Bug 266313

Summary:	Desktop Background Image is reset when changing monitors
Product:	[Unmaintained] plasma4	Reporter:	mz <mz-trash>
Component:	desktop	Assignee:	Plasma Bugs List <plasma-bugs-null>
Status:	RESOLVED UNMAINTAINED
Severity:	normal	CC:	aseigo, b, mz-trash
Priority:	NOR
Version First Reported In:	4.6.0
Target Milestone:	---
Platform:	Ubuntu
OS:	Linux
Latest Commit:		Version Fixed/Implemented In:
Sentry Crash Report:

Description mz 2011-02-14 16:32:07 UTC

Version:           unspecified (using KDE 4.6.0) 
OS:                Linux

Software: KDE SC 4.6 on Ubuntu 10.10

Hardware: I have a laptop with an optional monitor connected to the laptop via a docking station. The external monitor (if connected) gets activated via the following script and becomes the primary monitor:
xrandr --output LVDS1 --mode 1366x768
xrandr --output HDMI1 --mode 1680x1050 --left-of LVDS1

Desktopn Configuration: A folder view, a "Now Playing" widget and an image as a background

Issue: Upon running this script (or after power down + disconnecting the monitor) sometimes (!) the widgets are still present, yet the desktop background is reset back to some bluish color. No image. In Desktop settings, the list of available / known background images is empty compared to some entries before.

In plasma-desktop-appletsrc after this has happend I end up with a stale section as follows:

[Containments][122]
ActionPluginsSource=Global
activity=New Activity
activityId=c40c0607-dd5e-41eb-b5eb-d9c691856590
desktop=-1
formfactor=0
geometry=0,2130,1680,1050
immutability=1
lastDesktop=-1
lastScreen=0
location=0
plugin=desktop
screen=-1
wallpaperplugin=image
wallpaperpluginmode=SingleImage
zvalue=0

[Containments][122][Wallpaper][image]
slideTimer=10
slidepaths=/usr/share/wallpapers/
userswallpapers=<path>/DSC_6882.JPG,<path>/DSC_6885.JPG
wallpaper=<path>/DSC_6882.JPG
wallpapercolor=0,0,0
wallpaperposition=0






Reproducible: Sometimes

Comment 1 Aaron J. Seigo 2011-02-15 20:04:28 UTC

when this happens, if you open the Activity Manager (meta+q, or from the Add Widgets interface click on the "Activities" button), do you see an extra activity there?

Comment 2 mz 2011-02-16 19:09:23 UTC

Yes, you are right. I do have mutliple (> 8) (running) activities. Browsing through these activities I come to the following conclusion:

- Some of the background image configurations are given in certain activities.
- But even if I configured a two background images for botch monitors within a single activity, there is currently now activity with two background images. 
-> In some cases, there are two activities with one activity having the left image and the other activity having the right image
-> Or in other cases there is only one activity with a single image (either external monitor or laptop)

Thinking this over I can't see any logic in this situation. 

What I can see is that I new activities are created if I enable (or disable?) - well, change - the external monitor. The current activity is not reused. But how the background configuration is handled in the existing activity and how it comes that one image gets lost... no idea.

Aaron, thanks for looking into it, Michael

Comment 3 Myriam Schweingruber 2012-05-22 18:40:35 UTC

Is this still valid for KDE 4.8.3 or trunk?

Comment 4 Andrew Crouthamel 2018-09-04 19:12:45 UTC

Hello! Plasma 4 was replaced by Plasma 5 four years ago by the KDE community. In that time we have made great strides in stability and functionality. We are closing all Plasma 4 bugs as most of them are no longer applicable to the new frameworks Plasma 5 is built upon. If you could, please re-test with the latest version of Plasma 5, and submit a new bug to "plasmashell" if you continue to have an issue. Thank you!