8.10 - compiz "normal" + nvidia binary video loses openoffice menu text

[Jim Leinweber]

Running Ubuntu 8.10 upgraded from 8.04, with kubuntu-desktop added on, but gdm for login. With the newly released nvidia binary drivers and compiz appearance "normal" openoffice 2.4.1 has no menu text and no tooltip text. The menu's and toolbars and icons still exist and still work. Appearance "none" has menu text. The "nv" video driver has menu text.

I haven't found any other Ubuntu applications which have the disappearing menu text problem, though there is at least one forum posting

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=974493

which mentions other 3rd party apps with similar issues. A web search suggests that this isn't the first time openoffice has had problems with menu text; it's been noted on many versions across multiple Linux distributions.

While the dratted nvidia binary closed source driver can shoulder most of the blame, with a side helping for compiz, the fact that most applications have normal menu's while openoffice doesn't suggests that there might be a workaround possible in openoffice.

[mike2357 (mike2357)]

Same behavior, with Ubuntu/Gnome.

[Ulisse (ulipo)]

Same here with nvidia-glx-96.
It also happen if I disable compiz but enable metacity compositor.

I also tried to install OOo3 from here:
https://launchpad.net/~openoffice-pkgs/+archive
but nothing changed.

No problems at all with compositing disabled.

[kwrobel2005 (kay-wrobel)]

Same here. Running Ubuntu 8.10 Gnome / Compiz. I found a way to make the menus appear. Set effects to none, open any OpenOffice application (I opened Spreadsheet). Go to Tools->Options. Expand OpenOffice.org and select "View" and de-select Screen Font Antialiasing. Then activate your effects again; the fonts stay.

Cheers.

[Socrates (harry-x-williams)]

Been trying to find that option, but difficult with no menu text...

No luck :-(

[Socrates (harry-x-williams)]

Opps that went wrong:

Try again, 6th menu along from left>last option on the submenu>

[mike2357 (mike2357)]

Another alternative: in Ubuntu, go to System -> Preferences -> Appearances. In the Fonts tab, select "Subpixel smoothing (LCDs)". For details, see

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=977745&highlight=openoffice+compiz+font&page=3

See post #23.

[Jim Leinweber (jiml-mail)]

kwrobel2005's openoffice no font antialiasing works for me, though the resulting visual appearance degrades. mkie2357's subpixel smoothing workaround doesn't (nvidia NV18 GeForce4 MX 440 AGP 8x card, Dell Trinitron P990 CRT)

[Socrates (harry-x-williams)]

Despite re-jigging xorg.conf, to get the necessary options offered, I've got a persistent mismatch between screen refresh in NVIDIA control panel (85Hz) and gnome-display-properties which offers me 50,51,52,53 and 99Hz...

Read somewhere else (don't know where), that the NVIDIA driver is telling lies to gnome-display-properties....

[Jim Leinweber (jiml-mail)]

Whohoo! Openoffice 2.4.1-11ubuntu2.1 has menu text with compiz appearance "normal". Is this fixed for everyone else?

[Jose Luis Bermudez de Castro (jlcastro33)]

I have experienced the same as Jim Leinweber, "kwrobel2005's openoffice no font antialiasing works for me, though the resulting visual appearance degrades. mkie2357's subpixel smoothing workaround doesn't".
I want to point out that the visual appearence now is really poor.
NVIDIA nForce3 250 chipset, using NVIDIA accelerated graphics driver (version 96)

[Chris Cheney (ccheney)]

Jim Leinweber mentions this appears to be fixed for him now with the new update. Does this still happen for anyone else after updating?

[Socrates (harry-x-williams)]

Don't think so.

I think it's down to Nvidia producing an updated driver...

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

[This is an automated message]

Hi jiml-mail,

Thanks for including an image to demonstrate the issue. Could you also please attach the output of `lspci -vvnn`, and attach your /var/log/Xorg.0.log file from after reproducing this issue. If you've made any customizations to your /etc/X11/xorg.conf please attach that as well.

[Bruno Lobato (blobato)]

Hi,

i don't know if you still have this problems, but i find a solution that work's fine with Nvidia Card's

Go to the link -> http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=122695

and don't forget to add this line in your xorg.conf in the section "Device" :

Option "RenderAccel" "0"

This steps solves the problems with Openoffice and Wine apps too.

Regards,

Bruno Rebelo Lobato

[hazylazysusan (hazylazysusan)]

Adding that line that Bruno mentions fixes the problem for me after a login/logout

[bob (jmfourt)]

I solved th problem just by unchecking "Lisser les polices d'ecran" ( I suppose something like "smooth screen font" ) in the openoffice tools/options/display menu

[sglow (sag-ollies)]

I've got a machine with the same problem. When desktop effects are set to 'normal', and the nvidia drivers are enabled, I see no menus in Open Office. I've also noticed that when this problem is occurring I get no display when I open the gvim (gtk version of vim) text editor.

A workaround that seems to consistently fix both problems is to turn off all visual effects.

[The_K586 (thek586)]

Same problem here with 8.10 an G4MX / nvidia 96
Successfully Solved by mike2357 solution:

Another alternative: in Ubuntu, go to System -> Preferences -> Appearances. In the Fonts tab, select "Subpixel smoothing (LCDs)".
cf. https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nvidia-graphics-drivers-96/+bug/297836/comments/7

[The_K586 (thek586)]

And, i have the same problem in wine (Font Antialiasing bug ?) in apps & tooltips
mike2357's solution fix not work for wine

[Bal3 (aloe-gabor)]

I solved the problem!

That was:
"Socrates wrote on 2008-11-22: #6
    * Screen shot in Calc showing location of anti-aliasing checkbox (142.9 KiB, image/png)"

Checkbox = empty = ok!

[mouahed2010 (mouahed-elnahali)]

Good thanx can you please implement BURG the one like Grub but with nice
looking by default in Ubuntu 10.04 ;)