Weird desktop files/multimonitor behaviour after f37 upgrade

so i upgraded from f36 to f37. and the first thing i saw when logged in was all my files on desktop have disappeared.

now, i use a dual display setup - laptop + additional monitor - with the secondary/external monitor plugged in but inactive most of the time. so the first thing that occured to me, even before checking the desktop folder itself, was to activate the second screen and look there. indeed, i found all my files there. so that’s the first issue.

the second one is when i tried to move them from one monitor to the other (with icons unlocked) i could move them only inside the second monitor. so i then tried some random action - i cut the files from desktop and moved (pasted) them in a temporary folder someplace else. then i disabled the second display, cut the files from the temp folder and pasted them to desktop and then they just disappered again :slight_smile: that’s when i decided to check the desktop folder to see them there. even if i create a new file or folder on desktop it shows in the desktop folder but not on desktop itself. when i reboot files show up again.

however, if i activate the second(ary) screen the files automatically move to it and i am back at square one - i can’t move them back to the main screen and when i disable the second screen they “stay” “there” (even though the area is nonexistent at that moment) visually disappearing from the desktop.

If you want them always on the same place you need to set this monitor as default monitor in the settings.

Are you using the gnome desktop?

it’s either you don’t understand me or i don’t understand you.

in case it’s former, firstly, there is one display in the system, at least it starts with one and ends with one. i have one display and the files and icons do not appear on the desktop, however i can see them in the desktop folder. secondly, i use locked icons option enabled so i expect them to stay the places i put them in the first place. and i cannot - i literally can’t move them from one screen (where they move to on their own the moment it is activated) to the other, i can only rearrange them on the second screen.

i case it’s latter, what does “default” mean? i’m using plasma, btw. so there’s this “primary” option in the dsiplay settings. obviously i have it enabled on my main screen if it’s not obvious. the files move from my primary screen to the secondary one. and they stay there even when i disable it making the system a single-monitor one. and newly created object go there - to the secondary monitor even when there’s only one display in the system. any way, default or not (which i don’t think is the core of the problem) - i expect every object to move to the active display when it is the only display in the system.

i’m using plasma, btw.

I guess you’re using KDE Plasma?

so i upgraded from f36 to f37.

Okay. Fedora KDE 37 recently updated from 5.26 to 5.27 LTS. Looks like 36 is staying on 5.26 [1].

Multi-monitor support was overhauled in 5.27 so I’m not surprised something changed on your end. My setup was slightly broken until I double checked Display Configuration and did a fresh login.

On the desktop you want your folders shown, have you tried…

Right Click > Configure Desktop and Wallpaper > Layout > Folder View?

[1] Overview - rpms/plasma-desktop - src.fedoraproject.org

Ok, default might be the wrong expression. Must be the primary and secondary monitor.
Primary would be where the login screen apeares when you have two monitors active. But this also depends on the display manager you are using when login. Lightdm for example switches the side when you move with the mouse on the other Monitor.

This I also would expect. Just it looks like that is not the case. Monitors have different resolutions and so the position changes. When you not see the Icons they are on a position your “new” resolution not displays. So if you change resolution alias monitor the rearrangement has to be done new. As it looks like it does not because it not reads the actual settings and just pretends there is still a second monitor and it displays your object there where you not can see because of absence of the monitor

my “breakage” persists and it’s not about the settings.

you’re missing the point and so you’re imagining things. or maybe this is a miscomunication on my part so let me reiterate.

  1. i have a single screen which is also the main/primary display and there’s a set of objects on it with the “locked icons” option active meaning the objects cannot be moved around.
  2. when i activate the second (which is also always secondary) display all the files move to this screen. this alone should never happen under normal circumstances and the systems working properly. this is the issue number one.
  3. even when i disable “icons - locked” desktop option i cannot manually move anything from one screen to another. this has nothing to do with autoarrangement and or screen resolutions and or with the files staying on inactive monitor. this is the issue number two.
  4. even if we assume that the files somehow get stuck on the second monitor and then can’t go back to the primary one when i disable it (2nd) or get left somewhere outside of the screen due to resolution differences this should never affect newly created objects. when this bug occurs and i’m left with an empty desktop on a single screen setup if i create a file it goes straight to the limbo when it should be created around the place i’m right clicking, meaning, again, there’s no possible reasoning to explain this (that it disappers).

and it gets even funnier and dumber on wayland (i run x11). when i enable the second display it moves all my desktop files there but leaves one. and then it actually allows me to move them back manually. but in a funny way too - if i move more than one file at a time it doesn’t put them where i put them, but rather rearranges them around the desktop seemingly randomly.

Same behaviour if you try in a new test account?

pretty much the same, yes, but with some slight differences.

  1. for example, when i activated the second display the test files just disappeared visually without moving to it.

  2. then while testing i managed to activate the second screen without affecting the files - ususally i move the second screen area to the upper left corner of the primary screen, but when i left it in its default position - to the right side - it kept my files in place. however, when i changed the secondary screen area position the files moved there again. but i could move them back manually this time.

  3. when i tried this trick on my main account it bugged again, but only moved part of my files to the secondary screen. and i could move them back this time, but when i did it automatically rearranged all the files somewhat randomly.

so basically it’s all over the place - it affects files’ position, manual and auto arrangement, is affected by the multi-monitor configuration, is different on x11 and wayland and persists between accounts and or attempts.

i was going to edit it a bit, but just found something. the main screen is 800p while the secondary is 1080p. so this time i disabled the second one i noticed that even though main screen resolution is still 1280*800 the desktop is indeed 1080p so i need to scroll up and down and left and right to see everything. it’s like i’m watching at 1080p desktop through 800p window.

ps: i activated the second screen again, moved files around, sorted them by name (as opposed to not sorted before), rearranged screen areas back and forth, then disabled the secondary monitor and everything’s got back to normal. for now.

pps: yep, i almost can confirm - if i activate the second screen in its default position (to the right) then it’s fine, after that i can rearrange monitors as a separate action and it won’t affect the files. however if i activate the second screen in its desirable position (upper left corner) right away then it bugs out.

This is what i did try to explain you… if you have to monitors you will have probably two different resolutions. But I’m glad that you found it out on your selves.

found out what? this happend once out of maybe 30 attempts. and this isn’t how its works or should work - yes, monitors have different resolutions. so what out of it? if i use the extend option (duh) they have no affect upon each other. what does it have to do with automatically moving files from one screen to the other? what does it have to do with being unable to manually move files around? to create them on a selected screen at a selected place? i’m repeating myself here, but you’re forcing me to. aren’t you following or are you choosing to ignore the issues at hand?

You mentioned that you can see the files in the folder but not on the desktop. This is typically if you have different resolutions and the ratio of the monitor is different. If the ratio of the monitors is the same you will se everything, just on one of the screens smaller then the other one.
As you said, as you would look thru a window. As closer as you stand to the window as more you can see what is going on outside.

I’m out of the discussion … it gets to childish for me.

yes it does. this “normal” behavior hasn’t happened one single time over last 500 switches on f36 (not counting decades of previous multimonitor experience) and now right after f36-f37 upgrade it happens on every switch. there’s really nothing to add so i rest my case and ignore anything along the lines that it’s fine. it’s not fine.

Please give more info about your hardware setup. Probably it is just a driver who is not ready yet for the Kernel version you use. I try to understand your anger that when it worked for F36 and now it not works anymore. It will have a reason and that is what we do try to find out now.

late 2011 macbook pro.