GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 515405
metacity/gnome does not react to xrandr resize events
Last modified: 2008-03-24 13:55:18 UTC
Please describe the problem: When I resize my desktop by running `xrandr --output DVI-I_2/analog --right-of DVI-I_1/analog` on my Fedora 8 box the second monitor is reconfigured to show the second half of the now bigger desktop. (from two times 1280x1024 to 2560x1024) Yet the menu bar and the bar at the bottom of my gnome desktop do not extend into the newfound desktop space to the right of the original desktop. Steps to reproduce: 1. set up box with videocard with dual outputs (e.g. ATI hd2600pro from Gigabyte) 2. install Fedora with Gnome 3. run `xrandr --output DVI-I_2/analog --right-of DVI-I_1/analog` Actual results: Desktop expands into the second monitor but only the background image is shown. Menu bars etc are not using the second screen. Expected results: Desktop is expected to recognise newfound desktop space and adapt bars, etc. Does this happen every time? Yes. Other information:
Menu bars and things like that are dealt with by libwnck, so I'm passing it over to the libwnck folks.
How can I get this issue confirmed? (and looked into?)
I think this is a matter for gnome-panel, not libwnck, if I understand the original bug report correctly. As far as I understand, you want both the top panel (the one with the applications menu) and the bottom panel (with the window list) to extend through both monitors on your dual-head desktop rather than stay confined on the first monitor. (A good question is how to distinguish this use case from, say, plugging in a video projector, where you wouldn't want this to happen.)
Comment #3 is indeed correct in understanding. #3's question might be solved with some setting?
Whenever a big desktop (1 desktop over more than 1 monitor) is started, the desktop should behave as it is on one screen. One optional setting could control whether this behaviour is active or that the 'projector mode' behaviour is current. I guess this not just a setting to be implemented somewhere but also the response to the resize event(s) being acted on by some other code.
Sending you to gnome-panel, then...
I.e.: you are sure the top/bottom panel *can* already respond to resize event but just need 'permission' to do so?
Who is "you" here?
That's a design decision in the panel. You can add another panel in the right monitor if you want. Just drag a panel there. Note that doing this (the panel extending to both monitors) can probably cause problems if the two monitors don't have the same resolution, for example.
You is the developer(s). Dragging another panel WON'T give the same behaviour as one panel stretched over the dual screens I have here. `Won't fix` is a sign of NOT fully understanding my situation, perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough. I just need the functionality that I had in the old days when I stretched one desktop over dual screens using a Matrox G550 card. Then the bars DID stretch over both screens. Now I am using a different video card and different (modern!) method to get dual screens (with one desktop) working. (xrandr versus the old merged FB) Now the behaviour I see is different: the panels DON'T resize when I manually stretch the desktop (using xrandr) nor DON'T they stretch when the dual screens are statically configured to behave as one big desktop. So we lose functionality (yes, perhaps in some other software) which the current bug owner doesn't see fit to fix. So at least send it to the right person. Please. BTW: problems are to be dealt with. E.g. Don't extend when (vertical) resolutions differ. This is a very basic thing and it's *NOT* configurable as it appears. Don't get me started about a 21st century desktop. BTW2: Will this bug take more than the 7 years (and counting) for this other simple and basic feature? --> http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=47948