Adding an icon to the system tray [Done]

[rodgoslin]

This is an offshoot from an earlier post, regarding making visible, invisible icons. This time, however, I'm asking how you add a new icon to the system tray. All my other PC's running Mageia (currently running to six), in the system mtray is an icon, on some a blue ball, on others a fan, which allows me to see the state of the ethernet connection. On this machine, however, it is not there. It's a useful icon, more so than most of the others, It tells me, wirth a mouse over, the up and down speeds, it calls up Network Centre in times of trouble, and tells me all the important IP addresses. Some icons have been put there by the software, currently, the Torrent Client, Dropbox, Clemientine, HPLIP status. and Knemo. What I would like is to be able to add other useful icons, which seem to automatically come with the Mageia install on the other machines

[benmc]

Hi

to place an icon in the system tray if using KDE, eg : Kontact:
First find the program shortcut / icon. in this case in the menu tree

Kontact1.png (11.06 KiB) Viewed 9374 times

then left click the mouse and hold the button down, then drag the icon to the system tray. A grey box will appear where the icon will be placed

Kontact2.png (15.32 KiB) Viewed 9374 times

and thats all it takes

this is my task-bar / system tray afterwards

taskbar2.png (63.86 KiB) Viewed 9374 times

to move or remove the icon from the system tray because you no longer need it there or because it is in the wrong place
right click the mouse on the icon, choose " panel options ", then " choose panel settings "
If you then place the mouse pointer over the icon, a 4 way arrow appears and also a small box that has : " spanner ", icon and "x "
The 4 way arrow will move the icon left / right or to the desktop. the spanner adjusts setting for permissions etc, and "x " will delete the icon.

home this is of help.

regards

Benmc

[rodgoslin]

Thank, Benmc, but you seem to be missing the point. Yes, I can add another icon to the system tray. In my case simply right clicking on an icon from the main menu, which brings up a box, which offers "add to panel" which does just that. The options you offered do not work. At least, not with my setup. The item I would dearly love to have back, as I said, earlier, is the blue ball, or green fan to indicate ethernet, or wi-fi connection, whichever is the case.

[jkerr82508]

I believe that the "blue ball" is provided by the package drakx-net-applet and it is started when X starts by /etc/xdg/autostart/net_applet.desktop. Try clicking the link in the Menu/Tools/System Tools/NetApplet.

Jim

[rodgoslin]

Thanks, Jim. That was it. Although I can open net_applet and get the required activity icon in the system tray, it still does not start on bootup despite there being an entry for it in /etc/xdg/autostart, as net_applet.desktop. Other functions idetifiable in autostart, like nautilus and hplip do start. Any thoughts on that anyone?

[jkerr82508]

Make sure that you are starting KDE with an empty session. If there is a saved session in which net_applet has been closed, this may explain why it is not appearing on start-up.

/SystemSettings/SystemAdmin/Startup&shutdown/Session management

Jim

[doktor5000]

Simply right-click net_applet and check if it is set to automatically start, and check if ~/.net_applet file does not contain anything.

[rodgoslin]

Doktor, right clicking on net_applet, merely brings up a box with four "add" options and "uninstall". There is no such item as .net_applet in the home directory.


Thanks Jim, this did the trick. The system tray now has a net_applet icon and the mouseover for minimised windows has gone. Why, I've no idea. All I get now is a short lived info box, which I can live with (just). I'd still like to lose it, and the ones that appear if you hover over a desktop icon (see the other post)

[doktor5000]

Doktor, right clicking on net_applet, merely brings up a box with four "add" options and "uninstall".

Not sure what you're talking about. This is the context menu for net_applet:

Bildschirmfoto2_107.png (65.34 KiB) Viewed 9348 times

[rodgoslin]

Ah, Since the whole problem was that there was no net_applet running, and consequently no activity icon in the system tray to right click, the only instance of net_applet was in the launcher menu. The options on right clicking on this were as I indicated. Since Jim has shown the way to restore the function, albeit in a backhanded sort of way, this particular problem is solved.