Panel/window manager issue (bug?)

Stingray · 2016-07-16 17:07:33

After using KDE for the last 18 years, I've been looking at switching to Xfce since I don't use all of the bloat they've been adding after KDE3, and every new release seems to bring new problems. I spent several hours getting everything set up the way I want in Xfce and at this point it's working pretty great except one glaring problem...

I use focus-follows-mouse, with raise-on-focus and raise-on-click both turned off. Typically if I want to immediately use any given window on a cluttered desktop, I left-click that window's entry in the taskbar. With KDE, this will always restore it (if minimized), raise it, and probably focus it too (last one being irrelevant when using focus-follows-mouse). With Xfce, it will do the same thing, UNLESS the window is already focused, in which case the left-click does nothing. So, it's basically a crapshoot whether the left-click "works" or not, because it all depends on which window my mouse last happened to cross while I was moving to the mouse up to the taskbar. I want it to always raise the window I left-clicked. Feels like a bug to me, but is there any configuration option that might influence this behavior? Thanks.

ToZ · 2016-07-16 17:32:13

Hello and welcome.

I can't seem to replicate this issue on my system (Xfce 4.12 on Arch). With focus-follows-mouse enabled and raise-on-focus and raise-on-click disabled, whether or not the application (in this case mousepad) is already focused, I can still start typing immediately into the window when left-clicking on the taskbar (window buttons plugin).

So, it's basically a crapshoot whether the left-click "works" or not, because it all depends on which window my mouse last happened to cross while I was moving to the mouse up to the taskbar. I want it to always raise the window I left-clicked

In which case, it will no longer be the focused window. Regardless, I can't replicate this issue on my system.

Which distro, which version of Xfce, and which application are you testing this with?

Stingray · 2016-07-16 17:42:46

Thanks for the reply. I'm using Fedora 24 with their latest Xfce 4.12 packages.

It's not an issue of focus (typing immediately into the window), it's an issue of the window being raised on top of other windows. Normally when you left-click an entry in the taskbar, that window always gets raised. But if you left-click a window that already has focus, then it doesn't get raised. Paying attention to focus for a focus-follows-mouse user makes no sense, because if they moved the mouse to the taskbar, then whatever ends up with focus will most likely be random. And with raise-on-focus off, a window that has focus can't be guaranteed to already be raised anyway, which is really the critical thing to keep in mind I suppose.

A focus-follows-mouse user would never click on a window in the taskbar to focus it, because that is pretty pointless. If they are clicking on one there, then they want it raised (and of course restored too - if it's minimized).

Are you saying that when you left-click on an already-focused window, it does get raised?

Last edited by Stingray (2016-07-16 18:21:24)

Stingray · 2016-07-16 17:55:41

I recorded a quick video of the issue which might help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YukSJZTgBBs

The first time I move my mouse up to the taskbar, my mouse happens to cross across the Thunderbird window on the way there (so it ends up with focus), and when I left-click its taskbar entry, it doesn't raise it as I'd expect.

But then you see when I re-do the same thing, but don't cross across the Thunderbird window (so Firefox retains focus), then when I left-click on the Thunderbird taskbar entry, it raises it as expected.

ToZ · 2016-07-16 18:42:25

Stingray wrote:

But if you left-click a window that already has focus, then it doesn't get raised.

Okay, now I get it (a focused window but not the top window). Yes, I see the same bahaviour as you now. You should probably file a bug report.

Stingray · 2016-07-16 20:17:25

Thanks, just did. I filed it against the Xfce4-panel, Window Buttons component...hopefully that's the right place.

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#1 2016-07-16 17:07:33

Panel/window manager issue (bug?)

#2 2016-07-16 17:32:13

Re: Panel/window manager issue (bug?)

#3 2016-07-16 17:42:46

Re: Panel/window manager issue (bug?)

#4 2016-07-16 17:55:41

Re: Panel/window manager issue (bug?)

#5 2016-07-16 18:42:25

Re: Panel/window manager issue (bug?)

#6 2016-07-16 20:17:25

Re: Panel/window manager issue (bug?)

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