Hey Everybody,

I'm sure this is an easy configuration option somewhere, but it seems to be default behavior on this system and several Google searches haven't helped.

If I have any window open, the Application Menu opens and then closes immediately once it's mostly (maybe completely?) drawn. The Notification menu does the same thing.

My workaround is to minimize all windows back down to a clear desktop, but this is obviously a pain when I want to open anything (like KInfocenter).

Tool tips work properly, task selection works fine, and everything about this machine is working nearly flawlessly for its intended use despite the old hardware.

What am I missing?

Thanks so much!

openSUSE Leap 42.1 default installation. Plasma 5.5.4, Qt 5.5.1, kernel 4.1.15-8-default, 64 bit OS.

Hardware is a Sempron 3200+ single processor with 1.4G of RAM.

You're gonna have to re-explain the problem

Do you mean to say that as long as there's any other window visible, you can practically no open the app launcher (which one, screenshot?) because it implicitly closes immediately (animations aside, just eye-candy)?

How do you invoke it? Shortcut? Button in a panel? Or on the desktop?

Do you mean to say that as long as there's any other window visible, you can practically no open the app launcher (which one, screenshot?) because it implicitly closes immediately (animations aside, just eye-candy)?

Correct. If there are *any* open windows on the desktop, the launcher menu pops up and immediately pops back down. It doesn't just disappear, it's animated.

I can't even grab a screenshot: when I open the launcher menu and then press SHIFT-PRTSCRN for a snapshot, the launcher drops back down and the screenshot is taken without the menu.

Notifications, Calendar, etc. do the same thing. The Settings menu, bottom right beside the clock, appears to work fine.

Everything works perfectly if I manually minimize each open window before I click on the KDE Gear.

Since it actually draws the menu and then animates putting it back down, I feel like it's not a crash, but more like something is telling the menu to close.

The windows on the desktop can be a video (constant redrawing) or a Konsole (no redrawing), and whether they're under the menu doesn't matter. ANY open windows cause the behavior. I captured a screenshot of editing this message; you can see that this window is well away from the Gear, the tool tip is working properly, and yet the menu pops up and immediately pops back down.

The screenshot is available by e-mail; I don't have means to host it and I don't see an upload button.

1978lawrencepwade1989@2010gmail.com - remove all numbers for it to work.

I don't know much about KDE's underlying architecture, especially not newer versions, but it feels like the Application Menu/Notifications/Clock-Calendar just get an instruction to close when there's anything else on the desktop.

How do you invoke it? Shortcut? Button in a panel? Or on the desktop?

Exclusively invoked by clicking on the KDE Gear on the bottom left, or in the case of Notifications, by clicking the up arrow beside the clock, or by clicking the clock itself.

I'm setting up this system for a computer novice; basic web-browsing, it's plain-jane OpenSUSE Leap.

And *WOW*, I have to say this: KDE is awesome. I've been a Linux user since 1996, and *finally* we have a GUI that's approaching the underlying polish and beauty of Linux itself. I am truly impressed and grateful to have such an incredible pile of software running on any hardware, let alone this old boat anchor which is running it reasonably quickly and smoothly. Thank you to everyone.

The menu afair would close when it looses the focus, so what I assume is that it fails to obtain it in the first place.
=> Let's start with pasting (in code tags, please the contents of ~/.config/kwinrc and ~/.config/kwinrulesrc so we can see whether there're overly strict restrictions on focus distribution that might cause this.

Sure! Thanks, I don't feel like it's a crash either, something not allowing it focus sounds like a very good possibility. These settings are, AFAIK, default to OpenSUSE.

kwinrulesrc:

Code: Select all

[General]
count=0


kwinrc:

Code: Select all

[Compositing]                                                                                                   
Backend=XRender                                                                                                 
OpenGLIsUnsafe=false                                                                                             
                                                                                                                 
[Effect-Cube]                                                                                                   
BorderActivate=9                                                                                                 
BorderActivateCylinder=9                                                                                         
BorderActivateSphere=9                                                                                           
                                                                                                                 
[Effect-DesktopGrid]                                                                                             
BorderActivate=9                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                 
[Effect-PresentWindows]                                                                                         
BorderActivate=9                                                                                                 
BorderActivateAll=9                                                                                             
BorderActivateClass=9                                                                                           
                                                                                                                 
[Effect-Zoom]                                                                                                   
InitialZoom=1                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                 
[ElectricBorders]
Bottom=None
BottomLeft=None
BottomRight=None
Left=None
Right=None
Top=None
TopLeft=None
TopRight=None

[MouseBindings]
CommandActiveTitlebar1=Raise
CommandActiveTitlebar2=Start window tab drag
CommandActiveTitlebar3=Operations menu
CommandAll1=Move
CommandAll2=Toggle raise and lower
CommandAll3=Resize
CommandAllKey=Alt
CommandAllWheel=Nothing
CommandInactiveTitlebar1=Activate and raise
CommandInactiveTitlebar2=Start window tab drag
CommandInactiveTitlebar3=Operations menu
CommandTitlebarWheel=Switch to Window Tab to the Left/Right
CommandWindow1=Activate, raise and pass click
CommandWindow2=Activate and pass click
CommandWindow3=Activate and pass click
CommandWindowWheel=Scroll

