Applications use the PC speaker beep for alerts altough a sound file is set up in sound settings

[Jonathan Ernst]

Steps to reproduce :
(make sure that alerts are on in sounds settings and that an existing wave file is set up for the alert sound)

In Firefox
1) Ctrl+F
2) Type anything that doesn't exist in the current page

In gnome-terminal
1) use tab-completion on something that doesn't exist

In transmission
1) select one torrent in the download list
2) press bottom arrow on your keyboard multiple times until reaching the end of the list

Expected result :
1) The sound defined for alerts in System/Preferences/sounds is played

Actual result :
1) An alert from the PC speaker is heard (beep)

Workaround :
If you uncheck "Enable alert sound", the PC speaker is not heard anymore, but neither is the defined sound.

[Jonathan Ernst (jonathan.ernst)]

The same problem exists in Firefox when searching a string that is not found on the page.

I have looked in sounds preferences and can disable this pc speaker sound by disabling "Play alert sound" checkbox.

However when enabled if I test the alert sound, it is a normal (wave) sound.

This means that 1) The alert sound is not honoured in Firefox and Evolution and 2) Evolution, choose to play an alert instead of the new mail sound (which is not existant by default)

[jbirdjavi (jbirdjavi)]

Agreed that this is pretty lame. I've found this problem to happen when I've attached my computer to a dock (Dell Latitude D820). When undocked this didn't happen.

[Alexander Sack (asac)]

i think firefox and evolution just use whatever is configured system wide e.g. in gnome?

[Jonathan Ernst (jonathan.ernst)]

@Alexandre

>Expected result :
>1) The sound defined in System/Preferences/sounds is played

My (default) system wide setting is to play (a now existing sound), not to use the PC speaker to output a beep.

[Jonathan Ernst (jonathan.ernst)]

Sorry to have misspelled your name Alexander. I have updated the bug summary so I hope it is more clear now.

[John Vivirito (gnomefreak)]

Please dont move bugs back any steps as new is lower than incomplete. Since your nominations have not been confirmed by a developer it shouldn't be moved to confirmed until that is done.
Alexander i believe this is same as thunderbird new mail alert, I cant remember but pre 2.0.0.x release of tbird there was a problem with the sound and locking up, it was fixed upstream on beta release. I thinking its not system wide rules but i think we should look into this a bit more but im thinking it is expected to use PC speakers and if you dont like the default sound use another one, its defined in preferences.
Can you please look in setting and tell me what sound you have set up in both evo/firefox. If the main complaint is "lame" you should ask for it to be changed, but im finding it hard to reproduce at this time. Can you please give us step by step instructions on how to reproduce this in firefox.
IMOP is evo and firefox are suffering from this it is either your settings, a complaint, or its gnome, there is nothing simular between firefox and evo. Can you reproduce this n any other app? Can you please disable compiz and see if it still is reproducable. IIRC compiz sets its own sounds to be used.

[Jonathan Ernst (jonathan.ernst)]

> Can you please look in setting and tell me what sound you have set up in both evo

Ok Evolution has a special plugin for mail notification. By default it uses "Bip" which is lame. IMHO this plugin should try select by default something like "System settings" and use the system new mail sound. I'll open a new bug about it.

> /firefox. If the main complaint is "lame" you should ask for it to be changed, but im finding it hard to reproduce at this
> time. Can you please give us step by step instructions on how to reproduce this in firefox.

(make sure that your GNOME sound settings have alert turned on and a valid alert sound)
Ctrl+F, type anything that doesn't exist on the page

>IMOP is evo and firefox are suffering from this it is either your settings, a complaint, or its gnome, there is nothing simular
>between firefox and evo. Can you reproduce this n any other app?

You are right, this bug doesn't affect Evolution (see my first response).

This bug affects gnome-terminal as well (try tab completion on something that doesn't exist)

> Can you please disable compiz and see if it still is reproducable. IIRC compiz sets its own sounds to be used.

I can reproduce this bug in both metacity and compiz.

[Jonathan Ernst (jonathan.ernst)]

I have updated the bug description and will open an upstream bug about the evolution issue.

[Charles Kerr (charlesk)]

> In transmission
> 1) select one torrent in the download list
> 2) press bottom arrow on your keyboard multiple times until reaching the end of the list

Confirmed in Transmission, but it's a GTK+ issue, not a Transmission one. You can get the same behavior by repeating those two steps in gtk-demo's Widget list.

