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Bug 660596 - message tray hot corner is in the middle of external monitor
message tray hot corner is in the middle of external monitor
Status: RESOLVED OBSOLETE
Product: gnome-shell
Classification: Core
Component: message-tray
3.2.x
Other Linux
: Normal normal
: ---
Assigned To: gnome-shell-maint
gnome-shell-maint
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
 
Reported: 2011-09-30 21:08 UTC by igor.redhat
Modified: 2013-03-02 16:33 UTC
See Also:
GNOME target: ---
GNOME version: ---


Attachments
screenshot (229.14 KB, image/jpeg)
2011-09-30 21:10 UTC, igor.redhat
  Details
layout: Try to do better at detecting the bottom monitor (3.38 KB, patch)
2011-10-01 01:40 UTC, Jasper St. Pierre (not reading bugmail)
none Details | Review
Sorry, here it go. (926.37 KB, image/png)
2011-10-03 20:18 UTC, igor.redhat
  Details
Extended desktop arrangement after the patch (313.25 KB, image/jpeg)
2011-10-03 20:30 UTC, igor.redhat
  Details
just in case - this is how extended desktop looks without this patch (384.07 KB, image/jpeg)
2011-10-03 21:59 UTC, igor.redhat
  Details

Description igor.redhat 2011-09-30 21:08:44 UTC
I use an external monitor with resolution higher than the builtin laptop screen with --same-as xrandr setting, i.e., the layout is as follows:
   ____________         
  |         | |         
  | LVDS    | |         
  |_________| |         
  |   VGA-0   |
  |___________|

(you get this by running xrandr --output VGA-0 --same-as LVDS).

In this setup, the message pane hot corner is somewhere in the middle of the external monitor's screen (namely, the exact spot that corresponds to the lower right corner of the builtin monitor). See attached screenshot of the external monitor.
Comment 1 igor.redhat 2011-09-30 21:10:39 UTC
Created attachment 197917 [details]
screenshot
Comment 2 Jasper St. Pierre (not reading bugmail) 2011-09-30 21:11:59 UTC
The panel and wallpaper are "broken" here, too. What would you prefer in this situation?
Comment 3 igor.redhat 2011-09-30 21:30:50 UTC
(In reply to comment #2)
> What would you prefer in this situation?

Personally, I would prefer everything to fit the size of the external monitor. Or integrate with webcam to track what monitor I'm looking at right now :P

Ideally, I would also love everything to switch back to the size of the builtin one the moment the external monitor is disconnected, i.e., without having to do "xrandr --output VGA-0 --off".

(In reply to comment #2)
> The panel and wallpaper are "broken" here, too.

Yes but those are just visual annoyances that I can easily live with. On the other hand, hitting the message hot corner requires the pixel-perfect precision - the mouse pointer just moves to the external screen's real estate if I move it past the laptop's bottom right corner.
Comment 4 Jasper St. Pierre (not reading bugmail) 2011-10-01 01:40:18 UTC
Created attachment 197931 [details] [review]
layout: Try to do better at detecting the bottom monitor

Instead of relying on heuristics like "the sides must be touching", instead
filter through all the "bottom monitors", looking for the one closest to the
primary monitor on the X axis.


--

I don't have a multimonitor setup, but can you please try this patch to see
if it helps your issue?
Comment 5 Matthias Clasen 2011-10-01 14:11:40 UTC
The control-center display panel doesn't allow such 'broken' configurations.
So I don't think it is a high priority for the shell to handle them.
Comment 6 igor.redhat 2011-10-03 19:33:28 UTC
(In reply to comment #4)
> I don't have a multimonitor setup, but can you please try this patch to see
> if it helps your issue?

Sorry for the delay - I only have an external monitor at work. The changes work fine for me (see attached screenshot). However, it also changes the location of the message pane hot corner on the "extended" external monitor setup - it's now located in the bottom right corner of the external rather than laptop monitor. I'd personally prefer it this way anyway since this doesn't require pixel-perfect precision in finding the hot corner (as was the case with the hot corner on the builtin laptop monitor) but ymmv.
Comment 7 igor.redhat 2011-10-03 20:12:37 UTC
(In reply to comment #5)
> The control-center display panel doesn't allow such 'broken' configurations.

I opened bug 660820 in case you guys feel this is something worth supporting :p
Comment 8 Jasper St. Pierre (not reading bugmail) 2011-10-03 20:16:34 UTC
(In reply to comment #6)
> (In reply to comment #4)
> > I don't have a multimonitor setup, but can you please try this patch to see
> > if it helps your issue?
> 
> Sorry for the delay - I only have an external monitor at work. The changes work
> fine for me (see attached screenshot).

