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Topic: «'Move to Monitor' - and poof it disappears! , Start an app on Mon 1, click move to Mon. 2, and it disappears » on forum: Technical Support   Views: 39947
 
Mark Johnson
Registered user
 
 Posts: 8
Joined: 08/28/2009
Posted: 08/28/2009 16:55:22
 
 
 Actual Window Manager 5.4 (just registered a few days ago) on Win XP pro SP3

Each time I start an application maximized, if it starts on Monitor 2, no problem.  
However, if it starts on Monitor 1, and I click the 'move to monitor 2' button, it 'appears' to move to monitor 2, but there is nothing visible there at all.  It is not behind other windows, either.  If I then right-click on the taskbar icon for the program, and choose 'Move to monitor', it has Monitor 2 checked.  If I then actually click on the menu item for Monitor 2, the program appears on monitor 2.  After that there is no problem, and the program can be moved freely between monitors.

This is very repeatable, and happens with basically any app that starts maximized on Monitor 1.  It launches on Monitor 1 fine, the problem happens only on the initial move from monitor 1 to monitor 2.  If the program is not maximized at time of launch, there is no problem.

I have found many ways to make the window appear.  For example when the program is 'invisible', I can simply click the taskbar icon to minimize it and from that point on it behaves normally.  It does the normal 'minimizing animation' as if it was maximized on monitor 2, even though it was not visible there at all.  
 
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Alexey Fadeyev
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 Posts: 1427
Joined: 09/30/2005
Posted: 08/28/2009 21:29:05
 
 
 Mark, thank you very much for your feedback.

1. What is your configuration of monitors, i.e. what display adapters do you use, which device is primary and how the layout is configured?

2. Please send us your AWM configuration files.
 
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Mark Johnson
Registered user
 
 Posts: 8
Joined: 08/28/2009
Posted: 09/01/2009 10:18:01
 
 
 On question #1:
Monitor #1 is on left, #2 is on the right.  Monitor #1 is the primary monitor, and has the taskbar on it.  The taskbar is vertical, docked at left, not auto-hide.  Both monitors are exactly the same; Acer AL1716 at 1280x1024.  The system has a single Radeon X1550 video card that both monitors are attached to.

On question #2:
When I click the 'E-Mail' link on your message, I get an email form but it does not have a way to attach files.  I am guessing what you want is the 'MultiMonitorSettings.ini' contents from the AWM subfolder of Application Data.  The contents are:
<Options version="5.4"><profile name="81478B69-4AC6-4B07-AD79-0DBE996B7595"><params><param name="Width">2560</param><param name="Height">1024</param><param name="PrimaryMonitor">\\.\DISPLAY1</param><param name="ScreensaverDelay">1800</param></params><monitors><cont­ent><monitor name="\\.\DISPLAY1"><params><param name="Enabled">-1</param><param name="Primary">-1</param><param name="Left">0</param><param name="Top">0</param><param name="Width">1280</param><param name="Height">1024</param><param name="ColorDepth">16</param><param name="RefreshRate">75</param><param name="WallpaperMode">1</param><param name="WallpaperFileName"/><param name="BackgroundColor">-2147483647</param><param name="ScreensaverFileName">C:\WINDOWS\system32\ssmarque.scr</param></params></monitor><monitor name="\\.\DISPLAY2"><params><param name="Enabled">-1</param><param name="Primary">0</param><param name="Left">1280</param><param name="Top">0</param><param name="Width">1280</param><param name="Height">1024</param><param name="ColorDepth">16</param><param name="RefreshRate">75</param><param name="WallpaperMode">1</param><param name="WallpaperFileName"/><param name="BackgroundColor">-2147483647</param><param name="ScreensaverFileName"/></params></monitor></content></m­onitors></profile><content><profile name="Profile 1"><params><param name="Left">0</param><param name="Top">0</param><param name="Width">2560</param><param name="Height">1024</param><param name="PrimaryMonitor">\\.\DISPLAY1</param><param name="WallpaperMode">native</param><param name="WallpaperSubMode">3</param><param name="WallpaperFileName"/><param name="ScreensaverMode">single</param><param name="ScreensaverFileName">C:\WINDOWS\system32\ss3dfo.scr</param><param name="ScreensaverDelay">1800</param><param name="ScreensaverProtected">-1</param></params><monitors><content><monitor name="\\.\DISPLAY1"><params><param name="Enabled">-1</param><param name="Primary">-1</param><param name="Left">0</param><param name="Top">0</param><param name="Width">1280</param><param name="Height">1024</param><param name="ColorDepth">16</param><param name="RefreshRate">75</param><param name="WallpaperMode">1</param><param name="WallpaperFileName"/><param name="BackgroundColor">-2147483647</param><param name="ScreensaverFileName"/></params></monitor><monitor name="\\.\DISPLAY2"><params><param name="Enabled">-1</param><param name="Primary">0</param><param name="Left">1280</param><param name="Top">0</param><param name="Width">1280</param><param name="Height">1024</param><param name="ColorDepth">16</param><param name="RefreshRate">75</param><param name="WallpaperMode">1</param><param name="WallpaperFileName"/><param name="BackgroundColor">-2147483647</param><param name="ScreensaverFileName"/></params></monitor></content></m­onitors></profile></content></Options>

If you need more, please let me know exactly what files you need and how to deliver them to you.

Thanks,
Mark.
 
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Mark Johnson
Registered user
 
 Posts: 8
Joined: 08/28/2009
Posted: 09/03/2009 10:24:09
 
 
  << ignore >>  I thought I found a solution, but it didn't pan out.  I posted that solution here, then deleted it when further testing found it didn't work.
 
