GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 712622
Fullscreen windows are minimized on focus loss
Last modified: 2014-03-25 18:26:15 UTC
Created attachment 260149 [details] Maximized video stream + browser in 3.8 Today, debian updated several core gnome components from 3.4 to 3.8, i noticed major differences which were mentioned in 3.6 and 3.8, and one significant change which wasn't mentioned. Repro steps: 1. Have several apps open, launch gedit and calculator 2. Switch focus to gedit 3. Switch gedit into full screen mode with f11 4. Switch focus to calculator Actual result (how it's in 3.8): Gedit window 'minimizes': it becomes invisible after fade-out animation, in app switcher which appears on alt-tab gedit is last application in list. On overview, contents of 'gedit' window remain static (in case of any other full-screen app they may be updated). Expected result (how it used to be in 3.4): Gedit window respects z-order like any usual window. I.e. is still visible behind the calculator, but above other windows, and it's 2nd in app switcher. On overview, contents of 'gedit' window are updated according to current app state. Now, justification. I understand that it's likely to be a feature, but I'd like a (even hidden) option to disable it. While it might be good decision for applications which don't live their own lives (e.g. gedit doesn't do anything on its own), it applies to any full screen window, including video games, local video and live video streams. In gnome 3.4, it was possible to do following: 1) Play some videogame or watch some video stream 2) Alt tab to the app which you need (browser, or chat window, or maybe even IDE) - the needed windows are not maximized, and arranged in such a way so that they don't cover part of game which are desired to be visible 3) Do anything you want in the app (chat/browser) 4) When you see that some event in game or stream occurred (which needs your attention), alt-tab back (with single alt-tab) or just click on game to bring focus back Examples of event which need to be visually identified are: 1) In dota 2, after entering matchmaking queue, you need to see the moment when match is made and prompt to confirm your readiness (in this case it should be done with sound, but developers often keep it broken, thus visual clue is must-have) 2) In EVE online, travel is relatively dull activity which needs attention only periodically; without autopilot, you need to press 'jump' button approximately 1 time per 1-1.5 minutes; with autopilot, you need to see that you have arrived to destination. It's entirely impossible without visual clue (well, possible, but you need to 'poll' instead of getting an 'event'). There're numerous other examples when visual hints are something close to must-have, but i think these 2 should be sufficient. Also, there's an workaround: it's still something possible with non-fullscreen, but maximized window (see attached screenshot as example of what i'm talking about). This sometimes might be okay for watching video live streams, but gaming in non-fullscreen mode is ridiculous. I seriously hope you reconsider your opinion or add option to change behavior, because it hurts gnome as platform for online games.
Similar problem is reported here: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=981767
These 2 issues are completely different. Linked issue is specific to some flash players (e.g. goodgame.ru flash-based streaming player is not affected by it), this issue is about behavior change of all fullscreen windows.
Not sure what the attached screenshot has to do with this issue. Screenshot shows a maximized window and a non-maximized window. This issue is about a fullscreen and a non-maximized window. The new behavior in gnome is a major usability regression IMO. Another user posted elsewhere this simple sequence to demonstrate the issue that doesn't involve video players or games: 1. Open any old application in a non-maximized non-fullscreen window 2. Open gedit on the same desktop 3. Press F11 to make gedit fullscreen 4. Alt-Tab (or otherwise) switch to the first application 5. Observe that gedit dissapears for no apparent reason Earlier versions of gnome let the fullscreen window sit below the other windows just like a maximized window. When I first observed this, I thought my fullscreen apps were randomly crashing. It never occurred to me that alt-tab from one app to another would equate to minimizing an app.
Yes, it has nothing to do with the issue actually. I just tried to demonstrate to what i'm used to.
Same issue for me. I can't work with a fullscreen terminal anymore. Each time I launch an application, the terminal is minimized and I can't have it in the background to look at the output. I use terminator but the same issue applies with Gnome Terminal. On a laptop computer, I always launch application into fullscreen mode to maximize the usable space (SublimeText, Chromium, Gnome Web...) but this workflow is totally broken. It also breaks some video games (mainly Steam video games when you switch to overlay mode to use the chat) and fullscreen videos.
This is very annoying indeed. I keep browser full screen (when working on webapp) and also would like to see a small terminal window with the logs above the browser, but this is no longer possible - either there is a single full screen window or other windows, but not both. Is there an option to change this behavior?
Can anyone advice, how to make status of issue confirmes, so that it gets at least some attention from developers?
Initial bug and patch that broke the feature you desire is here: https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=693991 More to say, there is a huge discussion about the topic: https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=705177 Please mark as duplicate of Bug 705177.
*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 705177 ***