Icons Jump Left.. [99% solved] [Not solved after time, and solved again??]

[trinidad]

I really like this distro as well. Do you have gnome services enabled in the startup session menu? If not, tick the box to enable, save the session, logout and reboot. Linux Lite is a blend of desktops, XFCE, KDE, Gnome, functionality with no direct dcnfig like Jessie. I am not sure why, but I have never had the issue you describe with any distro. Try turning off screen edge function too. Are line eight and fifteen incorrect in your gtk post?

Trinidad     

[JmaCWQ]

Hello Trinidad,

XFCE is the only desktop I see the issue with, LXDE (LXLE) & KDE (Mint) it doesn't happen for me.
With LL 2.8 it happens with file/folder icons when shown on the desktop, place them where I like, restart & they'll all be up in the left hand column, top to bottom or the default position as you mention.
If the command sudo chattr +i ~/.config/xfce4/desktop/icons* is run they stay where they should, if not they always jump back to the top left position.
I'm even seeing it on LL 3.0 now (but not always, it's random) after resizing the icons down to 14 & placing them along the bottom row as close to the panel as they'll go.
My panel runs across the bottom of a 1280x1024 screen that's run from an MSI L1350D notebook, 1024x600 (notebook screen disabled), has row size 36, number of rows 2, 100% in length & automatically increase the length is checked.

My gtk-2.0 file's contents, makes no difference if the extra is there or just the default 4 'gtk-' entries.

Code: [Select]

gtk-menu-popdown-delay = 0
gtk-menu-bar-popup-delay = 0
gtk-enable-animations = 0
gtk-timeout-expand = 0

style "xfdesktop-icon-view" {
    XfdesktopIconView::label-alpha = 0
    XfdesktopIconView::selected-label-alpha = 170
    XfdesktopIconVIew::ellipsize-icon-labels = 1

    XfdesktopIconView::shadow-x-offset = 0
    XfdesktopIconView::shadow-y-offset = 0
    XfdesktopIconView::shadow-color = "#000000"
    XfdesktopIconView::selected-shadow-x-offset = 0
    XfdesktopIconView::selected-shadow-y-offset = 0
    XfdesktopIconView::selected-shadow-color = "#ffffff"

    XfdesktopIconVIew::cell-spacing = 1
    XfdesktopIconView::cell-padding = 1
    XfdesktopIconView::cell-text-width-proportion = 2.0

    base[NORMAL] = "#004e00"
    base[SELECTED] = "#004e00"
    base[ACTIVE] = "#004e00"

    fg[NORMAL] = "#ffffff"
    fg[SELECTED] = "#ffffff"
    fg[ACTIVE] = "#ffffff"
}
widget_class "*XfdesktopIconView*" style "xfdesktop-icon-view"
It didn't start doing it in LL 3.0 until I resized and moved the icons down to near the panel, before that it was fine & the only time I saw it was if I had a removable volume mounted, moved it's icon, unmounted & powered it down before restarting, which I would expect as the icon wasn't actually visible on the desktop at shutdown so no position for it would have been saved (I think that's how it works, that might be wrong).
Seems random how it happens.
Sometimes it'll be all the icons that move, sometimes only one or two, other times half will & half won't in no particular order.

I always have everything closed when rebooting, logging out and back in doesn't seem to make it happen, only on a restart or shutdown/startup.
I never save history with any browser I use, lately that's only been Firefox as I figured out Adblock Plus was what was causing it to be so sluggish for me & replaced that with Ublock Origin, now it runs nice & fast again.
It always starts with a blank page, DuckDuckGo is the search engine I mainly use, Startpage is the next option if DDG doesn't come up with what I'm after at the time.

I experiment with different distros from time to time, LL is my favourite though, Jerry & the team really have done a great job with it.

