# Testing and debugging Plasma 5 plasmoid with Qt Creator

The following instructions allow to test the Plasmoid by installing it in a test directory
rather than the regular home to separate testing from production.

1. Build as usual, ensure `NO_PLASMOID` is turned off
2. Add build step to execute the custom target `init_plasmoid_testing` which
   will install the Plasmoid in a test directory which is `$CMAKE_BUILD_DIR/plasmoid-testing`
   by default (configurable via cache variable `PLASMOID_TESTDIR`, the sub directory
   `plasmoid-testing` is not part of the variable)
3. Add new config for run in Qt Creator and set `bash` as executable
4. Set `%{sourceDir}/../../syncthingtray/plasmoid/scripts/starttesting.sh plasmoidviewer --applet martchus.syncthingplasmoid`
   as CLI argument
  * It is also possible to use `plasmawindowed` or `plasmashell`, see sections below.
  * This usage of `%{sourceDir}` assumes one used the "Building this straight" instructions
    from the main README.md.
5. Keep `%{buildDir}` as working directory.
6. In execution environment there's nothing mandatory to be set because `starttesting.sh` should
   already take care of setting the environment.
    * The home directory is set in accordance with the directory used in step 2. but can be overridden
      by setting `TEST_HOME`; make sure that `TEST_HOME` and the CMake variable `PLASMOID_TESTDIR` are
      set in accordance
    * If not already set, `QT_PLUGIN_PATH` is set to `$CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR/plasmoid/lib` which
      should contain the plugin for the Plasmoid under `plasma/applets/libsyncthingplasmoid.so`
    * `QT_DEBUG_PLUGINS` to 1 for verbose plugin detection
7. Ignore warning that executable is no debug build, it is sufficiant when
   the plugin is a debug build (see next section for QML debugging)

## Saving/restoring settings

Be aware that `plasmoidviewer` will revert Plasmoid-specific settings to the defaults on
startup. So it is not possible to test restoring/saving settings using it.
For this use case, `plasmawindowed` can be used instead.

## Testing within the real Plasma shell

Some issues are only reproducible within the actual Plasma shell. It is possible to test
with the real Plasma shell in the same way as described above by setting `plasmashell` as
executable.

It is only possible to run one `plasmashell` at a time so you have to stop your regular
`plasmashell` first. While developing you can start e.g. `tint2` to be not without a shell.
It works quite well within a Plasma session when both shells are placed on different screen
edges.

## Enable QML debugging

To enable QML debugging, it is required to rebuild `plasmoidviewer` with QML debugging
enabled.

For Arch Linux, I created the package
[`plasmoidviewer-debug`](https://github.com/Martchus/PKGBUILDs/tree/master/plasmoidviewer-debug/default)
for that purpose. Installing this package and using `plasmoidviewer-debug` instead of `plasmoidviewer`
should make enabling QML debugging in the *Run* section of Qt Creator work.

To create a debug build of `plasmoidviewer` manually:

1. Get plasma-sdk: `git clone https://anongit.kde.org/plasma-sdk.git`
2. Create a debug build of `plasmoidviewer` and ensure `QT_QML_DEBUG` is defined when
   compiling `plasmoidviewer`, eg. by applying
   [[PATCH] Enable QML debugging](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Martchus/PKGBUILDs/master/plasmoidviewer-debug/default/0001-Enable-QML-debugging.patch).
3. Prepend the build directory containing the `plasmoidviewer` binary to the path variable
   in the build environment of Syncthing Tray.
4. Enable QML debugging in the *Run* section.
