Ghost Windows?
Lew Wolfgang <[email protected]> Mon, 3 Aug 2026 16:58:24 -0700
| Newsgroups | gmane.linux.suse.general |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
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Hi Folks,
I've got a user who's running TumbleWeed on his own HP laptop and is
having problems with Ghosts, as he describes it. He's using Plasma6
with X11 on an Intel Raptorlake GPU.
Basically, when he minimizes a window an unresponsive "ghost" of that
window is left on the desktop. It doesn't respond to cursor clicks or
keystrokes.
Has anyone seen anything like this? I don't use TW myself so can't
help very much. I've never seen anything like it.
Here's his writeup:
Problem:
Window ghosts are complete imprints of a window which appear after it is
minimized.
The ghost appears identical to the window, except that it does not
interact with the
mouse or keyboard in any way. A mouse pointer will not change in any
way as it passes
over various features such as text fields and menus of a window ghost.
This includes any
aspects of the window frame, such as minimize, maximize, and close
buttons. All mouse
clicks on a window ghost are ignored by the ghost, and passed on to
whatever might be
behind the ghost. (Which can be rather dangerous!)
If the living partner of a window ghost is un-minimized, then one can
interact with it in
the usual manner. The ghost will exactly mimic the state of the living
partner the next
time it is minimized.
If one switches from a virtual desktop on which ghosts appear, the
ghosts will disappear,
and after a brief pause reappear on the new virtual desktop.
As far as I am aware, there is no exorcism. Once a window becomes so
haunted, it remains
so for the remainder of the X11 session.
It is unclear what causes a window to become haunted with a ghost. It
may be when a
window which is partially covered is minimized?
It seems to have some connection to the state of the Task Manager. The
arrangement of
the icons in the Task Manager defines an order on windows. Something
like the following
seems to be true: if a window of an application is haunted, and another
window of the
same application which is above the haunted window is minimized, then it
too will become
haunted. (A more general statement which includes this one may also be
true.)
Regards,
Lew
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Hi Folks,<br>
<br>
I've got a user who's running TumbleWeed on his own HP laptop and is<br>
having problems with Ghosts, as he describes it. He's using
Plasma6<br>
with X11 on an Intel Raptorlake GPU. <br>
<br>
Basically, when he minimizes a window an unresponsive "ghost" of
that<br>
window is left on the desktop. It doesn't respond to cursor clicks
or<br>
keystrokes. <br>
<br>
Has anyone seen anything like this? I don't use TW myself so can't<br>
help very much. I've never seen anything like it.<br>
<br>
Here's his writeup:<br>
<br>
<span style="font-family:monospace"><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">Problem:</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">Window
ghosts are complete imprints of a window which appear after it
is minimized.</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">The ghost
appears identical to the window, except that it does not
interact with the</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">mouse or
keyboard in any way. A mouse pointer will not change in any way
as it passes</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">over various
features such as text fields and menus of a window ghost. This
includes any</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">aspects of
the window frame, such as minimize, maximize, and close buttons.
All mouse</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">clicks on a
window ghost are ignored by the ghost, and passed on to whatever
might be</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">behind the
ghost. (Which can be rather dangerous!)</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">If the
living partner of a window ghost is un-minimized, then one can
interact with it in</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">the usual
manner. The ghost will exactly mimic the state of the living
partner the next</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">time it is
minimized.</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">If one
switches from a virtual desktop on which ghosts appear, the
ghosts will disappear,</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">and after a
brief pause reappear on the new virtual desktop.</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">As far as I
am aware, there is no exorcism. Once a window becomes so
haunted, it remains</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">so for the
remainder of the X11 session.</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">It is
unclear what causes a window to become haunted with a ghost. It
may be when a</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">window which
is partially covered is minimized?</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">It seems to
have some connection to the state of the Task Manager. The
arrangement of</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">the icons in
the Task Manager defines an order on windows. Something like
the following</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">seems to be
true: if a window of an application is haunted, and another
window of the</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">same
application which is above the haunted window is minimized, then
it too will become</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">
</span><br>
<span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;">haunted. (A
more general statement which includes this one may also be
true.)</span><span
style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;"></span><br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
Lew<br>
<br>
</span>
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