Shoutbox

Tabbed chatting bug with dualscreen setup
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Well it goes a little like this...
When chatting with the tabbed chatting option turned on, sometimes the chatting window pops out of the main screen.
This usually happens when i add another person to the chatwindow, or remove one.
I guess something weird happens when a tab is added or removed.
This is pretty annoying, my second screen(tv) is usually turned off, so i have to turn it on and select the a/v channel to drag the window back into my 1st screen
It would be nice if all chatting activities could be forced onto the 1st screen somehow!

using:
Windows Live Messenger8.1.0178.00
Messenger Plus! Live 4.50.0.310
Windows XP Pro NL SP2 (updated)
Nvidia Forceware 169.21

I can now provide a way to reproduce this bug...

-open a chat window
-minimise it
-select another contact to chat with

Voila, chat window disappears (actually moves to 2nd screen)

Odd thing is, if you drag the window back to the 1st screen a few times... this behaviour doesn't occur anymore, for a while that is...

can't reproduce it.
Got 2x19" TFT, Nvidia ForceWare 163.75.
What monitor is set as primary!?

Windows Vista Home Premium (6.0.6000) (Swedish)
Windows Live Messenger 8.5.1018
Messenger Plus! Live 4.50.0.312
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edit: tested on my broters computer.
He CAN reproduce it. 2x19" CRT, Nvidia ForceWare (16x.xx)

Windows XP Service Pack 2 (5.1.2600) (Swedish)
Windows Live Messenger 8.5.1018
Messenger Plus! Live 4.23.0.276

--> Updating to 4.50 (312) -->
Can still reproduce it.
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Edit2: After updating Nvidia Forceware 163.75 to 169.25 i got the same problem in Windows Vista.
Seems that the conversation window jumps to the secondary screen if WLM main windows is there, if main and conversation windows is on primary both stays there.

Who to blame? i say, nvidia,  Patchou, Micros0ft?  any ideas?

Hey! Nice research!

I have to add, i had this problem already on the Forceware v163...
So i'm not really sure who to blame...
You have tested different OS'es,different drivers, different Messengers,different Plus'es...
And still reproducable... could be a undiscovered Plus bug,i don't really know.
But a solution to this is very welcome!

I also noticed, IF the conversation window reappears on the 1st screen...
The chatwindow does not reappear on exactly the same spot. I think this bug has something to do with this as well.
It reappears slightly down and right.

Have you ever had a situation where you had several popup boxes appear?
They don't pile up on the same spot, but they overlap each other...and that is exactly how the conversation window comes back...it somehow assumes it overlaps another(same) window, whilst this is not the case.

I think it gets confused sometimes on how to rebuild it's appearance!

When tabbed chats are disable, start window, move to primary, minimize and then when starting a new, the new one apperars on secondary screen, well that have to be why the first conversation "jumps" back to secondary with tabbed chats enable.
But if i disable the tabbed chats(not moving any over to primary), then the windows "line up" on secondary screen (little down and right in i nice order)...

Hmm may this problem be with some kind of "save window position" or "new window starts here position" in messenger (API)?

If so, is it able to force a starting position for "new (tabbed) conversation windows"? maby a feuture option, or maby a script idea?!

Patchou!?! *shouting*

quote:

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Originally posted by si3rra

Hmm may this problem be with some kind of "save window position" or "new window starts here position" in messenger (API)?

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I was thinking the same thing...although i don't have any idea of how Plus decides where to put the chatwindows back.
I'll be trying out the same thing like you did, in a few minutes.

quote:

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Originally posted by si3rra
When tabbed chats are disable, start window, move to primary, minimize and then when starting a new, the new one apperars on secondary screen

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Can't reproduce that...
But when trying, i did find out that new windows positions behave eratically. I found out it has something to do with both the size and position the last chatwindow had. That is where a new window is based on.

A new window appears where i last closed it.
When i open a second one,it usually appears randomly, or top- left.
Three or more windows appear at the top left and nicely stack up in groups of five.
Found out that this is all dependant on the size of the windows you use. With small windows,they usually stack up nicely where the last window closed.
(flaw? it think a second window should appear stacked on the first window's position,where it is active at that time... and not the position where it appeared)

I think i have found out more in-depth info about this bug.
Try this with tabbed chatting turned on:
-open a conversation window
-make the window as small as possible
-put it somewhere top-left
-close it
-reopen it
-minimise it
-select another contact to chat with.
Voila, it does not jump to the second screen anymore.
It does reopen a little down and right,i guess it should not happen like this.
You can keep minimising and opening contacts until the conversation window goes out of the desktop borders, and then it pops to the second screen.
That is exactly where the problem lies.

You can retry the above actions with a bigger conversation window than you did before.
You'll notice that it will pop to your second screen quicker. And amazingly again, exactly at the moment when it goes out of the desktop borders

I think we can conclude here, this bug consists of 2 problems.
First, a tabbed chatting conversation window should not reappear a little down and right.
Second, a chatting window out of screen borders should not reappear on the second screen.(rather same position, or top-left?)

Enough research i think! Shouting out to Patchou as well!