The KDE team has announced the second point release of the Plasma 5.27 LTS desktop environment series: Plasma 5.27.2. This release brings fixes for reported user issues, as well as a more streamlined experience with improved usability and efficiency overall.
Plasma 5.27.2 Complete Changelog
The Plasma 5.27.2 release includes fixes for a number of issues reported by users, including:
Discover – KDE and Plasma resources management GUI
Plasma 5.27.2 introduces a range of improvements to the Discover software center. Third-party repositories are no longer claimed as part of the operating system on Debian derivatives, and Flatpak and ApplicationPage have been improved with better layout options when dealing with multiple buttons.
Pk has seen an update to properly check for AppStream versions, and Fwupd now does fwupd_client_connect before setting the user agent. There have also been fixes to Rendering Missing Backends, Pk search by state, and Screenshots use of AnimatedImage. Finally, the distro name is always shown for PackageKit apps in Plasma 5.27.2 as well.
Dr Konqi – Crash handler for KDE software
In Plasma 5.27.2, the crash handler for KDE software, Dr Konqi, has been improved with the addition of a mappings file for plasma-welcome. Additionally, a scrolling bug in the description of the program has been fixed. These updates provide greater stability and accuracy when using KDE software, ensuring a more pleasant user experience.
Furthermore, the new mappings file will allow plasma-welcome to be invoked directly from Dr Konqi should any issues arise while using KDE software.
Flatpak KCM – Flatpak Permissions Management KCM
This version also includes an updated Flatpak KCM (KDE Configuration Module). This KCM enables users to manage permissions for their Flatpak applications.
The update improved the popup modals for the footer padding in KCM, as well as adapting the “Apply / Discard” dialog to narrow screens by turning the row layout into a column. Additionally, it added the changed application’s name and icon to the “Apply / Discard” dialog, while also reparenting that same app switching dialog so that it was centered in the view.
The Plasma 5.27.2 update also included a change to use the standard QQC2 namespace for Dialog constants. Additionally, it dynamically created the “Apply / Discard” dialog when switching apps and moved the app changing logic out of delegate, instead fetching references directly from model. Lastly, the update included a fix so that users would no longer try to reload applications when clicking on the current one.
KDE GTK Config
When KDE GTK Config is being used, it should not create a gtkrc-2.0 file if one does not already exist.
KMenuEdit
KMenuEdit has been enhanced to prevent crashes when cutting an item that was dragged and dropped onto the root.
kpipewire – Components relating to Flatpak ‘pipewire’ use in Plasma
The major updates related to kpipewire include PipewireSourceItem, which now exposes stream state and allows recordings to be finished when the last frame has arrived. Logging categories have also been exported to where they belong. Additionally, Sourcestream now allocates the buffer outside together with the pods.
KScreen
The KScreen module has been updated to guard against any potential null configurations in the checkConfig() process, while the Kcm module has implemented onRejected to better handle cases when users click the ‘reject’ button.
KWin
KDE Plasma 5.27.2 has been released with various bug fixes and improvements. KWin, the window manager of the Plasma Desktop, has been patched to fix issues related to client areas lookup with pending move resizes, X11 and Wayland window initialization, screencasting download into an image, as well as closing streams when the output is disabled.
There were also fixes made to the effects, such as zoom, magnifier, and rendering on multi-screen setups. Other improvements included the explicit freeing of outputs, VT switching allowing even with global shortcuts disabled, and ensuring there’s current OpenGL context when DecorationItem is repainted for the last time.
layer-shell-qt
By default, layer-shell-qt will now utilize the QScreen of the QWindow for its output. This allows users to experience a much smoother and more reliable performance when using this program.
libkscreen
The KDE Plasma 5.27.2 release includes a fix to an issue that caused screens to become dirty when switching display modes; the libkscreen feature has been reverted with this version. Additionally, the new version of KDE Plasma properly manages org_kde_kwin_dpms instances in DPMS/Wayland environments and sets it as unsupported if addRegistryListener does not find the interface.
Milou – A dedicated search application built on top of Baloo
Milou is a cutting-edge search application constructed with Baloo at its core. Unlike most other applications, Milou does not trigger match operations as soon as the query string has been modified.
Plasma Desktop
KDE Plasma 5.27.2 has brought a number of improvements to the Plasma desktop environment. Key changes include an updated Kcms/keys system which no longer provides visual feedback when a key is pressed if it only contains one delegate; a fix to the Folder View scrollbar, which prevented it from overlapping with list view items; and the addition of a user interface for removing desktop containments.
plasma-integration
plasma-integration technology to ensure that the exporting window ID is correctly displayed when using Wayland. Additionally, this version updated the runtime dependency on xdg-desktop-portal-kde for improved performance and reliability.
plasma-welcome
KDE Plasma 5.27.2 delivers users a unique opportunity to customize their system settings with themable icons- allowing for an unparalleled level of personalization!
Plasma Workspace
KDE Plasma 5.27.2 has been released, bringing many improvements to the user experience. The Plasma Workspace has been improved with a focus on switching between alternative login screens, as well as an action to remove the containments of a screen. System tray icons have also been improved, with a test added specifically for xembed tray icons.
Additionally, the task manager has been enhanced with the ability to consider current activity when computing first task index and filter out invalid preferred launcher tasks. The KDE Color Manager has been updated with a highlight outline for color dots as well. Lastly, the lock screen has been improved to prevent the Escape key from displaying UI if it’s currently hidden.
Powerdevil
Powerdevil includes a fix for an issue with capitalization in the find_package_handle_standard_args() call and a fix for cleaning up handles when redetecting screens.
System Settings
KDE Plasma 5.27.2 has brought some improvements to system settings, including the replacement of OpacityAnimator with NumberAnimation for smoother fade-in effects and the prevention of placeholder empty search results from jumping when they fade out.
