how to disable kubuntu-default-settings

[Michael Bach (gmx)]

Derek Broughton wrote:
> Michael Bach (gmx) wrote:
> 
>> Derek Broughton wrote:
>>> Michael Bach (gmx) wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hello,
>>>>
>>>> A page that I found a while ago [1] and some recent discussion on
>>>> another thread (first impressions of dolphin) made me actually bring up
>>>> this question:
>>>>
>>>> How to disable kubuntu-default-settings entirely?
>>>>
>>>> Simply removing the package doesn't work because of dependencies.
>>> Sure it does.  The only thing dependent on it is kubuntu-desktop (and
>>> something named ichthux-desktop, but that's definitely non-standard).
>>> kubuntu-desktop is purely a metapackage to force installation of things
>>> exactly like kubuntu-default-settings.
>> So, but if I were to remove kubuntu-desktop or kubuntu-default-settings
>> I would end up with broken dependencies of other packages!?
> 
> No.  You would however prevent Adept from doing a clean install when a new
> release is available (or so I understand - never having used Adept for such
> a purpose...).
> 
>>>> What is it exactly that this package changes?
>>> It installs some wallpaper, some themes, huge numbers of default config
>>> files and cursors.
>> Ok. This is what the package description says as well.
>>
>>> None of these should actually make any difference if
>>> you have already used the apps involved.  ie, it doesn't change the
>>> configs under ~/.kde/.
>> But on a fresh user accout, ~/.kde/ is almost "empty" and gets filled
>> with user data (eg. Kontact) or by modified settings of applications.
> 
> Absolutely.  If you were to create a new user with a
> kubuntu-default-settings from Dappper, then upgrade to Feisty and create
> another new user, probably the two user environments would look noticeably
> different.  The user you've had since Hoary, though, wouldn't see a change
> (at least not due to this package).
That is exactly the point! Changes (style maybe, but not features)
should be introduced/removed by kde, and not by kubuntu-default-settings.
> 
>> However, the initial applications settings (some) are dictated by
>> settings in /usr/share , under normal circumstances.
>>
>> And it does more: To get a grips of what this package does I downloaded
>> it and browsed its content with midnight commander (mc handels deb
>> packages transparently). It seems that the packages creates a tree of
>> directories in /usr/share/kubuntu-default-settings in which it puts
> 
> I said that...  It isn't anything you'll ever notice.
This holds, providing I never compare two user accounts with application
 settings from two different versions of kubuntu. (I'm not talking about
the existence /usr/share/kubuntu-default-settings, but rather the
implications on application settings and style.)
> 
>> configuration files for a number of kde apps. Second, it writes a
>> /etc/kderc which makes kde using a different default directory for
>> application configurations:
>>
> ... 
>> This is my recently modified /etc/kderc. Of course, everything in ~/.kde
>>   still has priority.
> 
> Exactly.  So where's the problem?

The problem lies exactly there, you have mentioned it above already,
that the  kde environment to a user on kubuntu depends on the point (the
version of kubuntu) on which an application configuration goes into
~/.kde by a user tweaking an application.

This is probably most confusing for someone who keeps his ~/.kde over a
few versions, gets used to style and most important: features, and after
a fresh installation, well, style changes, but if features disappear,
for me that is most annoying.
I made some bad experiences, with one of them being that on my first
kubuntu installation (6.10) with a fresh ~/.kde, I would not get image
exif information shown in a file properties dialogue. I searched my head
round for exif packages and exif configuration. No success, I think
during that time I must have found the page I posted. After some playing
around with the kubuntu-default settings I now have exif information in
image file properties shown, also previews now show up in the
properties. I would have probably never searched this feature I if I
wouldn't know it exists from using earlier versions of kde on slackware.