desktop-effects sets workspaces to 1

[GoHabsGo]

Binary package hint: compiz-core

Compiz 0.3.6

I'm running on Fiesty Beta in Gnome 2.18. Normally, my top panel contains a workplace switcher with two workplaces, but every time I go to Preferences >>Desktop Effects and I turn on or off the Workspaces on Cube option, my workspace switcher loose a workspace and I have to go back on the workplaces switcher Preferences and put 2 workspaces again.

Thanx in advance.

[Travis Watkins (amaranth)]

So when you turn on "Workspaces on a Cube" does the cube work like a piece of paper with two sides? (can you flip it over to get to the other viewport)

[GoHabsGo (ferrin-danny-deactivatedaccount)]

I can't flip, in fact there's no cube. Only one workspace is removed and I know I'm not the only one with that problem. Many have reported on forums and other places that the workplaces switcher on the gnome panel is messed up when a user open the Desktop Effects Preferences.

[Thomas Hotz (thotz-deactivatedaccount)]

I can confirm this.

I have also only one workspace when I click "Enable Desktop Effects". I also have no cube, but it worked some time ago.

[DannyW (dannywaddington)]

I can also confirm this.

Latest feisty beta, all packages updated.

Wobbly windows works fine. Enabling cube reduces number of workspaces to 1.

[Travis Watkins (amaranth)]

It is supposed to reduce the number of workspaces to 1. Workspaces and cube don't get along. However, it should also give you 4 horizontal viewports.

[DannyW (dannywaddington)]

Sorry, I'm not sure about the difference between horizontal viewports and workspaces.

When cube is turned in with desktop-effects I only see one 'desktop' on the panel in the bottom right. When the cube used to work for me, enabling it in desktop-effects used to create four 'desktops' on the panel in the bottom right of my screen.

Sorry for any confusion.

[wm_eddie (wm-eddie)]

Here's a patch that fixes this particular problem. It simply movies registering the signal handlers for the check boxes until after they are filled with the settings read from gconf. This was causing the checkbox to tick when cube was already on, causing it to think that you turned on cube with only one desktop.

I think we seriously need to fix this before release. It's a really stupid bug and it makes ubuntu look bad when I'm demonstrating the effects to people. The patch is really too simple to cause any other bugs.

[VF (vfiend)]

Not a compiz issue, desktop-effects capplet's problem

[VF (vfiend)]

Please apply the patch for Feisty, it's a big bug in a feature which is sure to be tested by a lot of people and it's an easy fix.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

The 7.04 candidate CD image are being tested, the change will not be used now

[vradovic (vradovic)]

ok i have same situation but i just right click on workspaces and then preference put number 4 again for workspaces and everything will be just fine :)

[vradovic (vradovic)]

but it is bug anyway.....but works just reduce on 1 then you need to manualy set workspace to 4.

[Thomas Hotz (thotz-deactivatedaccount)]

> The 7.04 candidate CD image are being tested, the change will not be used now.

It would be nice to see an update for this. This behaviour of desktop-effects confuses the user.

[Juan Pablo Salazar Bertín (snifer)]

I'm experiencing this problem: if I change the "Windows Wobble when Moved" state, I end up with 1 viewport (no cube).
If I want to get more than 1 viewport, I have to do the following:

* First, I have to decide if I want "Windows Wobble when Moved" (since, if I change it later and "Workspaces on a Cube" is enabled, I'll end up with 1 viewport again).
* Disable "Workspaces on a Cube".
* Change the number of workspaces in Workspace Switcher Preferences to some desired value (4 for a cube).
* Enable "Workspaces on a Cube"

It will work until the next time I load Desktop Effects; then I'll have to do it all again.

[vradovic (vradovic)]

yea.

Exacly. Good explanation Juan Pablo Salazar Bertin.

I have same situation. NVIDIA drivers are loaded just fine.
I just finish (before 1h) fresh install Feisty Fawn ...in beginning i got Desktop Efect works just fine for 10min after that i got same situation like before .

I want to add only this ..when i do all Juan Pablo Salazar steps i just dont have title bar in my window.

[Wraith (abalon99)]

Work Around:

1. Open the Desktop Effects window
2. Enable Desktop on a Cube
3. Right Click on the Switcher
4. Left Click on preferences
5. Change the Number of Workspaces to 4
6. Close the Desktop Effects window

Problem Solved until the next time you open the Desktop Effects window.

