AutoHidden launcher reveal sensitivity adjustment should allow disabling push-past for wacom tablets

[jhfhlkjlj]

Since tablets are set to absolute, one cannot invoke a hidden launcher via the new 'push-past' method implemented. One would expect to be able to turn the sensitivity settings all the way up to disable all push past. However, this is not the case.

End result, I cannot use autohide with a wacom tablet.

Expected behavior: Maximum sensitivity == disable pushpast so that behavior is pre-12.04 where simple edge-detect reveals.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
Package: unity 5.4.0-0ubuntu1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-16.25-generic 3.2.6
Uname: Linux 3.2.0-16-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 1.92-0ubuntu1
Architecture: amd64
CasperVersion: 1.304
CompizPlugins: [core,composite,opengl,decor,mousepoll,vpswitch,regex,animation,snap,expo,move,compiztoolbox,place,grid,imgpng,gnomecompat,wall,ezoom,workarounds,resize,fade,unitymtgrabhandles,scale,session,unityshell]
Date: Wed Feb 22 10:29:15 2012
LiveMediaBuild: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS "Precise Pangolin" - Alpha amd64 (20120216)
ProcEnviron:
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: unity
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

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

[icb410 (ian-berke)]

I'm on a laptop and can't stand this feature! I have to move my mouse against the edge several times sometimes if the algorithm thinks I didn't hit it hard enough. That's with the sensitivity turned all the way up!

Bad enough you took away dodge windows functionality. Please make this work at least or I can't use autohide.

[icb410 (ian-berke)]

Found the setting using ccsm to manually make this happen. In the experimental tab of the unity plugin turn the "Launcher Reveal Pressure" setting to 1. I assume that the sensitivity adjustment slider in the system settings changes the "Launcher Reveal Edge Responsiveness" from 1-8, which the tooltip says is a "conglomerate setting". Maybe you should refactor that conglomerate.

[ubunturox (ubunturox-kk)]

I would like to add additional information about this bug in a different configuration:

I am using 12.04 (complete updates as of March 14, 2012), in a Virtual Box VM v 4.1.8 on Mac OS X 10.7.3

My Ubuntu guest is run in full screen mode on the external monitor. The external monitor is located to the right of the built in display. That means, the left edge of the Ubuntu guest is at the middle of the host total screen area.

built-in display | External monitor
built-in display | Ubuntu Full screen
built-in display | dock/launcher

When the dock is configured for auto hide, moving the mouse to the left edge of the VM, does not reveal the dock/launcher. Moving past will only result in mouse leaving the VM and entering the host desktop. Adjusting the reveal sensitivity doesnt seem to affect this behavior in anyway.

So auto-hide feature is unusable in this case.

[ubunturox (ubunturox-kk)]

The behavior is as described even when the left edge of the Ubuntu guest aligns with left edge of the host display.

[Simon Woolf (semw)]

Using a Wacom Volito2 on 12.04 beta 2, icb410's workaround - setting the "Launcher Reveal Pressure" setting to 1 in - doesn't work for me. I've tried fiddling about with the settings in ccsm, but can't find any combination that makes the launcher respond to the tablet.

[Sergey Chernov (real-sergeych)]

A very annoying bug :( I'm using a pen only so its superbly unconvenient - and now it looks like I should give up with unity as nobody is concerned with - as priority shows. Guys, why in the hell you did spoil such a nice thing?

[jhfhlkjlj (fdsuufijjejejejej-deactivatedaccount)]

Sergey, this was probably just a design oversight. I'm the one that set the bug priority - this is set to low as this bug "affects unusual end-user configurations or uncommon hardware ". This will be fixed in due time. For now a good work-around is to turn autohide off and reduce the size of the launcher.

