The Plasma Activities feature is one of the most interesting concepts in KDE, but currently it still feels somewhat disconnected from the rest of the desktop environment.
Activities already allow users to separate workflows, contexts and applications, however, display configuration is still treated as a global setting shared between all Activities.
Recently I started experimenting with the idea of extending Activities using tools that already exist inside Plasma itself, mainly KScreen, KScreen-Doctor and DBus automation (in Debian 12 and KDE Linux).
The original goal was simple: automatically switch monitor layouts depending on the current Activity.
For example:
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A “Studio” Activity with higher scaling for screen recording
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A “Programming” Activity using a vertical monitor layout
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A “Gaming” Activity with different refresh rate and fullscreen-oriented layout
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A “Laptop” Activity optimized for battery life and reduced external displays
During these experiments, I realized that Plasma already exposes most of the required infrastructure internally.
Using DBus and KScreen-Doctor, it is already possible today to create a functional prototype through custom scripts that dynamically apply monitor profiles whenever the current Activity changes.
The current prototype works by:
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monitoring Activity changes through DBus,
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identifying the active Activity ID,
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and dynamically applying display profiles using KScreen-Doctor.
What became interesting is that Activities start feeling much more like true workspace profiles instead of simply “advanced virtual desktops”.
This significantly expands the practical value of the feature.
Because of this, I would like to suggest considering native per-Activity display layouts for future Plasma versions.
Some possible ideas:
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Monitor scaling per Activity
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Resolution and refresh rate profiles
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Monitor rotation per Activity
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Enabling/disabling displays automatically
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Different layouts for docked and undocked workflows
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Optional automatic restoration when switching Activities
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Per-Activity multi-monitor geometry
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Per-Activity display presets optimized for different workflows
This could be especially useful for:
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creators and video editors,
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developers,
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streamers,
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laptop + dock users,
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multi-monitor workflows,
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accessibility scenarios,
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and users who constantly switch between different contexts during the day.
One important aspect is that most of the underlying technology already exists inside Plasma today. The missing part appears to be mainly the integration between Activities and display profiles in a more user-friendly and native way.
I believe this could help transform Activities into one of the most unique productivity features available in a desktop environment.
I also created a working proof-of-concept using existing Plasma tools like KScreen-Doctor and DBus scripting.
Full technical write-up and scripts (in pt-br): Diolinux Plus Technical Post
The experiment suggests that much of the required infrastructure already exists today, and that native integration between Activities and display profiles could significantly expand the usefulness and identity of the feature inside Plasma.
