All margins set to zero - but the right border is always avoided

tuxolero · 2014-02-07 21:56:15

Hi,

In the settings, I have set all margins to zero. But when I open an application (e.g. thunar, mousepad, ...) it always keeps a distance of 6 pixels to the right border.
I can move the window manually to the right border, but initially, there is a margin. Only applications that handle window position themselves (e.g. geany) open at the right border.
Yes, I know about the auto-positioning of windows. But I'm speaking about a situation where there are already some windows at the left, making a new window appear at the right.

For most applications, this behaviour is "only a bit annoying". But I have some Java applications (e.g. Intellij IDEA and PyCharm) that are trying hard to handle size and positions themselves like geany, but when opening, they appear to be "forced" by the window manager to keep a margin on the right, and that screws up their window layout.
As the margin appears on XFCE applications too, I would say this is a XFCE issue and not an application issue.

It happens in single-monitor configuration as well as in dual-monitor configuration. In the latter one, the margin is active on both screens.

Is there a way to turn off these margins ?

I have experienced this behaviour with XFCE 4.8 (on Xubuntu 12.04) and XFCE 4.10 (on Arch Linux).

Thanx and Regards,
Markus

Last edited by tuxolero (2014-02-07 21:56:34)

ToZ · 2014-02-08 12:33:05

Just had a look and the same is happening here (Arch). Had a quick look around and noticed something interesting. I have a panel to the left side of the screen. If I remove the panel or set "Don't reserve space on borders", the window opens properly flush against the screen edge. With the option unchecked, it leaves the border (empty space). I'm guessing that the algorithm used to calculate the screen position of a window isn't properly taking into account any vertical panel obstructions.

tuxolero · 2014-02-08 13:09:32

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I do not have any panel on any side - only at top and bottom.
Where is the "Don't reserve space on borders" setting ? I could not find it.

ToZ · 2014-02-08 13:23:21

I believe its only visible in 4.10 - panel properties, general tab.

In 4.8, you have to manually set the disable-struts property. Check xfce4-settings-editor > panels/panel-X/disable-struts property.

Alternatively, for the applications that are causing you problems, you should be able to use devilspie to force the position of the application window on its startup.

tuxolero · 2014-02-08 15:57:03

Just tried it on Arch ... makes no difference.
I have only properties for panel1 and panel2. And even when I set the check on both ones, the space on the right is still reserved.
Just for testing, I added a panel on the left side and checked the "don't reserve" option. There was still a reserved space on the side of the panel. The setting was ignored.
And on the right side, there is some reserved space even without having a tab.

The more I look at it, the more it looks like a bug.

Edit:
My workaround for the applications having problems with the reserved area is to place them a bit more to the left so the area keeps unused.

Last edited by tuxolero (2014-02-08 18:26:18)

ToZ · 2014-02-08 20:03:09

You could create an fwm4 bug report here.

tuxolero · 2014-02-09 11:19:14

Done.

https://bugzilla.xfce.org/show_bug.cgi?id=10676

ComputerBob · 2014-02-10 06:42:54

I experience the exact same right-edge margin symptom in Debian Wheezy Xfce 4.8. I've never said anything about it because I never knew that anyone else was experiencing it, so I figured that it must be something that was unique to my system. Now I know that I'm not alone!

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#1 2014-02-07 21:56:15

All margins set to zero - but the right border is always avoided

#2 2014-02-08 12:33:05

Re: All margins set to zero - but the right border is always avoided

#3 2014-02-08 13:09:32

Re: All margins set to zero - but the right border is always avoided

#4 2014-02-08 13:23:21

Re: All margins set to zero - but the right border is always avoided

#5 2014-02-08 15:57:03

Re: All margins set to zero - but the right border is always avoided

#6 2014-02-08 20:03:09

Re: All margins set to zero - but the right border is always avoided

#7 2014-02-09 11:19:14

Re: All margins set to zero - but the right border is always avoided

#8 2014-02-10 06:42:54

Re: All margins set to zero - but the right border is always avoided

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