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Tatiana Jack
Administrator
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 Posts: 616
Joined: 08/06/2008
Posted: 09/04/2009 05:15:25
 
 
 Dear Mark,

Please, send to us full Configuration files (use the "File -> Send Configuration -> Send to the Tech Support" main menu command in the Configuration Module)

E-mail: support@actualtools.com
 
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Tatiana Jack
Administrator
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 Posts: 616
Joined: 08/06/2008
Posted: 09/04/2009 05:21:46
 
 
 Are you using any options of your vidio drivers for window management?  

E-mail: support@actualtools.com
 
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Mark Johnson
Registered user
 
 Posts: 8
Joined: 08/28/2009
Posted: 09/04/2009 15:11:13
 
 
 I just sent the config files from the menu (nice addition to the app!).

No, I am not using any video driver options for window arrangement.  In fact until I registered AWM I was using UltraMon, which is now uninstalled.  I had no window moving issues with UltraMon, though.

This problem also happens if I take a non-maximized window, maximize it on monitor 1, then click the 'Move to Monitor 2' button.  I like to keep most windows maximized, and am running into this problem quite a few times per day (frustrating!).  When the window is 'invisible', and I look at 'Quick Settings' - the settings all look exactly as I would expect, including the 'Left', 'Top', 'Width', and 'Height' settings.
 
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Tatiana Jack
Administrator
-retired-
 
 Posts: 616
Joined: 08/06/2008
Posted: 09/10/2009 01:51:28
 
 
 Dear Mark,

Unfortunately, we fail to reproduce this situation even with your configuration. Perhaps, an updating of your video drivers can solve the problem. Another thing which may cause the problem may be some software which conflicts with Actual Window Manager.  

E-mail: support@actualtools.com
 
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Mark Johnson
Registered user
 
 Posts: 8
Joined: 08/28/2009
Posted: 09/11/2009 12:14:53
 
 
 So you try my config files and if it doesn't do the same thing for you that's it for troubleshooting?

Hmmm.
Ok, so I just spent a few hours troubleshooting it myself.
First -- the video drivers are up to date, and the problem appears with no other apps (including tray apps) loaded.  If there is a list of applications that conflict with AWM someplace I can't find it on this website.

So....
As mentioned above, I was previously using UltraMon and never had problems with moving windows, maximized or not.  So that makes me think it isn't really something wrong with my computer causing this problem but instead something AWM is doing wrong.  Ok, putting my troubleshooting hat on...

I tried changing the primary monitor from the left monitor to the right monitor.  The effect was that the 'poof it disappears' syndrome flipped.  Now if I maximized a window on the right monitor, then moved it to the left, it was invisible.  Ok, so now I knew that the problem was seen when moving from primary to secondary monitors.

I tried exercising everything possible with just one app open so I could see the entire dual-window desktop to see exactly what was happening with the one app.
I immediately noticed that when the Windows maximize button was used, the app was maximized to 1280 horizontal pixels, exactly as expected, but when AWM moved a maximized window from one screen to the other it was not maximized correctly.  Instead of 1280 horizontal pixels all displayed on one monitor, it was consistently putting 1280 on one monitor and 3 pixels on the other monitor.  Hmmm.  Use the windows button to restore the window to non-maximized, then to maximize again.  Always 1280 pixels, all on one monitor.  Take a maximized window and use the AWM 'move to monitor' button, and every time it is 1283 pixels.  3 pixels is the width of the left and right window borders, so one border of each app maximized by AWM was appearing on the wrong monitor, and the maximized window was too big by the width of a border.

Ok, so that is a second problem, and at that point I am suspecting it is related to the first problem.  I then go back to experimenting with the first problem.

With only one app open, I noticed something else when the 'poof it disappears' problem happened.  When the 'poof it disappears' problem happens, the 3 pixels (of AWM's 1283 pixel problem) are present on the primary monitor, but nothing on the secondary monitor.

Hmmm. Ok, then I started thinking... "What is there that impacts the size of the window border?".  Ok, that led me to desktop themes.  Windows XP comes by default using the "Windows XP" theme.  One of the first things I do with a new XP machine (or Vista or Win 7) is change that theme to "Windows Standard", because I don't like the extra resources used by the theme itself.  I work as a software architect, and want my computers fast and don't care about 'showy'.

So... I changed it to the default "Windows XP" theme, and both problems disappeared.  AWM was properly moving maxed windows as 1280 horizontal pixels and not 1283 pixels.  I was able to maximize an app on the primary monitor, then click the AWM 'move to monitor 2' button, and it did not do the 'poof it disappears' trick.

Ok... next I changed the theme back to 'Windows Classic'.  Bingo, both the '3 extra pixels' and the 'poof it disappears' problems came right back.

To properly troubleshoot... I next went to another XP machine and installed AWM.  I verified that neither the '3 extra pixels' or the 'poof it disappears' problems were present.  I then changed the theme to 'Windows Classic', and wham both problems were present.

Conclusion...
This appears to be a problem of AWM not properly supporting a standard Windows XP theme.  As mentioned above, I choose the more plain XP theme because it uses less resources, less screen real estate, and allows for a little more productivity.  Until this problem is resolved I will have to use something other than AWM for multi-monitor functions, because I don't consider the standard Windows XP theme a viable option.

Thanks,
Mark.
 
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Alexey Fadeyev
Administrator

Moderator
 
 Posts: 1427
Joined: 09/30/2005
Posted: 09/14/2009 00:38:42
 
 
 Mark,

Great thanks for your time and efforts! Your investigatin has helped us to finally hunt down the cause of the problem so that the fix will be available in the next version. For now, use this option (Options -> Actions -> Move to Monitor) as the workaround for the subject problem.
 
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