Actually I just thought of a nice trick I forgot to mention: As translucency in the panel is only possible with Desktop Effects enabled, and that is not mandatory, most Plasma themes provide two versions of the SVG files for various workspace elements, one for the case in which Desktop Effects is enabled and one optimized for the case in which it isn't. This is also true for the default theme, Air. In other words, there is in fact an opague version of Air's panel SVG file already on your system. If you go to Desktop Theme Details as mentioned in the last mail and aim the Panel Background element at this file: /ust/share/kde4/apps/desktoptheme/default/opague/widgets/panel-background.svgz ... your Air panel will switch from translucent to opague. -- Best regards, Eike Hein