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Today, in order to move widgets on the desktop, we have to unlock them, take the applet handler (in the left or right), and move it. To resize, we have to click a small button.

Handling widgets in task bars are such a pain. For example, for moving a plasmoid, we have to click on the plasmabutton thing on the right, then a panel appears, and we can move widgets.

Now, let's examine WinVista. Moving a widget in the right widget panel is so easy : You click on the widget, and place it where you want, that's all ! All the system is smooth, with cute animations whereas KDE plasma's transition are ... absent.

Absent ... But Qt has kinetic, and animations are already implemented, when widgets appears, or in the task manager.

My ideas :
* When we want to add a widget by dragging it from the add widget bar, put a preview of this widget
* Resize widgets like resize windows (more intuitive)

* Move widgets by dragging it. (might consider to use the middle button because many plasmoids are using the left click)
* When moving widgets from a task bar or inside a task bar, use smooth animations, like in the task manager


* Easily move widgets in a task bar, without toogling the plasmabutton thing and open task bar config.


This is my first idea, and sorry for bad english ...
Thanks for reading

When you say resize like Windows, can you describe exactly what this is for people who don't know?

Resize like resizing windows


I will do some others screens mockups

handling plasma widgets is indeed cumbersome.
Eliminating the numerous modes (lock/unlocked, normal/editing mode for panel) seems sensible. Adding intuitive animation is a good idea as well.

I think plasmoids need rethinking in general and I think your ideas are a good start. I can see problems with moving plasmoid by simply dragging them or resizing them like normal windows, but it's probably better than what we have now.

Please give examples about those problems. It might be useful for this rethinking

Actually this is more than one idea, so I've marked it as invalid. Could you please split the post to follow Brainstorm's one-idea-per-post policy?

Some comments:

* Resize widgets like resize windows (more intuitive)

What about non-square widgets, such as the clock? Also, I think I've seen this idea before, maybe it wasn't in Brainstorm.

* Move widgets by dragging it. (might consider to use the middle button because many plasmoids are using the left click)

Middle click to drag is hardly intuitive, but that's just my opinion.

* Easily move widgets in a task bar, without toogling the plasmabutton thing and open task bar config.

How? What if the widget requires left click dragging? Or widgets like system tray, where most icons "eat" mouse clicks (i.e. the clicks don't get passed to Plasma, as far as I know).