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Ideas | Propositions

Subjects Author Language Messages Last message
[Locked] DBUS Option
Guest English 16 christophermluna [Read]
08 August 2011 à 15:06

Guest, Sunday 24 July 2011 à 16:33

So, I am using a keyboard shortcut to show my dock using DBUS, which is awesome, but I'd actually like to be able to use the same shortcut to show/hide the dock. Is there any way we could do something like:

dbus-send --session --dest=org.cairodock.CairoDock /org/cairodock/CairoDock org.cairodock.CairoDock.ShowDock boolean:toggle


If we did something like this, "boolean:toggle" would just switch the value. So if it is false, it would turn to true, and vice versa.

I must admit that I'm a bit of a n00b when it comes to DBUS. Maybe there's already a way to do this? Maybe there's a way to use DBUS to query the boolean state of the dock, if it is hidden or not?

fabounet, Wednesday 27 July 2011 à 12:43


Subscription date : 30 November 2007
Messages : 17118
HI
the "hidden" property is not available, I'll add it.
however the "Toggle" method seems easier to use, so I'll add it too (and maybe the "ShowDock" method will become redundant then).

SQP, Wednesday 27 July 2011 à 17:58


Subscription date : 03 July 2010
Messages : 1081
I guess both options make sense as they are 2 pertinent behaviours for different purposes

fabounet, Thursday 28 July 2011 à 13:04


Subscription date : 30 November 2007
Messages : 17118
Do you see a use case of show or hide if we have toggle ?

SQP, Thursday 28 July 2011 à 14:59


Subscription date : 03 July 2010
Messages : 1081
I don't have use case for hide, but force show sounds logical for a shortcut : don't have to bother whether the dock is hidden or not, 1 keypress and it's always here (in cases where windows can come in front of the dock)

It seem for me as usefull as a toggle. They just don't match the same needs or persons

fabounet, Friday 29 July 2011 à 12:47


Subscription date : 30 November 2007
Messages : 17118
fair enough, so I've modified the ShowDock method, the boolean parameter has become an integer and the choice 2 is for toggle
the english wiki is up-to-date and the python wrapper too.

Guest, Friday 29 July 2011 à 14:29

Thanks! I will check it out. Unrelated, for some reason I can't seem to sign in to the new account that I created. I will see if I can re-create the account or something. But thanks!

christophermluna, Friday 29 July 2011 à 14:50


Subscription date : 24 July 2011
Messages : 13
Heh. I managed to login. I was trying to login with my email address instead of my username.

Anyway, I have just done an update and will post to confirm when I've got the toggle working. The only thing that's still a little off for me is the show/hide.

I'll explain. I have a small convertible tablet-netbook, and I have the dock sort of floating in the middle of the screen. My show/hide settings are "Keep Hidden," and I've got it set to show itself when I hit the screen's corner (something that's almost impossible to do using the touchscreen). Really, I would prefer if there was an option for it to be hidden no matter what, and just control its visibility with DBUS (it could issue a warning when selecting that option, maybe?), but I can understand why you wouldn't want that option there. New users might select it and say, "Wait, how can I get my dock back? Why is that even an option?" So I understand why there's no way to make the dock totally hidden no matter what.

Anyway, on my system I control the show/hide through a Compiz keyboard command using DBUS, which is also tied to a touchscreen gesture. This way I can access the dock simply using the keyboard or the touchscreen.

The only problem is that sometimes the dock will show itself when I rollover a tiny spot in the middle-center of where the dock is hidden. It's very difficult to reproduce, because the area seems to be very small, in the exact center of the screen. But it happens occasionally, and it's a minor annoyance. Thought I would mention it. I still love Cairo-Dock more than Unity, though, especially for a tiny touchscreen. It's more customizable, and I can keep things out of my face.

christophermluna, Friday 29 July 2011 à 15:00


Subscription date : 24 July 2011
Messages : 13
What version should I be using if I want to get the latest updates? I'm using the BZR. Should this DBUS option be present in the BZR version?

fabounet, Friday 29 July 2011 à 15:51


Subscription date : 30 November 2007
Messages : 17118
Should this DBUS option be present in the BZR version

yep, I've pushed it yesterday (rev 2044)

about the touchscreen, you can define a "touch a zone" mode in the config to make the dock pop up, rather that using the screen edges or corners.
this way you could define a small 50x30 zone that you just touch to make the dock appear.

another solution would be to use the visibility "pop up on shortkey" where the dock appear under your mouse (or finger) like a menu.

