KDE Plasma 6.7 might be a point release - but it's packed with new features

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• KDE Plasma 6.7 has been released.
• There are large features, adjacent though this is simply a constituent release.
• You tin hold until it reaches your distro's repositories oregon effort KDE Neon.

KDE Plasma 6.7 has yet arrived, and the improvement squad decided to adhd a fewer other features and polish into the mix, immoderate of which you mightiness find alternatively interesting.

The happening astir KDE Plasma is that it's already 1 of the finest desktop environments connected the market. It's gorgeous, stable, highly user-friendly, but besides flexible, and it performs much similar a lightweight desktop akin to Xfce. So, erstwhile the developers connection a merchandise that's adjacent better, you tin beryllium definite it's worthy installing.

Also: 10 things I ever bash instantly aft installing Linux - and why

But what features tin you expect to find successful KDE Plasma 6.7? Let's chat.

The caller features

Given that this is simply a caller constituent merchandise (.7 arsenic it were), you shouldn't expect earth-shattering-kaboom-like caller features, arsenic you mightiness with a large merchandise (such arsenic 7.0). Even so, for a constituent release, determination are immoderate beauteous chill caller options.

For instance, there's the caller planetary mic mute hotkey. Think astir it: You're utilizing an app that shouldn't person entree to your mic, but you find that it's being utilized anyway. Instead of having to spell done the Settings app oregon the strategy tray to mute the mic, you tin usage the caller planetary mic mute hotkey. By clicking the preconfigured hotkey connected your keyboard, the mic is automatically muted. This tin besides enactment erstwhile you're successful a video oregon audio meeting, and you request to rapidly mute your mic for immoderate reason. For anyone who regularly uses a mic, this volition beryllium a useful diagnostic to have.

The Plasma Bigscreen mode (which allows you to reflector your desktop connected a TV) has yet arrived successful afloat force, truthful you tin presumption your desktop connected a large-screen TV without it looking stretched, blurry, oregon different wonky.

Version 6.7 besides delivers connected the promised per-screen virtual desktops, which means you tin customize virtual desktops connected a per-monitor basis. Maybe you person 2 oregon 3 monitors, and you privation to acceptable up circumstantial virtual desktops for each. With KDE Plasma 6.7, you tin bash that. For example, you could person 1 show for coding, and connected that show you could person virtual desktops for your IDEs, 1 for your terminal apps, and 1 for your debugging apps. You could person your 2nd show acceptable up with 2 virtual desktops: 1 for web browsing and 1 for productivity.

Also: How to take the close Linux desktop organisation for you

The sky's the bounds connected that one.

Other caller features include: 

• A caller people queue viewer
• Wayland league restore
• Support for typing non-standard characters
• The quality to exclude windows from screencasts and screenshots
• Multi-GPU swapchain for Vulkan
• A caller setup UI for mounting up printers from a shared network
• Custom dependable themes
• The instrumentality of the Air taxable and an improved Oxygen theme
• Easy light/dark taxable swap
• Remote-control notifications
• Smarter KRunner results
• Global hotkey for clearing the notification history
• Support for 3D LUTS that assistance trim GPU load connected resource-heavy graphics processes
• Dawn-timed taxable switching

There are besides improvements to each of the default apps, specified arsenic those recovered successful System Settings and KDE Discover.

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Of course, what is simply a caller merchandise without bug fixes, and 6.7 includes plentifulness of them. You tin presumption the implicit database of bug fixes (as good arsenic the afloat feature/improvement list) connected the official merchandise notes.

When tin you expect KDE Plasma 6.7?

This is the tricky part, arsenic each organisation volition person to get the latest merchandise into its modular repositories. Because of this, there's nary hard-coded deadline for erstwhile this volition happen. Hopefully, your organisation of prime volition adhd KDE Plasma 6.7 soon. 

Until then, if you're anxious to effort retired the latest version, you tin ever tally a virtual instrumentality of KDE Neon oregon KDE Linux (or instal 1 of them connected a spare PC). Either mode you go, you should beryllium excited astir the upcoming merchandise of KDE 6.7.

I cognize I am.