• Cannot create transparent window.

    From Doug Laidlaw@2:250/1 to All on Wed Oct 5 00:59:32 2022
    I used to be able to run xpenguins-3.0 from source. The code requires a transparent window to be created. This used to be a problem, but is supposedly fixed by gcc3 (or gtk3).

    After one of my (many) reinstalls, the old message "Cannot create a transparent window" is back. xpenguins runs, but no toons are visible.
    The developer runs xsnow also, with a note that a fix for xpenguins may
    be found in xsnow. xsnow gives the same error message, and the display
    shows an effect similar to the old xpenguins, where a toon is not
    deleted when a new toon is created. Some years ago, I was testing a
    Webcam program for somebody else. That too requires a transparent
    window, and showed recently that no such window could be created. MATE
    seems to have no problem.

    I am totally out of my depth here. Is it a case of going back to the developer?

    TIA,

    Doug.


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    * Origin: Aioe.org NNTP Server (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From David W. Hodgins@2:250/1 to All on Wed Oct 5 01:21:46 2022
    On Tue, 04 Oct 2022 19:59:32 -0400, Doug Laidlaw <laidlaws@hotkey.net.au> wrote:

    I used to be able to run xpenguins-3.0 from source. The code requires a transparent window to be created. This used to be a problem, but is supposedly fixed by gcc3 (or gtk3).

    After one of my (many) reinstalls, the old message "Cannot create a transparent window" is back. xpenguins runs, but no toons are visible.
    The developer runs xsnow also, with a note that a fix for xpenguins may
    be found in xsnow. xsnow gives the same error message, and the display
    shows an effect similar to the old xpenguins, where a toon is not
    deleted when a new toon is created. Some years ago, I was testing a
    Webcam program for somebody else. That too requires a transparent
    window, and showed recently that no such window could be created. MATE
    seems to have no problem.

    I am totally out of my depth here. Is it a case of going back to the developer?

    Are you running plasma? If so, check systemsettings5/Workspace/
    Workspace Behaviour/Desktop Effects, and ensure the Translucency option is selected.

    Regards, Dave Hodgins



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  • From Doug Laidlaw@2:250/1 to All on Thu Oct 6 06:53:06 2022
    On 5/10/22 11:21, David W. Hodgins wrote:
    Are you running plasma? If so, check systemsettings5/Workspace/
    Workspace Behaviour/Desktop Effects, and ensure the Translucency option is selected.

    Regards, Dave Hodgins

    Thanks, Dave. No, I am running Xfce, but the fix will be something like
    that. I am registered to use the Xfce mailing list. There has been an upgrade of Xfce to Xfce4. That was a while ago, but I wouldn't have
    noticed until now, except that everything worked a week or two ago.


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    * Origin: Aioe.org NNTP Server (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From Doug Laidlaw@2:250/1 to All on Thu Oct 6 07:30:07 2022
    On 6/10/22 16:53, Doug Laidlaw wrote:
    Thanks, Dave. No, I am running Xfce, but the fix will be something like that.  I am registered to use the Xfce mailing list.   There has been an upgrade of Xfce to Xfce4.  That was a while ago, but I wouldn't have noticed until now, except that everything worked a week or two ago.

    And there is plenty for Xfce4 when I looked. The simplest answer was at:

    https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/how-do-i-disable-built-in-transparency-on-xfce/18480

    It says to open "Window Manager Tweaks" which is a separate item on the
    main Mageia menu. All the sliders are set at fully opaque. There
    doesn't seem to be a slider for the window itself, only 4 covering
    everything else, but it seems to have worked for this user. I am
    playing around with the settings.


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    * Origin: Aioe.org NNTP Server (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From Doug Laidlaw@2:250/1 to All on Thu Oct 6 07:36:01 2022
    On 6/10/22 17:30, Doug Laidlaw wrote:
    And there is plenty for Xfce4 when I looked.  The simplest answer was at:

    https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/how-do-i-disable-built-in-transparency-on-xfce/18480

    It says to open "Window Manager Tweaks" which is a separate item on the
    main Mageia menu.  All the sliders are set at fully opaque.  There
    doesn't seem to be a slider for the window itself, only 4 covering everything else, but it seems to have worked for this user.  I am
    playing around with the settings.

    Moving the first slider brought my toons back. It seems to have
    introduced other Compositor functions that I would prefer not to have,
    but I can live with those. [It isn't New Year, but I have made a
    resolution not to rush into print until the end of the story!]


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    * Origin: Aioe.org NNTP Server (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From Doug Laidlaw@2:250/1 to All on Thu Oct 6 08:57:04 2022
    On 6/10/22 17:36, Doug Laidlaw wrote:
    On 6/10/22 17:30, Doug Laidlaw wrote:
    And there is plenty for Xfce4 when I looked.  The simplest answer was at: >>
    https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/how-do-i-disable-built-in-transparency-on-xfce/18480

    It says to open "Window Manager Tweaks" which is a separate item on
    the main Mageia menu.  All the sliders are set at fully opaque.  There
    doesn't seem to be a slider for the window itself, only 4 covering
    everything else, but it seems to have worked for this user.  I am
    playing around with the settings.

    Moving the first slider brought my toons back.  It seems to have
    introduced other Compositor functions that I would prefer not to have,
    but I can live with those.  [It isn't New Year, but I have made a resolution not to rush into print until the end of the story!]

    One last problem: xpenguins would start too soon, before there was a
    window to use. There was nothing helpful in the journal. I reasoned
    that it was starting as soon as X started, so I created an .xinitrc file
    and put the command in there, so that it would not be available until
    the WM had started. That seems to have worked. [All kinds of things
    can go in .xinitrc.]


    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: Aioe.org NNTP Server (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From Doug Laidlaw@2:250/1 to All on Fri Oct 7 08:23:05 2022
    On 6/10/22 18:57, Doug Laidlaw wrote:
    On 6/10/22 17:36, Doug Laidlaw wrote:
    On 6/10/22 17:30, Doug Laidlaw wrote:
    And there is plenty for Xfce4 when I looked.  The simplest answer was
    at:

    https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/how-do-i-disable-built-in-transparency-on-xfce/18480

    It says to open "Window Manager Tweaks" which is a separate item on
    the main Mageia menu.  All the sliders are set at fully opaque.
    There doesn't seem to be a slider for the window itself, only 4
    covering everything else, but it seems to have worked for this user.
    I am playing around with the settings.
    ;
    Moving the first slider brought my toons back.  It seems to have
    introduced other Compositor functions that I would prefer not to have,
    but I can live with those.  [It isn't New Year, but I have made a
    resolution not to rush into print until the end of the story!]

    One last problem: xpenguins would start too soon, before there was a
    window to use. There was nothing helpful in the journal.  I reasoned
    that it was starting as soon as X started, so I created an .xinitrc file
    and put the command in there, so that it would not be available until
    the WM had started.  That seems to have worked.  [All kinds of things
    can go in .xinitrc.]


    Sorry, I should have marked my last post with [SOLVED]

    Doug.



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