[kde-linux] Kubuntu panel clock disappeared

[Larry Alkoff]

On 11/13/2011 04:52 AM, Duncan wrote:
> 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
>

Thank you Duncan for your detailed information.
I've been using various versions of Kubuntu for at least 10 years
but there are apparently a lot of holes in my knowledge.

I always run the LTS version so I am in Kubuntu 10.04.3 LTS.
I have no idea how to find the version of kde I am running.
Please tell me how to find it.

I see how to unlock widgets and in fact I have been running with widgets 
for some time.  I'll change this to locked on my wife's computer
but for right now I am trying this on my own computer.  For now, widgets 
are unlocked on my computer.

Right clicking on my desktop gives me a strip with many items.

I see 5 items that have to do with clock.
They are:  analog clock,  binary clock, calendar, fuzzy clock and timer.
I _think_ I'm using the analog clock which has the time (05:10 pm) in 
the upper half and date (Sun 13 Nov) on the lower half.

It's different on my wife's computer.
Clicking the analog clock gives me a large round clock on the desktop or 
a digital display in a box on the desktop.  I have noticed that she has 
Kubuntu 10.04.2 LTS which is different from my 10.04.3.
I have loaded the analog clock but only on the Desktop - for some reason 
I cannot drag it to the task bar.
I don't know how she got different action since our computers are nearly 
identical.

Wife tells me that she touched or swiped the clock about a year ago
and the clock disappeared.

When you tell me how to ascertain the KDE version I might be able to get 
a better handle on the problem.

Again thanks for your interest and help. You sound knowledgeable enough 
that between us we can solve the problem.

Larry