Are you using KDE Plasma but still working the same way you did on Windows? Do you wonder if you’re getting the most out of your KDE Plasma setup? Well, here are five game-changing features that completely transformed how I use and interact with my PC!
By default, KDE Plasma can feel likeanother desktop environment (DE)trying to nail the Windows look and feel, but it’s so much more than that! Plasma offers unique features that can fundamentally reshape how you think about desktop computing, turning routine tasks into effortless interactions. These aren’t just a different way of doing things, but rather abetter wayas they eliminate entire categories of friction and open up more efficient workflows. Here I’ve shortlisted my top five favorite KDE Plasma features, how they’ve changed my approach to desktop computing, and why I can’t go back!
5Nested Virtual Desktops with KDE Activities
I always hated traditional multitasking by minimizing-maximizing apps and Alt+Tab window switching. So, whenMicrosoft introduced virtual desktops, I became an instant fan—it allowed me to keep all my app windows open and stack them into dedicated virtualized spaces for better organization. However, as my workflow became more sophisticated (read: complicated), this too started to feel more chaotic!
I actually settled for this new kind of messy workflow for a few years until I switched to Plasma and discovered KDE Activities. It’s a unique and powerful feature that allows you to set up nested virtual desktops—virtual desktops for virtual desktops, if you will! Each Activity is like a separate workspace with its own set of virtual desktops, not to mention different wallpapers, desktop widgets, and even pinned apps. This lets you segment your workflow and allows for even finer organization.
My current setup uses three Activities: Work, Play, and Personal. Under Work, I have four dedicated virtual desktops: one for writing and research, one with Slack for team communications, one for my notes app, and finally my file manager to quickly access newly downloaded files or screenshots. The Play Activity has three virtual desktops, each containing a single app—Spotify, Discord, and Steam (usually empty unless I’m gaming). The Personal Activity is much more free-form—it’s where I mess around and experiment with new tools. As such, what used to take up eight or more virtual desktops on Windows got streamlined into three KDE Activities with a much more manageable number of four or fewer virtual desktops.
4Native Window Tiling for Window Management
Window tiling is an absolute must-have feature if you use an ultrawide monitor. On smaller screens, you may usually get away with basic window snapping, where you move an app window to the edge of the screen, and it automatically snaps into place, taking up half the display. The problem with doing this on an ultrawide is that the content inside the windows gets positioned so far apart that you basically have to move your head (at least I do) to view the content—which ruins the ergonomics!
On ultrawides, you ideally want to have a window front and center with possibly two more apps on either side for referencing. Traditional snapping wasn’t designed for this setup, but with window tiling you can create dedicated zones and quickly snap your app windows in place. I first experienced window tiling with KDE Plasma using the Bismuth extension, and it completely changed how I manage my open windows. Currently, with Plasma 6 and above, window tiling has become a native part of the desktop environment, and it’s just awesome!
Here’s how it works—you press Meta+T, and it opens an overlay that allows you to segment your desktop into specific zones. I personally have it divided into three vertical zones, but you may go absolutely crazy with it. Once you have these zones set up, just hold the Shift key and drag app windows into these specific zones to snap them in place.
Yes, a form of window tiling is available with Windows 11 calledSnap Layouts, but it’s an unintuitive implementation where you need to hover your mouse over the maximize button and then pick a position for that specific window. Alternatively, some power users might point out usingFancy ZonesviaPowerToys—and I admit it is a decent option—but it’s not as seamless as on KDE Plasma.
First, to change the layouts, you need to open and tweak PowerToys, instead of having a direct keyboard shortcut. More importantly, you want the windows to be sticky so that when you resize one, the adjacent one auto-resizes to make space. This works perfectly on Plasma, whereas on Windows I found it buggy and unreliable.
Window tiling on KDE Plasma is different fromLinux tiling window managers.
3Panel Widgets for Useful Information and Shortcuts
I’ve always been a fan of widgets, ever since the Windows 7 days. But the big problem with classic desktop widgets is that as soon as you actually get to work and open a few apps, all those widgets just vanish behind your windows. Sure, you may minimize a few windows or usethe Show Desktop shortcut, but constantly jumping back and forth just to glance at your notes or weather widget is a counterproductive workflow.
Now KDE Plasma, similar to Windows 7, also offers desktop widgets, but what it does better is the ability to load widgets directly onto the panel—the Windows taskbar-like always-visible strip at the edge of the screen. In my current setup, I have a panel at the top of the screen with a total of eight widgets—an app launcher, a virtual desktop switcher, a system resource monitor, a timer, a notes button, weather, system shortcuts, and the time and date.
Since the panel is always visible, all these widgets are right there, no matter how many apps you have opened. The information and shortcuts I care about are just a glance or a click away, not hidden behind layers of windows. You can even trigger these widgets using keyboard shortcuts!
2Rich Customization with Multi-Panel Layouts
If you’ve ever used Windows, you know you’re stuck with a single panel—the taskbar—and with Windows 11, it feels like Microsoft doesn’t even want you tomove it from the bottom of the screen. Then you have macOS, which offers a two-panel layout: a menu bar at the top and a dock at the bottom, which youcanmove to the side if you find that convenient—but that’s as far as the flexibility goes.
However, with KDE Plasma, you’re not just limited to one or two panels; you may add as many as you want, wherever you want! For instance, you can have four panels on all four sides of the screen and even one running down the middle, because why not? I personally have been using a three-panel layout—one at the top containing useful panel widgets, another one on the left showing my pinned and currently running apps like the macOS dock, and one last bottom panel boasting a music visualizer with media controls. I had this setup for some time, but eventually it started to feel a bit too visuallynoisy,so I ditched it.
I currently run a macOS-like layout, which I admit is more traditional than funky, but that’s also my point! With KDE Plasma you have potentially limitless customization freedom over your desktop—so much so that you can make it look like Windows (which it looks like by default), or macOS, or something else entirely. Sometimes this can simply be for visual satisfaction; other times it can help you create a layout to complement your workflow and boost productivity!
1Using Krunner Over App Launchers
As a lifelong Windows user before trying out Linux, opening apps always meant hitting Windows, spotting the app I wanted to use from the app launcher, and clicking it. However, now on Linux—especially with KDE Plasma, I configured the Windows (Meta) key to open the Activities switcher since I always launch all apps using Krunner. If you have used macOS before, Krunner functions likeSpotlight, butway morepowerful!
It’s essentially a search bar that you trigger by pressing Alt+Space (by default), but you can configure it to use any shortcut you want. You can type in the name of the app you want to open, hit enter, and done! If the app is not installed on your system, it’ll let you search the web, or give you a quick link to download it from your distro’s software store.
Other than this, you’re able to use Krunner to search through all your directories and find files or folders in almost a split second. It can also help you find specific settings pages, help you shutdown, restart, or log out of your PC, and even execute terminal commands. It can even do complex math as well as currency conversions. You also get an excellent plugin ecosystem which allows you to add more features to Krunner and make it even more stellar!
There you have it—five of my favorite KDE Plasma features and how they completely transformed my approach to desktop computing. If you already use KDE Plasma, I strongly encourage you to try out these features if you haven’t already. Whereas, if you haven’t yet ventured into the world of Plasma, I hope this showcase captured your curiosity and attention!