Not attached. Also, yes, by design the message tray should always be on the most bottom monitor, as it would be hard to hit otherwise.
Comment 9 igor.redhat 2011-10-03 20:18:30 UTC
Created attachment 198146 [details]
Sorry, here it go.
Comment 10 igor.redhat 2011-10-03 20:30:17 UTC
Created attachment 198151 [details]
Extended desktop arrangement after the patch
Comment 11 Jasper St. Pierre (not reading bugmail) 2011-10-03 20:48:12 UTC
(In reply to comment #10)
> Created an attachment (id=198151) [details]
> Extended desktop arrangement after the patch

Eek, yeah, this is the sort of thing that shouldn't happen. It should be on the primary monitor in this case. Back to the drawing board, I guess.
Comment 12 igor.redhat 2011-10-03 20:56:12 UTC
(In reply to comment #11)
> Eek, yeah, this is the sort of thing that shouldn't happen. It should be on the
> primary monitor in this case. Back to the drawing board, I guess.

Just an IMHO but I actually prefer this arrangement - first, I actually use my external monitor as primary when it's connected but also having the hot corner on the laptop monitor makes it harder to hit it with the mouse in my case - the mouse just "spills over" to the external monitor if you move it a little too far to the right. Just saying - I'm not really sure how other people are using their dual monitor setups....
Comment 13 igor.redhat 2011-10-03 21:59:21 UTC
Created attachment 198160 [details]
just in case - this is how extended desktop looks without this patch
Comment 14 Rui Matos 2011-10-04 00:19:19 UTC
(In reply to comment #12)
> Just an IMHO but I actually prefer this arrangement - first, I actually use my
> external monitor as primary when it's connected

In that case you should set that monitor to be primary.

> but also having the hot corner
> on the laptop monitor makes it harder to hit it with the mouse in my case - the
> mouse just "spills over" to the external monitor if you move it a little too
> far to the right.

Shouldn't happen since gnome-shell is using a new X pointer barriers that constrains the pointer. If your pointer isn't being constrained then it's a bug.
Comment 15 igor.redhat 2011-10-04 21:54:50 UTC
(In reply to comment #14)
> In that case you should set that monitor to be primary.

How do I set the primary monitor?

> Shouldn't happen since gnome-shell is using a new X pointer barriers that
> constrains the pointer. If your pointer isn't being constrained then it's a
> bug.

Hmm, there is definitely a pointer barrier in the vertical (Y) direction - I can't even move the cursor past the bottom edge of the builtin monitor. I am not sure if there is a barrier in the X direction as well - it appears that there is something there but it does not feel very well defined. As far as I can see, the horizontal barrier seems to be noticable only if I first move the mouse pointer all the way down to the bottom of the builtin screen and then slide it to the right edge fairly slowly. Even then the message pane does not seem to pop up very reliably - sometimes I need to kinda move the mouse around the corner a little, sometimes it pops up for half a second and then disappears. It sounds like the only reliably way to get the message pane is to get the cursror close to the right bottom of the builtin monitor and move it quickly to the left a little when the message pane pops up...
Comment 16 Rui Matos 2011-10-04 23:31:53 UTC
(In reply to comment #15)
> How do I set the primary monitor?

System Settings > Displays, then drag and drop the black bar (top panel).

> Hmm, there is definitely a pointer barrier in the vertical (Y) direction - I
> can't even move the cursor past the bottom edge of the builtin monitor.

That's CRTC confinement which works without gnome-shell intervention at all — it's totally implemented by the X server.

> I am
> not sure if there is a barrier in the X direction as well - it appears that
> there is something there but it does not feel very well defined. As far as I
> can see, the horizontal barrier seems to be noticable only if I first move the
> mouse pointer all the way down to the bottom of the builtin screen and then
> slide it to the right edge fairly slowly. Even then the message pane does not
> seem to pop up very reliably - sometimes I need to kinda move the mouse around
> the corner a little, sometimes it pops up for half a second and then
> disappears. It sounds like the only reliably way to get the message pane is to
> get the cursror close to the right bottom of the builtin monitor and move it
> quickly to the left a little when the message pane pops up...

Ok, there's potential for bugs here, but please file them in a different bugzilla entry. For your testing, know that there's also a barrier on the right side of the top panel which shouldn't allow the pointer to slip into the right monitor when you're trying to aim for the "user name" menu.
Comment 17 Jason Ekstrand 2011-11-10 22:43:18 UTC
> > I am
> > not sure if there is a barrier in the X direction as well - it appears that
> > there is something there but it does not feel very well defined. As far as I
> > can see, the horizontal barrier seems to be noticable only if I first move the
> > mouse pointer all the way down to the bottom of the builtin screen and then
> > slide it to the right edge fairly slowly. Even then the message pane does not
> > seem to pop up very reliably - sometimes I need to kinda move the mouse around
> > the corner a little, sometimes it pops up for half a second and then
> > disappears. It sounds like the only reliably way to get the message pane is to
> > get the cursror close to the right bottom of the builtin monitor and move it
> > quickly to the left a little when the message pane pops up...
> 
> Ok, there's potential for bugs here, but please file them in a different
> bugzilla entry. For your testing, know that there's also a barrier on the right
> side of the top panel which shouldn't allow the pointer to slip into the right
> monitor when you're trying to aim for the "user name" menu.

I split this off into bug 663814 as I am having the same problem.
Comment 18 William Jon McCann 2013-03-02 16:33:19 UTC
No longer a hot corner.