I'd appreciate any feedback on this, since I don't have a touchscreen

christophermluna, Friday 29 July 2011 à 16:02


Subscription date : 24 July 2011
Messages : 13
Oops! I'm actually on the weekly PPA, so I suppose that this revision will come in within a week. I think I'd prefer to stay on the PPA. I'll let you know how it works after the next update.

And yeah, I know about the zone mode, etc. But I actually don't want it to popup in a zone or anything, because I have it tied to a touchscreen gesture.

What I mean is that even though I have my dock setup to popup when I hit the corner, it still pops up when I hit a small area in the center of the screen. I don't want it to do that, and it isn't set to do that (to the best of my knowledge).

fabounet, Tuesday 02 August 2011 à 15:18


Subscription date : 30 November 2007
Messages : 17118
But I actually don't want it to popup in a zone or anything, because I have it tied to a touchscreen gesture.

I thought that this feature would actually fit a touchscreen.

but anyway, you say that the dock pops up when you hit the screen edge, whereas you set up the mode to "Hit the screen's corner" ?
so it's maybe a small bug, I'll check it out.
and as you guessed, there is no way to keep it hidden forever, but maybe with a 1x1 zone ?

christophermluna, Tuesday 02 August 2011 à 15:25


Subscription date : 24 July 2011
Messages : 13
I'm sorry, I'm not being clear. What I mean is, I have it set up to pop-up when I hit the screen corner, which is fine. But it also pops up when I hit a very small area at the bottom of the dock.

My dock floats in the middle of the screen, and the dock pops up when my mouse rolls over the very center of the screen. I don't mind it popping up when I hit the corner. Maybe I can do a screen shot or something to demonstrate.

fabounet, Thursday 04 August 2011 à 13:13


Subscription date : 30 November 2007
Messages : 17118
oh ok I see, so it seemes like there is a tiny activation zone at the center of the screen (or at least, somewhere inside the screen, not the edges) ?
around which size ?

christophermluna, Monday 08 August 2011 à 01:08


Subscription date : 24 July 2011
Messages : 13
The activation zone is very very small, I'd guess only one or two pixels square, and I think it's at the bottom center of the dock in question. The reason it's in the center of my screen is because the dock floats in the middle of the screen for me. It's not that big of a deal because it's so small that I usually don't ever hit it, but I thought I should report it anyway.

The DBUS toggle mode works great, by the way! Thanks.

I wonder, though, if there would be any way to have the DBUS command hide the dock even if the mouse is hovering over the dock.

The way it works right now is that I can use the touchscreen gesture to activate the DBUS command and show the dock. But if I use the touchscreen gesture to hide the dock, and the pointer is still inside the dock, it will only hide the dock after the pointer leaves it. This just makes the touchscreen gesture interface a little bit clunky, because you have to do the gesture to hide the dock, and then click off the dock as well.

fabounet, Monday 08 August 2011 à 13:34


Subscription date : 30 November 2007
Messages : 17118
I see your point, I'll ty to do something when the pointer is inside, but I'm not sure how (since the dock actually starts hiding, and then un-hide itself when it realizes the pointer is inside).

about the small zone, indeed there is a 1x1 zone that is not transparent to mouse.
that's because weirdly, when setting a fully blank input zone, X refuses it. Setting a fully blank zone except 1 pixel works
I've not reported this bug at the time, didn't think it would be noticed I should probably (or maybe it has been fixed, I'll check that).

christophermluna, Monday 08 August 2011 à 15:06


Subscription date : 24 July 2011
Messages : 13
I see your point, I'll ty to do something when the pointer is inside, but I'm not sure how (since the dock actually starts hiding, and then un-hide itself when it realizes the pointer is inside).


Ahhhh, gotchya. I didn't realize that's how it worked.

about the small zone, indeed there is a 1x1 zone that is not transparent to mouse.
that's because weirdly, when setting a fully blank input zone, X refuses it. Setting a fully blank zone except 1 pixel works :crazy:


I figured it was something like that, and it's not a big deal.

Ideas | Propositions

Subjects Author Language Messages Last message
[Locked] DBUS Option
Guest English 16 christophermluna [Read]
08 August 2011 à 15:06


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