Recent

Author Topic: Comboboxes imperfect under linux  (Read 15592 times)

MikeFinch

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 79
Comboboxes imperfect under linux
« on: July 14, 2010, 01:35:46 am »
12 months ago I requested help re comboboxes under linux. They just wouldn't format properly.

I was wondering if anyone has been able to improve the formatting of comboboxes (they work perfectly in Windows). The lazarus snapshots so far don't seem to have solved this problem.

Surely some people actually use comboboxes under their flavour of linux?

Another problem I have is forming columns of items in a memo box; only a single column on the lefthand border seems possible (unless this one has been solved by now?).

I wish to shift from Windows to linux, but since my linux software won't work perfectly (as stated above) I still can't do this. There seem no problems using Windows.

Regards
MikeFinch

Troodon

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 484
Re: Comboboxes imperfect under linux
« Reply #1 on: July 14, 2010, 03:14:56 am »
With both the gtk2 and qt4 widget sets? Which Linux?
« Last Edit: July 14, 2010, 04:19:07 am by Troodon »
Lazarus/FPC on Linux

theo

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1927
Re: Comboboxes imperfect under linux
« Reply #2 on: July 14, 2010, 11:04:51 am »
I think he wants that GTK2 comboboxes look exactly like on windows.
This will never happen though.
I also don't understand, why he considers this a "show stopper".

MikeFinch

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 79
Re: Comboboxes imperfect under linux
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2010, 01:22:35 pm »
I use Mandriva and lazarus. By the way I notice lazarus has been "stuck" on 0.9.29 for ages - why no progression as was the case, say, a year ago?
Sorry, I still can't see why comboboxes can't "behave" under linux as with Windows.
No one ever seems to explain why this is so!!!!
Mike Finch

theo

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1927
Re: Comboboxes imperfect under linux
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2010, 03:24:51 pm »
By the way I notice lazarus has been "stuck" on 0.9.29 for ages - why no progression as was the case, say, a year ago?

I don't know where you get your information from, but Lazarus is updated every day/hour/minute (see Age):
http://svn.freepascal.org/cgi-bin/viewvc.cgi/trunk/?root=lazarus&sortby=date

Sorry, I still can't see why comboboxes can't "behave" under linux as with Windows.

Because on GTK2/Linux comboboxes should behave like GTK2/Linux Comboboxes and not like Windows comboboxes.

mica

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 196
Re: Comboboxes imperfect under linux
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2010, 06:00:14 pm »

Sorry, I still can't see why comboboxes can't "behave" under linux as with Windows.
No one ever seems to explain why this is so!!!!
Mike Finch
GTK2 is not windows
QT is not windows.
So they behave different.
if you want the same across all plattforms use fpgui.

MikeFinch

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 79
Re: Comboboxes imperfect under linux
« Reply #6 on: September 26, 2010, 05:16:52 am »
Further to my concern re comboboxes not working (like Windows, or at all) under (Mandriva) linux - attempts for help made 13-14 and 2-3 months ago have resulted in no real help forthcoming.

I have established a website to do the job of my previous standalone (Windows) executable using the PHP serverside scripting language. So the urgency to get a linux version working has evaporated.

BUT THE PROBLEM IS STILL UNSOLVED.

Lazarus seems to be churning over and over in the Snapshots again, seemingly, with no progress (no version updating). It seems developers have deserted the project.

I give up!!

Mike Finch

JimBeam

  • New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 36
Re: Comboboxes imperfect under linux
« Reply #7 on: September 26, 2010, 09:21:52 am »
Mike,

I think it might help if you describe what is actually wrong - what behaviour do you expect and what do you see on what platform (Mandriva with Gnome? or KDE?)?
You indicated that you had asked for help before on these combobox issues; it might be a good idea to specify what exactly is wrong which saves everyone who wants to answer from having to look up this information.

As for there not being many releases, I think you're right. Then again, I'm grateful there's steady development; if needed I can always get a recent snapshot.

