[SOLVED] QLC Opens with Oversize and Fixed Window Width

[AllanR]

I'm experiencing a strange 'windowing' issue with QLC 4.12.1-qt5 and 4.12.2-qt5 on Linux MintC v19.1 (Ubuntu 18.04). The same QLC versions work without problem on Linux Mint C v18.3 (Ubuntu 16.04).

THE PROBLEM
When starting QLC from cold, 19 times out of 20 (approx) the window that opens is wider than the PC screen by about 10-15%. This width can't be reduced by grabbing an edge (although it can be increased), and you can move the window around but never view the full workspace width at once nor resize it. Also noted is the Maximise window control is missing (only Minimise and Close controls appear), however the window height is always normal.

One time out of twenty QLC opens with the normal expected resizeable window. This is reproduced on two different laptops - a Toshiba and a Sony, both 1280 x 800 resolution. I wondered if anyone else has experienced this issue? No other programs have exhibited this problem.


WORKAROUND
The strange workaround I've stumbled across is:

Open QLC and observe window width. If oversize, select (click once) the Simple Desk tab then move the whole window leftward to expose the right-side, by dragging the top of the window. Now move the mouse towards and hover over the window Close control (X top right) and the Maximise control magically appears and normal window operation ensues from that point onward. Note it has to be the Simple Desk tab you select initially, none other does the trick!

Help please!

[edogawa]

I have seen resizing problems with the simple desk tab, but as my laptop screen has 1600 px width It stayed inside the screen...
I've also seen it re-gain the ability to be resized to smaller again, but haven't cared to find out when that happens.

Try to switch the view mode from dmx channels (default) to fixture - that white paper sheet icon left to the pager arrow icons, it seems to make a difference to how narrow the window can be.

Another workaround: you can try and detach the simple desk tab by double clicking the tab bar at the bottom, and then e.g. minimize it or move it outside the screen as long as you don't need it. Later just close it to reattach it to the main window...

[AllanR]

Thanks for responding.

Try to switch the view mode from dmx channels (default) to fixture - that white paper sheet icon left to the pager arrow icons, it seems to make a difference to how narrow the window can be.

That action doesn't 'unlock' the oversize window.

Another workaround: you can try and detach the simple desk tab by double clicking the tab bar at the bottom, and then e.g. minimize it or move it outside the screen as long as you don't need it.

Yes, that works on the Toshiba to release the locked oversize main window,
On the Sony laptop double-clicking on any of the tabs doesn't produce a new floating window. It's strange because both laptops have identical OS software and programs loaded.

I wonder if all of this is a quirk with QT5 ??

[edogawa]

Hmm... I had the Qt4 version installed and wasn't able to detach tabs by doubleclick, changing back to Qt5 made it work...

[AllanR]

I hooked up an external monitor to the laptop to verify and illustrate the problem. (Should have included these in first post)

Pic 1. Shows QLC start-up in an oversize window-width which can't be resized smaller. Also missing the maximise control
Pic 2. Zoom-in to show only minimise and close controls available.
Pic 3. Shows the result after selecting the Input/Output tab, This action adds the maximise button and restores normal QLC window sizing.

[mcallegari]

On lower resolutions, Simple Desk is too large.
This is a known issue.
Check 4.1 here: https://www.qlcplus.org/docs/html_en_EN ... uning.html
You might need to lower the number of faders

[AllanR]

Thanks Massimo, your diagnosis and solution are spot-on.

As suggested, I edited /home/username/.config/qlcplus/Q Light Controller Plus.conf and added the following line under the [simpledesk] section:

Code: Select all

channelsperpage=30

By trial and error, "30" is the maximum number for correct window operation on my 1200 x 800 laptops. I'd imagine that newer laptops with 1366 x 768 pixels won't have this issue.

Many thanks for solving this.

[AllanR]

I'm adding this observation in case it helps others. The pros / cons of applying the 'Solution' described above are:

ADVANTAGE:
QLC now opens nicely on a 1200 x 800 laptop screen with a maximum quantity of Simple Desk sliders and no window sizing issues.

DISADVANTAGE:
If you subsequently add an external monitor then widen the Simple Desk window onto the external monitor, the width of each existing slider gets stretched. The quantity of sliders remains fixed at '30' as originally set (logical).

OBSERVATION:
Invoking QLC without the channelsperpage=30 setting then widening the Simple Desk window onto the second monitor, produces additional sliders - which could be useful. In my case you can get 58 sliders using both laptop + external display. However you have to tolerate the original window sizing issue at initial start-up.