Optional Windows-like settings

Brainstorm
1

Hi,

with may people leaving Windows lately, it would be great to make that transition a bit smoother.

I also started running Linux on few secondary machines, you know, to check, how usable things are in 2026 for an average user. I opted for KDE (currently running Fedora KDE) as it is in my opinion the closest one to Windows and has lots of configuration GNOME-based distros lack.

However, it is still quite frustrating that while lots of things could work similar to Windows, as those things are settings-based, they just don’t.

A few examples:

  • Taskbar desktop icon is OOTB set to PEAK to Desktop rather than Show desktop
  • File manager OOTB does not show full path
  • File manager OOTB uses the collapsible folders
  • SUPER+Shift+C screenshot is a full-blown editor when most of the cases I just want to select the region and immediately paste it
  • the floating taskbar that constantly visually changes depending on the windows opened/maximized
  • preference to have the taskbar centered Windows 11-like

Now, I know that all those things can be set up. It will not be perfect in all cases, because yes, it is a completely different OS and yes, it works differently, but here, KDE does have the majority of knobs that can be pulled to get a decent windows-like experience.

So let’s be clear:
What I DO NOT want and what I DO NOT suggest: Any KDE modifications that would add or change any current functionality

What I WANT and what I DO suggest:
After the installation, there would be a wizard/prompt, whether the user wants to apply close-to-windows experience options. If the user says yes, it will show categories (File manager, desktop, screenshot tool and more) with check-boxes for each option that will be applied; the user can deselect some.
When confirmed, this wizard will simply apply the settings that do exist already across the system. It sets the Dolphin with all the options that will make it closer to Windows, it will adjust the behavior of the snipping tool, it will center the taskbar and makes it non-floating…

Basically all of those things an average (and lately also more and more average AND NONTECHNICAL) user would find frustrating and spend even hours crawling through settings and trying to change it. Even I am a little bit frustrated as a technical user that each time I install the OS, I need to spend as much time going through many settings so the OS behaves at least somewhat familiar… if you do it once, fine. If you have to do it every time you distro-hop, or install another spare machine, it is quickly getting annoying.

I agree with the “Don’t try to make it work as Windows“. And that is correct for the absolute majority under-the-hood things. But the UI is something that users interact daily, and quite frankly, the Windows experience didn’t change that much from like Windows XP. Lot’s of things are just muscle memory at this point.

So, because KDE in general does have those various settings already there, it would be nice to have the option to one-click-apply them. That could genuinely reduce the friction and increase the adoption for people, both technical, and nontechnical, that are considering the switch.

Thanks!

1 Like
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This sort of proposal seems very interesting, and I definitely would like to see it get more attention. I just briefly looked over your post, so I can’t tell if it has been done before or been rejected. I have been watching the discussion going on in Change Drag and Drop default setting, and so far it has been people arguing about what is “sane”.

I think this idea is a much better step towards what I think the real goal behind @LSLSLS’s thread was: accommodating the new, typically uninformed user.

1 Like
3

hi, welcome.

while i understand the desire to make things as welcoming as possible for users fleeing the captivity of M$, i think the suggested defaults brought up here are better suited to be handled at the distro level.

further, i would suggest the KDE team’s time is better spent working on a easy way to save and restore settings so they can be shared.

right now the settings are distributed among dozens of files which make it particularly difficult to save / restore /share a given set up involving all these defaults including themes and such.

if that morass were to be collected and given a smooth GUI so that anyone who wants a more M$ like experience could easily download the settings file and apply it onto to their instance.

It would also make it easier for users to back up their settings and take them to other instances or installations of plasma for increased productivity.

3 Likes
4

Hi, @skyfishgoo while your approach could coexist with this, I see several problems:

A) It should definitely exist on the Plasma level. There is already way too much fragmentation in the Linux world and this would be another one. I would argue that no matter on what distro you install Plasma, you should get the same experience. Because plasma is literally the UI you interact with. So I should not be angry that one default does exist on Fedora and not on Kubuntu, and on Manjaro there would be no such thing even.

B) With this approach, I am a bit afraid of “There will be tons of shared setups and none of them will be right“. No. A believe this should be maintained by KDE so at least this “Windows-like default“ is consistent and up-to date.

That being said, that preset sharing could be genuinely awesome, but again, we are talking here about MASSES. Ordinary user wants to Install the system, apply the settings and BE DONE WITH IT. And not spending next 2 hours applying random setting packs created by community and checking what is wrong with each of them.

Those community-driven presets can be valuable for people who are trying to optimize the workflow, you know, to get inspiration from others, sure, but for basic user, this is not the way.

5

Ordinary user wants to Install the system, apply the settings and BE DONE WITH IT.

I think this is something the more experienced Linux user fails to see about most people. Think about how dumbed down phones are: just about everyone uses a phone, but 99% of people who use a phone use it without thinking. They don’t look up tutorials or “read the docs”.

If we want KDE/Linux to expand to a wider userbase, people have to be comfortable using it. They can always change their configs later. Remember, people are only going to get dumber.

1 Like
6

that is not likely to happen because what you said in your previous sentence.

every distro has their opinions on what the “sane” defaults should be… i would say that kubuntu probably is the best chance you have of getting something like this adopted, but zorin is pretty much already doing it with it’s very opinionated distro.

core KDE plasma tend to stay true to it’s roots and not deviate too much from what long time plasma users are already used to.

the “pure” kde plasma experience, will be with something like kde-linux or neon.

the team at KDE have plenty to do as it is, which is why themes and “tweaking” are generally left to the users… and i would expect there is little or interest among the team to “keep up” with whatever M$ has been doing to their users.

your assumption that new plasma users will not be interested in tweaking things is flawed i think, because the reason most users choose plasma is BECAUSE of its customization potential.

they want something that is familiar enough to start being productive OOTB, but not as limiting as their M$ experience.

it should be expected there is a learning curve moving from windows to linux, anyone selling it as a lateral move with no cost is blowing smoke.

7

I mean, I don’t think it would be too challenging to add something like this to the plasma setup wizard. Distros that ship it can have this functionality. Users can customize the setup to their liking easily, or they can use the distro default.