Bug 61606

Summary: wish list... one KWIN, N desktops, M screens
Product: [I don't know] kde Reporter: linux <linux>
Component: dualheadAssignee: Stephan Kulow <coolo>
Status: RESOLVED UNMAINTAINED    
Severity: wishlist CC: bugzillas, grzegon, mark, nate, shafff, strobert
Priority: NOR    
Version: unspecified   
Target Milestone: ---   
Platform: unspecified   
OS: Linux   
Latest Commit: Version Fixed In:
Sentry Crash Report:

Description linux@cabbey.net 2003-07-24 07:26:13 UTC
Version:            (using KDE KDE 3.1.1)
Installed from:    00

I have a dual head, non-Xinerama X server (:0.0 and :0.1 are the screens used by X). Currently KDE runs two copies of KWin, one on each screen of the display. There are a number of problems with this configuration, but it is still IMHO better than runnign in Xinerama mode. (And based on the number of other people who work this way, I'm clearly not alone in that opinion.) The majority of the problems with this seem to be related to code that doesn't handle the capability of multiple KWin's or multiple screens (i.e. assumes that it is safe to truncate the display to :0 because "it's always :0.0 and the .0 part is redundant"). I think an interesting solution to this would be to remove the secondary KWin instances and just use one to control what is on all of the screens. So for example if I have 4 desktops configued on :0.0 and I started konsole on desktop 1 then I moved over to :0.1 and switched to desktop 1 I would get the same desktop 1 from :0.0 with my new console. Both screens would share the same KWin, Kicker, etc... just as today all the desktops on a given screen do. Given the recent vnc integration, I'd like to think this would be easier to do... it's similar at least: pickup the desktop and display it on a different x server... the main difference would seem to be that we would no longer want the two x servers to be slaved together... if we changed the desktop selection on :0.0, then we don't want it to change on :0.1, whereas with VNC it would.

This would also aleviate the problem that I'm still fighting with desktop sharing: I have two screens at work, only 1 at home... how do I get to the apps on the second screen via VNC? All of the desktops, regardless of which screen they are currently displayed on, would be available to the one VNC screen. (and the likely result is that when I change the screen over VNC, :0.0 will change, and vice versa... but that's probably not bad.

This would also aleviate the pain of having two applications running on the same screen (because usually you don't need to interact with both at the same time) and now all of a sudden for some silly reason you have to... so you either try to fit both on one desktop, or you toggle between desktops, or you kill one of the apps and relaunch it on the other desktop. (assuming neither of them are like emacs and capable of opening a new window on a remote display.)

So what do the experts think? Is this even possible given the current architecture? Trivial? Monumental?
Comment 1 linux@cabbey.net 2003-07-25 03:39:47 UTC
Subject: Re:  wish list... one KWIN, N desktops, M screens      
   

Today, Thiago Macieira wrote:
>            What    |Removed                     |Added
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>            Severity|normal                      |wishlist

Bah. that's bizare... I selected wishlist from the form on the submission
process... wonder why it showed up as normal.

Comment 2 Lubos Lunak 2003-07-25 14:38:13 UTC
True. However, KDE's support for non-xinerama multihead is without a maintainer, and 
therefore in a pretty sorry shape, and it doesn't look like it's going to change soon. 
 
 
Comment 3 Steven Roberts 2004-12-09 09:04:10 UTC
I like the idea as well.  And this might solve a problem I am having.  KDE on xinerama doesn't support randr (I think it is xinerama not supporting randr).  I have a dual head each 1600x1200, I would like to do an effective 2400x1600.
Comment 4 Red Dwarf 2005-11-06 17:47:31 UTC
I want this to be able to put a movie on a TV while I use the computer on the monitor.
On nVidia forums is a recurrent problem: http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=46238
Although no maintainer, perhaps for KDE4.... ;)

Between, I have the problem not only with KWin, happens with kicker and everything else.
Comment 5 Mark Frazer 2005-11-22 16:00:09 UTC
Would like to see this or Bug 116883.
Comment 6 Grzegorz Oledzki 2007-02-19 14:15:14 UTC
Is it the same as bug #107302?
Comment 7 Lubos Lunak 2007-02-19 14:30:10 UTC
Not quite.
Comment 8 Nick Shaforostoff 2011-02-21 14:47:06 UTC
can this KDE3 bug be closed now?
Comment 9 Steven Roberts 2011-02-21 21:45:55 UTC
Does KDE4 implement this feature?  or is this now a KDE4 bug then? :)
really curious since if it is implemented in KDE4 it will be a motivation to finally get myself upgraded. :)
Comment 10 Nate Graham 2020-09-09 03:06:38 UTC
Bug was reported against KDE3 and pertains to dualhead (as distinct from multi-monitor), neither of which are officially supported anymore.