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Preferences

These are personal configuration preferences.

Install Arc and Papirus themes

Arc-KDE is arc-dark for Plasma 6.

Re-login required after installation

Installation requires re-login. KDE will not display themes correctly until logging off and logging back in.

# Choose arc-icon-theme for recommended features.
pamac install papirus-icon-theme arc-gtk-theme
# Uninstall with 'env uninstall=true sh'.
wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PapirusDevelopmentTeam/arc-kde/master/install.sh | sh
# Correct potential permission problems with UMASK (see reference).
sudo find /usr/share/{plasma,aurorae,color-schemes,konsole,konversation,Kvantum,plasma,wallpapers,yakuake} -type d -exec chmod o+rx {} \;
sudo find /usr/share/{plasma,aurorae,color-schemes,konsole,konversation,Kvantum,plasma,wallpapers,yakuake} -type f -exec chmod o+r {} \;

Input & Output

⌘ ➔ System Settings ➔ Input & Output

Mouse & Touchpad

Mouse & Touchpad

  • Screen Edges:
    • Upper left: Lock Screen
    • Upper Right: Present Windows - All Desktops
    • Trigger quarter tiling in: outer 25%
    • Switch on desktop edge: Disabled
    • Activation delay: 75ms
    • Reactivation delay: 350ms
    • Corner Barrier: ✔
    • Edge Barrier: None

Keyboard

Keyboard

  • Key Bindings:
    • Configure keyboard options: ✔
      • Function keys use F13-F24 as usual function keys: ✔

Shortcuts

  • KWin:
    • Make window fullscreen: alt+return
    • Maximize Window: Meta_PgUp
    • Minimize Window: Meta_PgDown
  • Krunner:
    • Launch: Alt+Space, Search, Alt+F2
  • plasmashell:
    • Activate Application Launcher Widget: Meta+Space

Accessibility

Accessibility

  • System Bell:
    • Audible Bell: ✘
    • Visual Bell: ✘
  • Keyboard filters:
    • Slow keys: ✘
    • Bounce keys: ✘

Appearance & Style

Apply the base global theme to have a consistent starting point. Window menu is setup in Window Management.

⌘ ➔ System Settings ➔ Appearance & Style

Colors & Themes

  • Global Theme:
    • Colors: Arc Dark
    • Night Light: Always off
    • Application Style: Breeze
      • GNOME/GTK Application Style: Breeze
    • Plasma Style: Arc Dark
    • Window Decorations: Arc Dark
      • Titlebar Buttons (from left to right)
        • Keep above other windows: Leftmost
        • Keep below other windows: Left
        • Context help: Right
        • Shade: Right
        • Minimize: Right
        • Maximize: Right
        • Close: Rightmost
    • Icons: Papirus-Dark
    • Cursors: Breeze
      • Configure Launch Feedback
        • Cursor feedback: None
        • Task Manager feedback: ✔
        • Stop animations after: 5 seconds
    • System Sound: Ocean
      • Enable Notification Sounds: ✘
    • Splash Screen: Manjaro Splash 2.0 (Use Get New ...)
    • Login Screen: Breath
    • Boot Splash Screen: manjaro-mac-style (Use Get New ...)
  • Login Screen (SDDM)
    • Breath: ✔
    • Background: /usr/share/wallpapers/SafeLanding/contents/images/*.jpg !!! note Apply plasma settings after setting background and any other theme UI settings. This will apply the current UI settings (arc dark) to the Breeze login screen; this should match the lockscreen.

Text & Fonts

  • Anti-Aliasing: ✔

Apps & Windows

⌘ ➔ System Settings ➔ Apps & Windows

Default Applications

  • Web browser: Firefox
  • Email client: Firefox
  • Image viewer: Gwenview
  • Music player: Elisa
  • Video player: VLC media player
  • Text editor: VSCodium
  • PDF Viewer: Okular
  • File manager: Dolphin
  • Terminal Emulator: alacritty
  • Archive manager: Ark

Window Management

  • Window Behavior:
    • Focus:
      • Window activation policy: Focus follows mouse
      • Delay focus by: 300ms
      • Focus stealing prevention: None
      • Raising window: Click raises active window
      • Multiscreen behavior: Separate screen focus
    • Titlebar Actions:
      • Double-click: Maximize
      • Mouse wheel: Change opacity
      • Maximize window by double clicking its frame: ✔
      • Maximize button action (left click): Maximize
      • Maximize button action (Middle click): Vertically Maximize
      • Maximize button action (Right click): Horizontally Maximize
    • Advanced:
      • Window placement: Centered
  • Task Switcher
    • Show selected window: ✔
    • Compact: ✔
  • Desktop Effects:
    • Accessibility:
      • All: ✘
      • Zoom: ✔
    • Appearance:
      • All: ✘
      • Blur: ✔
      • Desaturate Unresponsive Applications: ✔
      • Fading Popups: ✔
      • Full Screen: ✔
      • Highlight Screen Edges and hot Corners: ✔
      • Login: ✔
      • Logout: ✔
      • Maximize: ✔
      • Sliding Popups: ✔
    • Focus:
      • All: ✘
      • Dialog Parent: ✔
      • Dim Screen for Administrator Mode: ✔
    • Peek at Desktop Animation: Window Aperture
    • Tools:
      • All: ✘
    • Virtual Desktop Switching Animation: Slide
    • Window Management: Overview
    • Window Open/Close Animation: Fade
  • Virtual Desktops:
    • Delete all extra desktops.