[Thacker (dg-wynton)]

Cheers, thanks for the info

========================================
 Message Received: May 09 2007, 05:05 PM
 From: "Wraith" <email address hidden>
 To: <email address hidden>
 Cc:
 Subject: *** SPAM *** [Bug 102309] Re: desktop-effects sets workspaces to 1

 Work Around:

 1. Open the Desktop Effects window
 2. Enable Desktop on a Cube
 3. Right Click on the Switcher
 4. Left Click on preferences
 5. Change the Number of Workspaces to 4
 6. Close the Desktop Effects window

 Problem Solved until the next time you open the Desktop Effects window.

 --
 desktop-effects sets workspaces to 1
 https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/102309
 You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
 of a duplicate bug.

[vradovic (vradovic)]

same like my case!

On 5/10/07, Thacker <email address hidden> wrote:
>
> Cheers, thanks for the info
>
>
> ========================================
> Message Received: May 09 2007, 05:05 PM
> From: "Wraith" <email address hidden>
> To: <email address hidden>
> Cc:
> Subject: *** SPAM *** [Bug 102309] Re: desktop-effects sets workspaces to
> 1
>
> Work Around:
>
> 1. Open the Desktop Effects window
> 2. Enable Desktop on a Cube
> 3. Right Click on the Switcher
> 4. Left Click on preferences
> 5. Change the Number of Workspaces to 4
> 6. Close the Desktop Effects window
>
> Problem Solved until the next time you open the Desktop Effects window.
>
> --
> desktop-effects sets workspaces to 1
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/102309
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of a duplicate bug.
>
> --
> desktop-effects sets workspaces to 1
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/102309
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of a duplicate bug.
>

[Sergio Zanchetta (primes2h)]

Same problem here.
I hope there will be an update soon...

[Matej Kovacic (matej-kovacic)]

I can also confirm this bug. I tested it with two machines and the bug is the same. After reboot cube is not working anymore.

However, the proposed solution is not working. I can switch between workspaces, but not with cube effect (there is no rotation).

It would be nice to apply the patch as soon as possible, If the feature is not working, it is better not to implement it.

[David Gómez (davidge)]

Confimed here. Workspace switchers reduces number of desktops to 1 and the 3d cube is not working. Workaround posted in a previous message is only useful to solve the first part, the 3d cube doesn't work in any case.

[Jan Niklas Hasse (jhasse)]

This worked for me:

 1. Open the Desktop Effects window
 2. Right Click on the Switcher
 3. Left Click on preferences
 4. Change the Number of Workspaces to 4
 5. Enable Desktop on a Cube
 6. Close the Desktop Effects window

[Dominik Holler (dominik-holler)]

is this bug a duplicate of #89786 ?

[VF (vfiend)]

No, that's a different older bug that's been fixed.

[Matej Kovacic (matej-kovacic)]

As I said, this is NOT WORKING:

 1. Open the Desktop Effects window
 2. Right Click on the Switcher
 3. Left Click on preferences
 4. Change the Number of Workspaces to 4
 5. Enable Desktop on a Cube
 6. Close the Desktop Effects window

After that there is only one desktop and no cube.

[Sergio Zanchetta (primes2h)]

I think there is a misunderstanding.

Try this:

 1. Open the Desktop Effects window
 2. Right Click on the Switcher
 3. Left Click on preferences
 4. Change the Number of Workspaces to 4
4.bis Close the Switcher Preferences window.

 5. Enable Desktop on a Cube (try to disable it first and re-enable again) Warning: Not the "Enable Desktop Effects button" but "Enable Desktop on a Cube" checkbox.

 6. Close the Desktop Effects window

Try this way.

[Chaitanya Atreya (atreya)]

Juan Pablo's workaround worked for me.

Rephrasing:
a. Open the Desktop Effects window
b. Uncheck "Enable Desktop on a Cube"
c. Close the Desktop Effects window
d. Change the Number of workspaces to 4
e. Open the Desktop Effects window
f. Check "Enable Desktop on a Cube"
g. Close the Desktop Effects window

This should bring the 4 desktops back and the cube effect starts working (atleast it did for me).

