Volume notification changed visually

RedBearAK · 2020-08-18 20:49:54

Something happened to my Linux Mint 20 system and my volume notification OSD completely changed. Originally it was I nice graphical UI, now it's a big black box that says "Volume is at NN%".

I googled for a long time to discover that apparently this OSD is generated by xfce4-volumed, but I can find no way to change the theme, other than changing the speaker icon by changing the icon set in Appearance. But that does nothing to change the words back to the sort of "progress bar" graphical theme it originally had, without the text. I can't find a configuration file that might have any effect on the OSD display.

I can enable the PulseAudio Panel Plugin to also display an OSD, but it just displays something similar that says "Volume NN%" instead of "Volume is at NN%". And of course there are two notifications.

Anyone have a clue how to fix this? What controls the UI of the volume control and brightness control OSD notifications?

Not sure if this will work, but here is a screenshot of the new OSD and what it used to look like.

Volume Control OSD - New and Old

https://imgur.com/a/JzkSQC3

Last edited by RedBearAK (2020-08-18 21:14:01)

ToZ · 2020-08-18 21:56:01

Hello and welcome. Is xfce4-notifyd still running, or has something else taken over as the notification daemon? What do the following commands return?

Your notification settings:

xfconf-query -c xfce4-notifyd -lv

...and the status of xfce4-notifyd:

systemctl --user status xfce4-notifyd

...and list of running notification daemons (kind of):

ps -ef | grep -E 'notif|dunst'

RedBearAK · 2020-08-18 22:12:18

ToZ wrote:

Hello and welcome. Is xfce4-notifyd still running, or has something else taken over as the notification daemon? What do the following commands return?
Your notification settings:
xfconf-query -c xfce4-notifyd -lv
...and the status of xfce4-notifyd:
systemctl --user status xfce4-notifyd
...and list of running notification daemons (kind of):
ps -ef | grep -E 'notif|dunst'

That reminds me that the notification daemon is never running until I open the Notification Plugin properties and click the "Show Preview" button.

At some point something caused my entire XFCE setup to implode and seemingly get reset to defaults. I fixed everything I could see visually but the volume control and the notification daemon always being off are some of the remaining symptoms of whatever happened. I haven't been able to discover a way to just completely reset XFCE back to the way it was when I first installed Linux Mint 20 just about a month ago. I tried to force reinstall of the "mint-meta-xfce" package but that didn't seem to help anything.

Here is the output from those commands:

kris@macbook-mint:~/.config/bpytop$ xfconf-query -c xfce4-notifyd -lv
/applications/known_applications  <<UNSUPPORTED>>
/applications/muted_applications  <<UNSUPPORTED>>
/do-fadeout                       true
/do-not-disturb                   false
/do-slideout                      true
/expire-timeout                   5
/initial-opacity                  0.900000
/log-level                        0
/log-level-apps                   0
/notify-location                  2
/primary-monitor                  0
/theme                            Prof-XFCE-2.1-Light-Panel

kris@macbook-mint:~/.config/bpytop$ systemctl --user status xfce4-notifyd
● xfce4-notifyd.service - XFCE notifications service
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/user/xfce4-notifyd.service; static; vendo>
     Active: inactive (dead)

kris@macbook-mint:~/.config/bpytop$ ps -ef | grep -E 'notif|dunst'
lp          1795     962  0 09:44 ?        00:00:00 /usr/lib/cups/notifier/dbus dbus://
kris        9506    9482  0 10:20 ?        00:00:00 /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/xfce4/panel/wrapper-2.0 /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/xfce4/panel/plugins/libsystray.so 8 16777229 systray Notification Area Area where notification icons appear
kris        9510    9482  0 10:20 ?        00:00:01 /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/xfce4/panel/wrapper-2.0 /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/xfce4/panel/plugins/libnotification-plugin.so 9 16777233 notification-plugin Notification Plugin Notification plugin for the Xfce panel
root        9661    9659  0 10:20 ?        00:00:00 inotifywait -m -e close_write,moved_to,create,modify /tmp/kinto/xkeysnail
kris       23012   22705  0 14:04 pts/1    00:00:00 grep --color=auto -E notif|dunst

The notifications about volume and brightness appear regardless of whether the notification daemon is running.

