At a loss and ready to give up

dbaser · 2026-04-12 02:39:03

EDIT: Deleted hyperbolic rant, my apologies

Be me.
Typing a command in terminal.
Use tab for word-completion on a word.
Instead of the word being completed, xfce takes that as a cue to SWITCH AROUND ALL THREE OF MY MONITORS in the middle of a COMMAND that I'm trying to TYPE.

Here's the command I was trying to type:

systemctl status gvfs-daemon.service

And here's what happens when I press tab to autocomplete:

systemctl status gvfsProperty "/a" does not exist on channel "displays".

It then spits out this:

Profile 62bce9422ff2d14f69ab80a154510232fc8a9afd - Main is set
Setting Default and Fallback profiles...

EDIT: More whining of mine deleted

EDIT: Debian 13 (Trixie) with XFCE 4.20

Last edited by dbaser (2026-04-12 18:24:12)

ToZ · 2026-04-12 03:21:15

Do you have an errant key mapping?

In xfconfd:

xfconf-query -c xfce4-keyboard-shortcuts -lv | grep -i tab

With xev:

xev | grep -A2 --line-buffered '^KeyPress'

...then press the Tab key and post back whats displayed.

In case you're using xbindkeys:

xbindkeys -s

dbaser · 2026-04-12 18:31:07

Thanks, sorry for the rant.

ToZ wrote:

Do you have an errant key mapping?
In xfconfd:
xfconf-query -c xfce4-keyboard-shortcuts -lv | grep -i tab

This is the result, although not sure if I set these or if they are default. Practically, I only use "Alt-Tab" to cycle through windows in list view.

$ xfconf-query -c xfce4-keyboard-shortcuts -lv | grep -i tab
/xfwm4/custom/<Alt><Shift>Tab              cycle_reverse_windows_key
/xfwm4/custom/<Alt>Tab                     cycle_windows_key
/xfwm4/custom/<Super>Tab                   switch_window_key
/xfwm4/default/<Alt><Shift>Tab             cycle_reverse_windows_key
/xfwm4/default/<Alt>Tab                    cycle_windows_key
/xfwm4/default/<Super>Tab                  switch_window_key

ToZ wrote:

With xev:
xev | grep -A2 --line-buffered '^KeyPress'
...then press the Tab key and post back whats displayed.

Here is the result, though no idea what it means:

$ xev | grep -A2 --line-buffered '^KeyPress'
KeyPress event, serial 37, synthetic NO, window 0x3000001,
    root 0x3d6, subw 0x0, time 1964013, (626,-159), root:(3417,288),
    state 0x10, keycode 23 (keysym 0xff09, Tab), same_screen YES,

ToZ wrote:

In case you're using xbindkeys:
xbindkeys -s

Nope, I guess not:

$ xbindkeys -s
bash: xbindkeys: command not found

ToZ · 2026-04-12 19:10:03

Does this happen every time you try to use autocomplete on this command: "systemctl status gvfs-daemon.service", or just that one time?

If it was every time, I would have thought some sort of errant keymapping, which it does not appear to be.

If it was this one time, it might have been coincidental. Have you created a script or an automation routine that sets your monitor layouts?

dbaser · 2026-04-12 20:29:32

ToZ wrote:

Does this happen every time you try to use autocomplete on this command: "systemctl status gvfs-daemon.service", or just that one time?

I just tried it again and the exact same thing happened.

ToZ wrote:

Have you created a script or an automation routine that sets your monitor layouts?

I use this bash script to switch display profiles (3 monitors):
https://github.com/KeyofBlueS/xfce4-dis … le-chooser

The command to switch monitors is long (in part thanks to the long ass name of the tool itself but also cuz of the monitor IDs):

$ xfce4-display-profile-chooser -a -s 62bce9422ff2d14f69ab80a154510232fc8a9afd

I have them connected to aliases defined in `~/.bash_aliases`:

# Switch to Main display profile (all 3 monitors at 1080x1920 16:9)
alias main="xfce4-display-profile-chooser -a -s 62bce9422ff2d14f69ab80a154510232fc8a9afd"

# Switch to Read display profile (left monitor = 1152x864 4:3, center and right monitors = 1080x1920 16:9)
alias read="xfce4-display-profile-chooser -a -s 852b438f91ad9eb2cdd84419a675a216d543c687"

ToZ · 2026-04-12 22:05:09

Can you disable those two aliases, log out and back in again, and see if you can replicate the issue?

If it's all good again, then re-enable the aliases and give them aliases other than "main" and "read" (in case those words are somehow reserved or used by bash-completion). "read" looks particularly suspicious as possibly being the cause.

You can also try re-installing bash-completion in case it is corrupt.

dbaser · 2026-04-14 02:31:04

ToZ wrote:

Can you disable those two aliases, log out and back in again, and see if you can replicate the issue?
If it's all good again, then re-enable the aliases and give them aliases other than "main" and "read" (in case those words are somehow reserved or used by bash-completion). "read" looks particularly suspicious as possibly being the cause.

Oh shit, you're right. I forgot that "read" is a bash command too. Dammit!

Hasn't happened again since I disabled the aliases. It happened again (before I disabled the aliases) but with a more straightforward error, so thought I'd include it. This is the command I was trying to type:

scp debian-xfce-wallpaper-1920x1080.png

I typed the following and then pressed tab to auto-complete the filename:

scp debi

The result was this (and the monitors' desktops changing around):

scp debiNo Display connected to HDMI-A-0.
Cannot set profile 852b438f91ad9eb2cdd84419a675a216d543c687 - Read.
Property "/a" does not exist on channel "displays".
Profile id a does not exist
No Display connected to HDMI-A-0.
Cannot set profile 852b438f91ad9eb2cdd84419a675a216d543c687 - Read.
Property "/a" does not exist on channel "displays".
Profile id a does not exist
an-xfce-wallpaper-1920x1080.png

ToZ wrote:

You can also try re-installing bash-completion in case it is corrupt.

Thanks I didn't even know it was a package.

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#1 2026-04-12 02:39:03

At a loss and ready to give up

#2 2026-04-12 03:21:15

Re: At a loss and ready to give up

#3 2026-04-12 18:31:07

Re: At a loss and ready to give up

#4 2026-04-12 19:10:03

Re: At a loss and ready to give up

#5 2026-04-12 20:29:32

Re: At a loss and ready to give up

#6 2026-04-12 22:05:09

Re: At a loss and ready to give up

#7 2026-04-14 02:31:04

Re: At a loss and ready to give up

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