Strange objects on the desktop

[rodgoslin]

The re-install saga goes on. On a Thinkpad, that I'm bringing up to Mga7, unwanted objects are appearing on the desktop. They're possibly invoked by missed mouse clicks. They manifest as a plain white square, totally unidentified. There seems no way at all to dismiss these things, and they're beginning to obscure the desktop beneath. A spanner (?) in the bottom corner appears to be a settings option. clicking on that brings up a dialogue page, covered in similar, but coloured squares. Text in each square reads "A yellow sticky note" or whatever.The heading for this is Notes-settings. Since I can't identify this as an application I can't delete the thing from the list of applications. I've no use for the things whatsoever, so purging it would be a positive pleasure.

[doktor5000]

It might help, if you would at the very least mention what desktop environment you're using, and add a screenshot.

Also it seems you're using restored user configuration, i.e. a full backup of /home ?

[rodgoslin]

Oops, sorry. It's a KDE environment, and the setup is only half built (if that). So no screen shots, and since the ksnapshot function seems to have been discontinued, I have not the faintest idea of what it's replacement is, or even if there is one.
I've similarly no idea why you are assuming I'm using a restored user configuration. This is an install from scratch, and so far there are no user files other than those installed at the build.
As to the strange objects, I still have no idea what they where. I uninstalled practically every programme that had 'notes' in it's title, to no avail. The designers of such objects had disdained to indicate any title or hint as to what they were, a scan through the output of the ps command yielded no intelligence, other than Mga 7 seems to have an enormoud number of processes running concurrently.
Strangely, very much later, a right click on the offending article brought up dialogue which included 'Quit', which had not occurred before, and I lost no time in banishing them. However, since I still have no idea what they were, or how they got there, there is every chance that they will be back.
As a description, they were a largely a featureless square, the settings option allowed several colours. the face of the square would accept text and a few symbols at the bottom offered bold, underscored and one other option. They certainly looked, and were as annoying as the sticky notes office drones plaster their environments with, as a substitute for actually working.

[doktor5000]

since the ksnapshot function seems to have been discontinued, I have not the faintest idea of what it's replacement is, or even if there is one.

No, that hasn't been discontinued and should still work in a default installation. Although since quite some time (4 years actually) it's called spectacle and not ksnapshot anymore.

I've similarly no idea why you are assuming I'm using a restored user configuration. This is an install from scratch, and so far there are no user files other than those installed at the build.

Well, on a default installation you don't have any notes or additional plasmoids on the desktop - otherwise they would also show up when booting any of the Mageia 7 live media.

And those strange rectangles were probably containments for plasmoids, and the yellow ones were sticky notes from knotes probably.

[AstorBG]

Once same strange objects happened to me also, but not with Mageia ( it was Fedora). I had to change the desktop theme with some other colors and the look and feel from the Plasma settings in order to see the "strange objects"

A.

[banjo]

I had strange notes showing up on the desktop myself. That problem is described in the thread:

https://forums.mageia.org/en/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=12628

The middle mouse button was configured with "Paste", which creates a note on the desktop with the clipboard contents in it when I inadvertently clicked the middle mouse button wheel.

To fix that problem, right click on the desktop and post Configure Desktop. In Mouse Actions, set the Middle Button to something other than Paste.

Or perhaps you have a different problem.

Banjo
(_)=='=~

[rodgoslin]

Thanks, banjo. I hope your suggestion has cured it. I checked and as you say, the centre button is set to paste. I cannot for the life of me think why such a feature (!) has been added, and a default at that. I've changed it to bring up the program launcher. I'll have to monitor it for a bit, to see if it affects a cure.

[banjo]

That is what was happening to me. The scroll wheel on my mouse is rather sensitive, and when I tried to scroll, I would unknowingly click the button.

You could put the middle mouse button back to Paste and then click the middle mouse button on the desktop to see if it creates the widget you were seeing. I don't think it is an intermittent event. What was intermittent for me was the inadvertent clicking of the button.

On my Mint system, the middle mouse button is set to "Paste", but it does not create a notes widget on the desktop. Strange. Different version of KDE.

[doktor5000]

I checked and as you say, the centre button is set to paste. I cannot for the life of me think why such a feature (!) has been added, and a default at that.

X clipboard has been there since X server exists ...