[websites/blogs-kde-org] content/posts/twip/2026-08-08: This Week in Plasma — 2026-08-08

Nate Graham <[email protected]>
Newsgroups gmane.comp.kde.cvs
Message-ID <[email protected]> 
Git commit 708ea8a30752d972a74e8ab5baac3547d9511601 by Nate Graham.
Committed on 07/08/2026 at 18:07.
Pushed by ngraham into branch 'master'.

This Week in Plasma — 2026-08-08

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https://invent.kde.org/websites/blogs-kde-org/-/commit/708ea8a30752d972a74e8ab5baac3547d9511601

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+---
+title: "This Week in Plasma: UI Improvements Galore"
+discourse: ngraham
+date: "2026-08-08T00:00:01Z"
+authors:
+ - nategraham
+ - johnveness
+categories:
+ - This Week in Plasma
+newsletter: true
+fediverse: "@[email protected]"
+#image: thumbnail.png
+#SOMETHING-slideshow:
+#- name: "After"
+#  url: IMAGE-after.webp
+#- name: "Before"
+#  url: IMAGE-before.webp
+---
+
+<!-- Example wording for a change, MR version. (Developer Name, [repo-name MR #xxx](https://invent.kde.org/plasma/repo-name/-/merge_requests/xxx)) -->
+
+<!-- Example wording for a change, Bugzilla version. (Developer Name, [KDE Bugzilla #xxx](https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=xxx)) -->
+
+<!-- ![](thumbnail.png) -->
+
+<!-- {{< screenshots name="SOMETHING-slideshow" >}} -->
+
+<!-- {{< video src="something.mp4" >}} -->
+
+Welcome to a new issue of *This Week in Plasma!*
+
+This week we merged a number of features and UI changes that focus on user-friendliness — in addition to a nice crop of bug-fixes and performance improvements:
+
+
+
+
+## Notable new features
+<!-- Can find some with https://invent.kde.org/groups/plasma/-/merge_requests/?sort=merged_at_desc&state=merged&label_name%5B%5D=Feature&first_page_size=20 -->
+
+### Plasma 6.8
+If you try to print using a printer that’s unavailable, Plasma now helpfully notifies you of this instead of just doing nothing. (Mike Noe, [KDE Bugzilla #362143](https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=362143))
+
+![Notification about the printer that just received a print job being unavailable](printer-unavailable-notification.webp)
+
+
+
+
+## Notable UI improvements
+<!-- Can find some with https://invent.kde.org/groups/plasma/-/merge_requests/?sort=merged_at_desc&state=merged&label_name%5B%5D=Enhancement&first_page_size=20 -->
+
+### Plasma 6.8
+Task Manager thumbnails now feature nicer padding around the labels near the top. (Michal Malinowski, [plasma-desktop MR #3916](https://invent.kde.org/plasma/plasma-desktop/-/merge_requests/3916))
+
+![Task Manager tooltip with better padding around the text](task-manager-tooltip-better-padding.webp)
+
+When creating a new user account, the restrictions around which characters are allowed for the username of the new account are now clearly indicated via warning messages if you try to use invalid ones. (Mradul Pal, [KDE Bugzilla #521545](https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=521545))
+
+![Warning about character restrictions when typing the new user’s username](warning-about-character-restrictions.webp)
+
+
+### Kup 0.11.0
+Kup now offers an improved set of default exclusions, with a simplified way of toggling them on or off. This should result in much less data being backed up that doesn’t actually need to be backed up — like cache files, state files, Btrfs snapshots, and more. (Bharadwaj Raju, [kup MR #52](https://invent.kde.org/system/kup/-/merge_requests/52))
+
+![User-friendly list of comprehensibly-phrased exclusions for Kup-based backups](user-friendly-kup-exclusions.webp)
+
+<center>This settings page is still a bit old and crusty. A visual refresh is also planned, JFYI!</center>
+
+
+
+## Notable bug fixes
+<!--
+Can find some with:
+- HI and VHI bugs fixed: https://tinyurl.com/bdepnh4v
+- All bugs fixed: https://invent.kde.org/groups/plasma/-/merge_requests/?sort=merged_at_desc&state=merged&label_name%5B%5D=Bugfix&first_page_size=20
+-->
+
+### Plasma 6.6.7
+If the `xdg-desktop-portal-kde` process crashes while it’s being used to allow an app to control the pointer and keyboard, control now instantly returns to you rather than getting stuck until the system is restarted. (Marcus Renheim, [KDE Bugzilla #523515](https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=523515))
+
+Using a panel’s “Floating Applets” feature no longer breaks the ability to drag files onto Task Manager representations of grouped tasks. (Antonio Rojas, [KDE Bugzilla #510643](https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=510643))