Chaitanya Atreya

[Matej Kovacic (matej-kovacic)]

Well, none of this is working for me. :-/

[Juan Pablo Salazar Bertín (snifer)]

Chaitanya's comment wasn't exactly what I did. I'll add some things to my original comment:

+ Open the Desktop Effects window.
* First, I have to decide if I want "Windows Wobble when Moved" (since, if I change it later and "Workspaces on a Cube" is enabled, I'll end up with 1 viewport again).
* Disable "Workspaces on a Cube".
+ Open the Workspace Switcher Preferences window.
* Change the number of workspaces in Workspace Switcher Preferences to some desired value (4 for a cube).
+ Close the Workspace Switcher Preferences window.
* Enable "Workspaces on a Cube".
+ Close the Desktop Effects window.

I think in Chaitanya's step e, you loose everything you've done in previous steps.
That's it, hope it helps.

[wm_eddie (wm-eddie)]

Matej you can also install gnome-compiz-effects instead of messing
with the broken desktop-effects capplet. It'll be under
System>Preferences>GL Desktop. I used alacarte
(System>Preferences>Main Menu) to remove the desktop-effects capplet
from the preferences menu altogether.

Eduardo

On 5/25/07, Juan Pablo Salazar Bertín <email address hidden> wrote:
> Chaitanya's comment wasn't exactly what I did. I'll add some things to
> my original comment:
>
> + Open the Desktop Effects window.
> * First, I have to decide if I want "Windows Wobble when Moved" (since, if I change it later and "Workspaces on a Cube" is enabled, I'll end up with 1 viewport again).
> * Disable "Workspaces on a Cube".
> + Open the Workspace Switcher Preferences window.
> * Change the number of workspaces in Workspace Switcher Preferences to some desired value (4 for a cube).
> + Close the Workspace Switcher Preferences window.
> * Enable "Workspaces on a Cube".
> + Close the Desktop Effects window.
>
> I think in Chaitanya's step e, you loose everything you've done in previous steps.
> That's it, hope it helps.
>
> --
> desktop-effects sets workspaces to 1
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/102309
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>

[Tormod Volden (tormodvolden)]

Since the desktop-effects got into Feisty main for some reason, I think it is important to get this fixed. Especially since an easy, harmless fix is available. Here's a debdiff with wm_eddie's patch from comment #7.

[Tormod Volden (tormodvolden)]

For those who just can not wait :) here's an i386 package for Feisty.

[Juan Pablo Salazar Bertín (snifer)]

I can confirm that the feisty package is working. However, after enabling Desktop Effects (wobbling and cube were enabled), I had 1 viewport, so no cube. I had to do all the steps I did in comment #29 again, but after that everything is working fine. Is it possible that after installing the patch this gets automatically fixed, so you don't have to manually change your viewports number again?

[Jan Niklas Hasse (jhasse)]

This patch does set the workspaces to 4 when activating the cube (a cube has 4 sites, hasn't it?) and to the number of workspaces of metacity when disabling the cube.

[Tormod Volden (tormodvolden)]

Please let us not try to fix all bugs with compiz and desktop-effects in this bug report. Just test the above package to see if it fixes the original problem reported here and file new bugs for other issues.

(About jhasse's patch, I don't think the number of desktops should be changed. If the user decided to have one desktop, leave it that way. Some people want the "cube" with 3 or 8 sides, for instance. I think a default gnome session in Ubuntu has 2 desktops.)

[Juan Pablo Salazar Bertín (snifer)]

The problem is the package above doesn't fix the original problem entirely, since after users install this package, they'll still have no cube.
About jhasse's patch, I think the number of workspaces for compiz should be changed only once (as a post-install task after applying this patch).

[Jan Niklas Hasse (jhasse)]

> I don't think the number of desktops should be changed.
Before my patch it changes number of desktops to compiz' setting (normally 4) even if you haven't activated the cube.

> If the user decided to have one desktop, leave it that way.
Well he can, he would probably not use "desktops on a cube" in this way. My patch does only set number of workspaces to 4 when activating the cube.

> Some people want the "cube" with 3 or 8 sides, for instance.
Then we might add an input to desktop-effects where you can set the numbers, I will try to work out another patch.

> I think a default gnome session in Ubuntu has 2 desktops.
Now desktop-effects ignores that setting, but it does not with my patch.

[Tormod Volden (tormodvolden)]

You're probably right, but maybe we should take all that in another bug report. So that we have a chance to first get wm_eddie's patch here into the repositories. His patch fixes a clear bummer in the code and should get in without too much discussion.

