Text boxes with active autocomplete drop down swallows multimedia keyboard controls

[Alex Willmer]

Binary package hint: mozilla-firefox

Ubuntu 8.04 32 bit
3.0+nobinonly-0ubuntu0.8.04.1 0
Dell XPS M1330

Audio volume, Rhythm Box and Banshee may normally be controlled using the multimedia keys, above the keyboard. This works independently of the application having focus.

In Firefox if a text box, such as the address bar, has keyboard focus then this continues to work. If auto complete function has displayed the drop down, showing suggestions, then the multimedia keys do not function. Once the drop down is dismissed they resume working.

[John Vivirito (gnomefreak)]

Thank you for taking the time to file this bug report with us. Closing due to age. If this is still a problem in 3.0.7 please reopen this bug.
Also please reopen with all new information on how to reproduce this bug by giving us step by step instructions.
We also need what happens what is expected to happen.
To reopen the bug report you can click on the current status, under the Status column, and change the Status back to "New". Thanks again!

[Alex Willmer (alex-moreati)]

This still affects firefox-3.0 and also firefox-3.1.
1. Start a media player such as Banshee, and Firefox
2. Play a track.
3. Type a partial url into the address bar, so the autocomplete list appears.
4. Try any media control button, such as pause or volume up/down.
Expected: The track pauses/changes volume.
Actual: Nothing, the button has no effect.

[John Vivirito (gnomefreak)]

Where are the buttons for pause and such that dont work? (what app)

[John Vivirito (gnomefreak)]

If the ubttons are oint he keyboard that you are using than i dont see how firefox is the problem, I'm thinking that since you have firefox up in the foreground im guessing the keys dont work because the app is in back ground that you are trying to control. this is not a bug but a feature as i recall. This should be filed againt the keyboard just not sure what package it is at this time.

[John Vivirito (gnomefreak)]

Let me re-phrase that. I'm betting this happens in gedit as well as anyother app you are typing in at the same time as controling the media keys.
when i say foreground i mean when your keyboard is in use the media keys cant be. if you type in gedit with one hand (like hitting ggggggg one at a time the media keys wont work. Can you please test this. when typing in awesomebar(the (URL address bar) the keyboard is being used once you stop typing the problem should go away and the keys should work again.
Please test and post results here.

[Alex Willmer (alex-moreati)]

The problem is specific to the address bar of Firefox. As I type this into gedit I'm able to use the multimedia keys on m1330 to alter volume or pause playback. I presume something in the kernel -> libc -> X -> gtk stack knows that the keycodes for the multimedia keys should be redirected to $running_media_player.

If I open gedit, then hold down g with one hand and press play/pause with the other the result is:
gggg<music starts, momentary break in repeating letters>gggggg

To be clear, the only time the multimedia keys don't function for me is when the awesomebar is dropped down, showing suggestions. If the address bar is empty and has focus then the list of suggestion is not shown and the multimedia keys work. The key's I'm refering to are these: http://www.dell-m1330-info.com/images/dell_xps_m1330_multimediabuttons.jpg

[madbiologist (me-again)]

I can still reproduce this in Firefox 3.6 on Ubuntu 10.04 "Lucid Lynx".

Uname: Linux 2.6.32-22-generic i686
Package: firefox 3.6.3+nobinonly-0ubuntu4

[Rune Juhl Jacobsen (runejuhl)]

I'm pretty sure that this isn't a problem with Firefox, but a problem with Gnome instead, as multimedia key presses are also swallowed whenever you have an open menu, no matter if it is inside an application (File, Edit, View menus and so on), or the start menu or a right click menu.

Reproducibility: always
Steps to reproduce:
1. Start a media player.
2. Play a track.
3. Open a menu of any sort.
4. Try any media control button, such as pause or volume up/down.
Expected: The track pauses/changes volume.
Actual: Nothing, the button has no effect.

I'd be tempted to say that this bug is yet another duplicate of bug report https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gtk+2.0/+bug/10905 .
A lot of duplicates have been reported, ie. https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gtk+2.0/+bug/243584 which has a description that matches this one a bit better.

Does anyone have any insight on this?