Dash-to-panel: Main panel keeps moving to external monitor

[ngoonee]

Describe the bug
I set my main panel to appear on my primary monitor (from the 'Position' tab in Dash to Panel's settings. This is on a laptop, and the setting stays through reboots, as long as I have not unplugged the external monitor.

If I use the laptop without my external monitor, the next time I use the external monitor the main panel switches to Monitor 2 instead.

Linux distribution and version
Arch

GNOME Shell version
3.38.1

Dash-to-Panel version
version: 40

Where was Dash-to-Panel installed from?
The GNOME extensions website. When installed from AUR I observed the same behaviour

Screenshots / Video captures

Additional Info
I actually see this as two (or three) issues. One is that Dash to Panel is not remembering the setting (I can see how this would happen when monitors disappear and reappear). Another is that it seems the default is to put the main panel on Monitor 2 (primary monitor should always be the default IMHO, and related is that Dash to Panel does not follow the primary monitor setting that the user provides (I think I've read this is very difficult for some technical backend reason[1])

[1] - https://github.com/home-sweet-gnome/dash-to-panel/issues/551

[fatalhare]

I have the same issue, and same setup as OP, using Wayland.

I've also noticed that it sometimes (not always) defaults back to monitor 2 when I change the resolution and scaling on the primary monitor. This usually happens when I have to switch from 3840x2160 to 1920x1080 on my laptop (for compatibility reasons when screen sharing in zoom).

Edit: Also happens when I use a different external monitor than the first one... e.g. I have an external monitor at home, and one at work. If I unplug and re-plug into the same monitor (ex. home to home) the setting stays, even through reboots. In contrast, when I go from home to work, or vice-versa, defaults to monitor 2.

[heldchen]

I experience the same: 3 screens (notebook + external monitor 1 + external monitor 2), setting set to "Primary screen" with all 3 screens connected, notebook is primary. closing the notebook screen has ubuntu set monitor 1 as the primary monitor, but Dash to Panel toggles the setting to "Monitor 2" and shows the main panel on the wrong screen, monitor 2.

and like @fatalhare I'm also having this problem when the same number but different external screens are used (home vs office).

Reproduced on Ubuntu 20.04.1 and 20.10 using Wayland.

[mboudreau]

I have the same issue that's been bothering me. I'm using popos 20.04 with wayland on my laptop that has a dock. When I dock the laptop with my external screen, the setting for dash to panel changes from "primary monitor" to "monitor 2" which is the external screen, while I want it to _always_ be the primary monitor, no matter if it's docked or not.

Love this extension and want to thank you for creating and keeping it up to date. Happy to help solve this myself if you can point me in the right direction.

[zclandry]

I am also having the same problem. Every time I reconnect to one of two external monitors the panel moves to Monitor 2. I am running Debian Testing using Wayland.

[ngoonee]

Does this bug need further info or triaging?

[pegelf]

I think this bug is a simple labeling issue. The title of the monitor which is currently the primary monitor gets renamed to "primary monitor" while the other ones are kept being the second and third monitor. If the primary monitor still would be named "Monitor 1" then this function wouldn't be confusing for us.

So in my opinion, the name of the current monitor shouldn't be replaced but expanded (like "Monitor 1 (current primary)").

Also for me this bug report is a feature request which I agree with. It would be great to have a config "primary monitor" which will always be applied to the monitor which currently is the primary, even when you attach different screens to your computer.

[heldchen]

it should be the monitor the OS sets as primary, and just follow that when the os monitor configuration changes (i.e. when docking/undocking, adding new monitor etc) - which is what I as a user expect from the current wording in the Dash-to-Panel settings...

[stale[bot]]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs. Thank you for your contributions.

[mboudreau]

Literally just had this issue 15 minutes ago. Docked my computer and the panel moved to my external monitor instead of staying on my primary, which is the option I _always_ use.

This is not a stale issue if the developer just doesn't fix it...

[ngoonee]

Well, it's stale enough that I no longer use dash-to-panel (or Gnome). Not sure if github issues allow me to transfer the issue to one of the other users here experiencing this problem?

[fatalhare]

Issue is persisting for me as well. Currently using latest Dash to Panel and Gnome 40.