LXPanel: Transparency doesn't work correctly

The standard panel of LXDE - http://wiki.lxde.org/en/LXPanel
ChriChri
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jul 15, 2010 8:28 am

LXPanel: Transparency doesn't work correctly

Post by ChriChri »

Hi,

as the topic already says: I have a problem with the transparency of my panel.

When I turn on the transparency option, a black background is shown instead of the Desktop Wallpaper. Does anybody have an idea how to solve this? As I am new on LXDE I have no idea where to start the search...

Thanks!

Chris

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Acer Travelmate 292
Arch Linux
Openbox + LXDE
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Acer Travelmate 292
Arch Linux
Openbox + LXDE
Marty Jack
Posts: 381
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 5:14 am

Re: LXPanel: Transparency doesn't work correctly

Post by Marty Jack »

If the entire wallpaper disappears, it is not LXPanel doing that. If you are running PCManFM, it is in charge of drawing the background and needs to be configured to draw the wallpaper that you wanted. We don't know what else is running, since it is Arch you could ask for help there.
cwickert
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Re: LXPanel: Transparency doesn't work correctly

Post by cwickert »

If I understand the original poster correctly the desktop wallpaper does not disappear but the panel turns black instead of becoming transparent and showing the wallpaper. Is that correct, ChriChri?

Regards,
Christoph
Image
Marty Jack
Posts: 381
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 5:14 am

Re: LXPanel: Transparency doesn't work correctly

Post by Marty Jack »

If it's just the panel turning black, that's a known behavior of the current code that has been reported many times. It is working properly in the as yet unpublished development baselevel, but will be limited to compositing window managers.
cwickert
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Re: LXPanel: Transparency doesn't work correctly

Post by cwickert »

If it is limited to compositioning window managers, it is a regression to previous releases. Previous releases were faking transparency by showing the wallpaper. True transparency on the other hand means they show what is actually behind the panel, but as long as people don't autohide, there can be nothing behind the panel, so IMHO faked transparency is enough for most cases. In a perfect world the panel recognizes if the driver is able to do true transparency and uses it, if not it falls back to faking. But making true transparency obligatory is a bad decision since it limits the function to a small set of X drivers.

BTW: Can you please make a new release at some point? I have lots of open bugs against lxpanel.
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ChriChri
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Joined: Thu Jul 15, 2010 8:28 am

Re: LXPanel: Transparency doesn't work correctly

Post by ChriChri »

Hi,

excuse my late response...thanks for your answers anyway!

The wallpaper does not disappear, it's just the panel thing. I tried out on an other computer where the wallpaper is shown behind the transparent panel, so it seems to be a problem on my system...so one question rests: Is it possible to force the panel to fake transparency so that it shows the wallpaper?

Chris
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Acer Travelmate 292
Arch Linux
Openbox + LXDE
Mark
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2008 10:16 am

Re: LXPanel: Transparency doesn't work correctly

Post by Mark »

Are you using PCManfm-0.9.7? If so, I think that might be the culprit.

Take a look at these two screenshots

Image

Image

The first was taken with PCManFM-0.9.7 being used as the file and desktop manager. The second with 0.5.2. You can see the difference immediately.
rockdoctor
Posts: 116
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2008 4:51 pm

Re: LXPanel: Transparency doesn't work correctly

Post by rockdoctor »

cwickert wrote:...Can you please make a new release...
+1
Geology - It's not rocket science, it's rock science!
Marty Jack
Posts: 381
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 5:14 am

Re: LXPanel: Transparency doesn't work correctly

Post by Marty Jack »

rockdoctor wrote:
cwickert wrote:...Can you please make a new release...
+1
Uh, it was done. LXPanel 0.5.6 released on 2010-07-20.
Mark
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2008 10:16 am

Re: LXPanel: Transparency doesn't work correctly

Post by Mark »

I'm using lxpanel-0.5.6 in both shots, so it's not the panel that's at fault here.
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