Kubuntu 18.04) haven't been all that great either. It may be better in more recent versions of KDE, but I can't say for sure. There definitely seems to be some sequence of configuration steps one has to take in order to get changes to folder view desktops to stick, but I haven't taken the time to figure out what sequence will guarantee that the changes will stick.
As an alternative, you can switch the desktop layout to Desktop (right-click on the background -> Configure Desktop -> change Layout from Folder View to Desktop), add a Folder View widget (right-click on the background -> Add Widgets -> search for the Folder View widget and drag it to wherever you want on the desktop), then configure that Folder View widget to show items belonging to the current Activity.
You'll either need to do this on each Activity, or you can add the Folder View widget to the panel and it will automatically update as you switch Activities.


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thierrych
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You can also directly associate files with Activities. Right-click on files or folders in Dolphin and use the Activities submenu to assign them to Activities. Then for each Activity, right-click on the desktop and under Configure Desktop -> Location, select: Show files associated with the current activity.

I used to use that functionality on Debian 9 but on my Debian Sid (Bullseye) new installation, "Configure Desktop -> Location, select the option" shows 23 locations options but not the "Show files associated with the current activity" one.

How are these locations options choosen ?

How can I make the "Show files associated with the current activity" option appear ?
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Paul
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It seems that some distros don't have the "Show files associated with the current activity" but you can achieve the same thing by choosing "Custom location" and enter "activities:current"


Running KDE neon User Edition
thierrych
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A big, big thank you Paul
thierrych
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Paul wrote:It seems that some distros don't have the "Show files associated with the current activity" but you can achieve the same thing by choosing "Custom location" and enter "activities:current"


For me, on Debian 11 KDE settings "activities:current" drives all activities to show the last "current activity" I setted.

For instance if I define a "custom location" for activity x, all activities show activity x links on their desktop.
Now, if I define a "custom location" for activity y, all activities show activity y links on their desktop

This behavior breaks all activities interest.
Activities work fine on Kubuntu 20.04
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Paul
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I find that when I switch activities I have to do right-click > refresh desktop to see the files associated with the new activity.


Running KDE neon User Edition
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Paul
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Paul wrote:I find that when I switch activities I have to do right-click > refresh desktop to see the files associated with the new activity.

Just discovered that if I enter "activities:/current/" in the location box (note the forward slashes) then there's no need to refresh the desktop when changing activities.


Running KDE neon User Edition


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