Then I did this just now:

kris@macbook-mint:~/.config/bpytop$ systemctl --user start xfce4-notifyd
kris@macbook-mint:~/.config/bpytop$ systemctl --user status xfce4-notifyd
● xfce4-notifyd.service - XFCE notifications service
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/user/xfce4-notifyd.service; static; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Tue 2020-08-18 14:08:32 AKDT; 1s ago
   Main PID: 23139 (xfce4-notifyd)
     CGroup: /user.slice/user-1000.slice/user@1000.service/xfce4-notifyd.service
             └─23139 /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/xfce4/notifyd/xfce4-notifyd

Aug 18 14:08:32 macbook-mint systemd[1817]: Starting XFCE notifications service...
Aug 18 14:08:32 macbook-mint xfce4-notifyd[23139]: Couldn't register with accessibility bus: Did not receive a reply. Possible causes include: the remote app>
Aug 18 14:08:32 macbook-mint systemd[1817]: Started XFCE notifications service.

Now the volume OSD has thin blue text in a smaller font size rather than big bold text. Uhhh... But hey, the brightness control OSD looks a lot better. Still don't think it's the same as it was originally on a clean Linux Mint 20 install.

ToZ · 2020-08-18 22:18:51

/theme Prof-XFCE-2.1-Light-Panel

Did you change the notification theme? Try changing it to "Default" or whatever Mint may set as default.

That reminds me that the notification daemon is never running until I open the Notification Plugin properties and click the "Show Preview" button.

How are you starting Xfce? Are you using a display manager? Have a look at the ~/.xsession-errors file to see if there is an error logged, or on a fresh start, run:

systemctl --user status xfce4-notifyd

...before making any changes in the configuration dialog. It might list an error.

RedBearAK · 2020-08-19 00:52:14

ToZ wrote:

/theme Prof-XFCE-2.1-Light-Panel
Did you change the notification theme? Try changing it to "Default" or whatever Mint may set as default.
That reminds me that the notification daemon is never running until I open the Notification Plugin properties and click the "Show Preview" button.
How are you starting Xfce? Are you using a display manager? Have a look at the ~/.xsession-errors file to see if there is an error logged, or on a fresh start, run:
systemctl --user status xfce4-notifyd
...before making any changes in the configuration dialog. It might list an error.

I did change the notification theme, but changing it back to default or anything else changes the style (colors) but doesn't change the fact that it has text instead of the original graphical progress bar.

The bottom line here is that I'm trying to understand why it looks graphical on a default Linux Mint 20 XFCE install, and what controls that. The themes only seem to control the color of the notification, the color of any text within it, and the speaker (or brightness) icon.

RedBearAK · 2020-08-19 00:59:07

.xsession-errors on a fresh login:

I see some complaining here about binding by xfce4-volumed. Maybe that has something to do with it.

dbus-update-activation-environment: setting DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS=unix:path=/run/user/1000/bus
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting DISPLAY=:0
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting XAUTHORITY=/home/kris/.Xauthority
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting GTK_MODULES=appmenu-gtk-module:gail:atk-bridge
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting QT_ACCESSIBILITY=1
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting SHELL=/bin/bash
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting QT_ACCESSIBILITY=1
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting XDG_CONFIG_DIRS=/etc/xdg/xdg-xfce:/etc/xdg
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting XDG_SESSION_PATH=/org/freedesktop/DisplayManager/Session4
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting LANGUAGE=en_US
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting MANDATORY_PATH=/usr/share/gconf/xfce.mandatory.path
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting DESKTOP_SESSION=xfce
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting GTK_MODULES=appmenu-gtk-module:gail:atk-bridge
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting PWD=/home/kris
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting XDG_SESSION_DESKTOP=xfce
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting LOGNAME=kris
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting XDG_SESSION_TYPE=x11
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting GPG_AGENT_INFO=/run/user/1000/gnupg/S.gpg-agent:0:1
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting XAUTHORITY=/home/kris/.Xauthority
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting XDG_GREETER_DATA_DIR=/var/lib/lightdm-data/kris
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting GDM_LANG=en_US
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting HOME=/home/kris
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting IM_CONFIG_PHASE=1
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting LANG=en_US.UTF-8
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=XFCE
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting XDG_SEAT_PATH=/org/freedesktop/DisplayManager/Seat0
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting XDG_SESSION_CLASS=user
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting DEFAULTS_PATH=/usr/share/gconf/xfce.default.path
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting USER=kris
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting DISPLAY=:0
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting SHLVL=1
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting UBUNTU_MENUPROXY=1
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/1000
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting XDG_DATA_DIRS=/usr/share/xfce4:/usr/share/xfce:/home/kris/.local/share/flatpak/exports/share:/var/lib/flatpak/exports/share:/usr/local/share:/usr/share
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting GDMSESSION=xfce
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS=unix:path=/run/user/1000/bus
dbus-update-activation-environment: setting _=/usr/bin/dbus-update-activation-environment
xfce4-session-Message: 16:52:46.409: SSH authentication agent is already running
gpg-agent[30036]: WARNING: "--write-env-file" is an obsolete option - it has no effect
gpg-agent: a gpg-agent is already running - not starting a new one

