LXDE and xmonad windows not visible

Astrac · 2014-06-30 09:54:15

I have an LXDE Arch installation and I would like to try xmonad with it; I installed xmonad and xmonad-contrib and I tried to run

xmonad --replace

When I do this I get the LXDE background but no visible windows. I know that applications are running since I tried keeping in background some music in the browser and I kept hearing it after executing xmonad. I tried several combinations of keys (switch layout, switch workspace, alternate windows, ...) and I tried running other applications by using dmenu (which is visible) but I couldn't get any window displayed. No error logs are shown in xmonad.errors or in Xorg. At some point I had the typical border of xmonad shown in the top-left corner of the desktop as if a windows was there, but I could only see the desktop background. I also tried setting xmonad default window manager in LXDE but the result was the same. Finally I tried to run an X-only session (no LXDE) with xmonad and it worked.

Does anyone have an hint about what could be happening when I try to run xmonad and LXDE together? It seems to me like something from LXDE is covering the windows that xmonad draws, is it possible something like this to happen?

Thank you for any help!

Rexilion · 2014-06-30 10:31:50

Does any of the below key combo's work?

mod-shift-return
Launch terminal
mod-p
Launch dmenu
mod-shift-p
Launch gmrun
mod-shift-c
Close the focused window
mod-space
Rotate through the available layout algorithms

Astrac · 2014-06-30 10:54:23

I tried these combinations, the outcome is that:

* dmenu works, but launched windows are invisible
* gmrun not sure if it is running but definitely not visible
* close focused works, it killed the invisible browser window
* rotate layout dosn't change anything
* launch terminal: I believe that it works but I cannot see spawn windows

At this run something strange happened anyway, the calendar widget from the lxpanel was visible at the centre of the desktop and it close when I used mod-shift-c.

Rexilion · 2014-06-30 12:49:28

Maybe try to shutdown all lxde processes except for session management. Then try xmonad. If that works, start all lxde centric apps until you experience this same issue. The last program will be the culprit.

Astrac · 2014-06-30 19:45:37

Thank @Rexilion, I found the process that is causing the issue; in the process list it appears as:

pcmanfm --desktop --profile LXDE

Killing this process xmonad works fine. Is there a configuration that I need to put in place to make this work correctly?

Thank you!

Rexilion · 2014-06-30 20:13:01

Prevent lxde from starting pcmanfm in it's session config (I think it has one).

Or maybe delete pcmanfm?

Astrac · 2014-07-01 19:45:33

At the end I managed to fix the issues by removing the line about pcmanfm in the lxsession autostart.

Thanks everyone for the help!

Arch Linux

#1 2014-06-30 09:54:15

LXDE and xmonad windows not visible

#2 2014-06-30 10:31:50

Re: LXDE and xmonad windows not visible

#3 2014-06-30 10:54:23

Re: LXDE and xmonad windows not visible

#4 2014-06-30 12:49:28

Re: LXDE and xmonad windows not visible

#5 2014-06-30 19:45:37

Re: LXDE and xmonad windows not visible

#6 2014-06-30 20:13:01

Re: LXDE and xmonad windows not visible

#7 2014-07-01 19:45:33

Re: LXDE and xmonad windows not visible

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