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XFCE: cannot unminimize windows, sometimes
Status:
RESOLVED: FIXED
Severity:
critical
Product:
Xfce4-panel
Component:
General

Comments

Description mp26+xfce 2012-05-09 15:01:51 CEST
This relates to a bug in ubuntu's bugtracker:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xfce4-panel/+bug/977910

Content copied for your convenience:
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Sometimes, after some days of usage, my XFCE session turns completely useless by not allowing me to unminimize windows.

I cannot click program buttons in the taskbar to get them unminimized or focused. Instead of reacting, the window buttons blink for attention. The only way to show a program is by ALT-tabbing to it. Focusing via mouse also works if it is not minimized.

I am not sure where the actual problem is located, but restarting xfwm4 does not seem to have an effect.

Completely killing the session and logging in again fixes the problem.

Usually this broken state persists until restart, today I have seen it revert itself after some time.

> lsb_release -rd
Description: Ubuntu 11.04
Release: 11.04

> apt-cache policy xfwm4
xfwm4:
  Installed: 4.8.1-1
  Candidate: 4.8.1-1
  Version table:
 *** 4.8.1-1 0

> apt-cache policy xfce4-panel
xfce4-panel:
  Installed: 4.8.3-0ubuntu1
  Candidate: 4.8.3-0ubuntu1
  Version table:
 *** 4.8.3-0ubuntu1 0

I expect to be able to unminimized and focus windows by clicking in their button in the taskbar.
Instead, no change in focus or minimized state is happening and they start to blink for attention.
Comment 1 Olivier Fourdan editbugs 2012-05-09 15:04:54 CEST
Does that work when using Alt+tab to select the iconified windows?

If so it's a taskbar issue more than a WM issue.
Comment 2 Olivier Fourdan editbugs 2012-05-09 15:06:36 CEST
(In reply to comment #0)
> I am not sure where the actual problem is located, but restarting xfwm4 does
> not seem to have an effect.

That's an indiocation that xfwm4 is not the problem.
 
> Completely killing the session and logging in again fixes the problem.

That's an indication that the taskbar could be the issue.

What if you kill the panel?
Comment 3 mp26+xfce 2012-05-09 15:07:50 CEST
Alt+tab is the only means of un-minimizing windows that is left.
Comment 4 mp26+xfce 2012-05-09 15:10:31 CEST
Is there a way to kill / restart the panel without killing all the programs started from it (childs in the process hierarchy)?

Similar to wm --replace?
Comment 5 mp26+xfce 2012-05-09 15:51:51 CEST
I just killed and restarted the panel without losing my running programs.

That fixed the problem!
Comment 6 mp26+xfce 2012-05-09 15:54:23 CEST
Changed product and version for xfce4-panel
Comment 7 mp26+xfce 2012-05-11 11:25:09 CEST
Hmm, the same problem occurred again and this time restarting xfce4-panel did *not* help at all.

However, restarting xfwm4 helped this time.

Maybe it's the interaction between the two that has a problem.
Comment 8 bjackson0971 2012-07-02 21:56:46 CEST
[Repost from lunchpad.net]

I can reproduce this bug by running Xfe (X File Explorer, A FOX toolkit app) and then double clicking a document to launch an associated app such as a pdf with xpdf or acroread, or a jpg with geeqie. Running killall xfwm4 will fix the problem for me.

I ran xfwm4 from a console and reproduced it, but there was no error message printed. I can get a strace log file as well, but I don't know what to look for in the output.

This was reproducible several times when I've tried it. I have a Dell Latitude E6500, which has Intel integrated graphics, with an external monitor using a DisplayPort to DVI adapter. I don't have xinerama explicitly configured in xorg.conf, but the Xorg log shows "(II) Initializing built-in extension XINERAMA"
Both monitors are in use and with different content. I was on the external when I did the testing.

I'm using Mageia 2, not Ubuntu.
Comment 9 mp26+xfce 2012-08-31 12:05:23 CEST
I just stumbled upon a deterministic way to reproduce this in my setup: opening thunar, either on the terminal via "open ." or in the main menu by selecting "File manager".
Comment 10 Olivier Fourdan editbugs 2012-09-04 09:19:14 CEST
Cannot reproduce neither using Xfe (comment #8) nor Thunar (comment #9)
Comment 11 Olivier Fourdan editbugs 2012-09-04 09:21:59 CEST
Note that by "open ." I assume you mean "xdg-open ." because "open" is to start a program on a new virtual terminal in console mode here (so not applicable to the present issue).
Comment 12 mp26+xfce 2012-09-04 09:30:24 CEST
Yes, sorry.  "open" is a local alias for "xdg-open"
Comment 13 Johann Petrak 2013-01-08 01:42:44 CET
This happens ever so often on my system too: Ubuntu 12.10 with XFCE 4.10.
I tried to kill the xfce4-panel process with -HUP and this did indee restart the panel but not correct the problem.
Usually when this happens, several of the icons in the task bar are blinking making the panel look like a nice Blinkenlights.
Clicking on the icon of a window that is still open sometimes (but not for all) minimizes the window, but no window can ever get maximized that way when that bug appears.
Comment 14 Olivier Fourdan editbugs 2013-01-08 08:47:36 CET
(In reply to comment #13)
> This happens ever so often on my system too: Ubuntu 12.10 with XFCE 4.10.
> I tried to kill the xfce4-panel process with -HUP and this did indee restart
> the panel but not correct the problem.
> Usually when this happens, several of the icons in the task bar are blinking
> making the panel look like a nice Blinkenlights.
> Clicking on the icon of a window that is still open sometimes (but not for
> all) minimizes the window, but no window can ever get maximized that way
> when that bug appears.

