osgeo-desktop image needs to be "stretched"

[micha]

The desktop background "osgeo-desktop.png" is 1024x768. The current xfce4 desktop setting is tiled so that on a widescreen monitor the desktop image gets cut off on the side. To change to stretched the following diff needs to applied to /etc/skel/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfce4-desktop.xml :

micha@OSGeo-b9:~/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml$ diff -u xfce4-desktop.xml.orig xfce4-desktop.xml 
--- xfce4-desktop.xml.orig	2012-08-11 19:04:44.123976439 +0300
+++ xfce4-desktop.xml	2012-08-11 19:05:08.143678413 +0300
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
       <property name="monitor0" type="empty">
         <property name="image-path" type="string" value="/usr/share/xfce4/backdrops/osgeo-desktop.png"/>
         <property name="image-show" type="empty"/>
-        <property name="image-style" type="int" value="2"/>
+        <property name="image-style" type="int" value="3"/>
         <property name="last-image" type="string" value="/usr/share/xfce4/backdrops/osgeo-desktop.png"/>
         <property name="last-single-image" type="string" value="/usr/share/xfce4/backdrops/osgeo-desktop.png"/>
       </property>

Note that this causes the nice round OSGeo compass to become somewhat squashed. :-(

[darkblueb]

yes - we are looking for the best option on this setting.. suggestions welcome.. It was set to '3' previously.. in a test there might be an option to stretch proportionally to fit max of width or height, which might be the best.. not clear yet (to me) what all the choices are...

[hamish]

[please make sure that tickets for the live dvd get set to the "LiveDVD" trac component and not the default SysAdmin one]

n.b. the file to edit is gisvm/desktop-conf/xfce/xfce4-desktop.xml,

the options are: auto, centered, tiled, stretched, scaled, zoomed

right click on desktop, Desktop Settings..., style, then pick the one you want and look in the "$USER_HOME/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfce4-desktop.xml" file to see the number to use.

Hamish

[camerons]

Micha, We have discussed this issue on IRC and if you are welcome to apply a fix if you wish. If you wish your fix to be included in OSGeo-Live 6.0, please apply this fix within 24 hours of this comment. (Ie by COB 15 Aug European time).

[hamish]

back to old style in r9050. will have to experiment with varying preset screen sizes in the VM settings to confirm it will look reasonable for most.

Hamish

[micha]

Here are the options and the results on a wide monitor:

• Centered: leaves a black stipe on both sides, proportions correct
• Tiled: the ride side becomes a light blue stripe (the beginning of a second tile) and the text disappears
• Zoomed: Text gets cut off
• Scaled: Dark stripes at both sides, proportions correct
• Stretched: Everything is visible, no stripes, but the compass gets a bit squashed

[hamish]

As if 12 hours ago it's set to "stretched" as it was for 5.5. I resized my VM to 1280x600, and the compass is indeed a bit squashed, but it's not too bad IMO and the best we can do. The text looks fine and if anyone says anything about the circle not being exactly round we can just mumble something about supported ellipsoids.

Hamish

[micha]

Replying to hamish:

As if 12 hours ago it's set to "stretched" as it was for 5.5. I resized my VM to 1280x600, and the compass is indeed a bit squashed, but it's not too bad IMO and the best we can do. The text looks fine and if anyone says anything about the circle not being exactly round we can just mumble something about supported ellipsoids.

LOL! Great explanation.

Hamish

[darkblueb]

... but it's not too bad IMO and the best we can do.

Nope - there is yet another mode, I discovered it by accident. It scales the image proportionally, fitting the "least" side and the rest falls off the screen. In the case of a wide viewing area, this happens to bring the logo closer to the bottom, but there is slack space built in there. The logo sat on the bottom of the screen, not squashed. It looks a lot better.

I believe the two primary proportions of screen commonly found worldwide are.. the long wide view, for laptops and movies; and the desktop PC screen (in other words, the tall vertical case is almost universally non-existant) .

[kalxas]

Is there any newer fix for this? If not I am going to close it, since it seems that the first solution is ok.

[kalxas]

this is not going to be fixed for 6.5.

[darkblueb]

Perhaps something else changed in the setup ? I have not seen bad presentation at all during 7.0 development.

[kalxas]

I propose to close this...

[micha]

Sorry for chiming in late.

On a wide screen, the "7.0" and the globe image get slightly shaved off at the bottom -No big deal. On the other hand, changing the background image style to "stretched" causes the globe to look squashed, which is worse.

So I'm also for letting it go.