I wonder whether your particular screen size/resolution is causing widget icons to be hidden even if they are "on" the panel. No one else has reported such a problem, but it may be that you have a lot of stuff on the panel and there's a problem displaying everything, or something like that.
Solution:The default panel was not accepting new widgets (plasmoids) until after the 'task manager' plasmoid (widget) was deleted.
Problem and best guess at what was wrong:While I do not fully understand what happened, I can now add widgets/plasmoids to the default panel. I 'think' I know what the problem was but because I have already deleted the plasmoid that I think was causing the problem, I cannot confirm my hypothesis. Nevertheless, I think you will agree that this is at least a possibility and also at least somewhat related to your post quoted above.
My 'task manager' plasmoid, I think, was set so that it was a "fixed" size and took up the remaining space in the panel so that nothing else would fit. I had started deleting plasmoids that were already created in my second panel and I had already added the "Icon Only Task Manager" plasmoid on the second panel so I deleted the 'task manager' on the default panel and I noticed that the complexion of the panel changed. Hard to describe in detail but it just looked a little different. So I tried adding a widget and voila! -- it worked!
The thing that is confusing is that it did not seem to matter if I had the default panel scaled down or maximized, the 'task manager' would take up the remaining space even though it would resize with the panel. The only thing I can think of is that it had some kind of fixed percentage of real estate that it was holding onto.
There are a few things about the default panel that I haven't learned how to replicate but by and large it is nowhere near the mystery to me it was before this all started. Except for adding icons and a widget or two, I've never really delved into it that much but beginning to appreciate it in a little different light.
Thanks!
Acknowledgements:This is such a strong forum for many reasons.
Certainly shouts out go to towo for the kernel and devil for the forum. Their integrity to the project and attitude towards users is a shining example of how to take care of business without thumping the less knowledgable on the head with their expertise.
But dibl, clubex, and piper; each and every post was helpful to me in solving this dilemma. Sometimes I learned a little and sometimes I learned alot, but all of it adds up to a greater understanding.
I actually "moderate" a forum myself, although it is not an online forum, but rather old-school: we sit around a table and talk. :-D
There *I* am the one (because of my position and, ok, experience and knowledge) considered the most knowledgable on the subject, at least for now. As the other forum members gain experience, they start asking some hard questions and we all learn more. Y'all provide a good example of how I can do this better.
Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge and experience.
One Last Note:If any of you read this and can add detail to the solution, please do so. I tried to highlight this "solution", 'for the record', so to speak, in hopes that it would be a little more obvious to future readers. But, my "solution" lacks detail that I am currently unable to verify as correct.