+
+The Task Manager widget no longer lays out items out incorrectly when you re-arrange them while the widget is using right-to-left mode. (Christoph Wolk, [KDE Bugzilla #504898](https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=504898))
+
+The “Identify Displays” feature no longer shows weird hexadecimal numbers in the labels for some screens. (David Wild and Marco Martin, [KDE Bugzilla #523181](https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=523181) and [kwin MR #9655](https://invent.kde.org/plasma/kwin/-/merge_requests/9655))
+
+
+### Plasma 6.7.4
+Fixed a UI glitch in the Disk Quota widget. (Nicolas Fella, [KDE Bugzilla #523618](https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=523618))
+
+
+### Plasma 6.7.5
+Syncing your settings to Plasma Login Manager now includes the `~/.config/plasma-localerc` file, which makes the login screen respect your preferred language and time settings. (Nate Graham, [KDE Bugzilla #516964](https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=516964))
+
+Fixed or implemented support for the “highlight changed settings” feature for multiple System Settings pages. (Tobias Ozór, [kwin MR #9675](https://invent.kde.org/plasma/kwin/-/merge_requests/9675), [KDE Bugzilla #521974](https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=521974), [powerdevil MR #660](https://invent.kde.org/plasma/powerdevil/-/merge_requests/660), [KDE Bugzilla #521978](https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=521978), and [KDE Bugzilla #469914](https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=469914))
+
+System Settings’ Spell Checking page no longer erroneously prompts you to save unsaved changes when you navigate away from it without having made any changes. (Antti Savolainen, [KDE Bugzilla #521712](https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=521712))
+
+The “OS Version” sensor in System Monitor widgets now works more reliably to handle KDE Linux and other non-traditional operating systems. (David Redondo, [KDE Bugzilla #523727](https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=523727))
+
+
+### Plasma 6.8
+Fixed a bug in Plasma’s built-in remote desktop server that could present certain clients with a black screen instead of the expected content. (Shouvik Kar, [krdp MR #222](https://invent.kde.org/plasma/krdp/-/merge_requests/222))
+
+Switching between virtual desktops no longer makes the Window List Widget show the wrong window. (Marco Martin, [KDE Bugzilla #523409](https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=523409))
+
+The `Applet::Index()` property in Plasma scripting now actually returns the correct index. (Marco Martin, [KDE Bugzilla #523675](https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=523675))
+
+
+
+
+## Notable in performance & technical
+
+### Plasma 6.8
+Plasma’s built-in remote desktop server now exhibits less latency and better performance when using less-than-ideal network connections. (Shouvik Kar, [krdp MR #190](https://invent.kde.org/plasma/krdp/-/merge_requests/190))
+
+Plasma now loads the clipboard pop-up on demand rather than at launch, which saves some memory. (Nicolas Fella, [plasma-workspace MR #6899](https://invent.kde.org/plasma/plasma-workspace/-/merge_requests/6899))
+
+
+
+
+## How you can help
+KDE has become important in the world, and your time and contributions have helped us get there. As we grow, we need your support to keep KDE sustainable.
+
+Would you like to help put together this weekly report? Introduce yourself in [the Matrix room](https://matrix.to/#/#this-week-kde-apps:kde.org) and [join the team](https://community.kde.org/Promotion/This_week_in_KDE)!
+
+Beyond that, you can help KDE by directly [getting involved](https://community.kde.org/Get_Involved) in any other projects. Donating time is actually more impactful than donating money. Each contributor makes a huge difference in KDE — you are not a number or a cog in a machine! You don’t have to be a programmer, either; many other opportunities exist.
+
+You can also help out by [making a donation](https://kde.org/donate)! This helps cover operational costs, salaries, travel expenses for contributors, and in general just keeps KDE bringing Free Software to the world.
+
+
+
+
+## To get a new Plasma feature or a bug fix mentioned here
+Push a commit to [the relevant merge request on invent.kde.org](https://invent.kde.org/websites/blogs-kde-org/-/merge_requests/?label_name%5B%5D=This%20Week%20in%20Plasma).
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