[kde-linux] Kubuntu panel clock disappeared

[Duncan]

Larry Alkoff posted on Sat, 12 Nov 2011 15:54:29 -0600 as excerpted:

> My wife and I am running Kubuntu 10.04 and she has done something and
> her normal KDE clock is gone missing.
> 
> How can we get it back?

First, tho it shouldn't matter for this question, for future reference, 
please include the kde version number as well, since those of us not 
running kubuntu generally have little idea what particular version of kde 
shipped with each kubuntu release.  10.04 was some time back, so 
presumably you're running an earlier kde4 version, perhaps 4.5.x or 
4.4.x, unless you upgraded it somewhere along the line.

In kde4, each little component or widget that can be placed on the 
desktop or in a panel is called a plasmoid.  This is because the desktop 
is called plasma, and these are little pieces of it.  As in science, 
little bits of plasma are called plasmoids, =:^) Among the types of 
plasmoid are several types of clocks, one of which you no doubt had 
showing, but it got removed.  However, they're easy enough to add back 
when you know how.

The desktop is normally locked so plasmoids can't be accidentally messed 
up, so the first thing you need to do is unlock the desktop.  This can be 
done a couple different ways.  The easiest is often to context (normally, 
right) click on a clear spot on the desktop and choose "unlock widgets".  
Alternatively, find the little "cashew", aka "toolbox, normally located 
at a corner of the desktop, click it, and again choose unlock widgets.

Now, you need to find and add the proper clock plasmoid (aka widget) back 
into the proper place.  Around kde 4.5 they changed the way the add-
widget dialog worked, and I don't know whether you're still using the old 
way or are using the newer way.  However, the same thing is done to get 
the dialog.  With widgets unlocked, again click the toolbox or right-
click the desktop and choose add widgets.

The old way had a dialog with a bunch of plasmoids to choose from, the 
new way has a strip that appears, again with a bunch of plasmoids.  If 
you like, you can choose a category to narrow things down.  In this case, 
the category is date and time.

I'm guessing you want digital clock.  Analog clock can be nice too, and 
there's some other choices there to try if you want.

You can add a selection in two different ways.  I like to drag the 
plasmoid I want to where I want it and drop it.  The other way is to 
simply double-click on your selection, and it'll appear on either the 
panel or the desktop, depending on where you originally selected add 
widgets from.  However, the automatic placement can be a bit 
inconvenient, so I prefer to drag the one I want where I want it, and 
drop.

Once in place, if the plasmoid is on the desktop, hovering over it will 
produce a floating toolbar that you can use for moving, sizing, 
configuring, and removing, as desired.  On a panel the plasmoids work a 
bit differently.  You can right-click them and select configure or 
remove, or to move them, click the panel cashew/toolbox or right-click on 
the panel and select panel settings, and when the toolbar for resizing 
the panel appears, hovering over a plasmoid in the panel will change the 
pointer to a 4-way arrow, indicating that you can now drag it where you 
want it.  Either way, you may wish to configure your new clock, changing 
its display, etc.

Once you get the plasmoids all rearranged as you want, don't forget to 
lock widgets again, so you (or she) doesn't accidentally remove it or 
drag it elsewhere once again.


For further information on plasma see the following URL.  In particular, 
down towards the bottom under further information, there's a link to 
"Plasma HowTo's -- short screencasts" that could be quite helpful if you 
need more than words.  They're even version specific, so you can choose 
the one appropriate to your specific kde version. =:^)

http://userbase.kde.org/Plasma

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman