GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 586857
Restoring application windows to their previous size and position should be a default behaviour
Last modified: 2009-06-24 17:12:17 UTC
I would like to see the functionality of Devil's Pie integrated with GNOME and automated, so that a user can just select a 'restore my apps to their last size and position' option for window placement and it would work for all applications. Metacity devs have rejected bugs along these lines in the past, saying that it's not their problem and that each application developer should write their own positioning code instead: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/metacity/+bug/124315 Clearly, not all application developers are going to do this - most haven't - but many users remain keen to see this functionality: http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/1442/ ...especially as it is the default behaviour on Windows, and is therefore perceived as a relatively serious usability failing by users transferring from that platform. Other information: I don't think Devil's Pie is the correct thing to file this bug against - it's really a general usability issue against the whole GNOME desktop environment (regardless of Window Manager, as both Metacity and Compiz both have this issue). However, the bugzilla interface forces me to choose an application. I chose to file it here in the hope that the Devil's Pie developer will be less likely to close the request as 'invalid' than the Metacity devs. I've talked/ranted more about this bug/feature request here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/hundredpapercuts/+bug/391533
This would be almost impossible to implement in devilspie. Feel free to prove me wrong.
As I said in the 'other info', I don't think it's just Devil's Pie that should be putting the effort into resolving this, it's an overall usability issue. However, are you saying that there's no way to use DP to create a daemon that saves window size+position when they're closed, and then restores the window to that position when it's next opened? It seems like DP does the second half of that already, so it just needs the stage that saves the positions somehow? And then somebody would have to agree to making it an available default behaviour in GNOME. I'm not expecting the DP devs to carry this bug, I was hoping they'd take some interest in getting other people involved on it though. Everywhere this issue is reported, a dev closes it with a note that basically just says "somebody else's problem". And so it doesn't get fixed. It's kind of depressing, from the user point of view, to file these bugs and see them get shot down by every single person in the chain from Ubuntu to Metacity to GNOME to (for instance) Firefox. Everybody likes closing bugs WONTFIX, nobody seems to want to figure out how maybe it could be fixed, even if it's not by them, or not just by them. This is a real issue - please could you suggest who I should be talking to about trying to get it fixed?
Saving and restoring the position for named windows isn't that hard, but making it work well is very tricky. Session saving is non-trivial. I don't really maintain devilspie any more, so unless you or someone else are willing to sponsor me then I'm not going to write this. I'd accept a patch which did it though. Then people can see just what works and what breaks.
"I don't really maintain devilspie any more" I see - well, thanks for the replies in that case. I'm not in a position to sponsor you, but I hope one of the distros picks it up at some point.