unity indicators are duplicated on both monitors in twin-view

[Rocko]

Binary package hint: unity

If I configure my system for twin-view (external monitor to the right of LCD monitor), the unity indicators (applets, session, time etc - everything except the skype indicator) appear on both monitors. I would expect only one monitor to show them (ie the primary monitor).

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.04
Package: unity 3.8.4-0ubuntu1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.38-8.41-generic 2.6.38.2
Uname: Linux 2.6.38-8-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
Architecture: amd64
CheckboxSubmission: 1bd8e90541d49b96c13cbfcc9baf103b
CheckboxSystem: d00f84de8a555815fa1c4660280da308
CompizPlugins: [core,bailer,detection,composite,opengl,decor,compiztoolbox,place,session,mousepoll,resize,vpswitch,move,wall,snap,gnomecompat,regex,thumbnail,animation,workarounds,expo,ezoom,staticswitcher,fade,scale,unityshell]
Date: Fri Apr 8 14:37:39 2011
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 10.04 "Lucid Lynx" - Alpha amd64 (20100224.1)
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=en_AU:en
 PATH=(custom, user)
 LANG=en_AU.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: unity
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to natty on 2011-04-08 (0 days ago)

[Omer Akram (om26er)]

can you please attach a screenshot? I at the moment don't have access to a multimonitor setup but it would be convenient if we had a screenshot to show the problem.

[Rocko (rockorequin)]

There you go. (Don't worry about the odd background on monitor 1 - I think compiz 0.9/nvidia isn't very good at handling the damage extension and often leaves artifacts.)

If I run skype, it only shows up on the first monitor.

[Omer Akram (om26er)]

This is not a bug rather its by design to show the panel on both screens so i'll mark this bug as opinion for now, we'll definitely see more changes in Oneiric.

[cosmix (cosm7x)]

By design? This is poor.

The global menu is broken in Natty even on a single display (viz. incoherent behaviour of the global menu depending on window focus, maximised windows etc.). There are several edge cases which are problematic right now, to put it mildly. Still, I always considered those to be implementation issues that would be solved in the near future, rather than design issues.

To duplicate the indicators/global menu on multiple displays, however, if not a bug, is a major design issue that betrays complete ignorance of basic HCI principles and negates the very reason Unity has a global menu in the first place (as opposed to individual application menus). Multiple global menus/indicators are confusing and dysfunctional and fly in the face of usability, simplicity and elegance that Unity is supposed to bring to the desktop.

I understand you may think otherwise, and it'd be disappointing if you did, but if poor 'feature' really is by design (and not by accident), then I suppose you should take my comment as a strong opinion against it.

[Rocko (rockorequin)]

To be honest, it doesn't bother me greatly, even the minor inconsistency in only having the systray icons (like Skype) on the primary monitor. Given that the global menu forces the dark grey bar to be always present on all screens, it's even nice to have something to break up the monotony.

[Greg A (etulfetulf)]

Would you expect the application menu indicator (the global menu) to display on the second monitor? (Would you prefer no panel at all on the second monitor?)

Also, which of the two monitors would you suggest the indicators go on? I can see arguments for both left and right.

[cosmix (cosm7x)]

I would prefer a single point of reference for both (global) menu and other indicators, and in my opinion that should be the 'primary' monitor; which of the n monitors in use should be configurable through display settings. Mac OS X does this well; that is, it makes sense under the global menu paradigm --- much more so than the current Unity implementation --- and it is more usable as you expect things to be at a certain place --- right now the global menu in Unity is inconsistent and, quite frankly, annoying under multi-monitor setups to both new and old users alike.

[Greg A (etulfetulf)]

Personally I think the current system is a big step forward from what was previously in Unity (not so long ago then Unity acted basically like you describe).

Though I think the system could be improved: Bug #755357

[gabrys (piotr-ubuntubugs)]

There are serious issues (design issues I think) with multi-screen configuration in Unity:

* No way to choose (using pointer device) primary screen (suppose the primary screen is the one with launcher). Workaround: xrandr --output VGA1 --primary
* Multiple issues with vertical layout with primary screen on top:
 * Only way to move the window past the top panel of bottom screen is using Alt key.
 * When resizing windows from the bottom screen by mouse, the corresponding apps crash (resizing with Alt+middle key works).
 * When maximizing windows from the bottom screen by mouse or Alt-F10, the windows are maximized on the top screen,
 * When apps are lanched on the bottom screen, they're window title-bar is hidden behind the top panel,
 * No way to hide the top panel on the bottom screen (I consider this a bug). Also, hiding the top bar would be probably a workaround to most of the above bugs, similarly to removing top bar from the bottom screen in vertical dual-screen setup with GNOME).

If you need visualization, I can make a video for you to show how messy this is. In my opinion (because of the above bugs) Ubuntu 11.04 should be still BETA.

[gabrys (piotr-ubuntubugs)]

OK, most of the above are probably not design issues, only the "No way to hide the top panel on the bottom screen" if it really is that way by design.

[LiohMoeller (liohmoeller)]

So if it's by design, why does the panel on the second monitor disappear after:

unity --replace &

?

Sounds like broken by design :)

Greets
Marcus

[Cas (calumlind)]

Marcus that must be a bug with your system as I regularly run that command without any issue.

[amias (amias)]

there should be an option to turn this off , especially if you configure overlapping displays in absolute mode with the proprietart nvidia card as it draws the top bar on both screens

[Glenn Røsbekk (w64-rnefn-hz9)]

Hi

A single point of referance would look a lot "Cleaner", but to look at it from everyone's point of view, please make it, at least, an option, then everyone would be happy :-)

[relgames (relgames)]

Ubuntu 14.04 still shows indicator panel on both monitors and there is no option to hide it.

[Caesarivs (caesarivs)]

I'm using 14.04 and I find this very disturbing, an option to show the indicator on just one of the monitors would be nice, as there is an option to only show the launcher in one of them

[Will Cooke (willcooke)]

We won't change this, so marking as wont fix.