Notifications

  • Do Not Disturb Mode: ✔ when screens are mirrored
  • Do Not Disturb Mode: ✔ During screen sharing
  • Critical Notifications: ✔ Show in Do Not Disturb mode
  • Normal Notifications: ✘
  • Low priority notifications: ✔ Show popup
  • Low priority notifications: ✘ Show in history
  • Location: ✔ Near notification icon
  • Hide: 5 seconds
  • Application progress: ✔ show in notifications
  • Application progress: ✔ Keep popup open during progress
  • Application progress: ✔ Show in task manager
  • System Notifications:
    • All: ✘
    • Notification: ✔ show a message in a pop-up
  • Application Notifications:
    • All: ✘ (Re-enable to taste)

Workspace

⌘ ➔ System Settings ➔ Workspace

General Behavior

General Behavior

  • Display informational tooltips on mouse hover: ✔
  • Display visual feedback for status changes: ✔
  • Scrolling: Prefer smooth scrolling
  • Clicking files or folders: Selects them
  • Clicking in scrollbar track: Scrolls to the clicked location
  • Middle-click: Pastes selected text
  • Touch Mode: Automatically enable as needed

Search

  • File Search:
    • File Indexing: ✘
  • Plasma Search:
    • All: ✘
    • Applications: ✔
    • System Settings: ✔
    • Calculator: ✔
    • Date and Time: ✔
    • Dictionary: ✔
    • Help Runner: ✔
    • Special Characters: ✔
    • Spell Checker: ✔
    • Terminate Applications: ✔
    • Unit Converter: ✔

Security & Privacy

⌘ ➔ System Settings ➔ Security & Privacy

Screen Locking

!!! example "Screen Locking: * Lock screen automatically: 5 minutes * Lock after waking from sleep: ✔ * Delay before password required: Require password immediately * Keyboard shortcut: Meta+L

KDE Wallet

  • Enable the KDE Wallet Subsystem: ✔
  • Use KDE Wallet for the Secret Service interface: ✔

Recent Files

  • Keep history: For 1 month
  • Remember opened documents: Only for specific applications
  • Exclude applications not on the list: ✔
  • User Feedback: Disabled

System

⌘ ➔ System Settings ➔ System

Autostart

Autostart

  • Delete all.

Taskbar

Digital Clock

Clock ➔ RMB ➔ Configure Digital Clock

  • Show date: ✔ Always below
  • Show seconds: Only in tooltip
  • Show time zone: Only when different from local time zone
  • Display timezone as: Code
  • Time display: 24 hour
  • Date format: ISO date
  • Text display: Automatic

System Tray

Target below up arrow for menu or near the bottom edge under icons.

System Tray ➔ RMB ➔ Configure System Tray

  • General:
    • Scale with Panel height: ✔
  • Entries:
    • Always show all entries: ✔
    • All: Disabled
    • Audio Volume: Shown when relevant
    • Bluetooth: Shown when relevant
    • Disks & Devices: Shown when relevant
    • Notifications: Enable for file copy progress to be shown

Taskbar

Taskbar ➔ RMB ➔ Show Panel Configuration

  • Style: Disable floating

Remove Unused Tray Apps

  • Show desktop
  • News
    • Autostart: ✘
    • Error notifications: ✘
  • Key lock status
  • Manjaro settings manager
    • Check unsupported kernels: ✘
    • Check missing language packs: ✘
    • Manually quit.

Applications

⌘ ➔ add/remove software ➔ ⋮ ➔ preferences ➔ third party

  • Enable AUR support: ✔
  • Check for updates: ✔
  • Check for development packages updates: ✔
pamac install alacritty git git-lfs vim tmux meld steam ncdu
#  extra/bind
pamac install signal-desktop discord

Remove extra software to taste 

pamac remove skanlit  # Flatbed scanning.
pamac remove hplip  # HP printer libraries.
pamac remove k3b  # CD burner.
pamac remove qbittorrent  # Torrents.
pamac thunderbird thunderbird-i18n-en-us  # Thick email client.
pamac remove yakuake  # Dropdown terminal.
pamac remove openconnect  # Cisco VPNs.
pamac remove networkmanager-openconnect  # Cisco VPNs.

Install Chrome.

Install VSCodium.

Fonts

# For user only fonts: ~/.local/share/fonts
# System wide fonts: /usr/local/share/fonts
mkdir -p /usr/local/share/fonts/{otf,ttf}/{FONT}
find /usr/local/share/fonts -type d -exec chmod 0555 {} \;
find /usr/local/share/fonts -type f -exec chmod 0444 {} \;
fc-cache

Remove MSN (Manjaro Settings Notifier)

Remove if you are an advanced user.

Comment out all contents:

/etc/xdg/autostart/msm_kde_notifier.desktop

/etc/xdg/autostart/pamac-tray-plasma.desktop

/etc/xdg/autostart/org.fcitx.Fcitx5.desktop

Optionally set immutable to prevent upgrades reverting changes. 

chattr +i /etc/xdg/autostart/{msm_kde_notifier.desktop,pamac-tray-plasma.desktop,org.fcitx.Fcitx5.desktop}

Reboot to apply changes