[Tormod Volden (tormodvolden)]

(Sorry, I had put a bogus e-mail address in the first debdiff)

[Jan Niklas Hasse (jhasse)]

Here's a new patch, which can be applied after wm_eddie's patch, but not together with my first patch.
Instead of setting workspaces every time to 4 it adds a GtkSpinButton where you can choose the number of workspaces.
IMHO this is the best solution.

[Jan Niklas Hasse (jhasse)]

I'm sorry i didn't take it to another report. I've found one: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/desktop-effects/+bug/100026
Should i add my patch there too?
(Sorry if i'm adding to many comments)

[VF (vfiend)]

Does Ubuntu really want to divert this much from Fedora upstream? Shouldn't you maybe discuss this with whoever's developing the capplet?

[Travis Watkins (amaranth)]

This will be gone in gutsy anyway.

[VF (vfiend)]

What? What's it being replaced with?

[changlinn (morganstorey)]

if you open gconf-editor and change /apps/compiz/general/screen0/options/hsize value to 4 this fixes it.
Although when in the cube the minimized windows down the bottom does not change between workplaces.

[Jan Niklas Hasse (jhasse)]

> Does Ubuntu really want to divert this much from Fedora upstream? Shouldn't you maybe discuss this with whoever's developing the capplet?

Hm.. maybe you're right. But i think this has to be fixed, if i'm trying to discuss it with the upstream, it will take months. I don't know where i can find people who are developing this in fedora.

[VF (vfiend)]

The maintainer in Fedora's bugzilla seems to be Kristian Høgsberg (<email address hidden>)

[VF (vfiend)]

At any rate, Ubuntu won't apply your number-of-sides patch before Gutsy anyway, we'll be lucky if we get the Desktop Effects cube unbroken and working as intended in a Feisty update

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

VF, what about staying correct and not writting wrong informations on the bug? Why would the patch not been applied? You known that the cube will likely be replaced? Did you read the gutsy compiz specification?

[VF (vfiend)]

Sorry? I meant that this patch wouldn't be pushed out in an update to Feisty before Gutsy final, sorry if i phrased that badly

[VF (vfiend)]

This patch being the patch that applies a 'choose number of cube sides' feature because feisty is final and feature-frozen, I mean

[VF (vfiend)]

And yes, I just glanced at the spec

The patch would not be applied because:
1. Feisty is feature frozen and it adds a new feature
and
2. Desktop Effects capplet apparently won't even be used in gutsy so there's no need to add new features to it at this point

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

wrong understanding then, "Ubuntu won't apply your number-of-sides patch before Gutsy anyway" looks like "the patch will not be applied during the gutsy cycle

[Tormod Volden (tormodvolden)]

Well, he probably meant by that: the patch won't be applied to a released version before Gusty final is released -> will not go into Feisty.

Any chance wm_eddies patch can go into feisty-updates?

[Daniel Holbach (dholbach)]

 Unsubscribing Ubuntu Sponsors for main from this bug, as the patch does not seem to be ready yet?

[Tormod Volden (tormodvolden)]

Well, the patch in comment 39 is ready, and should be applied anyway IMHO since it simply fixes an obvious error. The other discussion here and other patches try to fix more general issues. The patch would help, but not fix all these issues.

[Daniel Holbach (dholbach)]

Assigning to Michael.

[Martin Pitt (pitti)]

desktop-effects has been removed from gutsy, so this is not applicable any more.

[dmfallak (dmfallak)]

But I liked desktop-effects... are there plans to have an equivalent GUI for enabling/disabling compiz?

[KTor (ktorktor)]

This worked for me to:

1 - Open the Desktop Effects window
2 - Uncheck "Enable Desktop on a Cube"
3 - Change the Number of workspaces to 4
4 - Check "Enable Desktop on a Cube"
5 - Close the Desktop Effects window

[Brian Pitts (bpitts)]

Is this purely a desktop-effects bug? The exact same thing happens for me on Gutsy Tribe 5 when I enable compiz using the new "appearance preferences" capplet.

[Tormod Volden (tormodvolden)]

If gutsy compiz bugs get duped to this bug, I guess this bug should be reopened.

[Daniel Holbach (dholbach)]

Is the patch applicable to compiz?

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

the desktop effects interface has no cube option

[Tormod Volden (tormodvolden)]

Bug #134439 got duped to this bug, for instance.

[Brian Pitts (bpitts)]

This bug was gone on a daily-live build but not in my installed system. I deleted the compiz directory under ~/.gconf/apps and now it the bug is gone there as well.