desktop screwup after unvoluntary resolution change

[drakefin]

Greetings lovely community,

I am rather new to the kubuntu world and would now love to get some advice if possible.

I got the following problem:
everytime I start a software/game which has a resolution smaller than my desktop (i.e. 1920x1080) my desktop kinda 'screws' up afterwards . e.g. when the software had a resolution of 1024x768 my whole desktop changes to that resolution even if i quit the software. When I now change the resolution back to 1920x1080 everything seems to work fine in the first place, but as soon as I start any 3D applications or VM, the graphics are still restricted to the 1024x768 frame in the upper left corner. Or, if that does not happen, then my input devices like mice only work in that frame. It took me a while to find that out but one day when I restarted my system the typical blueish KDE login screen only displayed itself in the 1024 resolution frame, just to change back to normal once the wallpaper was loaded. A check of display settings does display the desired resolution of 1920 tho.

My current workaround to fix the problem is to reset my .KDE folder everytime this happens. Its acceptable and I am glad I found this, but still I would love to find the cause of this issue, or even find something less radical to change my desktop back to normal.

Thank You for reading!
best regards,
drakefin

[oshunluvr]

I've seen this before, usually with older games that aren't aware of display settings. How you handle this will be up to your patience and skill level.

Generally, you can use the xrandr command to re-adjust your resolution. To test, try this:

Next time you're suck at a low resolution, open a terminal and type xrandr -q

You should see something like:

Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1024 x 768, maximum 4096 x 4096
VGA1 connected 1920×1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 267mm x 200mm
1920x1080 60.0 +
1024x768 59.9*
800×600 85.1

This shows you the name of your output, VGA1 in this example, and all available resolutions. The + shows default and the * shows selected. A simple

xrandr --output VGA1 --mode 1920x1080

should bring you back to that mode. If it does not, there's more work to do.

Assuming it works, there are ways to deal with resetting your dimensions without using the terminal, but test it first to see if we're on the right path. Also, you need to post at a minimum, your model of video card and monitor and the driver you're using. Results and solutions will differ for each. The program(s) causing this would be helpful as well.

[drakefin]

Hey oshunluvr!

Thank You a big ton for Your suggestion, it really worked (funny that the GUI settings do not seem to work fully)! Please excuse the late reply and lack of additional information, but it got solved anyways

And now I did understand what happened. My screen did get extended to 3200x1119 (what a weird number) after I started an old windows-made executionable of Quake III Arena. Your solution of xrandr did fix it tho.

[oshunluvr]

Glad you got it back to normal. I think there is (or was) an Xrandr tray widget you could use to select dimensions. Might be just the ticket.

I was hinting at better fixes: if just one or two programs are causing this, you could launch them from a script file that would automatically reset the screen. It possible you could add the command to the menu item for the offending program, but I've not tried that one.

Another cool and smooth choice would be to create a service menu (you know - the list of options that pop up when you right click on the desktop?) that lets you change resolutions. Heck, I might just write that for you - sounds useful!

[drakefin]

Another cool and smooth choice would be to create a service menu (you know - the list of options that pop up when you right click on the desktop?) that lets you change resolutions. Heck, I might just write that for you - sounds useful!

Hmm ... that actually IS a great idea! I really need to delve more into all the GUI stuff from KDE - since I always tend to screw up my desktop with too maniacally clicking around :P Thats what I love about Kubuntu so much - seemingly endless possiblities, and nevermind how frustrating it is to get something new working, the joy when it works is undescribeable

[gldvorak]

oshunluvr , I too would like to see that service menu--but even more the steps to make the change. This is an area that I need to learn.


Thanks, George Dvorak

[oshunluvr]

Sorry for delayed response. I'm currently traveling across country. George, give more detail about what you're looking for - resolution change wise. Start with the output of xrandr -q and what resolutions you would like to see.

[gldvorak]

I did not have anything specific in mind. Since I am retired I constantly mess with my system going places that a person using their system to make a living would never go.

I do a daily backup so most of the time I can recover from a screw up.

I know plasma-desktop-appletsrc fairly well and regularly change my desktop from their so the chance to learn another area causes my ears to perkup.

A lot of what goes on for instance in setting up colors or desktop themes is still quite a bit of a mystery to me. What can one read to learn about these things.

Thanks