(xfce4-session:29924): xfce4-session-WARNING **: 16:52:46.416: gpg-agent returned no PID in the variables
xfwm4-Message: 16:52:46.685: Prefer XPresent with Mesa DRI Intel(R) 965GM (CL)

** (wrapper-2.0:30170): WARNING **: 16:52:48.792: No outputs have backlight property

(wrapper-2.0:30171): Gtk-WARNING **: 16:52:48.802: gtk_widget_size_allocate(): attempt to allocate widget with width -1 and height 22

(wrapper-2.0:30173): GLib-GIO-CRITICAL **: 16:52:48.867: g_file_new_for_path: assertion 'path != NULL' failed

(wrapper-2.0:30173): GLib-GIO-CRITICAL **: 16:52:48.867: g_file_monitor_file: assertion 'G_IS_FILE (file)' failed

(wrapper-2.0:30173): GLib-GObject-WARNING **: 16:52:48.867: invalid (NULL) pointer instance

(wrapper-2.0:30173): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: 16:52:48.867: g_signal_connect_data: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed

(wrapper-2.0:30173): Gtk-WARNING **: 16:52:48.867: Attempting to add a widget with type GtkToggleButton to a container of type XfcePanelPlugin, but the widget is already inside a container of type XfcePanelPlugin, please remove the widget from its existing container first.

(wrapper-2.0:30173): Gtk-WARNING **: 16:52:48.963: Negative content width -3 (allocation 1, extents 2x2) while allocating gadget (node button, owner GtkToggleButton)

(wrapper-2.0:30166): Gtk-WARNING **: 16:52:49.035: Negative content width -3 (allocation 1, extents 2x2) while allocating gadget (node button, owner GtkToggleButton)

(wrapper-2.0:30170): Gtk-WARNING **: 16:52:49.179: Negative content width -3 (allocation 1, extents 2x2) while allocating gadget (node button, owner PowerManagerButton)

(wrapper-2.0:30172): Gtk-WARNING **: 16:52:49.286: Negative content width -3 (allocation 1, extents 2x2) while allocating gadget (node button, owner PulseaudioButton)
Unknown options: s, e, s, s, i, o, n.

(xfce4-session:29924): xfce4-session-WARNING **: 16:52:49.431: Unable to launch "" (specified by autostart/light-locker.desktop): Text was empty (or contained only whitespace)
Tracker-Message: 16:52:49.785: Set scheduler policy to SCHED_IDLE
Tracker-Message: 16:52:50.288: Setting priority nice level to 19
Tracker-Message: 16:52:49.826: Set scheduler policy to SCHED_IDLE
/usr/bin/xfce-autostart-wm:13: PyGIDeprecationWarning: Using positional arguments with the GObject constructor has been deprecated. Please specify keyword(s) for "schema" or use a class specific constructor. See: https://wiki.gnome.org/PyGObject/InitializerDeprecations
  settings = Gio.Settings("com.linuxmint.desktop")

** (xfce4-volumed:30328): WARNING **: 16:52:51.116: Binding 'XF86AudioRaiseVolume' failed!

** (xfce4-volumed:30328): WARNING **: 16:52:51.315: Binding 'XF86AudioLowerVolume' failed!

** (xfce4-volumed:30328): WARNING **: 16:52:51.321: Binding 'XF86AudioMute' failed!
Tracker-Message: 16:52:51.519: Setting priority nice level to 19

(polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1:30261): GLib-CRITICAL **: 16:52:51.543: g_variant_new_string: assertion 'string != NULL' failed

(polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1:30261): polkit-gnome-1-WARNING **: 16:52:51.960: Failed to register client: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown: The name org.gnome.SessionManager was not provided by any .service files

(clipit:30245): Gdk-CRITICAL **: 16:52:52.172: gdk_window_thaw_toplevel_updates: assertion 'window->update_and_descendants_freeze_count > 0' failed
Property "/backdrop/screen0/monitor0/workspace0/last-image" does not exist on channel "xfce4-desktop".
ERROR: 2020-08-18 16:52:54,966: get_desktop_wallpaper() 'Exception when calling get_wallpaper script'
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/variety/VarietyWindow.py", line 2609, in get_desktop_wallpaper
    output = subprocess.check_output(script).decode().strip()
  File "/usr/lib/python3.8/subprocess.py", line 411, in check_output
    return run(*popenargs, stdout=PIPE, timeout=timeout, check=True,
  File "/usr/lib/python3.8/subprocess.py", line 512, in run
    raise CalledProcessError(retcode, process.args,
subprocess.CalledProcessError: Command '/home/kris/.config/variety/scripts/get_wallpaper' returned non-zero exit status 1.
WARNING: 2020-08-18 16:52:55,211: create_menu() 'Variety Slideshow is not installed. This is an optional extension adding pan-and-zoom slideshows to Variety: see https://github.com/peterlevi/variety-slideshow for details'
Property "/backdrop/screen0/monitor0/workspace0/last-image" does not exist on channel "xfce4-desktop".
ERROR: 2020-08-18 16:52:55,326: get_desktop_wallpaper() 'Exception when calling get_wallpaper script'
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/variety/VarietyWindow.py", line 2609, in get_desktop_wallpaper
    output = subprocess.check_output(script).decode().strip()
  File "/usr/lib/python3.8/subprocess.py", line 411, in check_output
    return run(*popenargs, stdout=PIPE, timeout=timeout, check=True,
  File "/usr/lib/python3.8/subprocess.py", line 512, in run
    raise CalledProcessError(retcode, process.args,
subprocess.CalledProcessError: Command '/home/kris/.config/variety/scripts/get_wallpaper' returned non-zero exit status 1.

(tracker-miner-fs:30238): Tracker-CRITICAL **: 16:52:58.362: Could not request DBus name 'org.freedesktop.Tracker1.Miner.Files': D-Bus service name:'org.freedesktop.Tracker1.Miner.Files' is already taken, perhaps the application is already running?
/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/mintcommon/installer/_flatpak.py:13: PyGIWarning: AppStreamGlib was imported without specifying a version first. Use gi.require_version('AppStreamGlib', '1.0') before import to ensure that the right version gets loaded.
  from gi.repository import AppStreamGlib, GLib, GObject, Gtk, Gio

** (wrapper-2.0:30168): WARNING **: 16:53:13.823: Unable to get org.ayatana.bamf matcher: Error calling StartServiceByName for org.ayatana.bamf: Timeout was reached

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GIO-CRITICAL **: 16:53:13.823: g_dbus_proxy_set_default_timeout: assertion 'G_IS_DBUS_PROXY (proxy)' failed

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GObject-WARNING **: 16:53:13.823: invalid (NULL) pointer instance

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: 16:53:13.824: g_signal_connect_data: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GObject-WARNING **: 16:53:13.824: invalid (NULL) pointer instance

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: 16:53:13.824: g_signal_connect_data: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GObject-WARNING **: 16:53:13.824: invalid (NULL) pointer instance

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: 16:53:13.824: g_signal_connect_data: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GObject-WARNING **: 16:53:13.824: invalid (NULL) pointer instance

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: 16:53:13.824: g_signal_connect_data: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GObject-WARNING **: 16:53:13.824: invalid (NULL) pointer instance

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: 16:53:13.824: g_signal_connect_data: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GObject-WARNING **: 16:53:13.824: invalid (NULL) pointer instance

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: 16:53:13.824: g_signal_connect_data: assertion 'G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)' failed

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GIO-CRITICAL **: 16:53:13.824: g_dbus_proxy_call_sync_internal: assertion 'G_IS_DBUS_PROXY (proxy)' failed

** (wrapper-2.0:30168): WARNING **: 16:53:13.824: Failed to fetch windows paths: 

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-CRITICAL **: 16:53:13.824: g_error_free: assertion 'error != NULL' failed

