Incredibly frustrating the endless problems with KDE4. Here's the latest:

Something has gone haywire with my desktop configuration and I can't figure out how to get several new problems corrected. A screen capture at this URL shows one of the problems:

http://www.upquick.com/temp/desktoperr.jpg

1) There is now a white border across the bottom and down the right side. After trying everything I could think of to restore the desktop wallpaper to fill the screen, I tried rebooting and that corrected the problem, but shortly after that, the desktop returned to the incorrect display. When I boot a live CD this problem does not exist, so the problem is not with the hardware.

2) Instead of the usual arrow as a cursor pointer, there is now a small white hand, and I can't find a way to get the arrow cursor pointer restored.

3) I can no longer access the menu that used to appear when I would right-click on the desktop.

4) I've had two instances of icons on the main panel just spontaneously vanish. I previously reported this problem and was advised to use the cashew to restore the first item that vanished; but now the same thing has happened again with a different panel icon. I was able to restore it, but the question is why have these two icons spontaneously vanished?

5) Open windows on the desktop have spontaneously become semi-transparent whenever I attempt to move them (which is very annoying). I did not make any change in the settings to cause this semi-transparency to happen and I can't figure out how to stop this from happening.

6) When I attempt to move/relocate some windows on the desktop, they sometimes "jump" to a different size and shape.

All this aberrant behavior (and several more) began to occur spontaneously. Again,a none of these aberrant behaviors occur when I boot a live CD.

What can I do to get all this corrected?

This will bring you back to the default but may solve you problems

go to ~/.kde4/share/config/ and rename or delete the 3 plasma*rc files then restart kde (or kill and then restart plasma by running "kquitapps plasma-desktop" then "plasma-desktop")

if not the solution you can revert if you've renamed the rc files

I've moved this to the appropriate forum - plasma

When I tried to "Ask a question" and specify "plasma" this morning, your system locked up and crashed Firefox. I tried several times with the same result.

From another forum, I was advised to log out and back in. That corrected the screen display and cursor pointer (arrow), but not the other problems.

please try my suggestion - if you save the files you can always revert

did you do an upgrade or make any changes to your system?

ps - I reported the promblem with guided post, next time if you a forum issue please report it to Feedback & Questions viewforum.php?f=9

Thanks. I may try the kde-config reset you suggested, but since log-out and back in solved two of the problems, I'd really like to find out how to use the "Configure your desktop" functions to correct the other issues (the lost right-click function and the semi-transparency window problem). Surely there must be ways to fix individual things that go haywire without having to go back to square one.

I don't see it in your screen shot but can you access desktop-settings from the cashew in the upper right of the screen?

Does alt+d,alt+s bring up the desktop settings window ? make sure you do this out side of any programs (just left click on the desktop first)

Another possibility is to logout of kde and delete the tmp and cache directories in your ~/.kde folder - must be done with you logged out

Re your right click problem - you probably adjusted the desktop activity setting (or if you didn't, then somebody else who should never be able to access your computer again, while you are logged in...):

Left click on the desktop cashew - Desktop Activity Settings - Mouse Actions - Right-Button -- select "Standard Menu"

HTH

But once again, it is no problem having multiple users on one machine, but each should have their own user account so they don't inadvertently mess up your desktop!

Regarding transparent windows, it's because you've enabled desktop effects. You can disable transparent windows in System Settings -> Look & Feel -> Desktop -> Desktop Effects -> All Effects -> Translucent. Disable it if you don't want transparent windows at all, or click on the configure button to make moving windows opaque.

Thanks for all the helpful responses. Several have helped me to get some (but not all) of the problems that KDE-4 has created corrected. Some problems remain uncorrected and new ones keep cropping up almost daily.

With regard to your most recent responses:

== manager wrote: Regarding transparent windows,
> it's because you've enabled desktop effects.

I did not enable transparent windows and that annoying problem just started spontaneously. Thanks to your explanation of how to correct it in "Look & Feel" I now have that fixed. Thank you. But windows still have an annoying blue shadow around them and I don't know which setting to change to eliminate that. (BTW: Annoying things like this should not be default settings, imho.)

== toad wrote: Re your right click problem
> you probably adjusted the desktop activity setting or if you didn't,
> then somebody else did

I am the only one who uses this computer, no one else has access, and
I did not change anything to cause this right click problem. It (and
numerous other problems) have just occurred "spontaneously."

> Left click on the desktop cashew

I do not have a "desktop cashew." I did not delete it (although I do not like glitzy and annoying (to me) things like this and the panel cashew, and I wish they could all be eliminated and replaced with simple menu access like the previous KDE 3.

So, since I do not have a "desktop cashew" (and I do not know why it also spontaneously vanished because I did not delete it) I appreciate "coffee" replying to mention the (secret) alt+d, alt+s option to get to the mouse action settings. But is there some way to add this configuration option to a simple menu instead of having to use undocumented alt+d, alt+s method?

How many more undocumented "alt+" functions are there and why are they not available in a simple, straight-forward menu?

Seems to me that KDE 4 is made needlessly complicated and cumbersome with lots of important functions missing entirely (i.e. panel hide buttons and a way to turn off annoying tool tips).

the alt+d, alt+s is shown when you (if you could) right click the desktop

how about this: as it would be good to determine if it's your config (maybe it got corrupted) or your installation create a new user then logon as that user - does the new user have these issues

google01103 wrote:the alt+d, alt+s is shown when you (if you could) right click the desktop

how about this: as it would be good to determine if it's your config (maybe it got corrupted) or your installation create a new user then logon as that user - does the new user have these issues

Good suggestion. I will try adding a new user. But thanks to you and others' helpful suggestions, I am discovering ways to correct various errors, so I'd like to continue doing that for a bit as I am attempting to document the corrective action steps.

Is there a list of available [ALT+] and [CTRL+] key combinations to perform various functions? I was able to get right-click working so I see those, and someone told me about ALT+F2 as an alternate to PC >> Run command, but what others are there?

Also, how can I turn off the shadow around windows. I unchecked "shadow" in desktop effects >> all effects ... but that did not eliminate those shadows.

checkout shortcuts and gesture in systemsettings

google01103 wrote:checkout shortcuts and gesture in systemsettings

I have looked under every tab in systemsettings and cannot find "shortcuts and gesture"

icon view http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/9325/gesturesv.jpg
tree view http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/4219/treeoa.jpg

what version of kde4 you running?