GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 752224
Header bar prevents snapping window to left/right
Last modified: 2020-12-04 18:19:52 UTC
# Problem: Since Gnome 3.14 onwards, many applications that use Gnome header bar have lost the feature of snapping it to the left or right of the screen (win+left, win+right) on non HD displays. This happens when the header bar has a file path or a file name, as it doesn't shrink or get cut and substituted by ellipsis, or move the path. Eg: - In Evince, it used to cut the file name and put ellipsis if the name was too big. - In Nautilus, it used to move the file path and not show the complete path, just the # To reproduce: 1. Change your resolution to a low enough width (1600x, 1360x, 1280x..). To trigger this bug you need to chose one that does not satisfy the minimum width of the Gnome app you are using for triggering it. In this case, I know Nautilus fails with in my computer with 1280x800. 2. Open nautilus, click on "/" and then start navigating more and more, until you see it unsnap, or go past the middle of the screen (and at that point it can't be snapped back). 3. This happens with Evince, Gnome Photos, etc. 4. If you want, you can open a non Gnome app without a Gnome header bar and see that it keeps working (mupdf, nemo, etc). # Related bugs There is a plethora of bugs related to this one, in different Gnome apps (Evince, Gnome Photos, Gnome Music, Nautilus, Gnome Contacts, and many many more). Here are some related bug reports, and more that I have found just by making a quick search with "snap" in the bug database: https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=739624 https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=736792 https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=737239 https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=712258 https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=688616 https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=725742 https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=725740 https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=725735
Since the toolkit cannot know if the app developer wants to add ellipsis to file paths on the header bar, and where (start/middle/end), this cannot be done by the toolkit. This is a per application design/implementation issue, as they should design their app to be snappable if they want. If that's the case, the app developer should be noticed about the ellipsis things and the need for them or not. A good start would be to add a proper point in the HIG to ensure that people remember side-by-side maximization when writing their applications at the Gnome HIG.
I don't think that this is specific to header bars - other areas of a window can have a minimum width that prevents half-screen snapping. I'd incorporate these guidelines into a section on supporting different display sizes, which is already covered by bug 111772. *** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 111772 ***