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GIO-CRITICAL **: 16:53:13.824: g_dbus_proxy_call_sync_internal: assertion 'G_IS_DBUS_PROXY (proxy)' failed

** (wrapper-2.0:30168): WARNING **: 16:53:13.824: Failed to get running applications: 

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-CRITICAL **: 16:53:13.824: g_error_free: assertion 'error != NULL' failed

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GIO-CRITICAL **: 16:53:13.824: g_dbus_proxy_call_sync_internal: assertion 'G_IS_DBUS_PROXY (proxy)' failed

** (wrapper-2.0:30168): WARNING **: 16:53:13.824: Failed to get active window: 

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-CRITICAL **: 16:53:13.824: g_error_free: assertion 'error != NULL' failed

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GIO-CRITICAL **: 16:53:13.824: g_dbus_proxy_call_sync_internal: assertion 'G_IS_DBUS_PROXY (proxy)' failed

** (wrapper-2.0:30168): WARNING **: 16:53:13.824: Failed to get active window: 

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-CRITICAL **: 16:53:13.824: g_error_free: assertion 'error != NULL' failed

(xfce4-panel:30147): xfce4-panel-WARNING **: 16:53:13.837: Itembar child can only enable only of expand, shrink or small.

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GIO-CRITICAL **: 16:53:13.845: g_dbus_proxy_call_sync_internal: assertion 'G_IS_DBUS_PROXY (proxy)' failed

** (wrapper-2.0:30168): WARNING **: 16:53:13.845: Failed to get active window: 

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-CRITICAL **: 16:53:13.845: g_error_free: assertion 'error != NULL' failed

** (nemo:30729): WARNING **: 16:53:24.421: Current gtk theme is not known to have nemo support (Prof-Gnome-Light-3.5) - checking...

** (nemo:30729): WARNING **: 16:53:24.615: The theme appears to have no nemo support.  Adding some...

** (nemo:30729): WARNING **: 16:53:30.801: Could not inhibit power management: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NameHasNoOwner: Name "org.gnome.SessionManager" does not exist

(xfwm4:30038): xfwm4-WARNING **: 16:53:39.760: unmanaged net_wm_state (window 0x2a00011, atom "_NET_WM_STATE_STAYS_ON_TOP")
[30896:30896:0818/165453.419530:ERROR:sandbox_linux.cc(374)] InitializeSandbox() called with multiple threads in process gpu-process.

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GIO-CRITICAL **: 16:54:54.249: g_dbus_proxy_call_sync_internal: assertion 'G_IS_DBUS_PROXY (proxy)' failed

** (wrapper-2.0:30168): WARNING **: 16:54:54.249: Failed to get active window: 

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-CRITICAL **: 16:54:54.249: g_error_free: assertion 'error != NULL' failed

** (wrapper-2.0:30168): CRITICAL **: 16:54:54.249: bamf_window_get_xid: assertion 'BAMF_IS_WINDOW (self)' failed

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GIO-CRITICAL **: 16:55:46.381: g_dbus_proxy_call_sync_internal: assertion 'G_IS_DBUS_PROXY (proxy)' failed

** (wrapper-2.0:30168): WARNING **: 16:55:46.381: Failed to get active window: 

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-CRITICAL **: 16:55:46.381: g_error_free: assertion 'error != NULL' failed

** (wrapper-2.0:30168): CRITICAL **: 16:55:46.381: bamf_window_get_xid: assertion 'BAMF_IS_WINDOW (self)' failed

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-GIO-CRITICAL **: 16:55:46.546: g_dbus_proxy_call_sync_internal: assertion 'G_IS_DBUS_PROXY (proxy)' failed

** (wrapper-2.0:30168): WARNING **: 16:55:46.547: Failed to get active window: 

(wrapper-2.0:30168): GLib-CRITICAL **: 16:55:46.547: g_error_free: assertion 'error != NULL' failed

** (wrapper-2.0:30168): CRITICAL **: 16:55:46.547: bamf_window_get_xid: assertion 'BAMF_IS_WINDOW (self)' failed

RedBearAK · 2020-08-19 02:08:21

I have gone so far now as to completely purge all packages with xfce in the name and reinstall them all, and also renamed my ~/.config/xfce4 folder to start with a completely default desktop.