[trinidad]

You guys are bringing up several different issues here. I am new to linux lite, January this year, but I have run the KDE desktop, and the XFCE desktop both entirely successfully with all features in this 2.8 version. I am curious what you mean by jumping desktop icons, and in which desktop are such things are happening for you. Also if you are running the KDE version, with KDE workspace, when you reboot, any applications you have open when logging out will reappear on whatever desktop they were open on when you ended your session, and you may also designate a desktop location for specific applications to always open on. Old firefox tabs are a function of firefox. I always configure firefox to never remember history, and delete all the preloaded support book marks, and make Startpage my home page. I never use google chrome, or chromium for mail or browsing directly, or Yahoo which is worse. Startpage search engine allows the same google services without the junk. I use several Debian programs on Linux lite as well, like timidity, and FORG, and bitpim and wammu. Some have icons some do not. The default window position on most systems, Debian too, and for desktop icons is upper left. I never use desktop icons in XFCE except mounted volumes. It has been my happy experience with this distro that though it is highly modified it is also easily modified for user preferences with its own GUI. There is no need to rush to the terminal with linux lite though I have never had problems there either. I think the thing (this distro) they've made here is pretty remarkable, and I'm an old time Debian user who has tortured Kubuntu distros for years, doing things you're not supposed to do. Tell me more about the jumping icons. I really am curious.
Trinidad           

[rijnsma]

I'm very happy the way it is now.
The desktop is stable here and it is maybe the finest OS I've done with.
I use it day-to-day now. I have installed en uninstalled all kinds of software and all is and stays right. 

Edit character.

[JmaCWQ]

Some more things it appears I've broken by playing around with the greeters 
lightdm-webkit-greeter no longer works, the repo version must be different to the original LL version.
It opens displaying the Unity image instead of the LL image, with no icon where the username is.
When I type my password & hit Enter nothing happens.

No longer have the ability to create another user in the user manager, follow the steps & nothing happens.
Cannot make any changes to group memberships, check something, click Apply, enter Administrator password, Apply is still highlighted after doing that.
Click Quit & get:
"You have specified changes to the group memberships of user 'xxxx'.
Should these be applied?"
Click Yes & get another request for Admin password & it just keeps going round in circles asking for password when I try to quit.
Click Close & it closes except for the message asking for Admin password again, enter the password & the message goes away & doesn't ask again but the changes don't stick.

[rijnsma]

No. Not right. But no emergency.


Very interesting is this one:

When I use Remastersys instead of Clonezilla (which I mostly use) Remastersys
says in its check of the system: "Lightdm not set up properly. You must setup your default
desktop with Lightdm before remastering."

Which is conform: https://www.linuxliteos.com/forums/index.php?topic=585.msg3043#msg3043

??

Btw. Remastersys did not work anymore for years back. Ik now use Clonezilla (img) and Systemback (iso & livemedium). The latter a little oversensitive, but when it goes it is perfect. No garantee it can be used for copying your desktop to an other machine. But it was possible with some distro's (f.i. PCLOS or SolydX to another Asus pc).

[JmaCWQ]

It could be resolution switching causing the issue I guess, I use a 10" notebook that has 1024x600 resolution, but I have that display disabled in favour of a 17" 1280x1024 monitor I have plugged in to the notebook.
Might look into that a bit more at a later stage also, see how it goes just on the notebook's native monitor & resolution.

I think the XFCE forum was where I first saw that solution, been using it for quite a while now, I just have to remember if I unlock while any external dives aren't mounted they'll lose their positions and have to be put back where I want them again.

I think for now I'll stick with using the gtk-greeter for a while.
Even though it breaks the mouse themes & startup with an external drive powered on, I like how it uses the desktop image and like even more how no click is required to enter my password on startup.
I noticed a few times when starting up with the webkit-greeter when I grabbed the mouse to click on my username sometimes I would click by mistake where the mouse pointer was in the default position, and that just happened to be right over the Shutdown button, so I'd have to turn on the PC & wait again.

Only other issue I've found apart from what I've already mentioned is when using the gtk-greeter my setup has a small hiccup if I right click on something in the Menu and go 'Add to Panel'.
It freezes for about 20 seconds, then brings up a message about failing to add to the panel because of a timeout, but in front of that it'll have another box where I can click 'Add' and it then puts the item's launcher on the panel.