[Plugins]
windowgeometryEnabled=false

[TabBox]
BorderActivate=9
BorderAlternativeActivate=9

[Windows]
ActiveMouseScreen=false
AutoRaise=false
AutoRaiseInterval=750
AutogroupInForeground=true
AutogroupSimilarWindows=false
BorderSnapZone=10
CenterSnapZone=0
ClickRaise=true
DelayFocusInterval=300
ElectricBorderCooldown=350
ElectricBorderCornerRatio=0.25
ElectricBorderDelay=150
ElectricBorderMaximize=true
ElectricBorderTiling=true
ElectricBorders=0
FocusPolicy=ClickToFocus
FocusStealingPreventionLevel=3
GeometryTip=false
HideUtilityWindowsForInactive=true
InactiveTabsSkipTaskbar=false
MaximizeButtonLeftClickCommand=Maximize
MaximizeButtonMiddleClickCommand=Maximize (vertical only)
MaximizeButtonRightClickCommand=Maximize (horizontal only)
NextFocusPrefersMouse=false
Placement=Smart
SeparateScreenFocus=false
ShadeHover=false
ShadeHoverInterval=250
SnapOnlyWhenOverlapping=false
TitlebarDoubleClickCommand=Maximize
WindowSnapZone=10


> FocusStealingPreventionLevel=3

run "kcmshell5 kwinoptions" and lower the focus stealing prevention to "low".
If you want to restore it to extreme, you need to create window rules for virtually all plasmashell elements ... *sigh*

viewtopic.php?f=67&t=131555

run "kcmshell5 kwinoptions" and lower the focus stealing prevention to "low".
If you want to restore it to extreme, you need to create window rules for virtually all plasmashell elements ... *sigh*
viewtopic.php?f=67&t=131555

LOL... Seems like this has been an ongoing problem with the way OpenSUSE is configured?

Hopefully, Google will catch this thread to help someone. My install was as default as possible, so there must be a lot of OpenSUSE machines out there doing this.

Before you replied, I'd actually found the FocusStealingPreventionLevel=3 and just for giggles, I tried setting it to 2. Restarted the system and it's perfect so far, no complaints about focus stealing, the Application Menu and the Notifications work perfectly, no longer dropping on me.

It's funny how they wouldn't stay open even when they won't overlap with another window. I guess it's hard to quantify what is focus stealing and what is a desired behavior.

How do I adjust the default configuration for all new users on this (or any other) OpenSUSE system? I guess I'm looking for kwinrc.default or something like that somewhere, set FocusStealingPreventionLevel from 3 to 2.

The $kcmshell5 kwinoptions brought up the window offering focus stealing adjustments as expected. Thanks for the heads up! I'll play with kcmshell5 and try to learn a little more about how it works.

Like I mentioned previously, I've been running Linux for about 20 years now, but for the most part it has been a console-only affair. I've been running KDE for about 5 years, but not really had to get under the hood at all and figure out how it works.

This machine is a boat anchor being used by a technophobe friend who only has Windows experience. So far, it's working beautifully.

To all who replied, thank you so much.

Lawrence Wade

The common approach to pre-configure systems is via /etc/skel.

I hope that level 3 isn't the default on SuSE.
The default should be "1" ("low") and the actual FDO compliant behavior would be "0" ("none") and an extreme focus stealing prevention has other impacts (windows open behind others etc)

kcmshell is just a direct loader for the modules in systemsettings, you can browse around there (but it's simpler to pass you that command than to explain how to click to the relevant page

luebking wrote:I hope that level 3 isn't the default on SuSE.

No, it isn't.
The upstream defaults are not changed in this regard, only the number of virtual desktops is changed to 2...

The main problem with focus stealing prevention being less than extreme is that windows will steal focus and take the keystrokes you intended for another window and act upon them. Like asking you, "Are you _really_ _certain_ you want to remove your home directory?" and accept the keystroke as authorization and proceed. Now, it seems, that KDE has made the menu unusable unless you allow focus stealing. Not good.

bkorb wrote:The main problem with focus stealing prevention being less than extreme is that windows will steal focus and take the keystrokes you intended for another window and act upon them. Like asking you, "Are you _really_ _certain_ you want to remove your home directory?" and accept the keystroke as authorization and proceed. Now, it seems, that KDE has made the menu unusable unless you allow focus stealing. Not good.

I'm running Kubuntu 16.x with latest Plasma and have never had this happen that I can recall. I also ran Neon for a while but it's not quite ready for my daily driver. I don't think it's KDE...perhaps it's a config issue or conflict with SUSE?

I only got bitten by the "are you sure" accidental answer once. It was enough. I immediately changed focus stealing prevention to Extreme. It isn't a bug, but a feature of focus management. You are working in some application typing stuff and a popup grabs focus. When it has focus, what you type is typed into the window with focus. If it happens to be asking, "are you really sure you want to do this?", it will accept whatever it sees. It's a feature.