Learn how to create custom fmt::formatter specializations in C++ to enable readable, indented output for nested structs. This guide demonstrates using CRTP and helper utilities to format complex types with indentation levels, making logging with fmt and spdlog more human-friendly.

This tutorial shows how to display Qt Widget windows in a Qt Quick application, combining the flexibility of both frameworks. Learn how to manage integration through C++, expose widget properties and signals to QML, and build multi-window UIs for desktop or embedded platforms from real world examples.

Qt Quick apps can show a white flash during window resizing due to frame lag. This happens when the window’s background doesn’t match the system theme. Use SystemPalette to set a theme-aware background color, ensuring smooth, consistent visuals across platforms.

This post explores implementing drag-and-drop onto existing items in Qt, such as moving emails between folders. It covers both Model/View and Item Widget approaches, detailing key setup steps and improvements made to Qt along the way.

In this follow-up to our drag-and-drop guide, we explore how to move items between views in Qt’s model/view framework. Learn how to set up both drag and drop sides, handle MIME data, and implement key model methods. Whether you're working with model/view separation or with item widgets, this post provides practical examples to help you customize UI interactions effectively.

With NLnet support, KDE Plasma’s Wayland session now offers improved accessibility and creative tool support. Enhancements include better sticky keys feedback, customizable tablet areas, pressure curve adjustments, and configurable stylus buttons. These updates make Wayland more inclusive, reinforcing KDE’s commitment to accessibility.

This blog post is the first in a series on implementing drag-and-drop in the Qt model/view framework. It covers how to reorder items within a single view, whether you're using QListView, QTableView, or QTreeView with a custom model, or QListWidget, QTableWidget, or QTreeWidget with items. The post includes code examples, checklists, and insights into improvements made in Qt 6.8 for smoother drag-and-drop functionality.

Mozilla is the maker of the famous Firefox web browser and the birthplace of the likes of Rust and Servo (read more about Embedding the Servo Web Engine in Qt). Firefox is a huge, multi-platform, multi-language project with 21 million lines of code back in 2020, according to their own blog post. Navigating in projects […]

In a recent email, KDABian Leon Matthes highlighted some of his go-to command line tools for everyday use on Unix. His recommendations sparked a lively exchange among our colleagues, each sharing their own favorite utilities. Many of these tools offer efficient alternatives to standard Unix programs, speeding up the workflow or otherwise enriching the development […]

The goal When building C++ code with CMake, it is very common to want to set some pre-processor defines in the CMake code. For instance, we might want to set the project's version number in a single place, in CMake code like this: This sets the CMake variable PROJECT_VERSION to 1.5, which we can then […]

We just released CXX-Qt version 0.7! CXX-Qt is a set of Rust crates for creating bidirectional Rust ⇄ C++ bindings with Qt. It supports integrating Rust into C++ applications using CMake or building Rust applications with Cargo. CXX-Qt provides tools for implementing QObject subclasses in Rust that can be used from C++, QML, and JavaScript. […]

In recent years, a lot has been happening to improve performance, maintainability and tooling of QML. Some of those improvements can only take full effect when your code follows modern best practices. Here are 10 things you can do in order to modernize your QML code and take full advantage of QML's capabilities. 1. Use […]

Recap In Part 1, we covered PCM audio and superimposing waveforms, and developed an algorithm to combine an arbitrary number of audio streams into one. Now we need to use these ideas to finish a full implementation using Qt Multimedia. Using Qt Multimedia for Audio Device Access So what do we need? Well, we want […]

Motivation When using Qt Multimedia to play audio files, it’s common to use QMediaPlayer, as it supports a larger variety of formats than QSound and QSoundEffect. Consider a Qt application with several audio sources; for example, different notification sounds that may play simultaneously. We want to avoid cutting notification sounds off when a new one […]

Creating applications for cross-platform compatibility is a modern best practice. It increases deployment flexibility and allows applications to reach a wider audience. However, doing it properly can involve some trial and error. At KDAB, we’ve built many multiplatform desktop applications. Here, we’ve compiled a few insights from that process to help you build better software. […]

In our earlier blog, The Smarter Way to Rust, we discuss why a blend of C++ and Rust is sometimes the best solution to building robust applications. But when you’re merging these two languages, it’s critical to keep in mind that the transition from C++ to Rust isn’t about syntax, it’s about philosophy. Adapting to […]

Motivation Let’s say we’re working on a QML project that involves a TextEdit. There’s some text in it: here is some text We want to select part of this text and hit ctrl+B to make it bold: here is some text In Qt Widgets, this is trivial, but not so much in QML – we […]

An over-the-air (OTA) update capability is an increasingly critical part of any embedded device to close cybersecurity vulnerabilities, allow just-in-time product rollouts, stomp out bugs, and deliver new features. We’ve talked about some of the key structural elements that go into an embedded OTA architecture before. But what about the back end? Let’s address some […]

Building system images for embedded devices from the ground up is a very complex process, that involves many different kinds of requirements for the build tooling around it. Traditionally, the most popular build systems used in this context are the Yocto project and buildroot. These build systems make it easy to set up toolchains for […]

If you’ve been following our blog, you’re likely aware of Rust’s growing presence in embedded systems. While Rust excels in safety-by-design, it’s also common to find it integrated with C++. This strategic approach leverages the strengths of both languages, including extensive C++ capabilities honed over the years in complex embedded systems. Let’s delve into some […]