[Pkg-xfce-devel] Bug#278461: xfwm4: Focus Follows Mouse Fails

Michael Urman Michael Urman <mu@tortall.net>, 278461@bugs.debian.org
Sat, 25 Jun 2005 11:27:05 -0500


On Sat, Jun 25, 2005 at 11:53:04AM +0100, Simon Huggins wrote:
> I can't actually reproduce this consistently but I do care because *I*
> use focus follows mouse all the time and often switch between two
> workspaces.  I'm sure I /have/ seen it in the past but I wonder if that
> was only when I was using 4.0.x

I had upgraded to the 4.2 packages you provided earlier, and I think the
primary difference was the handling of the xfwm titlebar menu and the
fact that clicking on a hovered but uncfocused window would focus it.
This was better in that it was one more way to focus a window that
should already have been focused.

Since then I've been too annoyed by the problem and have retreated to
using Metacity. Somehow it has no problems with the desktop-changing
focus problems. Instead it likes to focus any new window whether
transient or not, related to the focused window or not. I don't like
that behavior, but it bothers me less. Interestingly on desktop switch
while xfwm4 will appear to draw the windows in a random order, metacity
will draw the window under the cursor first. For all I know this allows
it to catch a window-leave event that xfwm4 misses.

> Can you reproduce it consistently?  If so can you screenshot what you
> have on both windows and put an X where your mouse pointer was so I can
> try and reproduce this.

If you can't reproduce it from my description I don't think a screenshot
is going to help. The only thing it would tell you that I haven't before
is my desktop size of 1600x1200. I run into it consistently switching
between the two following ascii diagrammed desktop layouts:
 
          #1                    #2
 .-====--====--====-.  .-====----========-.  GT = multi-gnome-terminal
 ||    ||    ||    ||  ||    |-.|        ||  GV = gvim
 || GT || GT || GV ||  || GT | ||   FF   ||  BL = gaim buddy list
 ||    ||    ||  m ||  ||    | ||      m ||  IM = gaim
 |`----'`----'`----'|  |`----' ||        ||  QL = quodlibet
 |  |               |  |  `----'`--------'|  FF = firefox
 |BL|,-------.,----.|  |       ,---------.|  P  = pan
 |  ||  IM   || QL ||  |       |   P     ||  Nautilus root window
 |  ||       ||    ||  |       |         ||  Gnome Panel along left
 `==--=======--====-'  `--------=========-'  m  = mouse cursor position

For example my mouse will be over FF on #2 (located over GV on #1). I
hear a message from IM so I want to switch to it. I'll hit my desktop
switch key (Control-1) and start moving the mouse to be over IM. The
desktop #2 has disappeared by the time I start my motion, but #1 is just
beginning to draw. I complete my motion and the desktop completes its
redraw, and GV has focus despite my pointer being over IM.

I'm pretty sure I was able to reproduce this with just two multi-gnome
terminals on one desktop (the other empty), but I'm not about to
reverify that.

> Running 4.2.2 would be useful too.

At this point I think I'm just going to live with Metacity until I find
something better. At this point it's clear that either the xfwm4 team is
unaware of or is uncapable of or uninterested in addressing this
behavior (my bet is unaware) and either way I'm not about to be
satisfied.

Thanks for your efforts on this.

-m
-- 
Michael Urman  [- mu@tortall.net -]