[mrpotato (estoyhartodeponernombres)]

Chauncellor, the problem with that work-around is that some valuable space is lost on small screens :(

[Kleverson Royther (klevin92)]

I filled a bug just like this some months ago and had the same rubbish engagement. My display is a 5:4 (not widescreen) and I'm seeing a couple of site with a bad layout because I can't hide the launcher (or I won't be able to reveal it)

[Bruce Dunn (brucedunn)]

I am working with a fresh install of 12.04 and am using a conventional mouse. I am using a monitor in portrait mode, and am short of pixels in the right-left direction so I want to autohide the launcher. The autohide works, but I cannot turn the reveal sensitivity high enough. I have to jerk the mouse past the left hand screen edge even with the sensitivity turned to high. If I don't ram the mouse hard over, all I get is a flickering at the left hand edge. It would be helpful for the the top sensitivity setting in the control panel to reflect a much higher sensitivity than is currently available.

[Daniel Ricao Canelhas (daniel-canelhas)]

If the wacom drivers offered a little more (closer to the windows counterpart) functionality in terms of mapping, one could easily map the monitor to a subset of the tablet surface, allowing to push past the edge of the desktop. I'm fairly sure there is a way of editing some settings manually to allow this. But this is a bit of a hack, and I doubt anyone would consider it an elegant solution.

The launcher should work as long as the cursor can reach the edge of the screen, without requiring that it also be able to reach past it.

Since wacom provides the underlying technology for several tablet PCs and also because absolute positioning is the only sensible choice for a touch-interface, i think the priority in dealing with this issue ought to be be higher.

[Nimrod Ben-Nes (yonatan)]

I got a wacom here (great solution for carpal syndrom btw) and this feature is terrible for me as well... a "easy" solution I found for now (since I dont want to start changing the system) is just to click on the super button which in turn open the launcher at the side.

Ubuntu 12.10 btw

[Robert Torres (robcompra)]

To summarize,
1. not using auto-hide is not an option for tablets (or laptops in tablet mode) due to real estate concerns
2. the "clever" fix of push-past does not work with stylus, touchscreen, and certain external touchpad applications (and as reported by others in certain virtual machine setups)
3. unity is meant to work with devices that use stylus, touchscreen, etc and they are increasing in popularity

Have this problem when operating in tablet mode on a Lenovo X61 tablet with both stylus and touch.

Also, have this problem when using an external touchpad (specifically, gmote on my android to operate the mouse and control the computer from a distance over wifi).

[Martin von Gagern (gagern)]

Almost a year later, and two release cycles. I observe this problem on ubuntu 13.10. I consider it a real papercut kind of problem, beacuse if some new user accidentially hides the launcher, he might not know how to get it back if he already closed the settings window.

[Uncle Pedro (peter.a.h.peterson)]

I can't believe this. Ubuntu/Unity is supposed to be touch/tablet friendly but as a convertible laptop user (X220T with pen and touch) this kind of ambivalence is maddening. I expect to do a little tinkering to make things work, but it feels like we've been hung out to dry.

[skipx (bartok)]

It affects me to, would be super great if it would be made possible with a (wacom) tablet-with-pen!

[Phill (phill.l)]

Also affects touch screen devices.

[Rob Frohne (frohro)]

Still there in 16.04 for me with an HP 2760P.

[Martijn Courteaux (martijn-courteaux)]

The problem is more general. I believe it is related to the xf86 interface the driver uses to report input events to Xorg.

I'm experiencing the same thing with the alternative xf86-input-mtrack driver on github (https://github.com/p2rkw/xf86-input-mtrack). I searched in the code and there is nothing particular that prevents the events from being reported while trying to push the cursor off the screen. The only thing that is common between this tablet driver in this topic and the touchpad driver I'm having trouble with, is the xf86. The default synaptics touchpad driver that comes with Ubuntu, obviously does not have this problem, and also does not use xf86.

[Martijn Courteaux (martijn-courteaux)]

After digging for a couple of minutes in the XFreeDesktop source code (xf86), I found this code that generates the events. Here is logic that limits the cursor position to the screen boundaries. I'm nowhere near familiar with the whole input system of X, but for someone who knows how these things work, it might be something to have a look at:

https://sourcecodebrowser.com/xorg-server/1.5.2/input_8h.html#aef40cd7682d5a05b3205f55c0e47c246