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I am trying to achieve the setup described by Roman in this thread: Drawing over the desktop (I'm trying Option 2, using Ardesia with xcompmgr)

I really could use this solution to make instructional videos for my chemistry class (I'm a teacher). I have installed xcompmgr and ardesia (according to Roman's solution), but when I run ardesia I get a blank grey toolbar (without the icons showing that are supposed to be there). The buttons on the toolbar--although not visible--do work (the pen cursor shows up when I click pencil, the colors change properly, etc.), but nothing happens when I try to write anything. I have also tried using compton instead of xcompmgr. I am running lubuntu 13.10 [UPDATE: 14.04]. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as this would really be a killer tool for making videos for my class. Thanks.

[UPDATE]: Upon further investigation, others seem to be having this issue with the latest version of Ardesia (1.1-1), and recommended trying the penultimate verison (1.0-1). I tried this, and while it gives slightly better results (the toolbar icons show up, annotating with text works but disappears after a few seconds, pen drawing is still impossible), this is still far from being usable. I'd still appreciate any help. Thank you.

[UPDATE 2]: As a test, I ran a ubuntu (not lubuntu) live CD, installed ardesia on it, and ran it using compiz. This worked perfectly, but I have no interest in making the switch to ubuntu. So, I then tried installing compiz on my lubuntu system and using that with ardesia, but achieved the same failing results. Still trying to figure out what the issue might be (perhaps a problem with openbox?). I'm really no expert here, but I'm trying anything I can, and I'd really love any help that people could provide. Thank you.

[UPDATE 3]: Upon trying the suggestion in the comments by @fossfreedom, I got the following error from ardesia:

I then tried it a few more times, and I got it to not break down once, but it still wouldn't draw. Perhaps of note: sometimes when I quit aredsia, the drawing that I tried to do flashes briefly before the program closes. Not sure what this could mean, but I think it shows that it's not totally broken...

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OpenSourceFTW
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  • This is just a calculated guess but.. I think it's something related to needing gtk resources. Try installing the ubuntu-desktop package, and then continue using LXDE. This might just work – Amith KK Feb 26 '14 at 06:37
  • so the main reason i use lubuntu is that it's really fast. would installing the ubuntu-desktop package slow me down? (ubuntu is definitely not as fast as lubuntu). if not, i'd definitely try it. – OpenSourceFTW Feb 26 '14 at 23:10
  • on the ardesia wiki it mentions a parameter that can fix issues ardesia -d does this fix anything with xcompmgr? Have you tried running xcompmgr -cfF -t-9 -l-11 -r9 -o.95 -D6 & with or without ardesia / ardesia -d ? – fossfreedom May 26 '14 at 10:06
  • @fossfreedom, I tried your suggestion, and it didn't quite work. I've added info to the original post... does this give you any thoughts? – OpenSourceFTW May 26 '14 at 14:30
  • @OpenSourceFTW - those look like errors I saw when running Ubuntu in VirtualBox - is that what you are doing? I strongly suspect if you are that is your issue - virtualbox doesnt support the opengl stuff required for ardesia. – fossfreedom May 26 '14 at 17:16
  • No, @fossfreedom, I'm running on a real lubuntu install – OpenSourceFTW May 27 '14 at 02:48
  • @OpenSourceFTW - looks like from the issues page on the ardesia code site, many people are having the same issue. Looks like that the software itself is not being actively maintained in any substantial way. https://code.google.com/p/ardesia/issues/list – fossfreedom May 28 '14 at 18:50

2 Answers2

1

  1. Downgrade Ardesia to version 1.0-1

  2. Launch an alternative window manager (xfwm4 is a light one used in Xubuntu):

    xfwm4 --replace --sm-client-disable &

  3. Run xfwm4-tweaks-settings → Compositor → Check Enable Display Compositing

enable composite for xfwm4

Notes:

  1. Some combination may not work, it's may be worth to try:

    • Compile it from source.
    • Other compositor in combination with xfwm4: xcompmgr -c , compton -c or cairo-compmgr

