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Old 09-10-2020, 02:51 PM   #1
skeletom
 
Join Date: Sep 2020
Default Bug report - Modals and multiple monitors

Hi - I have a hopefully not too difficult bug report.

Actual behavior: With multiple monitor setups where the monitors aren't always the same arrangement, GCA sometimes puts modal windows onto an inactive monitor. I have been unable to figure out how to bring the modals onto the main monitor and while the modal is expecting input, the rest of GCA is unresponsive and uninteractable. I can get GCA to be responsive again by hitting the right combination of keyboard inputs to navigate the modal, but this is obviously pretty rough if you don't know what the modal says or if it requires text input to complete. The most common sorts of modal that this occurs with are second level modals. I have experienced it most commonly when loading a template which has a series of selections, where some selections have to be customized - for example, many templates include skills which have to specify an area/region (Survival, for example), and while which monitor the first modal appears on seems to be set to the same monitor the main GURPS window is on most of the time, the second level modal is consistently inaccessible. If I switch active monitors, I can often now see the modal as Windows moves all my other windows underneath it on the newly active monitor.

My setup uses a simple HDMI switch to swap one monitor and my TV, since I use my PC to stream media to my TV, but I was able to replicate this behavior by using software to deactivate one monitor while the PC is running.

Expected behavior: Modal windows always appear on the same monitor that the main GCA window is on.

Possible workaround: give users an ability to bring all GCA windows to a single monitor, or ensure that all GCA windows including modals are accessible by hovering over the GCA icon in the taskbar to select and move windows.

A few example screenshots - this is a portion of GCA when I first load it. There is a modal asking for Campaign Settings, and everything below the modal is uninteractable until I fill in the modal. https://prnt.sc/uf5zms
Here is the hover-over on the taskbar: https://prnt.sc/uf60cb
If this modal had spawned on an inactive monitor, I'd have no way to bring it onto an active monitor. If GCA itself spawned on an inactive monitor (this occasionally happens, but only if I've been using GCA on the TV), I can hover over the window, click move, and use my mouse to drag it into an active monitor.

I hope this is clear - please let me know if you'd like any more detail. I could also record a short video of me experiencing this issue, if that'd be helpful.
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Old 09-10-2020, 03:12 PM   #2
Armin
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Default Re: Bug report - Modals and multiple monitors

Thanks for the thorough explanation of the problem.

Someone else may have suggestions for getting such windows back in view.

GCA has two types of windows that it creates, some of which may be modal or not. They are those that GCA remembers the position of, and those that it does not.

For remembered windows, it always puts them where you left them after the first time the window is shown. If that's on another monitor, yeah, that'll be off-screen if that monitor is later not available. I may be able to get the currently active display space, and move such windows back into view; I'll make a note to look at that.

For unremembered windows, GCA generally just opens them up centered on the owning window, usually GCA itself. The problem there is that Windows sometimes seems to be just plain crazy. If you can see GCA, such windows should always appear over what you're doing. But they don't always do that, and I don't know why.

I'll make a note to look at this, too. Maybe I can have GCA5 do something to check out the environment better before it opens any windows, and adjust how and where it opens them.

For right now, I hope someone can offer a good way to get windows back on-screen, because I can't make any fixes to the GCA4 codebase at this time.

ETA: Thinking about it, the craziness may be in the Visual Basic runtime window manager, which creates the windows in Windows. Nevertheless, it shouldn't do that.
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Last edited by Armin; 09-10-2020 at 03:15 PM.
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Old 09-10-2020, 03:35 PM   #3
skeletom
 
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Default Re: Bug report - Modals and multiple monitors

Thanks for the reply, Armin. If others do have suggestions I'd love to hear them.

Good luck with GCA 5 - I know Windows can be, well, difficult.
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Old 09-10-2020, 04:35 PM   #4
ericbsmith
 
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Default Re: Bug report - Modals and multiple monitors

Something I discovered just this last week or so:
In Windows 10 you can press the Windows button + Arrow keys to move an active window around. Pressing Win+Right once will snap the window to the right half of the screen; Holding Win and pressing the right arrow a second time will move the window to the next monitor; continuing to tap right again moves the window to the next next monitor. So if a window opens off screen just hold Win and start tapping the Right Arrow until the window moves onto a usable monitor.

Win+Left Arrow works the same way, but in reverse obviously.
Win+Up Arrow maximizes a window.
Win+Down Arrow will unmaximize a maximized window and minimized an unmaximized window.

Clever, and easy to remember. I don't know if this will work on the Modal windows, but it should work on the Edit and Modifier windows should they open off-screen.

EDIT: The old trick, which I believe should work with the Modal windows is to press Alt+Space. This opens the old system menu for a window; if you press M this tells the menu to Move the window. If you then press an arrow key this will move the window a few pixels in that direction *AND* attach the window to your mouse cursor, which should then allow you to move your mouse around and drag the window onto your screen. Thanks to Bruno for telling us about this trick, as I had to look up her old post (again) to remember it.
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Last edited by ericbsmith; 09-10-2020 at 05:55 PM.
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Old 09-11-2020, 10:27 AM   #5
Angel Darkover
 
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Location: Seattle, WA
Default Re: Bug report - Modals and multiple monitors

It might be handy to add these tips for off-screen windows to the GCA FAQ since they seem to pop up every so often. Yes, it is more of a windows issue at its core, but it is about GCA usability, which is impaired.

Just a thought.
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Old 09-11-2020, 10:28 AM   #6
ericbsmith
 
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Default Re: Bug report - Modals and multiple monitors

Quote:
Originally Posted by Angel Darkover View Post
It might be handy to add these tips for off-screen windows to the GCA FAQ since they seem to pop up every so often. Yes, it is more of a windows issue at its core, but it is about GCA usability, which is impaired.
Right there ahead of you. I added it yesterday right after posting the reply in this thread when I realized it wasn't in the FAQ.
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Old 09-11-2020, 12:28 PM   #7
Armin
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Default Re: Bug report - Modals and multiple monitors

Thanks, Eric.
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