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    How to set Desktop Mode off and make it stick?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Solved Lenovo Tab M10 X605F/L
    58 Posts 8 Posters 12.0k Views 3 Watching
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      • danfroD Offline
        danfro @dtarrant
        last edited by danfro

        @dtarrant I had a look, yes, the app is not using a terminal command (as I thought). It is changing a gsetting.

        gsetting values can be changed via terminal too as described here.

        The schema is "com.canonical.Unity8". The actual setting value is "usageMode". (taken from UT Tweak Tool's code, not checked)

        So in theory something like this run in terminal should work:

        gsettings set com.canonical.Unity8 usage-mode Staged
        gsettings set com.canonical.Unity8 usage-mode Windowed
        gsettings set com.canonical.Unity8 usage-mode Automatic
        

        Havn't tried it though.

        Edit:
        If you wish to do this without terminal but from inside an app, have a look at my ThemeSwitch branch where I implemented a working way of changing a gsetting.

        Edit 2:
        I edited the mispelled commands here too as pointed out by @Pulsar33.Thanks for that.
        Although if it is usage-mode, then I don't know why or how UT Tweak Tool can work, because that is using usageMode. But maybe I overlook something.

        D 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 3
        • D Offline
          dtarrant @danfro
          last edited by

          @danfro
          Interesting, I looked up gsettings and it seemed to be about keyboard mappings. However, in view of what you've told me, I'll take another look.
          Thanks for the information.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • D Offline
            dtarrant @danfro
            last edited by

            @danfro
            I tried one of the commands you suggested and it failed with the message "no such key as rusageMode" (or similar).
            I would value your suggestion as to how to trouble-shoot.
            Thank you in anticipation.

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            • K Offline
              kugiigi @dtarrant
              last edited by

              @dtarrant it should be usageMode. It's a mistype šŸ˜„

              D 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • D Offline
                dtarrant @kugiigi
                last edited by

                @kugiigi
                Wow! Thanks Kugi, I'll try again. ☺

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                • D Offline
                  dtarrant @kugiigi
                  last edited by dtarrant

                  @kugiigi @danfro
                  Tried again - still no joy. Got msg:
                  No such key 'usageMode'
                  I feel we are on the brink of success.
                  Also tried 'useageMode' but also no joy. ☹
                  Any other ideas?

                  Pulsar33P 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • Pulsar33P Offline
                    Pulsar33 @dtarrant
                    last edited by

                    @dtarrant mispellings ...

                    Use

                    gsettings set com.canonical.Unity8 usage-mode Windowed
                    gsettings set com.canonical.Unity8 launcher-width 6
                    gsettings set com.canonical.Unity8 autohide-launcher true
                    

                    The opposite of Windowed is Staged

                    BR
                    Pulsar33

                    Aquaris BQ E5 HD UBports OTA-25 (currently testing features)
                    Aquaris BQ E5 HD Ubuntu Edition Canonical OTA-15 (last Canonical version, daily use)
                    Raspberry Pi 4 B - 4 GB & 8 GB with various OS and Desktops (UBports not OK)

                    D 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 3
                    • D Offline
                      dtarrant @Pulsar33
                      last edited by

                      @pulsar33
                      Many thanks. I will try and let you know how it goes.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • D Offline
                        dtarrant @Pulsar33
                        last edited by

                        @pulsar33 @kugiigi @danfro @Luksus @Fuseteam
                        Brilliant! That worked!
                        You've made me very happy.
                        "If you know stuff, you can do stuff!" ☺

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • D Offline
                          dtarrant @kugiigi
                          last edited by

                          @kugiigi
                          This looks interesting:
                          I now know the correct gsettings command.
                          I can access .config/upstart with file manager and currently this location is empty (no files).
                          Please can you explain the format of the script I need to put here so the gsettings command is executed when I boot the tablet.
                          Not sure if this is relevant, but I just noticed that file manager has an "open terminal here" option at .config/upstart/....

                          KenedaK 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • KenedaK Offline
                            Keneda @dtarrant
                            last edited by Keneda

                            @dtarrant said in How to set Desktop Mode off and make it stick?:

                            Not sure if this is relevant, but I just noticed that file manager has an "open terminal here" option at .config/upstart/....

                            It has this option in any folder.

                            @dtarrant said in How to set Desktop Mode off and make it stick?:

                            Please can you explain the format of the script I need to put here so the gsettings command is executed when I boot the tablet.

                            See there .

                            For instance, i assume you can call your file rotate-screen-fix.conf, put the right code to start script in it, and then create a rotate-screen-fix file in home folder and put the @Pulsar33 code above in it.

