Feature Request - option to disable panning for mode switching.

[davija]

I am having issues with the NVIDIA X Driver for linux. And by searching the forum, I'm not alone. What I (and a few others) would like to see is a simple option to disable panning. For example with the following MetaMode line:
Option "MetaModes" "1600x1200,1600x1200; 640x480@640x480,640x480@640x480"

would give the following result... You would start with default screen of 1600x1200, but when you use CTRL+ALT+"+" to switch mode, you get 640x480 resolution, but a virtual screen of 1600x1200 with mouse panning. this is VERY annoying. that line should give you a standard 640x480 line according to the MetaModes rules. This should be a very simple fix to the code for the MetaMode parsing.. I would do this myself, but as nvidia has chosen to not allow the development world to help them, we are stuck unless we can convince NVIDIA to do it right.

[Thunderbird]

Sorry to say but this is not a problem of the nvidia drivers. The highest resolution in a Mode (display section) or Metamode (this is an nvidia feature) is chosen as the primary resolution in case of twinview for both devices. In all cases when lower modes are added they are virtual resolutions.

Since some time there's an extension called RandR which allows resolution switching but it doesn't work in conjunction with Twinview.

[davija]

This IS an nvidia driver issue as this never happened until I got an nvidia card. I have been using X-Windows & multiple screens/screen modes for years and it has always worked correctly.

for example in the display section if you put:

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Card0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Modes "1600x1200" "1280x1024" "800x600" "640x480"
Depth 24
EndSubSection
EndSection

and you use CTRL+ALT+"+/-", you get what you want. when you are in 1600x1200, you have a 1600x1200 screen size, when you switch to 640x480, you have a 640x480 screen size, with NO panning (virtual screen). Nvidia ignores these settings and uses their own.
I've been using dual-head features on non-nvidia cards since multi-head xinerama support was added to X. It's only with nvidia cards that this issue occurs. Hense it must be the nvidia driver/card.

If nvidia doesn't see fit to own this issue and blame it on X windows, I'll quit using nvidia cards and go back to matrox and ati. They at least worked correctly with X screen settings.

[Thunderbird]

Oops, sorry wasn't awake when you replied. Thought you wanted 'real' resolution switching but you only want to ability some way to make the screen not virtual. (don't want the mouse to go beyond the size of the current visible resolution) I think they could add this.

[davija]

Yeah, I think that would work. I don't care if it has a large virtual screen, I just don't want the screen panning out when you move the mouse off to the side. I use some applications that need to be run in 640x480 or 800x600, and with my setup the way it is currently (1600x1200 in both screens), it isn't very doable.. But if I could have a way to CTRL+ALT+"+" to get to the 640x480/800x600 resolution that would be great. It works now, but when you move the mouse off the edge of the visable screen, it pans the visable part to another part of the virtual screen. Basically like what i said, an option to disable panning.

although, one thing that would need to work, but I don't know if this is completely different or not. When you switch to a different res using CTRL+ALT+"+", the window manager/X should have some way of knowing that the max res it can use is the new res. For example, in kde you have the taskbar down at the bottom. In 1600x1200, it would be at to bottom and be 1600pixels wide. But when you switch to a different res, it would need to be re-drawn to be at the bottom of the window and a max width of the new resolution. By definition I think this would be a change in the "real" resolution, not just virtual with no panning, but not sure. I know it's possible, because all other video cards that I've tried under linux (2 single cards and dual-head cards) work just fine in doing that. It just appears that the nvidia drivers in twinview don't properly understand x config settings, and can't change them as required.

[okfineilldoit]

I am having the same problem, but on a single head setup. I am using a geforce2 mx400 personal cinema card that supports 2 monitors and tv out through an extention box, and using mandirva 2006 and 96xx nvidia driver, my 21" CRT shows me an 800x600 viewing pane that pans around my 1600x1200 desktop. I am searching for an answer to fix this now;if i find it I will post it back here.

[pe1chl]

Your answer is the one given in posting #2: RandR
Use the RandR tool appropriate for your setup.
xrandr
krandrtray
..etc

[okfineilldoit]

RandR has no effect, nor will the system allow me to change resoloution in any other way. The only way i get a new res is to change my default monitor type, from say, 1280 x 1024 to 1600 x 1200 for example. And then I am still given only an 800x600 window that pans around a larger desktop.... But thanks for the thought. I am going to run up a bug report and start a new thread if you are interrested in helping.

Thanks RDF