Scrollbar on gtk3 has inconsistent behavior

Bug #1576052 reported by Oxwivi
32
This bug affects 6 people
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
firefox (Ubuntu)
Confirmed
Low
Unassigned

Bug Description

$ lsb_release -rd
Description: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
Release: 16.04
$ apt-cache policy firefox
firefox:
  Installed: 46.0+build5-0ubuntu0.16.04.2
  Candidate: 46.0+build5-0ubuntu0.16.04.2
  Version table:
 *** 46.0+build5-0ubuntu0.16.04.2 500
        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates/main amd64 Packages
        500 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-security/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     45.0.2+build1-0ubuntu1 500
        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial/main amd64 Packages

Since the upgrade to version 46.0 using the new gtk3 interface, the scrollbar has been exhibiting behavior inconsistent with previous releases and other gtk apps on the system.

What I expected to happen:
 * Left-click below the scroller to evoke the page down function
 * Left-click above the scroller to evoke the page up function
 * Middle-click on the scrollbar to move the scroller to the cursor position

What happened instead:
 * Left-click moves the scroller to the cursor position
 * Middle-click on the scrollbar does not evoke any reaction
 * Right-clicking on the scrollbar evokes the page up/down function

This not only breaks expected behavior from the previous versions, it's also inconsistent with scrollbar behavior on apps all across the board.
---
AddonCompatCheckDisabled: False
ApportVersion: 2.20.1-0ubuntu2
Architecture: amd64
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC0: virtouni 1649 F.... pulseaudio
BuildID: 20160425114621
Channel: Unavailable
CurrentDesktop: Unity
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.04
Extensions: extensions.sqlite corrupt or missing
ForcedLayersAccel: False
IfupdownConfig:
 # interfaces(5) file used by ifup(8) and ifdown(8)
 auto lo
 iface lo inet loopback
IncompatibleExtensions: Unavailable (corrupt or non-existant compatibility.ini or extensions.sqlite)
InstallationDate: Installed on 2016-04-26 (5 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS "Xenial Xerus" - Release amd64 (20160420.1)
Locales: extensions.sqlite corrupt or missing
Package: firefox 46.0+build5-0ubuntu0.16.04.2
PackageArchitecture: amd64
PrefSources: prefs.js
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.4.0-22.38-generic 4.4.8
Profiles: Profile0 (Default) - LastVersion=46.0/20160425114621 (In use)
RunningIncompatibleAddons: False
Tags: xenial
Themes: extensions.sqlite corrupt or missing
Uname: Linux 4.4.0-22-generic x86_64
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
UserGroups: adm cdrom dip lpadmin plugdev sambashare sudo
_MarkForUpload: True
dmi.bios.date: 11/04/2008
dmi.bios.vendor: Hewlett-Packard
dmi.bios.version: 68MDU Ver. F.0D
dmi.board.name: 30D8
dmi.board.vendor: Hewlett-Packard
dmi.board.version: KBC Version 83.0E
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: CNU73433WV
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: Hewlett-Packard
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnHewlett-Packard:bvr68MDUVer.F.0D:bd11/04/2008:svnHewlett-Packard:pnHPCompaq6720s:pvrF.0D:rvnHewlett-Packard:rn30D8:rvrKBCVersion83.0E:cvnHewlett-Packard:ct10:cvr:
dmi.product.name: HP Compaq 6720s
dmi.product.version: F.0D
dmi.sys.vendor: Hewlett-Packard

Revision history for this message
Launchpad Janitor (janitor) wrote :

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

Changed in firefox (Ubuntu):
status: New → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Amr Ibrahim (amribrahim1987) wrote :

Please run this in terminal:

apport-collect 1576052

Revision history for this message
Oxwivi (oxwivi) wrote : AlsaInfo.txt

apport information

tags: added: apport-collected xenial
description: updated
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Oxwivi (oxwivi) wrote : CRDA.txt

apport information

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Oxwivi (oxwivi) wrote : CurrentDmesg.txt

apport information

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Oxwivi (oxwivi) wrote : Dependencies.txt

apport information

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Oxwivi (oxwivi) wrote : IpAddr.txt

apport information

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Oxwivi (oxwivi) wrote : IpRoute.txt

apport information

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Oxwivi (oxwivi) wrote : IwConfig.txt

apport information

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Oxwivi (oxwivi) wrote : JournalErrors.txt

apport information

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Oxwivi (oxwivi) wrote : Lspci.txt

apport information

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Oxwivi (oxwivi) wrote : PciNetwork.txt

apport information

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Oxwivi (oxwivi) wrote : Prefs.txt

apport information

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Oxwivi (oxwivi) wrote : ProcEnviron.txt

apport information

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Oxwivi (oxwivi) wrote : PulseList.txt

apport information

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Oxwivi (oxwivi) wrote : RfKill.txt

apport information

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Oxwivi (oxwivi) wrote : WifiSyslog.txt

apport information

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Alberto Salvia Novella (es20490446e) wrote :

To me looks like done on purpose.

Changed in firefox (Ubuntu):
importance: Undecided → Low
Revision history for this message
Oxwivi (oxwivi) wrote :

If it's done on purpose, it needs a good reason. And I don't see any good reason to break OS-wide, old, bug-free and cross-platform standard behavior.

Admittedly, I've yet to use the new GNOME Shell, where the default gtk3 scrollbar behavior may possibly be as I described. However, this package is specifically meant for Ubuntu which has retained the old tried-and-true behavior in all gtk3 apps; therefore Firefox should also conform.

Revision history for this message
Sebastien Bacher (seb128) wrote :

thanks for your report, in what software did you try? gedit behaves like firefox, seems it's the way the gtk3 toolbars are working

Revision history for this message
Oxwivi (oxwivi) wrote :

Okay, I rechecked. I was wrong. In both gedit and nautilus, if the scrollable distance is large, it uses Firefox behavior, but when the scrollable distance is small (for example home dir showing all hidden items), it behaves more like the older scrollbars.

Revision history for this message
Oxwivi (oxwivi) wrote :

Also, right-clicking on either gedit or nautilus scrollbars scrolls only by a few columns, unlike the page up/down behavior in Firefox.

Revision history for this message
Simon Elmir (nerd65536) wrote :

I'm on Kubuntu, and I'm experiencing the same behavior.
As a workaround, adding the following in the "[Settings]" section of ~/.config/gtk-3.0/settings.ini or /etc/gtk-3.0/settings.ini fixes it for me:

gtk-primary-button-warps-slider = false

Why the behavior is incorrect in the first place is a reasonable question to ask.

Revision history for this message
Oxwivi (oxwivi) wrote :

gtk-primary-button-warps-slider setting works perfect. It restores the old, expected behavir that I described to the point.

Excuse me for the late response, the setting needs a restart (or at least, logging out and logging in again but I've not checked) to activate. I don't do that often.

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