  2. For permanent settings, replace openbox with xfwm4 in .config/lxsession/Lubuntu/desktop.conf:

    [Session]
windows_manager/command=xfwm4

    Using separate compositor, add a composite manager command to .config/lxsession/Lubuntu/autostart, Example:

    compton -c --backend glx
user.dz
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  • this gave me the exact same result as before... why are you having so much more success with your fixes haha :-/ – OpenSourceFTW Jun 03 '14 at 14:05
  • Maybe I should just switch to Xubuntu permanently. I just love Lubuntu. I have conky in use on the desktop, do you think that could be the problem? My "dock" is just lxpanel. – OpenSourceFTW Jun 03 '14 at 23:34
  • to answer my own question, no. I tried killing conky and it had no effect. I think I should reiterate, when I quit ardesia, the drawings I tried to do will flash briefly on the screen for a fraction of a second. Could ardesia be drawing things behind all the other layers for some reason? – OpenSourceFTW Jun 03 '14 at 23:42
  • Same as you @OpenSourceFTW, with pure Lubuntu, installed last updates. Ardesia from Repo get SEGFAULT. Ardesia from source, flash my drawing for second before closing. It works well if I skip step 3 (without any window manager), but no window decoration/controls – user.dz Jun 05 '14 at 16:44
  • Interesting... Well at least I feel like less of an idiot now. This raises a new question, though: do you think there's a window manager aside from openbox or xfwm4 that would make it work? (Preferably something lightweight). I'd try some out myself but I'm totally out of my league here cause I don't know much about window managers, and I'd rather not mess my system up somehow. – OpenSourceFTW Jun 06 '14 at 19:48
  • @OpenSourceFTW, I have updated answer with new combination. I hope this one works. I started to think it's may be something wrong with 3d acceleration setup. – user.dz Jun 19 '14 at 16:23
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    Hey, thanks so much. This works! The only problem is that the undo function seems to break it (everything stops working after you try undo even once), but I can live with that haha

    I really can't thank you enough for trying so many times to get this to work for me :-)

     – OpenSourceFTW Jun 19 '14 at 18:36
  • @OpenSourceFTW Nevermind, just vote it up :) as it could be just a partial solution. I didn't notice undo/redo problem, I confirm that. However, my VirtualBox behave like your PC in many cases. Where in my laptop, all cases work those I have posted. But I couldn't figure out what's missing: lib's, some custom settings... – user.dz Jun 19 '14 at 19:43
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I used Ubuntu 14.04 for testing with Ardesia from source repository.

  • Ardesia 1.1-1 from Repo gets SEGFAULT.
  • Ardesia from source with default openbox, flash my drawing for second before closing.

(In VBox with fresh Lubuntu, only Ardesia 1.0-1/Precise pre-build worked for me)

  1. Install compiz and ccsm

    sudo apt-get install compiz compizconfig-settings-manager metacity

  2. Open CCSM:

    • General category → Enable Composite , Gnome Compatibility & OpenGL
    • Effects → Enable Window Decoration
    • Window Management → Enable Move Window, Resize Window (as minimum, you can enable any option you want)

    Other way, I have exported my Compiz settings

    • Create a text file, add these to it (skipped defaults):

      [core]
s0_active_plugins = core;composite;opengl;decor;gnomecompat;resize;move;

[composite]
s0_refresh_rate = 50

      Or my full settings export here.

    • CCSM → Preferences → Import

  3. Run compiz

    compiz --replace &

  4. Run Ardesia

enter image description here

user.dz
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  • Thanks a lot for the response, I really appreciate it. I followed every step of your solution to a tee, but when I try to draw, nothing shows up. Any ideas? – OpenSourceFTW May 25 '14 at 03:29
  • I tried this both by manually enabling the additional plugin and by using the text file. Same result. I noticed that compiz changes my window borders when I do "compiz --replace", not sure if that has anything to do with it? – OpenSourceFTW May 25 '14 at 13:52
  • Also, what version of Ardesia are you using? – OpenSourceFTW May 25 '14 at 13:53
  • @OpenSourceFTW, "compiz changes my window borders" yep, Window Decorator does that. When I tried Compiz without Window decorator enabled, I got windows without title bar/edges frame. I've Ardesia 1.1-1 , Compiz 1:0.9.11+14.04.20140423-0ubuntu1 – user.dz May 25 '14 at 15:40
  • Same versions here... I really don't get what the problem is. This is so frustrating because it's not a mainstream program, so not that many people can even help with the troubleshooting. Sorry to keep bothering you with this, but your knowledge seems to be my only sliver of hope... do you have any other ideas as to what the problem could be? – OpenSourceFTW May 25 '14 at 20:56
  • well thanks for trying. as the only answer, you get the bounty haha – OpenSourceFTW May 29 '14 at 21:09