Desktop Icons in Plasma?

WetGeek

Since reinstalling Solus Plasma on my laptop, I've been going nuts trying to figure out how to enable desktop icons on this computer. I've been all through the system menus with no luck.

Could anyone please remind me where I can turn that feature on? It's important to me for working with virtual machines. Thanks!

CorvusRuber

As far as I remember they are enabled by default.....

EDIT: Actually, if you right click on the desktop and choose "Configure desktop", in the background image tab you can choose between the "Desktop" and "Folder view" options; you need to select "Folder view" to enable desktop icons.

WetGeek

CorvusRuber As far as I remember they are enabled by default.....

Thanks ... I seem to remember that, too, but it's been a while. Apparently I have a different problem, then.

I assumed they were turned off by default because I created a VM in VirtualBox and tried to place a shortcut for it on the desktop. I've done that dozens of times, but this time it didn't work. This is the first time I've created a VM since I reinstalled Solus on this laptop, so I'm not sure what went wrong.

The background is set to "Folder View," apparently by default, as I haven't changed it.

CorvusRuber

WetGeek
If it's still empty even in Folder View then it simply means that the Desktop directory is empty. Put something in there from Dolphin and see what happens.

WetGeek

CorvusRuber If it's still empty even in Folder View then it simply means that the Desktop directory is empty.

That's what I've started to believe now. But what it's supposed to contain is the set of shortcut icons that VirtualBox has created representing the VMs I've built. I now suspect that there's something wrong with that VBox process.

It's always worked, since I started using VirtualBox, at work and at home. That adds up to a couple of decades, at least. That's why I looked for an answer elsewhere, but maybe an upgrade will fix it.

WetGeek

CorvusRuber If it's still empty even in Folder View then it simply means that the Desktop directory is empty. Put something in there from Dolphin and see what happens.

Here's a Spetacle capture of the contents of my home Desktop folder along with the part of my screen where the desktop icons should be displayed. It's still empty, showing that VirtualBox is doing its part:

And as I've indicated, the desktop view is set to Folder View. Yet no desktop icons appear. That's what I've been writig about. Any suggestions? Could a Dolphin upgrade have caused this?

tomscharbach

@WetGeek This is a curiosity question. What do the desktop VM icons you set up actually do, in terms of processes? When you click on the icon for a particular VM, does it open VirtualBox and run the VM, or is VirtualBox opened at startup and running in the background, so that when you click on the icon it just opens the VM?

I think this is the day your Latitude is being delivered, and if so, I know that you will be immersed in updating BIOS/firmware and setting up that computer, so there is no rush on answering.

WetGeek

tomscharbach What do the desktop VM icons you set up actually do, in terms of processes? When you click on the icon for a particular VM, does it open VirtualBox and run the

They launch the VM without needing to start VirtualBox. That's especially handy when VBox is on one desktop and I want to launch the VM from an empty one. Or, if the VirtualBox manager isn't even running, but I'd like to run the VM.

One more day for the Latitude. It should be delivered tomorrow, but I don't know what time to expect it. It could even be tomorrow evening.

Axios

I am just drawing straws does this do anything
The KDE developers have apparently moved things around for Plasma 5.23. You have to select “Folder View” and click Apply, and then you must click on “Location” in the left-hand pane. There you can select what folder to show
(Just info might not even be related to your issue)

WetGeek

Axios I am just drawing straws does this do anything

My new laptop came in today -- a day before it was expected. Here's what that should have looked like on the old lapptop, above.

I didn't change anything from the defaults. And I didn't on the old laptop,either. I still suspect that a driver got upgraded and a regression got in somehow. The new laptop is much newer, and could be using different drivers.