[kde-linux] Missing plasmoid "folder view"

[Duncan]

Myriam Schweingruber posted on Sun, 29 Sep 2013 16:07:09 +0200 as
excerpted:

> Hi Sławek,
> 
> On Sun, Sep 29, 2013 at 10:27 AM, Sławek Kapłoński <slawek at kaplonski.pl>
> wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>> I' using Archlinux and few days ago I installed kde 4.11 (before that I
>> has got xfce for some time). Now all is working fine but I can't find
>> plasmoid which was called "folder view" (or something like that) in
>> earlier versions of kde. Also in desktop preferences I don't see layout
>> which was called "folder view". I was trying to install metapackage
>> kdeplasma-addons but there is still no this plasmoid.
>> So maybe someone of You will know - is it still available in kde 4.11?
>> And if yes, maybe someone of You will know what package should I
>> install in arch linux to have it. I know that it is not question
>> directly to kde list but maybe someone of You will know that :)
>> Thanks in advance for any info
> 
> Of course it is still available. Are you sure you have all necessary KDE
> workspace and Plasma packages installed? Sounds like you have some
> elements missing in your installation. In particular: search for a
> package called "plasma-widget-folderview"

Confirming availability.  Here on gentoo the package is plasma-apps 
(including more than that one plasmoid).  At least, that's the package to 
which plasma_applet_folderview.so belongs...

Meanwhile, there's another alternative on kde-look that might or might 
not be more useful for you, depending on your individual prefs and work 
style.  It's called quick-access.  There are two big differences in 
behavior.  The first is that whether you put it on the desktop (where 
folderview spreads out in a frame) or on a panel (where it behaves more 
like quick-access), quick-access always appears as an icon, which when 
clicked opens to a menu of files/folders much like folderview does when 
it's placed on a panel.  Second, unlike folderview with its single level 
only menu (clicking a directory opens it in your file manager), quick-
access opens up directory submenus, allowing you to browse down beyond 
the first level before actually opening anything.  There is however a 
button that allows opening the currently open directory menu to be opened 
in your file manager, so you have the choice of either browsing subdirs 
directly in the menu, or opening them in the file manager as folderview 
does.

In most cases I prefer browsing down several levels before I open 
anything, so the quick-access behavior works better for me.  
Additionally, it's nice having just a single icon on the desktop, instead 
of the whole folderview frame.

But of course quick-access won't work as a folderview desktop, since it's 
always just an icon.  And if you prefer the directory frame or single-
level menu to quick-access' behavior, you'll want to keep folderview as 
well.  What's great about plasma is that it allows exactly this sort of 
flexibility and extensibility, so individuals can pick what works best 
for them. =:^)

There's actually several variants of quickaccess available on kdelook, 
some updated for more current kde, some not.  Here's the one that gentoo 
makes available in its package repository ATM.  (There's a link in the 
description to the older version from which it forked after the older 
version sort of broke with the panel resizing feature of kde 4.5, and you 
can always search kdelook for more if you like; I think there's actually 
3-5 variants available.)

http://kde-look.org/content/show.php?content=134442

-- 
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