xfce4-display-settings is also triggered when no new display is connected

[Viktor Pal]

Xfce does not remember display settings for a specific display like for example Gnome does.
So if you don't want to click around in the menu every time when a new display is connected you have to set "Configure new displays when connected" in xfce4-display-settings.
This is fine as this brings up a nice menu from which you can quickly select the desired setting.

The problem with the "Configure new displays when connected" setting is that it unfortunately also triggers xfce4-display-settings on other events like plugging your laptop on the charger or waking it up from hibernation.

To reproduce:
1.) Configure the mentioned setting in xfce4-display-settings.
2.) Suspend your laptop.
3.) Wake up your laptop and log in.
4.) You will see that the xfce4-display-settings window is displayed.

An additional problem is that the triggering mechanism does not recognize that an instance (window) of xfce4-display-settings is already running.
So if you wake up your laptop, plug it on the charger and connect an external display and after that log in, you will have 3 xfce4-display-settings (windows) in front of you which is not that awesome.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 15.10
Package: xfce4-settings (not installed)
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.2.0-18.22-generic 4.2.3
Uname: Linux 4.2.0-18-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.19.1-0ubuntu5
Architecture: amd64
CurrentDesktop: GNOME
Date: Sun Nov 29 21:53:15 2015
SourcePackage: xfce4-settings
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to wily on 2015-10-22 (37 days ago)

[Wfsb5fcjhg (wfsb5fcjhg)]

Given an nVidia card driving 2 displays (one laptop display, one LCD on DVI), configured for dual display (over and under), the settings are correctly enacted when XFCE first starts from boot, but thereafter, if I suspend the computer and restart, the settings are reset to one monitor (external display).

I have configured the desired settings both in nVidia's control panel and in XFCE's settings, but they are ignored.

I suspect that XFCE is incorrectly assuming the external monitor was just plugged in when the resume happens, and is incorrectly switching to just that monitor.

This *used to work* back on older versions of XFCE, where XFCE didn't try to manage multiple monitors, so only the nVidia driver was handling the issue. Now that XFCE wants to control this, it is broken.

[Bluesabre-1 (bluesabre-1)]

Can you please test this again with xfce4-settings 4.11.3?

[Wfsb5fcjhg (wfsb5fcjhg)]

Is there a PPA for Ubuntu that I can get that version from (the latest in the normal repos is 4.11.2)

With 4.11.2, the internal display is not disabled completely on resume, but all the programs have been moved to the external display, as if the system had thought it only had the external display, then added the internal display before I could unlock the screen.

[Bluesabre-1 (bluesabre-1)]

You can get the latest git snapshot (4.11.3 + fixes) here:

https://launchpad.net/~xubuntu-dev/+archive/ubuntu/xubuntu-staging

[Wfsb5fcjhg (wfsb5fcjhg)]

Added the PPA, updated and upgraded XFCE.

The look of the screen setup tool has changed. Unfortunately, the behavior has not.

Setting up the 2 displays (external and internal as over/under), close the laptop lid to suspend, and opening the laptop lid once suspended causes the internal display to be disabled, and only the external display to be used. Re-enabling the internal display places it at a weird location relative to the external display (right and a little above) rather than restoring the original over/under setting.

[E8hffff-1 (e8hffff-1)]

CONFIRMED. This happens to me on Archlinux using Intel HD 6000 GPU, with dual monitors, one above another.

I'm in the process of setting up an xorg.conf to see if that helps, but Intel GFX usually don't need xorg.conf files.

When the monitors resume I can get XFCE to show a monitor config but the arrangement is now shown in the dialogue options to suit my liking. Would be nice if the system just remembered my settings.

I might make a youtube showing the problem.

[Peter20 (peter20)]

Hi! This bug (re)appeared in my freshest Xubuntu! Just upgraded to xenial.
I have "xfce4-settings 4.12.0-2ubuntu1 amd64" (if it matters).

I have 2 displays, one is the laptop's native LVDS1 monitor and other is a HDMI1 monitor (Samsung SyncMaster P2450).
In Settings/Display I configured that only the "Samsung" to be used, i.e. the "Laptop" be disabled. My settings were accepted, everything worked fine.

