Using Compiz Fusion in Kubuntu..how...?

[zachthejones]

I just did a clean install of Gutsy, first installing Ubuntu, then using terminal to install Kubuntu-desktop. Everything is running perfectly and I had Compiz Fusion all running fine on Gnome side of things, but once I switched over to Kubuntu, I can access my "Advanced Desktop Effects Settings", but no Compiz Fusion effects or anything.

How do I enable them? And is this something I will need to have load up at startup for it to work automatically? If so, how do I set that up?

[gameforge]

Re: Using Compiz Fusion in Kubuntu..how...?

If you had it working in Gnome, just do this when you log into Kubuntu:

$ compiz --replace ccp &

which should get it working. Once you verify compiz is running, log out with it running and log back in - it should start automatically now. To adjust settings, use

$ ccsm

If that doesn't work, make sure you have compizconfig-settings-manager installed.

[zachthejones]

Re: Using Compiz Fusion in Kubuntu..how...?

Thanks, i did what you suggested, but it's like I've only gotten a portion of compiz working. it'll do the close/open/minimize effects and use emerald for the window theme, but I don't get the full functionality of Compiz Fusion.
Here's what it returned when I entered that into the terminal:

[1] 4230
zach@zach-desktop:~$ Checking for Xgl: not present.
Detected PCI ID for VGA: 01:00.0 0300: 10de:0322 (rev a1) (prog-if 00 [VGA])
Checking for texture_from_pixmap: present.
Checking for non power of two support: present.
Checking for Composite extension: present.
Comparing resolution (1600x1200) to maximum 3D texture size (4096): Passed.
Checking for nVidia: present.
Checking for FBConfig: present.
Checking for Xgl: not present.
Starting emerald
/usr/bin/compiz.real (dbus) - Error: dbus_bus_get error: Failed to execute dbus-            launch to autolaunch D-Bus session
/usr/bin/compiz.real (core) - Error: Couldn't activate plugin 'dbus'
/usr/bin/compiz.real (video) - Warn: No 8 bit GLX pixmap format, disabling YV12            image format[1] 4230
zach@zach-desktop:~$ Checking for Xgl: not present.
Detected PCI ID for VGA: 01:00.0 0300: 10de:0322 (rev a1) (prog-if 00 [VGA])
Checking for texture_from_pixmap: present.
Checking for non power of two support: present.
Checking for Composite extension: present.
Comparing resolution (1600x1200) to maximum 3D texture size (4096): Passed.
Checking for nVidia: present.
Checking for FBConfig: present.
Checking for Xgl: not present.
Starting emerald
/usr/bin/compiz.real (dbus) - Error: dbus_bus_get error: Failed to execute dbus-            launch to autolaunch D-Bus session
/usr/bin/compiz.real (core) - Error: Couldn't activate plugin 'dbus'
/usr/bin/compiz.real (video) - Warn: No 8 bit GLX pixmap format, disabling YV12            image format[1] 4230
zach@zach-desktop:~$ Checking for Xgl: not present.
Detected PCI ID for VGA: 01:00.0 0300: 10de:0322 (rev a1) (prog-if 00 [VGA])
Checking for texture_from_pixmap: present.
Checking for non power of two support: present.
Checking for Composite extension: present.
Comparing resolution (1600x1200) to maximum 3D texture size (4096): Passed.
Checking for nVidia: present.
Checking for FBConfig: present.
Checking for Xgl: not present.
Starting emerald
/usr/bin/compiz.real (dbus) - Error: dbus_bus_get error: Failed to execute dbus-            launch to autolaunch D-Bus session
/usr/bin/compiz.real (core) - Error: Couldn't activate plugin 'dbus'
/usr/bin/compiz.real (video) - Warn: No 8 bit GLX pixmap format, disabling YV12            image formatv

I do have the compizconfig-settings-manager installed, but I opened it and it doesn't change the behavior of the windows.

[maxie]

Re: Using Compiz Fusion in Kubuntu..how...?

I dont have gnome running but I use: (once all is installed.)
to start compiz

compiz --replace

to stop compiz

kwin --replace

and to make life easy, I added 2 non-kde app icons with those commands to my second panel, which I have at top of screen.
Just like having an on/off switch.

[zachthejones]

Re: Using Compiz Fusion in Kubuntu..how...?

thanks, but I still get the same result...just barely any compiz effects. I did install "compiz-kde" as in this post:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...compiz+Kubuntu

they seem to be having the same problem I am...

[gameforge]

Re: Using Compiz Fusion in Kubuntu..how...?

Yeah sorry, I didn't see "Advanced Desktop Effects Settings" on the menu at first. That's ccsm.

Just to warn you, I only have ATI cards, so I may or may not be able to help... but I'll try.

If you can see the fade-in and fade-out effects and your windows are being managed, you should be pretty close. If you check "Desktop Cube" and "Rotate Cube" in ccsm, can you spin the cube i.e. <Ctrl><Alt><Left> (or <Right>)? Also, when you check any of these, does it uncheck it for you right away?

