Offscreen Windows

[phiscribe]

I would like to make an official bug report.  But I don't feel I understand what is happening enough to make it a worthy one. I have Windows 8.1.  Any SVG file I receive that originated from another program, (not Inkscape.) Opens off screen from a double click on the svg in the file manger, (explorer.)  If I save the file from Inkscape, it doesn't happen.  Happens also if I drag and drop a svg file onto inkscape.exe.  At some point a developer build I had tried didn't do this.  I have Inkscape 0.92.3 (2405546, 2018-03-11) that has this behavior.  inkscape-0.92+devel_2018-03-06_a8e83a3-x64 didn't do this, but it is an older version and would open windowed not full screen.  I got a daily build, inkscape-0.92.3_2018-05-15_75a3302-x64.7z, which won't start.

It is not much of a problem as it is easy to bring them back on screen with a keyboard shortcut.  But it is irritating enough to investigate.  Suggestions on were to look?  Which build should I get to see if it has already been fixed?  There seem to be many, here is where I am looking.  https://ci.appveyor.com/project/inkscape/inkscape/history

[brynn]

I can't answer about which file is the current development build.  Those file names are a complete mystery to me.  But Moini probably can.

Actually it sounds to me like you have all the info and perspective you need, to be able to make a "worthy" bug report.  Users don't have to have a technical understanding to be able to make a report.  It's helpful enough for developers just to know the (1) symptoms and (2) background and (3) program version and (4) system info.  And developers will ask you for more info, if they need it. 

But first, you should search the bug tracker, to find out if it already has been reported.  If there is an existing report, you can add your own comments, if you think you have some important info which is not already posted.  Here's where to do it:  https://launchpad.net/inkscape

However, if you still would rather not make a report, I'll be glad to make it, using the info you have provided.  Are you ok with searching for existing reports, or would you like us to do that part too?

By chance, are you using a dual monitor setup?  If so, be sure and mention that.  I know that having dialogs open offscreen, in a dual monitor setup, is a known, and much-reported bug.  But this is the first time I've heard of the program itself opening offscreen.  I agree with you, that since it's only SVG files which don't originate from Inkscape, which are having this problem, it's a good clue that it's probably a bug.

What happens if you open a new blank file, such as clicking on the desktop icon?  Does that open on screen?  After that, if you use File menu > Open, or Open Recent, does it stay on the screen?  I'm not suggesting that as a workaround (because double-clicking on the file is so much more convenient).  I'm just curious.

[Moini]

Brynn is right, just make a report after looking through the bug tracker. This sounds already very sound, developers will be able to ask suitable questions. Note that there is a known issue on Mac, with windows opening off-screen, but that is most certainly a different bug, so if you find only that, still post yours.

For the non-opening Inkscape version (separate bug!), you could try to follow the steps outlined in
https://inkscape.org/en/learn/faq/#inkscape-does-not-start , to get more info.

[phiscribe]

I've searched the bug tracker, but can't seem to find something relevant, or isn't very very old.  Makes me wonder if it is just me.  I guess what I was hoping to notice is what is being written to the svg on save that isn't there from in the foriegn svg.  Then I feel I would have something to report other then it is wacky on my system.  I also wonder because I refused flatly to go to Win 10 if it is only a Win 8.1 thing.  My updates screen in Windows says, "your update to Win 10 is ready."  Thankfully I halted it and it just sits there.  I couldn't live with the forced updates Win 10 shoves at you.  I never want my PC to reboot unless I tell it to.

I am thinking it is something in here which is there after save.  This part is missing if I save as Plain SVG.  Saved as Plain SVG has the same problem.

<sodipodi:namedview
     pagecolor="#ffffff"
     bordercolor="#666666"
     borderopacity="1"
     objecttolerance="10"
     gridtolerance="10"
     guidetolerance="10"
     inkscape:pageopacity="0"
     inkscape:pageshadow="2"
     inkscape:window-width="1920"
     inkscape:window-height="1027"
     id="namedview329"
     showgrid="false"
     inkscape:zoom="0.11568627"
     inkscape:cx="680"
     inkscape:cy="1020"
     inkscape:window-x="-8"
     inkscape:window-y="700"
     inkscape:window-maximized="1"
     inkscape:current-layer="svg327" />

I stuck what i have at https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/1772331

[brynn]

Well, just having posted the bug, will allow for other people, perhaps Windows 10 users, to test.

I think I misunderstood before.  This problem happens with SVG files which were not made with Inkscape, except for Inkscape files saved as Plain SVG?  That would seem to imply there is something found in Inkscape SVG, which is missing in the others.  But I don't have the technical info to know what part of Windows is looking for that info.  So the bug report is definitely the right call.

Off-Topic: show

Moini, what is that huge list of members on the right side of bug report pages, under "May be Notified" ?  "May be notified" gives me the idea that might be the bug management team.  However, I'm always seeing very spammish names there (such as, at the moment, quickbook payroll something, or the alphabet names like fdsasdfdsa).  So it's puzzling what that list is about.

Oh, I'm totally with you, about Windows 10.  When my Windows 7 Home computer just became old and wasn't functioning correctly, and it was time for an upgrade, I went with Windows 10.  I had heard that 10 is going to be the last Windows os to be fully contained on the users system.  After 10, all Windows os will be cloud-based.

So I already had made the decision to move to Linux.  But it was the update system, which was one of the many reasons I could not tolerate Windows 10.  All I can think about 10, is "what was MS thinking?".  Let's shut down the system, without the user's knowledge or permission, with no warning (well, I got 10 seconds to stop it, before the system shut down....and that happened while I was on the phone with tech support, and I didn't see it in time) for sometimes hours at a time, while it goes to get updates on its own.  As if having no control over when updates happen is not bad enough, there's also no way to choose which updates you want or need.  And there were 5 or 6 other stupid things I couldn't live with.

Anyway, I returned that computer, and bought a Windows 7 Pro (Home not available anymore).  (I don't know why, but it never has received the offered Windows 10 upgrade icon in the system tray - thankfully!)  And....well, if nothing else goes wrong in my life (when it rains it pours, you know), in the next few weeks I'll probably start testing Linux systems, and choosing which one I want to install.  And hopefully, by the time this computer dies, I'll be mostly on my own with Linux only.

[Moini]

@Brynn: many of them are indeed spammers, but lp doesn't manage to remove their names from the list. Their profiles (at least most of those) don't even exist any more. Those are orphaned, broken links - but canonical just doesn't care. Maybe because it makes it look as if there were more people around...

[brynn]

Well, hopefully we'll be moving bugs over to gitlab soon anyway.