The volume control is still text, and the brightness control went back to being text until I restarted the notifyd service.

Last edited by RedBearAK (2020-08-19 02:14:40)

ToZ · 2020-08-19 02:18:25

If you kill the xfce4-volumed process, does the strange notification disappear?

It really looks like some other notification daemon is running.
Do you have dunst installed?

Edit: Also create a second user account and test it there to see if its a profile or system issue.

Last edited by ToZ (2020-08-19 02:19:33)

RedBearAK · 2020-08-19 06:38:24

Never heard of dunst, not found in "ps ax".

Killing xfce4-volumed keeps any volume notifications from appearing at all until I restart it. It complains when I start it in terminal just like it did in the xsession-error log above:

** (xfce4-volumed:6193): WARNING **: 22:27:56.183: Binding 'XF86AudioRaiseVolume' failed!

** (xfce4-volumed:6193): WARNING **: 22:27:56.187: Binding 'XF86AudioLowerVolume' failed!

** (xfce4-volumed:6193): WARNING **: 22:27:56.198: Binding 'XF86AudioMute' failed!

Second user account acts just like when I renamed my xfce4 config folder. Default XFCE setup, volume and brightness notifications with text instead of graphics.

As before, restarting the xfce4-notifyd.service results in a different style, but still text volume notifications. But the brightness notification becomes graphical again.

The notification daemon still doesn't want to start properly with the XFCE desktop.

All of this was working perfectly until a few days ago. I can't believe it's this difficult to reset things back to a working default Linux Mint 20 XFCE setup.

ToZ · 2020-08-19 10:55:24

RedBearAK wrote:

Never heard of dunst, not found in "ps ax".

apt-cache policy dunst

Killing xfce4-volumed keeps any volume notifications from appearing at all until I restart it.

Kill it but don't restart it. Instead, in the pulseaudio plugin, enable "show notifications".

The notification daemon still doesn't want to start properly with the XFCE desktop.

On a fresh start, run:

systemctl --user status xfce4-notifyd

...and:

systemctl --user list-units | grep xfce4-notifyd

Is there an entry for xfce4-notifyd in your Settings Manager > Session and Startup > Application Autostart list?

All of this was working perfectly until a few days ago. I can't believe it's this difficult to reset things back to a working default Linux Mint 20 XFCE setup.

This is a strange one.

Did you do anything different/new a few days ago?
Did you install another desktop environment?
Look through your package manage logs to see what was updated/installed a few days ago.

I'm installing Mint 20 Xfce into a VM to have a closer look.

MrEen · 2020-08-19 17:40:44

I think I found the culprit.

Menu > Settings > Notifications > Applications > Xfce volume daemon should be turned on.

I installed in a VM and tuned that off and got the text notification (just above the icon instead of in the Notification's proper place which for me is upper right) instead of the slider.

In short, the text is a tool tip, not a notification I believe.

EDIT: Turned out to not be the culprit. Question was asked on the Linux Mint forum as well.

Last edited by MrEen (2020-08-19 20:07:42)

wpyoga · 2021-08-26 02:56:06

Hi, sorry for reviving this old post. I'm on Linux Mint 20.2, and I have the same problem as the OP. The volume notification used to be a bar, but now it is just text saying "Volume is at xx%".

I've checked Notifications > Applications > Xfce volume daemon, it is turned on. Actually, if I turn it off, then the volume notification doesn't appear at all.

The solution is to restart xfce4-volumed:
- killall xfce4-volumed
- xfce4-volumed

And by the way, this is the Linux Mint forum link https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic. … 7&t=328295
Hope this helps other people who stumble upon this same post.

Last edited by wpyoga (2021-08-26 03:05:04)

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#1 2020-08-18 20:49:54

Volume notification changed visually

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Re: Volume notification changed visually

#3 2020-08-18 22:12:18

Re: Volume notification changed visually

#4 2020-08-18 22:18:51

Re: Volume notification changed visually

#5 2020-08-19 00:52:14

Re: Volume notification changed visually

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Re: Volume notification changed visually

#7 2020-08-19 02:08:21

Re: Volume notification changed visually

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Re: Volume notification changed visually

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Re: Volume notification changed visually

#10 2020-08-19 10:55:24

Re: Volume notification changed visually

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Re: Volume notification changed visually

#12 2021-08-26 02:56:06

Re: Volume notification changed visually

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