Wayland Looks To Do Multi-Monitor The Right Way

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Wayland Looks To Do Multi-Monitor The Right Way

Two weeks ago the hot discussion item being talked about by those interested in the Wayland Display Server was how to handle input with Wayland (e.g. using X Input, create a separate "Inland" input project, or designing something entirely different). The new subject now brought up on the Wayland mailing list is how to handle multiple monitor support. Fortunately, it looks like Kristian plans to implement multiple monitor/display support in a different -- and better -- way than how it's dealt with by the X.Org Server...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=OTA5Mg

[TheBlackCat]

Does these mean they will avoid the annoying issue that X11 has with mice getting lost in invisible areas in multi-monitor setups (like when you have monitors of different resolutions)?

[agd5f]

Does these mean they will avoid the annoying issue that X11 has with mice getting lost in invisible areas in multi-monitor setups (like when you have monitors of different resolutions)?

http://lists.freedesktop.org/archive...ry/019108.html

[md1032]

How is this better? There's nothing preventing an X11 driver from doing exactly the same thing to implement RandR's multi-screen support.

[elanthis]

Sweet. Now if only GNOME, KDE, XFCE, E, or any other Linux desktop actually managed to use multi-monitor desktops properly. It seems all of them want to treat your desktop as a single spanned display with maybe some half-assed thought put into limiting the panel to a single display. New windows are just as likely to pop up on your secondary, head-craning-required, not-even-turned-on display as they are to appear on the main display (in which the action that caused the window to open took place). Desktop icons are usually sorted to the wrong place. The desktop bars default to left-most monitors usually. Hell, GDM is even so ****ing stupid as to place the greeter window and panel on whichever monitor the cursor is currently on, including a "race condition" that allows the greeter to show up on one display and the panel to show up on another.

Meanwhile, WinXP and Win7 both Just Work(tm) exactly the way you'd expect things to.

I don't get it. Multiple monitors are practically a necessity for many programming tasks, particularly those that deal with the whole desktop. How come nobody in the Linux desktop world has bothered to implement support for them properly?

Oh, and just to top it off, the Linux r600 driver lists my displays in reverse order of Windows, so whenever I change OSes I need to swap cables to get the monitor that's actually in front of my face to be the primary display. Lovely.

</rant>

[ChrisXY]

Sweet. Now if only GNOME, KDE, XFCE, E, or any other Linux desktop actually managed to use multi-monitor desktops properly. It seems all of them want to treat your desktop as a single spanned display with maybe some half-assed thought put into limiting the panel to a single display.

I use xfce. The panel has options to span over two monitors (though only useable, when the lower bounds of the display are aligned), or limiting it to each monitor.
What do you expect more?

New windows are just as likely to pop up on your secondary, head-craning-required, not-even-turned-on display as they are to appear on the main display (in which the action that caused the window to open took place).

For me new windows appear on the display the mouse pointer is currently on.

Desktop icons are usually sorted to the wrong place.

They are just staying where they are on the primary monitor.

The desktop bars default to left-most monitors usually.

To the primary monitor? Is that a bad default?

Hell, GDM is even so ****ing stupid as to place the greeter window and panel on whichever monitor the cursor is currently on, including a "race condition" that allows the greeter to show up on one display and the panel to show up on another.

Hm.

Meanwhile, WinXP and Win7 both Just Work(tm) exactly the way you'd expect things to.

My xfce does also.

I don't get it. Multiple monitors are practically a necessity for many programming tasks, particularly those that deal with the whole desktop. How come nobody in the Linux desktop world has bothered to implement support for them properly?

They are?

Oh, and just to top it off, the Linux r600 driver lists my displays in reverse order of Windows, so whenever I change OSes I need to swap cables to get the monitor that's actually in front of my face to be the primary display. Lovely.

xrandr --output XXX --primary

[TheBlackCat]

When was the last time you used KDE? For me KDE always opens windows on the same monitor as the mouse, and has for at least several releases. This is an option, you can change it, but I am pretty sure that is the default.

Further, the two screens have entirely separate desktops, with independent icons, widgets, wallpapers, even the desktop type can be different. It possible, even in theory, for icons to shift from one desktop to the other.

[TheBlackCat]

Sorry, that should be "impossible, even in theory, "

[TheBlackCat]

http://lists.freedesktop.org/archive...ry/019108.html

What a coincidence. I am glad this problem is finally getting some attention.

[jbrown96]

When was the last time you used KDE? For me KDE always opens windows on the same monitor as the mouse, and has for at least several releases. This is an option, you can change it, but I am pretty sure that is the default.

Further, the two screens have entirely separate desktops, with independent icons, widgets, wallpapers, even the desktop type can be different. It possible, even in theory, for icons to shift from one desktop to the other.

Yes. Since at least KDE 4.4 when I started with multi-monitor, Kwin will open an application on the "active" monitor, which is where your last mouse click was.

This is actually far better than Windows XP is, which launches applications wherever it wants, and in no consistent size or location (much less customizable).

I currently use the Nvidia driver and KDE SC 4.6.0, and I don't have any complaints.