After upgrading my Ubuntu (default) installation yesterday, I got some interesting happenings. It was all right, that is gnome shell and all, up to the upgrade. Gnome Shell version is 3.33.91 now.
Now, there’s only the top panel, and of course the dash, and it is stuck. But, everything works… from the desktop. Every single app works, except the gnome shell. That is, the Activities, the App grid, the dash and so on. They can be seen, but they don’t work. If I click on any icon, it gets stuck. But, all the apps work, even the clock in the middle of the panel.
For the moment, Plank is holding the apps, link to /usr/share/applications finds and runs the apps. Bit of a trouble, but can get the distro running. The apps are running in the Desktop. It is quite interesting. Let’s see, if the gnome shell would come back to work, or have to find another menu. Another link to /usr/share/applications. In the link on the desktop, I can keep only those I need, not everything in /usr/share/applications.
Somehow got the Dash to Panel working. But, if I click on the “Show applications” everything gets stuck. The so-called Activities doesn’t work. Had to find a solution. “Show applications” is only a menu. If it doesn’t work, something else has to be found to get the apps to show and click to run. So, got the Natty days Slingshot launcher to work. Got myself a full screen menu. I can live without all those “suggestions.”
The far left corner icon (view-app-grid-symbolic) opens Natty’s Slingshot launcher. Got a full screen menu, and categories.
Its interesting that “Show applications” icon (or the holding down the Super key) works and the apps open, only if initially a full screen app is open, for example a web browser.
If it is minimised, the system gets stuck. So, the App grid can be invoked, any app can be launched, only on top of the open full screen app. In a way, the gnome shell is working half way.
But any non full screen app can be opened from Natty’s Slingshot without the full screen app under it. But must be careful not to touch the Super key, without a full screen app, for otherwise the system gets stuck.
Maybe the shell menu would come back in time. If not, not much of a problem.
While searching the net on this, I found a bug report, more or less telling the same thing. The report is expired, but the situation seems to have not been wished away. This seems to have been happening 7 years ago too.
Decided to look at the Ubuntu 19.10 daily iso in live mode. Opened settings, decreased the icon size to 28. Icons, of course, decreased, but not the dock. @didrocks
@3v1n0
It looks like the left and right padding stays the same whatever the icon size.
Icon size 24, the paddings look like ~12 - 15px each on right and left. The icons are of irregular width, so hard to tell which icon has the 24px width.
When moving the desktop icon, a thin green frame appears with the default Yaru theme. Click on the image to open it in another page to see that frame. Only a part of the screeny is shown here. This happens with Adwaita too. Once this happens, the app grid goes underneath and become unseen. It has to be logged out and back. As far as I don’t click on the Show Applications icon, everything works well. Or, if a full screen application is on, before clicking on the Show Applications icon. This doesn’t happen in the Arch Gnome installation, even with the Yaru theme.
It doesn’t happen, if the theme is changed to Ambiance, for example in Ubuntu proper.
Searching for solutions from this kind of happenings, finally found myself a (weird Frankenstein) installed system from the today’s’ Ubuntu Eoan. It doesn’t have Gnome’s default top left hot corner, just like Ubuntu. It doesn’t have the Show Applications button, but shows the App-grid. It doesn’t have the Activities button, but shows the Overview. It doesn’t have C. Soriano’s Desktop Icons extension (system), nor the Rastersoft’s Desktop Icons NG extension, but still shows desktop icons and has drag and drop.
(Using Dash to Panel for usefulness, btw.)
I have been fighting all the issues that you describe, for the past month.
I have been using Ubuntu sense 2004. Never had issues like eoan. I always start testing 3 month after a final release. I use Nemo and at the current time, their is no way go set nautilus to not show desktop icons. That could be the the icon extension not functioning properly.
I am wating to see if eoan release will have the current issues. fixed.
Running Ubuntu Mate
