gnome-screensaver switch user dialog box buttons don't work after logging out

[Omegamormegil]

Binary package hint: gnome-screensaver

Runny updated Hardy, gnome-screensaver version 2.22.2-0ubuntu1

When switching users via the logout button, sometimes the buttons on the grey box (I attached an image of this box just to be clear) you are presented with after logging out don't work. For example, if you log in with your primary user - fred, create another user named bob and use the user switcher applet to switch to/log in as bob, and then click Logout via the red power button on the gnome panel, you are presented with the grey box prompting you to log in, but the "Leave Message". "Unlock" and "Cancel" buttons do not click, and mousing over does not highlight the buttons. The only option is to put in the password of the user it presents you with, and press enter.

This could be really annoying if you didn't want to log back in as that user, fred, but as a third user - jack. Especially if fred was not around to supply his password only to logout, and let jack use the computer.

I noticed this bug today on an Ubuntu machine newly installed with Hardy (home partition persisted from feisty), and I tested it further on another machine running Hardy (upgraded from gutsy to hardy alpha, and through to final release). The screenshot of the grey box was taken with virtualbox and a fresh install of Hardy, on which I could not re-create the error. Also, in the screenshot the buttons are Leave Message, Switch User, Cancel, and Unclock, which is different from the gray box I get with non functional buttons - I don't see the Switch User button.

[Omegamormegil (omegamormegil)]

Oops - here's the image of the box.

[Louis Simard (louis-simard-deactivatedaccount)]

This bug occurs to me too, Hardy 32-bit updated.

The workaround is to just press Enter if the button you want to access is Unlock. But to access the other buttons, the workaround is not so intuitive: Tab until you get to the button, and Space.

[Omegamormegil (omegamormegil)]

Still present in Intrepid final.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

could you try if that's still an issue in jaunty?

[Louis Simard (louis-simard-deactivatedaccount)]

It's still an issue in Jaunty, whether via the Fast User Switch applet or via System/Log out/Switch user, with the same steps.

1. Login as User A
2. Switch user to User B
3. Log out of User B
4. (expected) Type User A's password and click Unlock
   (actual) Type User A's password and press Shift+Tab, Enter or Meta+U, because the Unlock button cannot be clicked

[Omegamormegil (omegamormegil)]

Yes, I can confirm that this bug still exists. It can be challenging to
duplicate. The first Jaunty system I tried worked fine, but following Louis
Simard's steps below (immediately after creating a new user - I don't know
if that's part of it) this bug occured in Jaunty (happens to be Ubuntu
Netbook Remix this time). This system was not upgraded from Intrepid.

Additionally, as I'm testing this, the dialog box with non working buttons
was left on the screen for a minute, and the screen went blank (screensaver
kicked in). After moving the mouse and getting the password prompt again,
the buttons DO work. When I was testing in Hardy, I noted in the
description that the non-functional dialog box did not have the Switch User
button, but right now in Jaunty that isn't the case. The buttons I have are
Leave Message, Switch User, Cancel, and Unlock.

On Thu, May 14, 2009 at 7:04 AM, Louis Simard
<email address hidden>wrote:

> It's still an issue in Jaunty, whether via the Fast User Switch applet
> or via System/Log out/Switch user, with the same steps.
>
> 1. Login as User A
> 2. Switch user to User B
> 3. Log out of User B
> 4. (expected) Type User A's password and click Unlock
> (actual) Type User A's password and press Shift+Tab, Enter or Meta+U,
> because the Unlock button cannot be clicked
>
> --
> gnome-screensaver switch user dialog box buttons don't work after logging
> out
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/225974
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in “gnome-screensaver” source package in Ubuntu: Confirmed
>
> Bug description:
> Binary package hint: gnome-screensaver
>
> Runny updated Hardy, gnome-screensaver version 2.22.2-0ubuntu1
>
> When switching users via the logout button, sometimes the buttons on the
> grey box (I attached an image of this box just to be clear) you are
> presented with after logging out don't work. For example, if you log in
> with your primary user - fred, create another user named bob and use the
> user switcher applet to switch to/log in as bob, and then click Logout via
> the red power button on the gnome panel, you are presented with the grey box
> prompting you to log in, but the "Leave Message". "Unlock" and "Cancel"
> buttons do not click, and mousing over does not highlight the buttons. The
> only option is to put in the password of the user it presents you with, and
> press enter.
>
> This could be really annoying if you didn't want to log back in as that
> user, fred, but as a third user - jack. Especially if fred was not around
> to supply his password only to logout, and let jack use the computer.
>
> I noticed this bug today on an Ubuntu machine newly installed with Hardy
> (home partition persisted from feisty), and I tested it further on another
> machine running Hardy (upgraded from gutsy to hardy alpha, and through to
> final release). The screenshot of the grey box was taken with virtualbox
> and a fresh install of Hardy, on which I could not re-create the error.
> Also, in the screenshot the buttons are Leave Message, Switch User, Cancel,
> and Unclock, which is different from the gray box I get with non functiona...

[Louis Simard (louis-simard-deactivatedaccount)]

You don't need to have *just* created User B for this bug to show up, any old pair of users on the system that can log into GNOME will trigger it. I tested this on both a fresh Jaunty install (laptop) and a Hardy upgrade (desktop), by the way.

[Louis Simard (louis-simard-deactivatedaccount)]

This bug still exists in Karmic alpha 6.

[Jani Uusitalo (uusijani)]

Still present in Karmic after release, with all current updates. Also, in a three-user system, after logging in users A and B, and logging C in and out, user A's locked screen has buttons that work, whereas B's has buttons that don't. After the screensaver kicks in, B's buttons also work.

[Omegamormegil (omegamormegil)]

This still happens in Lucid as of 03/17/2010. Switching to a guest session and logging back out revealed the bug.