[Xquartz-dev] Window positions when adding/removing monitors on 2.6.0

Tom Lane tgl at sss.pgh.pa.us
Fri Dec 10 17:32:25 PST 2010


Both 2.6.0beta2 and rc1 seem to have a rather severe regression from
2.5.x in terms of what happens when the screen dimensions change.

I go on a daily basis between using my MBP standalone and using it
with an external monitor plugged in.  I arrange the external monitor
to be "above" the internal screen so that I have a twice-as-high
screen workspace (internal and external are both 1440x900).  In the
past, when I attach the external monitor, X11 windows automatically
move up onto the external screen, and when I remove it, whatever was
on the external screen shifts back down to the internal.  In both
cases, the windows are effectively keeping the same positions in the
global coordinate space measured from upper left; you could argue
whether that's the most useful definition, but it works well for me.
As of 2.6.0, this still works for enlarging the screen, but it goes
completely wacko for shrinking the screen: the windows that had been on
the external monitor disappear altogether.  I find that I have to sleep
and re-wake the laptop another time to get them to show up at all, and
when they do show up, they all get smashed to the internal screen's UL
corner, rather than keeping their relative positions.

This is really a pretty nasty usability degradation from 2.5.3.
I was hoping for smarter management of screen size changes, not
worse management.

			regards, tom lane


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