Modal popup blocks another from different app but doesn't get focused

[Martin d'Allens]

Steps to reproduce :
1. Open KiCad main window, maximize it
2. From within, open Eeschema
3. Open a modal popup in Eeschema : "BOM Generation" for instance (or "Schematics Editor Settings" or "Components Library")
4. Don't close this modal popup
5. Go back to KiCad main window
6. Try to open a modal popup from there : "About KiCad", "Text editor selection", ...

What happens :
- Step 6 does have any effect. The new popup won't be opened, probably because the popup from step 3 is still open.
- Importantly, there is no way to know that the new popup is blocked by the old.

What should happen :
- Solution 1 : Allow exactly one modal popup by KiCad app (main project window, Eeschema, Pcbnew, ...). This is the most logical : a modal popup means that its parent window shouldn't change state until it's closed, but why block unrelated windows?
- Solution 2 : The popup from step 3 should come into focus to show the user that a modal popup is taking precedence. This might be somewhat anoying.
- Solution 3 : A modal popup blocks all other popups AND all KiCad apps. I don't want this. You don't want this. Nobody wants this.

Application: kicad
Version: 0.201506092253+5726~23~ubuntu15.04.1-product release build
wxWidgets: Version 3.0.2 (debug,wchar_t,compiler with C++ ABI 1002,GCC 4.9.2,wx containers,compatible with 2.8)
Platform: Linux 3.19.0-18-generic x86_64, 64 bit, Little endian, wxGTK
Boost version: 1.54.0
         USE_WX_GRAPHICS_CONTEXT=OFF
         USE_WX_OVERLAY=OFF
         KICAD_SCRIPTING=ON
         KICAD_SCRIPTING_MODULES=ON
         KICAD_SCRIPTING_WXPYTHON=ON
         USE_FP_LIB_TABLE=HARD_CODED_ON
         BUILD_GITHUB_PLUGIN=ON

[Lorenzo Marcantonio (l-marcantonio)]

On Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 10:12:27PM -0000, Martin d'Allens wrote:
> Public bug reported:
>
> Steps to reproduce :
> 1. Open KiCad main window, maximize it
> 2. From within, open Eeschema
> 3. Open a modal popup in Eeschema : "BOM Generation" for instance (or "Schematics Editor Settings" or "Components Library")
> 4. Don't close this modal popup
> 5. Go back to KiCad main window
> 6. Try to open a modal popup from there : "About KiCad", "Text editor selection", ...
>
> What happens :
> - Step 6 does have any effect. The new popup won't be opened, probably because the popup from step 3 is still open.
> - Importantly, there is no way to know that the new popup is blocked by the old.
>
> What should happen :
> - Solution 1 : Allow exactly one modal popup by KiCad app (main project window, Eeschema, Pcbnew, ...). This is the most logical : a modal popup means that its parent window shouldn't change state until it's closed, but why block unrelated windows?
> - Solution 2 : The popup from step 3 should come into focus to show the user that a modal popup is taking precedence. This might be somewhat anoying.
> - Solution 3 : A modal popup blocks all other popups AND all KiCad apps. I don't want this. You don't want this. Nobody wants this.

The problem is that for the system, all the kicad windows are *one*
application, so these are 'correctly' modal. Awful tricks are done to
make it work anyway :P (never liked the idea...)

Maybe something could be done to at least pop up the old one

--
Lorenzo Marcantonio
Logos Srl

[Chris Pavlina (pavlina-chris)]

On my system, the behavior *is* Solution 3. I can't interact with any KiCad applications whilst the modal dialog is open.

Application: kicad
Version: (after 2015-may-25 BZR unknown)-product debug build
wxWidgets: Version 3.0.2 (debug,wchar_t,compiler with C++ ABI 1002,GCC 4.2.1,wx containers,compatible with 2.8)
Platform: Linux 4.0.4-2-ARCH x86_64, 64 bit, Little endian, wxGTK
Boost version: 1.58.0
         USE_WX_GRAPHICS_CONTEXT=OFF
         USE_WX_OVERLAY=OFF
         KICAD_SCRIPTING=OFF
         KICAD_SCRIPTING_MODULES=OFF
         KICAD_SCRIPTING_WXPYTHON=OFF
         USE_FP_LIB_TABLE=HARD_CODED_ON
         BUILD_GITHUB_PLUGIN=ON