Bart

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5275
    • Bart en Mariska's Webstek
Re: Comboboxes imperfect under linux
« Reply #8 on: September 26, 2010, 09:34:08 am »
If you want comboboxes (and all other widgets) to look and behave exactly the same on all platforms and all widgetsets, then you should take a look at fpGUI. AFAIK fpGUI aims to do just that.
fpGUI is work in progress (see http://wiki.lazarus.freepascal.org/Roadmap), so you can help develop it.

OTOH Linux users expect widgets to behave as their windowmanager dictates, and so do Windows or Mac users.
A Windows user probably would also be annoyed if a widget suddenly behaved as if he were working in Linux with Gnome (or KDE).

Bart

MikeFinch

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 79
Re: Comboboxes imperfect under linux
« Reply #9 on: September 26, 2010, 11:20:26 pm »
Replying to JimBeam & Bart

I use Mandriva KDE - have never used Gnome! Rather than describe what goes wrong, I'd rather just say that behaviour under Windows is perfect. Any serious developer would be able to discover what I mean by trying Mdv KDE! One thing that goes wrong is that a list (of names) is not encapsulated by the box but descends to the end of the list and towards the screen bottom. It doesn't appear automatically, only when the mouse is pressed. All very ugly!

OK - I'll wait 'til fpGUI is more developed. As I've said it is now low priority and with the seeming virtual cessation of Lazarus development what's the point anyway? I suspect the Snapshots are mainly churning the same code, but I wouldn't know of course not being involved (and not having that high level of ability anyway).

If I were younger and motivated I'd get serious with C (qt4 etc) but won't be doing that!

Cheers Mike Finch

Bart

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5275
    • Bart en Mariska's Webstek
Re: Comboboxes imperfect under linux
« Reply #10 on: September 27, 2010, 12:19:23 pm »
I use Mandriva KDE - have never used Gnome! Rather than describe what goes wrong, I'd rather just say that behaviour under Windows is perfect.

Question: do comboboxes in other KDE applications under Mandriva behave different than the comboboxes in Lazarus?

If so, it possibly is a bug in the widgetset, so in that case please describe how they behave differently.


...with the seeming virtual cessation of Lazarus development ...

Did you actually look at the link theo provided?

Remeber, no one of the developers of Lazarus or FreePascal gets paid for this, we are all volunteers.
You seem to be unwilling or unable to help the development of Lazarus yourself by contributing code/patches to the project.
That's OK though, but only complaining that we (the community) did not fix something that we feel is not a bug, isn't very helpfull either.

Bart

theo

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1927
Re: Comboboxes imperfect under linux
« Reply #11 on: September 27, 2010, 12:37:21 pm »
Question: do comboboxes in other KDE applications under Mandriva behave different than the comboboxes in Lazarus?
If so, it possibly is a bug in the widgetset, so in that case please describe how they behave differently.

Sure they do behave differently, but it's not a bug.
KDE applications use KDE/Qt Widgets. There, the comboboxes do not take the whole screen if the list ist long. GTK2/GNOME comboboxes take the entire screen height (See Gimp etc.)
Since the Lazarus default on Linux is GTK2, Lazarus applications show the GTK2 behaviour.
He could build against Qt, if he does not like this (I personally have no problem with GTK2 comboboxes).
Mike Finch is waiting for sth. to be fixed which will never be fixed, because it's not a bug.


lainz

  • Guest
Re: Comboboxes imperfect under linux
« Reply #12 on: September 27, 2010, 04:29:45 pm »
Also imperfect under Windows: if you set a ComboBox ReadOnly = True the combobox have a white background or other color you select: must be transparent to see the skin for ReadOnly combobox in windows.
« Last Edit: October 19, 2010, 04:18:33 pm by lainz »

theo

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1927

Zoran

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1829
    • http://wiki.lazarus.freepascal.org/User:Zoran
Re: Comboboxes imperfect under linux
« Reply #14 on: September 27, 2010, 08:07:02 pm »
Also imperfect under Windows: if you set a ComboBox ReadOnly = True the combobox have a white background or other color you select: must be transparent to see the skin for ReadOnly combobox in windows.

Did you perhaps mixed Enabled with ReadOnly property? The lower combo box on the image has Enabled set to false.

 

TinyPortal © 2005-2018