Bug 170293 - Window-specific setting for unredirecting compositing
Summary: Window-specific setting for unredirecting compositing
Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 198744
Alias: None
Product: kwin
Classification: Plasma
Component: compositing (show other bugs)
Version: unspecified
Platform: Ubuntu Unspecified
: LO wishlist
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: KWin default assignee
URL:
Keywords:
: 184059 (view as bug list)
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2008-09-03 04:42 UTC by Jay LaCroix
Modified: 2011-01-29 16:58 UTC (History)
6 users (show)

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Description Jay LaCroix 2008-09-03 04:42:38 UTC
Version:            (using KDE 4.1.1)
Installed from:    Ubuntu Packages

Since you guys are already making KDE suspend desktop effects while fullscreen apps are running, I have an idea to extend this further.

Some non-fullscreen apps may behave better if desktop effects aren't turned on when they're running. Especially with non-fullscreen opengl games.

My idea is to add a checkbox in kmenuedit for each icon that says something like "suspend desktop effects while this application is running". When the box is checked and you click save, KDE knows to suspend desktop effects when that particular app is running.

This is great as a user initiated feature because if a user has problems with a particular app when desktop effects are running they can make the application launcher suspend it.

Of course when the app is closed, desktop effects would be resumed.
Comment 1 Lubos Lunak 2008-09-03 09:51:49 UTC
Probably a WONTFIX. If you can find and change a checkbox, you can as well figure out that Shift+Alt+F12 does the same.
Comment 2 Jay LaCroix 2008-09-03 10:08:28 UTC
Shift+Alt+F12 is just a work around and it's something you'd have to do on your own every time. Having a checkbox in kmenuedit would suspend desktop effects every time a particular app is opened, and would be much more convenient. 

I don't see any logical reason why something that would only add to the convenience would not be considered.
Comment 3 Magnus Bergmark 2008-09-04 14:09:47 UTC
I agree with Jeremy LaCroix here. If you have to disable it often enough, a shortcut is just inconvenient. I could try to implement this myself if KWin have a general way of disabling compositing via a DBus call or similar.

Another positive thing about this feature is that distros could set this shortcut flag in their repos for specific programs if they see it as needed.

Say, for example, that you install ut2k4-demo from distro FooLinux for beginners. FooLinux could then have packaged the .desktop file with this flag already set, and when the user clicks on "UT2k4 Demo.desktop", composite is disabled and the game starts normally. This is expected behavior for the users I have talked to, and I would expect the same.
(Of course, distro BarLinux will not pre-set this flag since BarLinux have more advanced users who can use the keyboard shortcut or set the flag themselves)
Comment 4 Tomasz Kaźmierczak 2009-02-02 20:18:32 UTC
*** This bug has been confirmed by popular vote. ***
Comment 5 Ash Hunter 2009-07-19 13:11:09 UTC
I agree, this is a MUST! Perhaps it would need clearing with fd.o as part of the .Desktop file spec so that it works for any compositing window manager (so compiz also), but this means that we can "set and forget" to solve unredirect-fullscreen issues that do crop up in certain apps/games.

It would also be a good solution to bug 184059 in my opinion.
Comment 6 Jamie Smith 2009-12-30 05:43:22 UTC
There is a compositing active method in Dbus for Kwin. I'm looking at DBUS / ConsoleKit parameters to see what I can dig up on properly executing from the games group. Everything looks good over Christmas, so I can say I'm at least subscribed to the bug for now.
Comment 7 Aneurin Price 2010-01-07 12:16:37 UTC
This would be excellent. It's very annoying having to remember to disable compositing whenever I want to watch a video without tearing, and then enable it again afterwards. Not quite so nasty now that bug 184905 has been fixed, but still a persistent annoyance that just leads to leaving compositing disabled all the time.

The best part about this solution is that distributions can enable it when appropriate, so we're not left with users wondering why they see screen tearing with no understanding of what's wrong ("video playback in KDE sucks. I'm going back to Gnome!").
Comment 8 Martin Flöser 2010-02-14 18:19:58 UTC
*** Bug 226852 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 9 Martin Flöser 2011-01-22 12:51:07 UTC
*** Bug 184059 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 10 Martin Flöser 2011-01-29 09:55:54 UTC
unredirecting for non-fullscreen windows does not make any sense and we will never implement that, so there is no need for adding a window specific setting.
Comment 11 Benjamin Schmitz 2011-01-29 15:37:16 UTC
Martin, this bug is not about unredirecting a single window (which does not make sense) but rather about disabling desktop effects entirely while an application is running.

You can already do it manually by pressing Alt+Shift+F12 but it would be more comfortable if kwin could remember the setting for an application and do it automatically.

That would be very handy for games that run in windowed mode.

I don't understand why this is a WONTFIX.
Comment 12 Martin Flöser 2011-01-29 15:53:00 UTC
On Saturday 29 January 2011 15:37:24 Benjamin Schmitz wrote:
>  Martin, this bug is not about unredirecting a single window
> (which does not make sense) but rather about disabling desktop effects
> entirely while an application is running.
Sorry I did not get that out of the request. It does not mention it. For that 
we have a special request. Cannot find it at the moment, but I know it exists 
(something with wine or games).
Comment 13 Thomas Lübking 2011-01-29 16:58:24 UTC
marking as dupe of the newer because it has more info.
see comment #10 on how to automatically toggle compositing around processes

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 198744 ***