Child windows invisible in Unity scale mode

[robled]

The scale plugin called by Unity does not render child windows of applications such as Firefox, Pidgin, and Empathy after the child window is minimized. It is impossible to use the Unity launcher to manage these types of applications when minimized.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Open Firefox, select "Tools - Downloads" from the menu. This will spawn the "Downloads" child window.
2. Minimize the "Downloads" window.
3. Double left-click the Firefox launcher at left.
4. Main Firefox window will render when the "scale" plugin is activated, but the child window is invisible (screenshot attached).

Other observations:

This doesn't affect multiple windows of the same application - e.g. two Chrome browser windows.

You can left-click in the area of the scale mode where the child window should be to restore it.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.10
Package: unity 4.22.0-0ubuntu3
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.0.0-12.20-generic 3.0.4
Uname: Linux 3.0.0-12-generic x86_64
.tmp.unity.support.test.0:

ApportVersion: 1.23-0ubuntu3
Architecture: amd64
CompizPlugins: [core,bailer,detection,composite,opengl,decor,grid,vpswitch,imgpng,unitymtgrabhandles,mousepoll,resize,compiztoolbox,snap,wall,place,move,session,regex,gnomecompat,animation,expo,ezoom,workarounds,fade,scale,unityshell]
CompositorRunning: compiz
Date: Thu Oct 20 15:10:47 2011
DistUpgraded: Fresh install
DistroCodename: oneiric
DistroVariant: ubuntu
EcryptfsInUse: Yes
GraphicsCard:
 Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:0116] (rev 09) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
   Subsystem: Lenovo Device [17aa:21ce]
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.10 "Oneiric Ocelot" - Release amd64 (20111012)
MachineType: LENOVO 4177CTO
ProcEnviron:
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.0.0-12-generic root=UUID=7f5e03e8-70cb-4b12-a37a-46dfcdc357d1 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
SourcePackage: unity
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
dmi.bios.date: 05/13/2011
dmi.bios.vendor: LENOVO
dmi.bios.version: 83ET56WW (1.26 )
dmi.board.asset.tag: Not Available
dmi.board.name: 4177CTO
dmi.board.vendor: LENOVO
dmi.board.version: Not Available
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: No Asset Information
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: LENOVO
dmi.chassis.version: Not Available
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnLENOVO:bvr83ET56WW(1.26):bd05/13/2011:svnLENOVO:pn4177CTO:pvrThinkPadT420:rvnLENOVO:rn4177CTO:rvrNotAvailable:cvnLENOVO:ct10:cvrNotAvailable:
dmi.product.name: 4177CTO
dmi.product.version: ThinkPad T420
dmi.sys.vendor: LENOVO
version.compiz: compiz 1:0.9.6+bzr20110929-0ubuntu5
version.ia32-libs: ia32-libs N/A
version.libdrm2: libdrm2 2.4.26-1ubuntu1
version.libgl1-mesa-dri: libgl1-mesa-dri 7.11-0ubuntu3
version.libgl1-mesa-dri-experimental: libgl1-mesa-dri-experimental N/A
version.libgl1-mesa-glx: libgl1-mesa-glx 7.11-0ubuntu3
version.xserver-xorg: xserver-xorg 1:7.6+7ubuntu7
version.xserver-xorg-input-evdev: xserver-xorg-input-evdev 1:2.6.0-1ubuntu13
version.xserver-xorg-video-ati: xserver-xorg-video-ati 1:6.14.99~git20110811.g93fc084-0ubuntu1
version.xserver-xorg-video-intel: xserver-xorg-video-intel 2:2.15.901-1ubuntu2
version.xserver-xorg-video-nouveau: xserver-xorg-video-nouveau 1:0.0.16+git20110411+8378443-1

[robled (robled)]

I use the term "child windows" loosely. I'm not sure what's different about Pidgin's windows compared to those of Chrome. I've done some more testing with different applications:

Gedit, Nautilus - can't reproduce

Terminator - can reproduce

[robled (robled)]

So I've found out what's special about these windows. They're smaller. Windows from the same application that are sized smaller disappear from the scale plugin launched by Unity.

On a lower-resolution screen I can set the "spacing" setting for the scale plugin in CCSM to 2-3 times the default and I can work around the issue. But on a higher-resolution screen such as 1920x1200, maxing out the value to 250 doesn't help.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

thank you for your bug report, is that still an issue?

[robled (robled)]

Yes, I can still reproduce on a fully update Oneiric installation. I've tested using a Thinkpad T410 (Arrandale graphics) and T420 (Sandy Bridge graphics). Both of these are affected. However, a colleague of mine has an Nvidia GPU in their system and they cannot reproduce the problem.

[jhfhlkjlj (fdsuufijjejejejej-deactivatedaccount)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. We are sorry that we do not always have the capacity to look at all reported bugs in a timely manner. There have been many changes in Ubuntu since that time you reported the bug and your problem may have been fixed with some of the updates. Compiz, in particular, is in heavy development and this bug may have been fixed in the development version of Ubuntu (12.04) if not on the current 11.10 release. If you are able, it would be of great help if you could confirm if the bug still exists by testing a livecd (available at http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/). Please keep in mind that the development version (12.04) is not suitable for daily use - please only use it for testing purposes.

Thank you for your help and patience.

[robled (robled)]

I can no longer reproduce this bug using Ubuntu 11.10.

[jhfhlkjlj (fdsuufijjejejejej-deactivatedaccount)]

This bug report is being closed due to your last comment regarding this being fixed with an update. For future reference you can manage the status of your own bugs by clicking on the current status in the yellow line and then choosing a new status in the revealed drop down box. You can learn more about bug statuses at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Status. Thank you again for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. Please submit any future bugs you may find.