The latest version 22.12.0 of the KDE Gear program collection – formerly KDE Applications Bundle – consisting of more than 100 free applications and numerous other libraries for the free desktop KDE Plasma has been released. Among other things, the release includes optimizations for the file manager and KDE Connect.
Major product maintenance for the KDE apps
The popular open-source desktop KDE Plasma, which is also used in Canonical's Linux distribution Kubuntu, has received numerous updated application programs from its own ecosystem.
The latest release of KDE Gear 22.12.0 offers new versions of the following apps:
- Kate
- KWrite
- Kdenlive
- Spectacle
- Gwenview
- KDE Connect
- Kitinerary< /li>
- Calendar
- KMail
- Elisa
While the e-mail client KMail gets improved functions for e-mail encryption, the extensive travel assistant Kitinerary now also supports boats and ferries. In addition, the screenshot app Spectacle offers new recording functions for taking screenshots.
File manager gets new selection function
Dolphin, KDE's file manager, has supported connecting to and browsing Samba shares for many versions. Now he is also able to manage permissions remotely.
Another new function is the new selection mode, which the developers present in a corresponding video.
When selection mode is activated, another toolbar appears at the bottom of the view, providing options for the selected files. If, for example, only images are selected, it is offered to open or manage them in the in-house image viewer Gwenview.
Connect connects KDE and smartphone
KDE Connect connects smartphones to KDE Plasma. It allows the user to share files and the clipboard, use the smartphone as a remote control or mouse, and reply to messages directly from the desktop.
For corresponding text messages to be answered with the KDE Connect widget, in version 22.12.0 the text field is now in the popup and no longer in a separate dialog window. KDE Connect supports messages received by Android smartphones, for example via SMS, WhatsApp or Telegram, as well as sharing files and links via the D-Bus library.
Other innovations in KDE Gear 22.12.0
The official release notes for KDE Gear 22.12. 0 also list the following improvements:
- In Gwenview you can now also adjust the brightness, contrast and gamma of Adjust images directly during preview. In addition, the image viewer can now also open and display XCF files from the image editing software GIMP.
- Kate and KWrite, the two text editors from KDE, get a welcome window. It can be used to create new files, open existing documents from a list of recently opened files or from another location on the system, and view the apps' documentation.
- The video editor Kdenliveimproves its guide/tag system with custom categories and search filters. Interoperability with other video editing applications has also been further optimized.
- The Kalendar calendar app now offers pop-up windows for viewing events, making it easier to view and manage appointments and more comfortable.
In addition, there are the obligatory optimizations and error corrections, which accompany each new release and which are particularly extensive this time.
< p class="p text-width">For more information, see the full developer release notes.
Focus on families and creatives
With its curated offering of open source apps and community contributions optimized for the KDE ecosystem, KDE for Creators aims to complement the offering of KDE for Kids, which is already available in German as KDE for Kids.
< p class="p text-width">While “KDE for Creators” with creative applications such as the painting program Krita, the video editor Kdenlive and associated tutorials is primarily intended to appeal to content creators, “KDE for Kids” primarily offers learning content as well as games and entertainment suitable for children.
KDE Plasma 5.27 LTS predates KDE Plasma 6
The next major releases are expected to be KDE Plasma 5.27 LTS, coming out in early 2023, and KDE Plasma 6 with Qt 6 in Spring 2023.
The “Arc Technologies” YouTube channel, which specializes in Linux, demonstrates the current status of KDE Plasma and its feature set and provides corresponding impressions.
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