Chapter 5. Customizing KDE software

Customizing Toolbars

T.C. Hollingsworth

The Gwenview toolbar.

The toolbar in Gwenview.

Modifying Toolbar Items

To customize an application's toolbars, go to SettingsConfigure Toolbars... or right-click on a toolbar and select Configure Toolbars....

On the left side of the toolbar configuration panel, the available items that you can put in your toolbar are shown. On the right, the ones that already appear on the toolbar are shown. At the top, you can select the toolbar you wish to modify or view.

Above each side of the panel there is a Filter text box you can use to easily find items in the list.

The Customize Toolbars window.

The Customize Toolbars window in Gwenview with the Previous button selected.

Adding an Item

You can add an item to your toolbar by selecting it from the left side and clicking on the right arrow button.

Removing an Item

You can remove an item by selecting it and clicking the left arrow button.

Changing the Position of Items

You can change the position of the items by moving them lower or higher in the list. To move items lower, press the down arrow button, while to move items higher press the up arrow button. You can also change items' position by dragging and dropping them.

On horizontal toolbars, the item that's on top will be the one on the left. On vertical toolbars, items are arranged as they appear in the toolbar.

Adding a Separator

You can add separator lines between items by adding a --- separator --- item to the toolbar.

Restoring Defaults

You can restore your toolbar to the way it was when you installed the application by pressing the Defaults button at the bottom of the window and then confirming your decision.

Changing Text and Icons

You can change the icon and text of individual toolbar items by selecting an item and clicking either the Change Icon... or Change Text... button.

Customizing Toolbar Appearance

You can change the appearance of toolbars by right-clicking on a toolbar to access it's context menu.

Text Position

You can change the appearance of text on toolbars in the Text Position submenu of a toolbar's context menu.

You can choose from:

  • Icons - only the icon for each toolbar item will appear.

  • Text - only the text label for each toolbar item will appear.

  • Text Alongside Icons - the text label will appear to the right of each toolbar item's icon

  • Text Under Icons - the text label will appear underneath each toolbar item's icon

You can also show or hide text for individual toolbar items by right-clicking on an item and checking or unchecking the item under Show Text.

Icon Size

You can change the size of toolbar items' icons by selecting Icon Size from the toolbar's context menu.

You can choose from the following options: (each lists the icon size in pixels)

  • Small (16x16)

  • Medium (22x22) [the default value]

  • Large (32x32)

  • Huge (48x48)

Moving Toolbars

In order to move toolbars, you must unlock them. To do so, uncheck Lock Toolbar Positions from a toolbar's context menu. To restore the lock, simply recheck this menu item.

You can change a toolbar's position from the Orientation submenu of its context menu.

You can choose from:

  • Top [the default in many applications]

  • Left

  • Right

  • Bottom

You can also move a toolbar by clicking and holding onto the dotted line at the left of horizontal toolbars or the top of vertical toolbars and dragging it to your desired location.

Show/Hide Toolbars

If your application has only one toolbar, you can hide a toolbar by deselecting Show Toolbar from either the toolbar's context menu or the Settings menu. To restore the toolbar, select Show Toolbar from the Settings menu. Note that toolbars must be unlocked to hide them from their context menu; see the section called “Moving Toolbars” for more information.

If your application has more than one toolbar, a submenu called Toolbars Shown will appear in the context menu and Settings menu instead of the above menu entry. From that menu you may select individual toolbars to hide and show.

Thanks and Acknowledgments

Thanks to an anonymous Google Code-In 2011 participant for writing much of this section.