[Tip] Panel Translucency in KDE Plasma without Kvantum

[Kresimir]

You don’t need Kvantum to have panel translucency in KDE Plasma. The default theme supports it, but sometimes it is disabled by default.

To enable it, edit the following file using Kate:

/usr/share/plasma/desktoptheme/default/metadata.desktop

Under [ContrastEffect] comment out the line that says: enabled=true by adding an octothorpe (#) in front of it, and add the line that says: enabled=false (or you can just change true to false, but you’ll forget you did that if you ever want to revert it). So it should be something like this:

[ContrastEffect]
#enabled=true
enabled=false

Save the file (you will be prompted to enter your sudo password).

That’s it, panels and the application launcher should now be translucent (if they are set to be translucent, and compositing is enabled). To change the blur, go to:

System Settings → Workspace Behaviour → Desktop Effects → Blur

and click on the “Configure…” button next to it. Lowering the blur and noise strength will make translucency of the panels more obvious.

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Also, you can change the transparency of any window (including panels) on the fly, using the mouse wheel. To set that up, go to:

System Settings → Window Management → Window Behaviour → Window Actions

and under “Inner Window, Titlebar and Frame Actions” select a modifier key (I like to use Meta for this) and under "Mouse wheel: " select “Change opacity”.

[ReemZ]

Hmm, can’t seem to get that to work.

Relevant bit of /usr/share/plasma/desktoptheme/default/metadata.desktop:

[ContrastEffect]
#enabled=true
enabled=false
contrast=0.2
#intensity is disabled, in order to auto adjust to the chosen theme color
#intensity=2.0
saturation=1.7

[AdaptiveTransparency]
enabled=true

Do I need to comment contrast=0.2 as well?

Blur settings:

Translucency:

(So nothing pertaining to the Application Menu or the panel.)

Compositor:

Panel settings:

[Kresimir]

Try reducing blur strength to zero, and place a high contrast image (or some text) behind the application launcher or the panel. Perhaps the translucency is just very subtle.

[ReemZ]

I think I see a weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee bit there…I suppose the second part of your post is where I’ll get to set the actual translucency?

Is it supposed to take effect immediately, by the way, or does it require logout-login?

[ReemZ]

@ReemZ

I suppose the second part of your post is where I’ll get to set the actual translucency?

Well, kinda sorta. Temporarily. That trick works, but it’s reset upon closing the window and reopening it. Is that its intended behaviour? Sidenote, do that on the Application Menu and it only affects the part of the menu the pointer hovers over, not (sub)menus your pointer isn’t touching; quite the funny effect indeed!

[Kresimir]

Translucency of panels has nothing to do with transparency (which you can set permanently using Window Rules).

Translucency is a very subtle effect. I have not found a way to increase it. But with a high-contrast background, it is quite noticeable:

BTW: I hate this new Application Launcher, but here it demonstrates translucency rather nicely.

[ReemZ]

@Kresimir

I hate this new Application Launcher

Right-click it, Show Alternatives... lets you pick something else, like the Application Menu I’m using, perhaps you like that better

BTW, I had never even heard of Kvantum and none of this was something I saw as an issue, I just figured it’d be fun to play with, and it was. Thanks for that

[nicknick]

Hi cute little frog.

Sorry to bother you, but a friend from the forum shared this thread with me.

Does this still work? I have downloaded the Sweet KDE global theme + BeautyLines icons, and I want to make the background of the folder windows transparent (I think it is called “panel”), the start menu, programs, console/terminal, etc.

I would like to not have to depend on Kvantum. Although if it is only possible to make the folder panel transparent, I will be satisfied with that!

I’ve been touching and searching my KDE settings a lot, but there are so many settings that I’ve unconfigured things and I’ve had to click on “Default” several times.

Also, I can’t find the metadata.desktop file you mention, only the metadata.json file appears:

Currently this is my desktop:

But I would like it to look this transparent, without blur/noise etc, like this Garuda:

Thanks in advance and sorry to post in this old thread!

[Kresimir]

@nicknick

Hi cute little frog.

Hi.

@nicknick

Currently this is my desktop:

As you can see, the panel below is transparent (with blur). That’s pretty much all you can do without Kvantum. As far as I know, Dolphin cannot be made transparent (without Kvantum or something like that), except for what I described in the OP, where any window can be made transparent (but that makes everything on it transparent, including text).

@nicknick

Also, I can’t find the metadata.desktop file you mention, only the metadata.json file appears:

I think that got changed in one of the updates. Because I can’t find that file either.

[nicknick]

Oh, so it means that Garuda is probably using Kvantum to achieve that effect.

I wouldn’t want the text to become transparent too, so if it’s the only way I’ll install it. I assume it is installed as a normal application, from the terminal, or is it some kind of plugin that is downloaded from the KDE global themes?

I found this in the terminal:

Thanks again!

[Kresimir]

@nicknick

Oh, so it means that Garuda is probably using Kvantum to achieve that effect.

Yeah, definitely.

You can install Garuda in a VM and copy its settings.

@nicknick

I assume it is installed as a normal application, from the terminal, or is it some kind of plugin that is downloaded from the KDE global themes?

Yeah, use the one from the repos.