[Alexander Sack (asac)]

if gnome-terminal is affected then this is not a firefox bug.

[Alexander Sack (asac)]

someone should reassign this to proper package. could be gstreamer or a gnome sound setting/pref issue ...

[Charles Kerr (charlesk)]

if gtk+-demo is affected then this is not a firefox, gnome-terminal, or transmission bug. Alexander is right; this should be reassigned to the proper package, possibly gtk+... at least they would have a better idea on where the ticket should go.

[Niels Egberts (nielsegberts)]

In the new Kubuntu Jaunty Alpha 3 this behaviour is the default. Firefox and pidgin are beeping like mad when you backspace to much (pidgin) or search for something that is not on the page (firefox). If find this very annoying because it is very loud, also when you are in college and you already muted the sound so you dont disturb anyone.

[Charles Kerr (charlesk)]

This ticket needs to be moved or refiled to the gtk+ component. It is not a Transmission bug per se, and I suspect not a Pidgin or Firefox bug either. See comment number nine -- this behavior can be reproduced in gtk-demo.

[nh2 (nh2)]

I just refiled this Bug in #349515, as charles proposed.
Please check and confirm it if you have this problem.

[John Vivirito (gnomefreak)]

Ignore my other comment

[bdoe (bdoe-att)]

Nominating for Gnome-Desktop, since this issue appears to be system-wide throughout Gnome. With "Play Alert Sound" enabled in Preferences -> Sound, ALL applications that generate an alert causes the system beep to be used instead of the user-defined alert sound, even if the chosen sound is valid.

This is the 21st century. The ONLY time system beep should ever be used is when the normal sound system (OSS, ALSA, whatever) has completely failed and the system has no other means of indicating alerts.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

gnome-desktop is the about GNOME dialog and a library

[Jonas T. (jo-t)]

Just confirming this bug for Ubuntu Jaunty 9.04. Very annoying.

I'd like to have, e.g., "new mail" sounds from Thunderbird, but it only beeps the PC speaker although something very different is setup in the Gnome sound prefs. Only thing that helps is to disable "Alert Sounds" in the sound prefs.

[Jouni Mettala (jouni-mettala)]

Gnome-terminal is fixed in Karmic. Module pcspeaker is blacklisted so others could have been fixed too.

[michael perigard (overprescribed)]

@Jouni Mettala

can you explain (briefly is okay) how this was fixed in gnome-terminal, or are you a user and you noticed this bug no longer exists? I ask because of bug #301174 where it was concluded that the issue did not lie in any individual package but in something underlying like pulseaudio, alsa, compiz, metacity etc.

If this issue no longer exists in gnome-terminal, its possible it no longer exists in other applications, like transmission and firefox, and that the gtk+ demo properly plays the alert sound as well.

[Jouni Mettala (jouni-mettala)]

I tested gnome-terminal in Karmic where irritating pcspkr beep was replaced with much nicer sound. Bug #77010 has more information how it's fixed. Comment #30 there is a changelog.

It's sure that part of bug #301174 is fixed. Maybe whole bug is fixed. There could be duplicates too.

[Michael Fletcher (mikefletcher)]

I understand there is a module that will cause X to use pulseaudio to play the bell instead of the pc speaker: http://packages.debian.org/lenny/pulseaudio-module-x11

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

Hi jonathan.ernst,

Please attach the output of `lspci -vvnn` and `dmesg`, and attach your /var/log/Xorg.0.log (and maybe Xorg.0.log.old) file from after reproducing this issue. If you're using a custom /etc/X11/xorg.conf please attach that as well.

[This is an automated message. Apologies if it has reached you inappropriately; please just reply to this message indicating so.]

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

We're closing this bug since it is has been some time with no response from the original reporter. However, if the issue still exists please feel free to reopen with the requested information. Also, if you could, please test against the latest development version of Ubuntu, since this confirms the bug is one we may be able to pass upstream for help.

[Jonathan Ernst (jonathan.ernst)]

In Karmic, the options have changed a little bit. I have an alert sound set in sound preferences. Firefox, Transmission and Terminal no longer use de PC speaker, but now the don't beep at all...

I guess this bug should be marked fixed and another bug opened for the new behaviour?

I attach the requested informations altough I don't think they are relevant.

[Niels Egberts (nielsegberts)]

I had this bug again last week in Karmic beta. I worked around it by turning my speaker off in alsamixer.

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

This isn't an xorg bug. Also, would probably be better to file a new bug than to reopen this one.