Many KDE themes, including the default Breeze theme, apply subtle drop shadows around window borders. These shadows enhance the desktop’s visual appearance and improve window distinction.
In some situations, however, removing drop shadows is preferable, such as when capturing clean screenshots or achieving a minimalist aesthetic. Adjusting these settings allows for a distraction-free and uniform look.
Within the System Settings tool, window decoration preferences can be customized. Although options vary between themes, selecting the current theme and disabling its shadow feature is a straightforward process, ensuring the desktop presentation meets specific user requirements.
Steps disable window panel drop shadow in KDE:
- Launch System Settings from the Application Launcher.
- Click on Appearance on the sidebar menu.
- Go to Window Decorations from the sidebar menu.
- Hover on current theme and click on Edit Theme button.
- Click on Shadows tab.
The panels could be different depending on the theme, and the option to change the drop shadow might not exist at all. This example is based on the Breeze theme.
- Click on Size select list.
- Select None to disable window border drop shadow.
- Click OK to save and immediately apply the configuration change.

Mohd Shakir Zakaria is a cloud architect with deep roots in software development and open-source advocacy. Certified in AWS, Red Hat, VMware, ITIL, and Linux, he specializes in designing and managing robust cloud and on-premises infrastructures.
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