KOSD

KOSD is a simple framework for the KDE Desktop providing an OSD in response to media key presses.

How to install:

Step 1:
If you have an older version of KOSD already installed, remove it completely before proceeding.

Step 2:
To build and install KOSD change to the extracted source directory and type:

mkdir build && cd build
cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=`kde4-config --prefix` ..
make
make install (as root)

Step 3:
Log out and back in to make sure the modules are loaded correctly by KDED (or run kquitapp kded && kded4).

Step 4:
In System Settings go to Shortcuts and Gestures->Global Keyboard Shortcuts. Select KOSD from the components list and reassign your keys as needed.

Step 5:
Go to Workspace Appearance->On-Screen Display to adjust KOSD to your liking.

That's it. Enjoy!

P.S.: Don't like monochrome icons? Then create the file .kde4/share/config/kosd_keysrc. Put the lines

[General]
UseSvg=0

in it and restart the KOSD Keys service.

You can also set the mixer control by adding the line

MixerControl=name

where name is the name of your desired control (e.g. Master, PCM, ...).

Changelog from 0.8.0 to 0.8.1
* Fixed some power management issues

Changelog from 0.7.1 to 0.8.0
* Added standard methods for battery, brightness and volume, allowing the pixmaps to be kept in memory, which avoids hard disk reads and makes the OSD more responsive

Changelog from 0.7.0 to 0.7.1
* Fixed a possible crash, if no mixer control named "Master" exists

Changelog from 0.6.2 to 0.7.0
* Changed KOSD Keys Service to use ALSA directly instead of relying on KMix

Changelog from 0.6.1 to 0.6.2
* Fixed CMakeLists.txt not to link against libsolidcontrol which is no longer used

Changelog from 0.6.0 to 0.6.1
* Made KOSD Keys Service compatible with KDE SC 4.6

Changelog from 0.5.1 to 0.6.0
* Added support for (Plasma-themed) SVG icons
* Many improvements throughout the code

Changelog from 0.5.0 to 0.5.1
* Fixed the mixer to always use the correct master channel

Changelog from 0.4.2 to 0.5.0
* Split up the monolithic application into a KDED module for the OSD, a KDED module for the key listener, a system settings module and a simple access library allowing any application to use the OSD
* Replaced the old OSD by new, fully Plasma based OSDs. There's now a "standard" OSD similar to the old one and a "compact" OSD similar to the OSDs provided by KMix and Powerdevil