(Aside: I've done a fair amount of googling, reading documentation,
experimenting (which includes comparing settings on my old Mandriva2006
installation to my new Debian 5.0 installation), and even asking on a
kde mail list (kde-li...@kde.org) with no good results so far. Also,
this is slightly rephrased from the question on that list--I hope it
makes it more clear.)
Background and (some) details:
On my recently retired Mandriva2006 system (replaced with a Debian 5.0
installation using KDE), when I clicked a link in kmail (and there was
an instance of konqueror open on the same desktop), the link would open
in a new tab of the existing konqueror instance *and leave that
instance of konqueror in the background* (i.e., behind kmail, with
kmail maintaining the focus).
In Debian 5.0, I can't get the same behavior without other adverse
effects. To be more specific, clicking a link in kmail:
* will open the link in a new tab in the existing konqueror (this is
good) (this was not the behavior as delivered, but required changing
only a few fairly obvious configuration settings for konqueror)
* but this will bring konqueror to the foreground, with the focus,
obscuring kmail (this is bad, not what I prefer, and not the behavior I
had on Mandriva2006) and requiring me to do things to restore kmail to
the foreground and get the focus back to kmail.
(I do have a workaround which is to keep konqueror mostly offscreen so
just a corner of konqueror becomes visible when it comes to the
foreground, I can then reclick in kmail to regain the focus and
continue reading email--I'd prefer not to have to use this workaround.)
I have found at least one way to solve the problem for kmail, but that
causes other problems for the overall system. The primary way I've
found is to adjust the "focus stealing prevention" for windows (in
general) from the "low" setting (the default as installed setting)
to "high" ("normal" didn't quite do the job). Some of the adverse
effects from doing this included:
* various popups, like authorization dialogs in konqueror and other
things (kcontrol) now pop under the "parent" window--thus they are not
visible
* the Run Command dialog (called by <alt><F2>) doesn't get the focus
when it pops up unless by chance it pops up over the current location
of the mouse pointer
I also experimented with "Windows Specific Settings" but didn't make
much progress there--some of the behaviors seemed counterintuitive or
buggy (for example, iirc, if I got a Window to "keep below" I could
never get it above the other windows on that screen (desktop), and vice
versa) .
In addition, on my Mandriva 2006 system there were no Windows specific
settings for konqueror or kmail--the only Windows specific settings
were for, darn, I think it was gjots (the little notetaking application
that uses ccrypt).
Mandriva2006 used KDE 3.4.2. with konqueror 3.4.2 and, iirc, kmail
1.4.2.
The Question(s):
So, my first question is, does anybody using Debian 5.0 (KDE) have the
behavior I desire, that is, that clicking on a link in kmail brings up
the link in a new tab in an instance of konqueror on the same desktop
(this part does work for me) while leaving that instance of konqueror
in the background (this is the part that does not work for me, the real
heart of the question).
If so, does it do so without any of the adverse effects I described
above (causing popups to pop under, or the Run Command to not get the
focus if the mouse pointer is not within the boundaries of the Run
Command popup).
If so, my next (i.e., future) questions will relate to how you got that
behavior.
If not, I wonder what has changed between KDE 3.4.2 and Debian's KDE
3.5.10/3.5.9. (And, could it be "fixed". ;-)
BTW, I should mention that, to the best of my recollection, the behavior
I described for kmail and konqueror on Mandriva2006 was the as
installed / default behavior, although that was several years ago and I
may have forgotten something.
Thanks!
Randy Kramer
--
I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I created a video
instead.--with apologies to Cicero, et.al.
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