How to Keep Tool Bar on working plan ? even with Ctrl+T

[liveme]

Hi,
Most of the time, my ToolBar vertical window, disapears after few clics here and there...
- sometimes I can see it displayed "under" the working plan / Alt+Tab
- other times it just disapears to nowhere I can find it !
Ctrl+T sometimes can bring it back, and sometimes not at all,

My workaround is then to minimize/maximise LC working plan so it is displayed again.

Any better way or pin mode to keep it on top always ?
Thanks


Manjaro.

[jacque]

The tool palette hides when LC is not the front app. Just clicking a window is not always enough, you need to bring the whole app to the front. That is what happens when you minimize /maximize. It should also work if you click LC in the task bar.

[richmond62]

I wonder if an option to keep all palettes open/visible regardless of whether LiveCode is the front app or not might not be a good thing.

Personally, I find it a "bit of a pain" if I am trying to work with the Calculator app (on macOS) and am unable to see values
in the Properties palette,
-

[liveme]

The tool palette hides when LC is not the front app. Just clicking a window is not always enough, you need to bring the whole app to the front. That is what happens when you minimize /maximize. It should also work if you click LC in the task bar.

Thanks Jaque, I will try your task bar tip !

[Klaus]

On the Mac the shortcuts are:
-> ALT-Click in the FINDER/Desktop
-> ALT-Click in window of another app
-> ALT-Click on the FINDER (or another apps) Icon in the dock

[liveme]

Hi,
I'm running Manjaro.
As for me : I do beleive that the LC IDE is on the Top if all I can see are the 2 or 3 Tool Bar and the opened script Card I m editing...
I've tried what Jaque mention, clicking on the LC icon in Task bar, the result being, if the Tool Bar has disapeard (under some Desktop windows or wherever)...it sadly does not bring it back on Top..or just beside the LC Working plan...
I repeatedly use the Menu shartcus Ctrl+T off and on than off and on again...still, the ToolBar doesnt show up anymore...
Switch to the Main Manajro Desktop, Alt ESC, can see other winndows opened, such as a PDF reader....but the ToolBar is not anywhere arround.
Switch back to the LC working plan...ToolBar is gone in the Limbo...

back to the only trick that works for me...Minimize/Maximizing.... ToolBar shows up again !

[liveme]

capture of my LC working plan, with no RESIZE button displayed.
*don t know if that can be added somehow.


It would help being able to read a PDF tuto beside sometimes...

Screenshot_20210116_115359.png (10.54 KiB) Viewed 10263 times

any idea how ?
Thanks

[liveme]

LC plan work displayed when working on :

[jacque]

Aha. You're not on Windows. We need a 'nix person to answer; all I know is that not all window managers are entirely compatible.

But there is one thing you might try:

Code: Select all

set the raisePalettes to true

That is supposed to keep all palettes at the top layer. I don't know if it will work for you but see what happens. You can type that into the message box and it should work for the current LC session.

[wsamples]

I see you're using Plasma. This is a problem in Plasma. Sometimes it's related to whether or not the message box or property inspector is open. You may notice the property inspector plays hide and seek, too, sometimes. Typically, clicking on the main menu bar or a working stack brings the tools palette back, or closing the message box if it's open. Sometimes it stops disappearing once it's been "recovered", but not always. Yes, it can get silly and frustrating chasing the stacks around. I have found that setting the backdrop to display ("check" it in the view menu) reduces the frequency that this occurs. Running Plasma in Arch here.

[liveme]

Ok, thanks guys, I get it that I'm not alon in this then...

@jaque, noops, not anymore, went into using permanently linux a yr ago now.
Tested : set the raisePalettes to true, does one need to confirm this line ? (enter).
or just type it in an thats all, never made use of the msj box before.

@wsample,
I'm multi booting so I will check to see if LC behavior is a bit better on these.
(Zorin, Ubu, Feren, Manjaro, Mint.)

[jacque]

The message box is basically LC's command line. Type the command line and hit either return or enter to execute it.

The multiline pane (second tab) allows many lines, and so return begins a new line and enter executes the commands sequentially.

The message box is invaluable for setting and getting all kinds of information. Explore the other tabs too, there's lots of info there.

[bogs]

@wsample,
I'm multi booting so I will check to see if LC behavior is a bit better on these.
(Zorin, Ubu, Feren, Manjaro, Mint.)

Hello liveme,

Keep in mind that what @wsample is talking about are the differences in DM's (Desktop Managers) and not distributions (bold underlined in the quote). Different distro's may use different DM's by default*, but (as far as I know) they should all be able to support multiple DM's.

Lc may work slightly differently on different DM's, think "Gnome / KDE-Plasma / MATE / Cinnamon / XFCE" etc. because of the way different DM's rules for window behavior are setup. As far as I can guess from what I've seen, Gnome is the preferred DM (i.e. it will work with the least issues there).

*Distro default DM's -
Ubuntu = Gnome
Zorin = either Gnome or XFCE
Feren = KDE-Plasma
Manjaro = KDE-Plasma or Gnome
Mint = Cinnamon.

When you are posting for help, it is helpful to put the following at the top of the post - which distro you are using + which DM (because that is changeable) + Lc Version . Something like ~

Ubuntu 18.04 / XFCE / Lc 9.6

[wsamples]

My experience testing LiveCode in various distros and desktop environments is that the IDE functions similarly in Plasma in all the tested distros. It's a little inconvenient but nothing showstopping. Some other desktop environments are much more variable. It's been a while since I spent time testing this and the state of things may have changed so I wouldn't discourage anyone from making their own tests If you want the smoothest experience in the IDE it might be best to look at the officially supported distro and DE combinations. Be aware there are issues with Ubuntu LTS versions that may not be a problem with the base versions. This would be something to think about when considering distros that are based on a Ubuntu LTS version.

My experience in the past shows that LC IDE performance in Cinnamon and Xfce is highly variable distro to distro. Working perfectly in some distros and very badly others. I will note that in Arch, I have seen Cinnamon and Mate perform perfectly but become problematic after some update in the distro. Distro updates and LiveCode upgrades can each contribute to the fun. This might seem less than useful information to you, but I just wanted to let you know that you shouldn't be too surprised, or discouraged, by any weirdness you find. The last version of LiveCode where the IDE didn't seem to exhibit any of these behavioral issues was 8.1.9.

EDIT: To elaborate just a little. 1) The problems regarding Ubuntu LTS I refer to don't seem to be directly related to the window hiding goofiness you're hoping to defeat. They do not only, as far as I'm aware, primarily affect only the experience working in the IDE. 2) In some distro/DE combinations there is a nasty interaction between the message box and the tools palette which can make the IDE unusable when you have both open and the solution to try when this is encountered is to close one before opening the other. It seems they become locked in a struggle for focus which ties everything up.

Good luck!

[bogs]

The last version of LiveCode where the IDE didn't seem to exhibit any of these behavioral issues was 8.1.9.

And for me, it was actually earlier in 7.x. Specifically, prior to widgets.