GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 663719
cannot leave screen running
Last modified: 2013-02-11 13:35:54 UTC
The screen "Turn off after" setting does not have a "never" option, which it really should. I often have the laptop sitting on the desk next to me with something running that I want to be able to continue monitoring, without having to wiggle the pointer now and then. It should also be possible to configure different policy for when the machine is on battery and when it is on AC, as the need to save power is different.
I have found and tested a workaround, since the devs will probably decide that this isn't a bug. You can suspend the processes named gnome-power-manager and gnome-screensaver. You will find both running, and you need to suspend both. This can be done from the System Monitor, or from the command line (Terminal).
all i know is that i have a lot of users that arent going to be able to navigate a dconf editor and change the org.gnome.desktop.screensaver.lock-delay item or suspend a process. ;') the way those users seem to be able to access it using the main settings gui has turnoff: 1m, ... , 1h lock: 30s, 1m, ... , 1h maybe a way could be to have a passthrough in the settings gui so they dont have to figure out what other program the need to launch and figure out where they need to navigate to in the dconf editor or mess with processes? so if the user selects 'custom' from a main settings gui pulldown a second set of pulldowns one with 0..999 and and one with units h/m/s they could put in the value right there and they are done without any menu navigation or terminal windows. user sees it as easy peasy compared to current ways :')
There is a clear need for a "Never" option for the "Turn screen off when inactive for..." setting. Some users are able to turn their screen off manually and do not need a daemon to do it for them at the wrong time. Although we can inhibit turning off the screen when e.g. a movie is playing, this is just a crude heuristic and we cannot rely on it for all use cases. A maximised browser window and no input may mean the user has gone to lunch, or that they are using the web page for reference while doing some activity outside the computer. There's no way automatic way to find out, so there needs to be a manual override and setting the "Turn screen off..." option to "Never" is the obvious answer.
I've got another use case: public-use computers (for library catalog or for internet or whatever) at a public library. If the screen goes blank people don't realize it's available for use, at which point the system may just about as well shut down for the night. I can fix this in dconf now that I know what the setting is, but having a "never" option would save every single person who runs into this issue 5-10 minutes of research. The list of choices also seems odd. I'd consider "2 minutes" and "3 minutes" to be far too similar to warrant the inclusion of both, and the same for "5 minutes" and "10 minutes", but I wonder why there aren't options for 5 hours and 12 hours.
GNOME 3.8's Power panel will have a "Never" option for the "Blank Screen" option.