can't reopen pidgin buddy list in unity

[Ingy döt Net]

When I start Pidgin in Unity and close the buddy list while I have a chat window open, I cannot find a way to reopen the buddy list.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

Thank you for your bug report, did you try to use the indicator-message (the envelop icon in the top right corner)?

[Tiago Ramos (tiagolramos)]

using the indicator-message works.
in the unity it only opens the conversations windows.

[mikelococo (mikelococo)]

Although indicator-message is a useful workaround, I do think it's a bug that you can't bring up the buddy list either by clicking the icon in the dock or by using the top-bar menu.

It's also extremely non-standard, I'm not aware of another standalone application that depends on an indicator as the *only* way to navigate to certain functionality (although it is useful as a shortcut).

Finally, it's really non-discoverable. Why would I go messing with indicators at all when I have the application open in front of me. Especially why would I go messing with an "envelope-shaped" indicator... which is traditionally associated with email.

[Hossein Atashi (atashi.h)]

This bug affects me too. But setting "Show system tray icon" to "Always" in preferences seems to resolve the issue. I don't know why or how, but after changing this setting, I haven't had this problem for 3 days.

[Hossein Atashi (atashi.h)]

As a note, after I change the above settings, I can get the buddy list both using messaging menu and the launcher. But you should check the "keep in launcher" option for Pidgin, and also when you close the buddy list, the arrows on the launcher will NOT indicate that Pidgin is running. (I only use the messaging menu so this is not a big issue for me)

[der_vegi (m-may)]

Is this bug maybe related to bug 879960?

[Omer Akram (om26er)]

Is it still an issue in Ubuntu 11.10?

[Ingy döt Net (ingy)]

On Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 8:35 AM, Omer Akram <email address hidden> wrote:

> Is it still an issue in Ubuntu 11.10?
>

Yes. The bug as reported is still an issue. There seems to be no way to
reopen a pidgin buddy list after closing it.

If you minimize it you can get it back.

It's weird to me that pidgin will even stay running if you close the buddy
list, but it will as long as a chat window is open. Before unity you could
reopen the buddy list in gnome by clicking the app's icon that indicated it
was running.

Maybe you should contact pidgin with this bug to see if they can make it
work better in unity. They could at least add an option to their menus to
open the buddy list.

>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/773645
>
> Title:
> can't reopen pidgin buddy list in unity
>
> Status in Unity:
> Confirmed
> Status in “unity” package in Ubuntu:
> Confirmed
>
> Bug description:
> When I start Pidgin in Unity and close the buddy list while I have a
> chat window open, I cannot find a way to reopen the buddy list.
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/unity/+bug/773645/+subscriptions
>

[Janne Uusitalo (janne-uusitalo-gmail)]

This bug is still alive on 12.04. A slightly faster workaround is to middle-click the launcher icon.

I assume this affects not only Pidgin but any application that uses multiple windows in similar fashion. For example, if I close my VirtualBox Manager while a virtual machine is running in another window, the only way I can think of of reopening the Manager is to middle-click the VB launcher icon. Right-clicking and selecting the application's name on the menu only activates the currently open window or, if that window is already active, does nothing.

[Omer Akram (om26er)]

is that still an issue in Ubuntu 12.04?

[Ingy döt Net (ingy)]

Seriously? I get this question with every release. It's insulting. Why
don't you check it your damn self? Take me off this stupid bug spam. Gnome3
is the future. Unity is a failure.

On Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 10:55 AM, Omer Akram <email address hidden> wrote:

> is that still an issue in Ubuntu 12.04?
>
> ** Changed in: unity
> Status: Confirmed => Incomplete
>
> ** Changed in: unity (Ubuntu)
> Status: Confirmed => Incomplete
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/773645
>
> Title:
> can't reopen pidgin buddy list in unity
>
> Status in Unity:
> Incomplete
> Status in “unity” package in Ubuntu:
> Incomplete
>
> Bug description:
> When I start Pidgin in Unity and close the buddy list while I have a
> chat window open, I cannot find a way to reopen the buddy list.
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/unity/+bug/773645/+subscriptions
>

[Omer Akram (om26er)]

very nice and helpful reply *claps*

pidgin should add a quicklist entry to show the contact list. moved to pidgin.

[Lockal (lockal)]

This is still an issue with 12.10.

There is a way to show Pidgin window described on http://askubuntu.com/questions/78854/pidgin-not-showing-up-after-opening-it , however these steps are very obscure even for linux professionals. Please fix this.

[Hossein Atashi (atashi.h)]

Just as a reminder, I have used (and am using) the solution I mentioned in #4 both in 11.10 and 12.04, and I have never had any problem ever since. I haven't tried, but I think it will work in 12.10 as well.
I have Pidgin running on startup, and I can access it through messaging menu anytime I want. If the buddy list is open, it will be shown in Dash as well.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for pidgin (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]