1.121. metacity

An updated metacity package that fixes a raising windows bug and corrects a crash with remotely displayed applications is now available.

Metacity is the default window manager for the GNOME desktop.

This errata fixes two bugs in the metacity package:

* some applications, mostly older Tcl/Tk and Java applications, use the old XRaiseWindow call rather than _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW to raise a window above the currently focused window. Metacity allows XRaiseWindow when the same application keeps focus but defines an application by its window group. Some of these older applications also do not set the window group and, consequently, metacity did not honor window-raising requests from such applications. With this update, metacity expands its checking to allow the same X client (defined as having the same client ID) to raise windows above the currently focused window using the old XRaiseWindow call. Older Tcl/Tk and Java applications, in particular, should now behave as expected. (BZ#537023)

* Incorrectly placed error traps meant, when an application window running on a remote computer with its display forwarded to the local system was closed, metacity sometimes crashed with an "Unexpected X error: BadWindow (invalid Window parameter)" error. The error trap has been moved in this update and closing forwarded windows now closes the remote application as expected. (BZ#537024)

Users are advised to upgrade to this updated metacity package which resolves these issues.

An updated metacity package that fixes numerous bugs and adds several enhancements is now available

Metacity is the default window manager for the GNOME desktop.

This update fixes the following bugs:

* if a modal dialog box was open, its associated window could not be moved to another workspace. The dialog box would stay on the current desktop but the main window would vanish as it moved and then returned but no longer displayed correctly. The meta_workspace_focus_default_window() has been modified so that windows can now be dragged to other workspaces even if a modal dialog box is open. (BZ#237158)

* dragging a maximized window between monitors on a system configured to use a Xinerama dual-screen configuration caused flickering. Metacity has been modified to allow one to move maximized windows meaning they can be dragged between monitors without flickering. (BZ#495939)

* Metacity was preventing applications such as Maya from stacking windows correctly. This was caused by the focus-stealing prevention mechanism. A patch has been added to allow stacking to occur, meaning module windows for tools like Maya now work in the expected fashion. (BZ#503522)

* the /apps/metacity/general/strict_focus_mode option can be activated via GConf to prevent focus from being stolen from a terminal window. On x86_64 systems, terminals were sometimes not recognized as this function was incorrectly implemented: it was looking for res_name instead of res_class. Metacity now checks the res_class to determine if a window is a terminal and focus is no longer lost. (BZ#504223)

* if the user switched between workspaces, any open KDE applications would start to flash in GNOME as Metacity mistakenly marked them as needing user intervention. Metacity now checks the window to determine if it has a "startup ID" and sets the initial_timestamp and initial_workspace properties accordingly. As a result KDE applications no longer flash in these circumstances. (BZ#506537)

* Metacity could not handle closing application windows run remotely via X. A BadWindow error would occur. A patch has been added to trap this error. As a result, the error message no longer appears. (BZ#523777)

* when the /apps/metacity/general/raise_on_click GConf key was set to "false" this option incorrectly combined the ability to intercept user clicks with the intended use of intercepting calls coming from applications. Consequently, windows for many non-EWMH (Extended Window Manager Hints) compliant applications could not be raised or lowered. This issue has now been rectified so that, if the key is set to false, older applications not yet using net_window_activate can be raised and lowered. (BZ#526045)

This update also adds the following enhancements:

* in Metacity's "mouse" and "sloppy" focus modes, it is possible to have the pointer hover over a window without it becoming focused. This happens, for example, if another window steals focus away. Previously, it was necessary to move the mouse out of the window and then back into it, or to click on it, to give it focus. (BZ#530261)

* the /apps/metacity/general/place_on_current_monitor feature was added. If this option is set to "true", new windows will always be placed on the current monitor, rather than be placed on any monitor with free space. (BZ#523841)

* if an application displays a window without setting its appropriate properties, it steals focus from the current window and thereby steal the user's keystrokes. (This usually happens with older applications written without modern toolkits.) The new no_focus_windows option allows one to specify which windows should not be given the keyboard's focus. (BZ#530262)

* when a new window is not given keyboard focus, it is placed underneath the current window and entry flashes. When the new /apps/metacity/general/new_windows_always_on_top key is set to "true", windows are always placed on top, iirespective of keyboard focus. (BZ#530263)

Users are advised to upgrade to this updated Metacity package, which resolve these issues and adds these enhancements.