Here's my theory. Xgl is for ATI only I believe, so I don't think you should have that. I'm paying a lot of attention to this:

/usr/bin/compiz.real (dbus) - Error: dbus_bus_get error: Failed to execute dbus-            launch to autolaunch D-Bus session
/usr/bin/compiz.real (core) - Error: Couldn't activate plugin 'dbus'
/usr/bin/compiz.real (video) - Warn: No 8 bit GLX pixmap format, disabling YV12            image format[1] 4230

I believe dbus is how it communicates live settings changes, which could be why you're not seeing all of the effects even after you check them in ccsm. But it looks like it keeps running again and again and again... so maybe the first time you ran it it didn't encounter the dbus error, only until it kept rerunning it with dbus already connected. compiz was only run once, but it seems as if it keeps trying to start compiz.real which keeps dying - the PID reference 4230 is the same in all the output.

Try this: log out and log back in. Make sure KDE is all the way loaded before you do anything; then check if compiz and emerald are running... should be like this:

$ ps ax | grep compiz
 6682 ?    S   0:00 /bin/sh /usr/bin/compiz --sm-client-id 10143145d6d9000119293904800000097180016
 6691 ?    S   5:26 /usr/bin/compiz.real --ignore-desktop-hints --replace --sm-client-id 10143145d6d9000119293904800000097180016 ccp
$ ps ax | grep emerald
 6690 ?    S   0:07 /usr/bin/emerald --replace

There should only be one instance of compiz, compiz.real, and emerald, or none of them should be running at all.

If all of them are running, see if your effects are working; if they aren't working, or if there were multiple instances of one or more of them, or if some of them were running and others weren't, try this:

$ pkill compiz && pkill emerald && compiz --replace ccp &

and see if that gets effects to work.

On the other hand, if none of those three processes were running when you logged in, you can start them with this.

$ compiz --replace ccp &

Then see if your effects work. If they do, log out and log back in - this will make sure compiz always starts with the right command. The 'ccp' I believe is important for making sure your settings are applied (compizconfig plugin?).

If you still can't get them to work, I don't know what to tell you.

When you first installed compiz, did you follow any Internet tutorials? Did you add any repositories to your sources.list or your Adept Manager? I had some similar looking output (about No 8 bit GLX pixmap format, disabling YV12) that I don't think I saw after I got it working right. My problem was having used many different compiz/beryl repo's long before I upgraded to Gutsy.

[zachthejones]

Re: Using Compiz Fusion in Kubuntu..how...?

Thanks so much for your help! I found in the desktop effects settings manager where you could have it use the "kde-backend support" or something like that, and with that I was able to check the box which supposedly made the effects available for the desktop. And I've been able to use all the Compiz Fusion effects.

But I've been having a really weird problem with multiple desktops, though. Kubuntu always activates double the amount of desktops I say I want (if I choose one desktop, it gives me two, if I choose two, it gives me four - and so on) - but when I try and use the cube or the "wall" function, Compiz only recognizes that I have two desktops, and won't let me access any of the others.

Have I screwed up a setting? Or is this a common problem?

[gameforge]

Re: Using Compiz Fusion in Kubuntu..how...?

Nope, that's a very common problem - I set my KDE desktop count to 1, then I set HSIZE in CompizConfig to 4, and VSIZE and No. of Desktops to 1.

Then, sometimes, the KDE pager will work correctly. The task bar has problems as well - it shows windows from all desktops.

This is why KDE didn't ship with Compiz by default... Glad you got it working though.

[dibl]

Re: Using Compiz Fusion in Kubuntu..how...?

But I've been having a really weird problem with multiple desktops, though. Kubuntu always activates double the amount of desktops I say I want (if I choose one desktop, it gives me two, if I choose two, it gives me four - and so on) - but when I try and use the cube or the "wall" function, Compiz only recognizes that I have two desktops, and won't let me access any of the others.

This is because your default Kubuntu sets up 2 desktops. Right-click the desktop, choose "Configure Desktop > Multiple Desktops" and set it back to only show "Desktop 1".

Then with your KMenu > Settings > Advanced Desktop Effects Settings, go to the "General Options" icon as gameforge says, go to "Desktop Size" and set Horizontal Virtual Size to "4", while leaving "Virtual Size" and "Number of Desktops" set to "1".

That's it -- you should have a 4-sided cube.

[SheeEttin]

Re: Using Compiz Fusion in Kubuntu..how...?

That's it -- you should have a 4-sided cube.

A what now?!

[GUIGuy]

Re: Using Compiz Fusion in Kubuntu..how...?

That's it -- you should have a 4-sided cube.

A what now?!

...decide that whether it's worth the performance hit? :P

[dibl]

Re: Using Compiz Fusion in Kubuntu..how...?

Yeah, well, you make the "end caps" transparent, and what is left is 4 sides, right?

So, hold down the left Ctrl-Alt, and use the right and left arrow keys to turn it.

[Nomad]

Re: Using Compiz Fusion in Kubuntu..how...?

So, hold down the left Ctrl-Alt, and use the right and left arrow keys to turn it.

Or move the mouse while holding down Ctrl-Alt and the left mouse button for really cool turning

[zachthejones]

Re: Using Compiz Fusion in Kubuntu..how...?

Thanks guys - That did the trick! I've got my favorite cube back up and running in Kubuntu!

Oh, and my favorite way to rotate the cube is to just use the left and right mouse buttons together - and then swing 'er around!