Still cannot reproduce locally. Yet my session remains active several weeks without trouble.

Please provide the steps to reproduce, or at pattern that could help, so far I have no clue (the Xfe issue is most likely another problem, I noticed it kept an active grab on the pointer)
Comment 15 Johann Petrak 2013-01-12 16:17:29 CET
There seem to be no steps to reproduce this, unfortunately, this happens randomly and usually totally unexpected.
And usally when I have a large number of windows open which makes it all the more frustrating. I have always been a fan of XFCE and I used it instead of Unity because it supports my way of working with many open windows much better. However, this bug made me go back to Unity because I still cannot afford the time it costs me to close those windows, log out and log in again to make things work as they should.
Just a stab into the dark: maybe this is connected to the fact that I use two monitors on a single NVidia graphics card. The setup is such that both monitors show a single desktop (not two X desktops and not Xinerama).
The monitors are connected to the digital and analog connector, respectively.
The "NVIDIA binary Xorg driver, kernel module and VDPAU library from nvidia-current-updates (proprietary" driver is selected in the "Additional Drivers" tab in the Software Sources dialog.
Comment 16 Nils Rennebarth 2013-01-29 12:40:38 CET
I can confirm that it happens with a dual monitor setup, 
which is exactly the same as for Johann Petrak:
Both monitors (one at the analog, one at the digital output,
although I do not think that matters) show a single desktop,
no Xinerama. I use the nv driver however, so apparently the bug
is independent from this. It may relate to many open windows
(usually about 30) I usually get the blinking icons in the task bar
as well.
However running "xfwm4 --replace &" in an open terminal always successfully
cures the symptoms. It looks scary when all windows disappear and then reappear again, but it works. I take back that sentence: I needed 3 tries
to make uminimizing by clicking the panel icons of minimized windows
work again.

On this machine, the bug can be triggered reliably by typing "xdg-open . " in a terminal. I tried on a second machine with the same ubuntu installed, even
added a second monitor and two panels, which are configured to only appear
on the given monitor and the window-buttons are configured to only show
windows from the monitor ("Show windows from all monitors" is off) but to
no avail. Strange.

This is xfce4-panel 4.8.6-2ubuntu2, xfwm4 4.8.3-1ubuntu1.1, on 
ubuntu 12.04.1 but the bug is at least a year old.
Comment 17 Olivier Fourdan editbugs 2013-01-29 12:58:29 CET
Right. So we have a matching pattern.

I need to reproduce such a setup, but don't hold your breath, time's still an issue for me.
Comment 18 kae 2013-03-14 13:03:44 CET
I have this problem too, running under Debian Wheezy but on a single monitor setup. It happens about once every couple of weeks.

It's just occurred now, which prompted me to search for a bug. Killing and restarted xfce4-panel has stopped the icons flashing in the panel, but I still can't unminimize any windows from the panel (alt-tab works).

Let me know what more I can tell you.
Comment 19 strykeslammerii 2013-05-07 21:40:04 CEST
This just started happening to me as well. Single monitor, multiple workspaces; but I have been playing StarCraft2 in fullscreen mode.
Alt-tab works, but the taskbar just blinks at me and does not minimize, un-minimize or switch to open windows.
Actually, if I right-click on an open program I can minimize from taskbar that way, but I can't unminimize again.

I think the primary issue may not be unminimizing, because it lets me resize or move windows via right-click menu, but when I do that the window stays behind existing windows. I'm used to unminimizing bringing a window to the top.
And just found this: I *can* minimize a window by clicking on it in taskbar, but only if it is the active/focused window.

I hadn't seen this before this week, now it seems to have happened twice in a row. I'm about to logout and back in, and post again if I can find anything that seems to trigger this....

Sabayon 13.06
XFCE Panel 4.10.0-r1

If there's any other useful info here, let me know what to look for!
Comment 20 micsu 2016-03-19 13:36:40 CET
I have the same problem one in a month:
- can not unminimize windows via mouse, but alt+tab works
- sometimes can't even switch between maximized windows via mouse, but alt+tab works
- killing xfce4-panel does not solve it
- killing xfwm4 does solve it

My config:
- debian 8 stable on desktop pc
- xfce 4.10
- only one monitor
- no compiz, no xinerama
Comment 21 micsu 2016-04-08 13:17:07 CEST
The same problem occurs every week, and the solution is the same always.
But this time there is no solution:
- killing xfce4-panel does NOT solve it
- killing xfwm4 does NOT solve it
- "xfwm4 --replace &" does NOT solve it
- only reboot solves it :((
Comment 22 Olivier Fourdan editbugs 2016-04-08 13:21:57 CEST
xfce 4.10 is old, can you try with 4.12?
Comment 23 micsu 2016-04-08 23:37:11 CEST
Thanks for the tip!
I've installed xfce 4.12 from debian testing.
I'll report if the problem occurs again.
Comment 24 micsu 2016-04-14 16:21:57 CEST
(I had to return to xfce 4.10, because xfce 4.12 freezes once a day.)

Finally I found the solution!!!
I just had to disable the "Activate focus stealing prevention" feature in Settings Manager --> Window Manager Tweaks --> Focus tab

Cheers

Bug #8858

Reported by:
mp26+xfce
Reported on: 2012-05-09
Last modified on: 2020-05-21

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Assignee:
Olivier Fourdan
CC List:
8 users

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