Playing with options in CCSM can break Unity

[sabby7890]

While trying to enable "Desktop wall" or "Desktop cube" effects, CCSM asks, if he should disable few plugins (their names don't tell anything to a casual user). When user disables these plugins, Unity breaks - there is no window decoration or anything. In order to reenable unity, user has to enable all plugins manually.

[Didier Roche-Tolomelli (didrocks)]

The issue is either on ccsm or libcompizconfig not being able to handle transient feature dependency:
unity depends on "largedestkop" feature

both wall an cube provides that feature, but conflicts with each other)

Enabling cube (conflicting then and removing wall) should check the dependency only once cube is enabled, and not once wall is removed by cube is not enabled yet.

This will end up in not disabling unity because wall is removed (just before cube is enabled in the same transaction).

That would be a nice community contribution to get this fix done! :)

[Matthew Shook (mwshook)]

I have had the same problem, it is also being discussed on the forums
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1742872
I'm not clear on how to get Unity back once it's been disabled.

This may be the same as Bug #769093

[Sam_ (and-sam)]

Matthew,
if
unity --reset
doesn't help
try
unity --replace

Workaround which helped here:
Disable automated plugin sorting.
Move 'wall' and 'static switcher' from right to left.
Move 'cube', 'rotate' and 'switcher' from left to right.
Enable automated plugin sorting. Done.

# Radeon 4350

# Plenty of similar questions all over.
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/compiz/+question/157683

[Sam_ (and-sam)]

Still the case on up-to-date Oneiric. Panel gets disrupted, launcher and panel disappeared. No keystrokes available. Removal of recent session files and compizconf helped.

[Andreas Moog (ampelbein)]

This is still a problem on released oneiric and in precise pangolin.

[Fredrik Andersson (frittexxx)]

Yeah, added it and played around on a fresh install.

Ended up with complete borkage, so did a fresh one again and have stayed clear of it from now on.

[Sam_ (and-sam)]

In Precise ccsm has a clear risk warning when opened the first time and Unity has no checkmark to get disabled by accident.
I've disabled animation plugin today on Precise, no idea why it was enabled in the first place, and it crashed compiz (no I didn't report it).
But compared to one+ year ago compiz crash symptoms are much less dramatic, only windows dis- and reappear.
There have been times it needed REISUB since nothing else helped.

[Phillip Susi (psusi)]

This package has been removed from Ubuntu. Closing all related bugs.

[MC Return (mc-return)]

@psusi: Whot ??? You removed CCSM ???

[Phillip Susi (psusi)]

According to the change log:

Deleted in quantal-release (Reason: requested by mitya57; obsolete source package; LP: #1028363)

I'm just cleaning up the bugs.

[MC Return (mc-return)]

@psusi:
This information does not seem to be correct.
CCSM is an essential part of Compiz - it is just not installed by default on Ubuntu anymore (since several versions)...

[Phillip Susi (psusi)]

Ahh, after reading the details in the removal bug, it seems this program is now just part of the compiz package.

[Sam_ (and-sam)]

Search result doesn't list it any longer as stand-alone pkg in Saucy.
http://packages.ubuntu.com/search?suite=default&section=all&arch=any&searchon=names&keywords=compizconfig-settings-manager