(Instead of Light Locker, which seems to be buggy, I use gnome-screensaver.)

When I minimize the windows (Super+d), bring up the "Log Out" dialog (Alt+F4) and choose Suspend, the system goes to suspend, okay. When resuming, instead of the HDMI, the LVDS display turns on. Asks for password, and resumes my session - on the laptops's display, instead of the hdmi.
When I go to the Settings/Display, I can see that "somebody" enabled the laptop display and disabled the hdmi.
When I click on the "use this display" below the samsung, the samsung display remains black (off)!
When I click on the same checkbox secondly, then the samsung display switches ON! (In each case, a dialog appears to keep or not this configuration.)

[Peter20 (peter20)]

[Please somebody set this bug's status to something other than "needinfo".. It is not the reporter's turn.. It needs attention from somebody else that reporters.]

I found that if in Settings/"Session and Startup" I enable to launch light-locker and disable to launch gnome-screensaver, and before the (first) suspend I issue a locking (Super+L, light-locker) and resume [after which, by side-effect, the unused Laptop display's backlight turns on, erroneously - perhaps I will report it in a separate issue], then the suspend *works*! I.e. after resume from suspend my display settings (which display is enabled and which is not) are not corrupted.
(But, at least some time, the mouse pointer got lost.. :( Nightmare feeling..)

(I have - among others - "lightdm-gtk-greeter 2.0.1-2ubuntu4 amd64" and "light-locker 1.7.0-2ubuntu1 amd64".) (Does it matter?)

So, in short, in the Ubuntu 16.04 (and/or the Xfce4 with it), (among possibly others) the suspending does not work. At least when there are multiple monitors, and/or the user uses other UI-locker than light-locker, and/or the user odes not issue a UI-locking to precede the suspend.

[spike speigel (frail-knight)]

I'm seeing this with:

Xubuntu 17.10
Dell XPS 13 9360 DE laptop
Intel HD 620 GPU
LG 27UD58P-B External monitor connected via Thunderbolt 3 to Display Port cable

Whenever my system suspends or monitor happens to sleep, stand-by, whatever, my settings are not saved, and I am forced to reconfigure everything once again.

xfce4-settings: 4.12.1-1ubuntu1
Linux kernel: 4.13.0-11-generic #12-Ubuntu SMP Tue Sep 12 16:03:57 UTC 2017 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

[spike speigel (frail-knight)]

What info is needed?

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[spike speigel (frail-knight)]

I can confirm the following in my experiences with 17.04 and 17.10:

"The problem with the "Configure new displays when connected" setting is that it unfortunately also triggers xfce4-display-settings on other events like plugging your laptop on the charger or waking it up from hibernation."

Everytime my monitor sleeps, I'm presented with the xfce4-display-settings dialog. However, I'm also seeing my display settings being reset to default values at the same time as the xfce4-display-settings dialog appears. They aren't remembered.

With multiple monitors, monitor position is not remembered.

Screen resolution is not remembered.

[Ap-z (ap-z)]

Similar problem here with XFCE on Gentoo Linux:

The dual head setup of a desktop machine is reset to one mirrored display just by having the monitors switched off for a while. The display is usually locked but the system is running and not sleeping or somehow suspended.

xfce4-session-4.13.0
xfce4-settings-4.13.1
xfconf-4.13.4
xfdesktop-4.13.1
xfwm4-4.13.0-r1

Linux kernel 4.9.58-grsecurity

[Rion (rion4ik)]

I guess my bug https://bugzilla.xfce.org/show_bug.cgi?id=12463 is related to this one.

[Webm-s (webm-s)]

Still have this problem on Arch GNU/Linux:

Kernel: 4.17.14-arch1-1-ARCH

xfce4-session 4.12.1-8
xfce4-settings 4.12.4-1
xfconf 4.12.1-5
xfdesktop 4.12.4-2
xfwm4

I have to log in and out for the monitors to start working again, if I unplug and replug the docking station (or just a screen w/o docking station) the monitors will stop working for the rest of that session. Hitting "enable" in display settings does nothing. Re-plugging cables does nothing.