                            2015-2023 : Meizu MX4 ā˜ ļøāš°ļøāœļø
                            2023-2024 : Nexus 5 ā˜ ļøāš°ļøāœļø
                            2024-***** : FPOS Fairphone 5 waiting UT for freedom šŸ˜‰
                            šŸ‡²šŸ‡«šŸ‡¬šŸ‡§

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                            • D Offline
                              dtarrant @Pulsar33
                              last edited by

                              @pulsar33 @Keneda @kugiigi
                              Now I have confirmed the correct gsettings command to switch to staged mode, I need to arrange for it to be executed automatically when I boot the tablet.
                              I like Kugi's suggestion to use config/upstart/...
                              I have experimented with file manager which provides an easy way to created folders and files and also the facility to start a terminal wbich makes it possible to delete files and folders.
                              The problem I have is how best to add text (commands) to the empty file I created.
                              I have searched for a solution and some approaches seem over-complicated.
                              I would appreciate your suggestion please.

                              K 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • K Offline
                                kugiigi @dtarrant
                                last edited by

                                @dtarrant You can use vi or nano via terminal. Or Seabass from the store for ease of use.

                                Here's a sample code that the tweak tool uses to set the scaling. Not sure if you can do the same of putting the command directly instead of creating a separate script.

                                start on starting dbus
                                exec initctl set-env --global GRID_UNIT_PX=28
                                

                                Here's another example of executing a script/bibary instead

                                start on started unity8
                                exec /opt/click.ubuntu.com/dekko2.dekkoproject/current/lib/aarch64-linux-gnu/bin/dekkod
                                
                                D 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • D Offline
                                  dtarrant @kugiigi
                                  last edited by

                                  @kugiigi
                                  I like your previous suggestion of putting the gsettings command in ~/.config/upstart/....
                                  For me, nano and vi look very tedious to learn and use.
                                  After a quick play, Seabass2 looks much easier, so I will give that a try and let you know how I get on.
                                  Watch this space!
                                  In the words of Pete Juliano:
                                  "If you know stuff, you can do stuff" ☺

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • D Offline
                                    dtarrant @kugiigi
                                    last edited by

                                    @kugiigi @Luksus
                                    So I put the gsettings command in ~/.config/upstart/...
                                    using Seabass2.
                                    I did not succeed in making the tablet start in staged mode.
                                    I did notice a few things:

                                    1. My BQ M10 tablet file manager enables access to ~/.config but the TB-X605F does not.
                                    2. Seabass2 can access ~/.config on the BQ, but not on the Lenovo.
                                    3. Seabass2 was harder to use that I anticipated.
                                    4. On the Lenovo, I had to use the command line to access ~/.config/upstart/... and add my gsettings command.
                                      Next I will re-visit the other suggestions that have been offered and try a different approach.
                                      It's worrying that the Lenovo behaves differently to the BQ.
                                      Looks like the Lenovo may have some significant bugs.
                                    LuksusL 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • LuksusL Offline
                                      Luksus @dtarrant
                                      last edited by

                                      @dtarrant Do you have set a lock-password (sudo-password) on the X605?

                                      Devices: BQ e4.5, Fairphone 2, Fairphone 3, Lenovo X605F, Pinephone, Moto Z2 Force, OnePlus5T

                                      D 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • LakotaubpL Offline
                                        Lakotaubp
                                        last edited by

                                        @Luksus just to let you know @dtarrant is having a problem logging in to answer your question (guessed it was this). We are trying to sort out the issue. Thanks.

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • D Offline
                                          dtarrant @Luksus
                                          last edited by

                                          @luksus @Lakotaubp
                                          Sorry about the delay to reply. I had a problem logging in which took a while to fix. Anyhow, in answer to your question about having a passcode set, yes I did. I will explain further:

                                          I have been using my BQ Aquaris M10 Ubuntu Edition as a reference. On this tablet, file manager can't see .config/etc until I unlock the 4-digit passcode, then it becomes accessible.

                                          On my Lenovo TB-X605F, also using a 4-digit passcode, .config/etc was not accessible even after unlocking.
                                          If I recall correctly, I couldn't access .config/etc with Seabass2 either, whilst it was possible from my BQ M10.

                                          K 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • K Offline
                                            kugiigi @dtarrant
                                            last edited by

                                            @dtarrant That's really weird. Maybe the port has apparmor/permission issues?

                                            LuksusL 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                            • LuksusL Offline
                                              Luksus @kugiigi
                                              last edited by

                                              @kugiigi
                                              no there are no permission issues... I just tried it on my device.

                                              @dtarrant
                                              did you enable "show hidden files" in file-manager settings? Though that would not change the view in Seabass.

                                              Devices: BQ e4.5, Fairphone 2, Fairphone 3, Lenovo X605F, Pinephone, Moto Z2 Force, OnePlus5T

                                              D 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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