GTK+ Incorrect Window Size

Question

I'm not sure whether to ask this question on this site or on StackOverflow, because although this is programming related, I suspect that the behavior is influenced by the OS.

So I have decided to study creating software for Elementary OS, using the language and library they recommend -- Vala and GTK+.

The problem is, why is the GTK Window set default size function <GTKWindow>.set_default_size(w, h) not working the way it should be when running the program normally, whereas working correctly when running the program under elevated privileges (sudo).

Here's a screen capture to better explain the situation:

Image: The program with the larger window is run with sudo, while the smaller one is run without sudo

The code, is fairly simple; I just copied it from Elementary OS development guide:

using Gtk;

//Program entry point.
int main (string[] args){
    Gtk.init (ref args);

    //Create GTK Window.
    var window = new Gtk.Window ();
    window.title = "Hello World! From Vala.";
    window.set_position (Gtk.WindowPosition.CENTER);
    window.set_default_size (550, 450);
    window.destroy.connect (Gtk.main_quit);

    window.show_all ();

    Gtk.main ();

    return 0;
}

The window's client area is (444, 318) without su, and (550, 450) if under su.

Anyone who can explain why is happening? How can I make the default size correct even without su?

Answer 1

One of these windows is using client-side decorations and the other is using sever-side decorations. There is a bug right now where client-side decorations include the shadow as part of the window geometry. Which technically it is, but the toolkit should compensate.

Starting in Loki (because of the newer libmutter version), all windows will be drawn with this client-side decoration method. There will no longer be a configuration option. We decided to opt-in early in Freya, but the configuration option is only set for regular user accounts.

Answer 2

I found the effective env variable: GTK_CSD=1 , you can verify:

• sudo GTK_CSD=1 ./yourprogram
• GTK_CSD="" ./yourprogram

The GTK Client-Side Decorations enabled by:

$ sudo grep -r GTK_CSD /etc/
/etc/profile.d/gtk-csd.sh:export GTK_CSD=1

$ dpkg -S /etc/profile.d/gtk-csd.sh
elementary-default-settings: /etc/profile.d/gtk-csd.sh

I didn't notice such size issue in the other desktops, you probably right about submiting a bug report.

Answer 3

This isn't a elementary OS bug. It happen when you haven't child widgets into your window.

Try adding :

window.set_resizable (false);