KDE4 desktop taskpanel in middle of screen

[Lars Noodén]

Binary package hint: kde4

On a 1440 x 900 pixel screen, the task bar gets positioned closer to the middle of the screen than to the bottom of the screen. If it's going to do that, it should at least be underneath the other windows, not on top of them.

[Lars Noodén (larsnooden)]

Also, as seen in the attachment above, the background image is not rendering properly.

[Thomas Kluyver (takluyver)]

What graphics card/drivers do you have? Is there anything unusual about the system, e.g. multiple monitors?

[Lars Noodén (larsnooden)]

Just a single monitor plugged into the machine (Intel MacMini)

from lspci:

00:20.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03)

lpinfo gives no output regarding drivers

(BTW this is someone else's machine and it'll go back to them in a few days. Until then, I can collect data or make adjustments or tests.)

[Thomas Kluyver (takluyver)]

Is the KDE4 taskbar the only thing that goes wrong? i.e. if you maximise a window, does that fill the whole screen, or just the part of it that the taskbar is at the bottom of? If you have KDE3 or GNOME installed, does booting into them give normal results?

Does KDE system settings have the correct resolution set?

Odd, Intel graphics are supposed to work best...

(Disclaimer: I'm not going to be able to solve this. I'm just throwing up ideas in the hope that with enough information, someone else might have a better idea what the problem is)

[Lars Noodén (larsnooden)]

The other objects resize ok. See the attached image, above:
 http://launchpadlibrarian.net/14636531/kde4.png

No the KDE4 system settings cannot be changed:
 https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/meta-kde4/+bug/232519

I don't have KDE3, Xfce or Fluxbox installed currently. I'll give one of those a try.

[Yuriy Kozlov (yuriy-kozlov)]

This might be related to your bug 232519. Something, including plasma, seems to think you have a lower resolution than you actually do.

[Lars Noodén (larsnooden)]

I notice that both the real upper right corner and the false upper right corner have *working* 'add widget' icons (the yellow swirl)

It also seems that the lower resolution desktop, with the taskbar at the bottom of it, is super imposed on a properly scaled one. This seems confirmed: when I set Configure Panel - Plasma Workspace -> Location -> Right, the panel is placed on the false right edge.

Sorry for the large attachment, but I figure a full screen shot is needed.

[Lars Noodén (larsnooden)]

FWIW the background is a little screwed up in Xfce in the same way it is screwed up in KDE4. However, the task bars are OK. Maybe this provides some clue.

[Harald Sitter (apachelogger)]

Does this still appear with KDE 4.1.0?

[Lars Noodén (larsnooden)]

It's still there in the latest update of hardy, but that's KDE 4.0 So if KDE 4.1 is available for hardy, then I can squeeze in a look at it during the next month.

[Harald Sitter (apachelogger)]

http://www.kubuntu.org/news/kde-4.1

[Lars Noodén (larsnooden)]

> http://www.kubuntu.org/news/kde-4.1

Thanks, it says 67 upgraded, 28 newly installed, 1 to remove, 0 not upgraded ... yada yada

However, following the instructions in the above announcement, it also asks if the packages should be installed without verification. They should be signed or something before we can play with them.

[Harald Sitter (apachelogger)]

Can't PPA limitaiton.

[Thomas Kluyver (takluyver)]

To clarify what Harald said: PPA packages aren't signed. If you trust the PPA in question (I'm using the same one for KDE 4.1 packages, and it's on the official announcement, so it should be OK), then go ahead and install them anyway.

[Lars Noodén (larsnooden)]

How is this a duplicate of bug #192413 ? 192413 is about a problem with two screens. This report is about problems with the task bar on a single monitor. Classing this as a duplicate is likely wrong.