[rijnsma]

I think it has to do with switching resolutions at boottime until the desktop is displayed (the less switching the better). Then there are the panels (hidden panels give less problems) and for all the setting of the 'default icons' is importent.
But I'm really not an 'expert under the hood', I have not the slightest idea now for years what it is. 

The solution I use now (the gtk-greeter and saving and/or not-saving when I switch off the pc is almost 100%. I'm very happy with it. (For instance Xfce has always been a nice desktop for me).
And when needed the desk is back in no time.

Still better: one can save always the desktop in Settings-general.
That is (automatic) not in the log-out box.
 
The solution you name is very workable, I have seen it too on the Xfce-forum.
Thanks for suggesting it again and sorry for my English. 

[JmaCWQ]

Well I've now tried the lightdm-gtk-greeter, lightdm-kde-greeter & razorqt-lightdm-greeter & none of them solve the icons jumping back to the left issue for me.
The only thing I've found that solves that is sudo chattr -i ~/.config/xfce4/desktop/icons* to unlock them and sudo chattr +i ~/.config/xfce4/desktop/icons* to lock them again once they're set how I want them.


RazorQT Greeter broke everything, lol, wouldn't boot at all with it, had to uninstall it via Ctrl+ALT+F2 using commands & reinstall one of the others.
The default lightdm-webkit-greeter won't work now either   probably because I uninstalled/reinstalled it & the newly installed version appears different from the original, not that it bothers me at all as I won't miss that annoying startup bug.


GTK seems to work mostly ok except for the things I've mentioned above.
KDE also works ok and the mouse themes work as expected.
No noticable performance differences between them that I noticed.

[rijnsma]

I'm still testing, but all looks in perfect shape here now.
Let us know JmaCWQ. 

[JmaCWQ]

Interesting, thanks for the info Rijnsma.
The gtk-greeter didn't work as a fix for this icon trouble for me though & it broke a couple of things that I immediately noticed.

On a logout/login it worked perfectly, icons stay where they are put.
On a shutdown or restart they did not, majority jumped left again.
It broke the OS's ability to start/restart with an external USB drive powered on, all that would happen is it would go to a black screen with a blinking cursor on the top left, no commands would work, power off the drive & it started ok.

It also broke the mouse themes, the main pointer of the theme I've set only seems to work in the web browser & Thunderbird, looks like everywhere else it's using the default main pointer, however the 'busy' and other pointers from themes seem to go ok no matter where they are.

Having said that though I do like how it uses the current Desktop image when starting up, and being able to type your password to login without having to click anything is also nice.
Never noticed any performance differences though haven't done much with the system yet.
Might have a play with the kde-greeter when I get some more free time.

[rijnsma]

After years of great 'Mate' because of jumping Xfce-icons to everywhere
(I could not simply install the fix Xfce4.12 in for instance Linux Lite) I found a nice solution:


The system as we use it  (like me in Linux Lite or former WattOS like I wrote) needs desperately something like 'lightdm-gtk-greeter'. So a 'greeter' that doesn't force the system off balans at boottime (it appeares).
I installed it simply with Synaptic and ALL my problems with icons in Xfce were gone like snow before the sun.


The system before  was also always very busy when there was no activity. (That was what made me suspicious and I remembered some text which said something about 'greeters' also related to 'systemd'.)
 
Now my pc is very quiet as it belongs to be. The processor & memory have time left. The software now works like a charm.


Good luck everybody with this longstanding problem, try it yourself, I really hope it works for you too! I know what a drag something like this can be when you like the function 'icons on the desktop' and it is no more there... :wink:




(By the way: searching like hell I liked better as a network manager 'wicd', it gives better control like switching off etc., but sorry, that's off topic. :smile: )

[rijnsma]

Yes, I hope so. It's a pity that it took some time...

[Scott]

Hi Rijnsma,
That's good news. I read the news from the link you provided and it looks like the icon moving problem will be fixed for good soon.

[rijnsma]

And I received this nice reply on the Xfce-forum:


https://forum.xfce.org/viewtopic.php?pid=36336#p36336