<SOLVED> KSnapshot misbehaving

[parnote]

Hey guys. I have one computer with KDE 4.6.2 installed. It's a Lenovo G530, 3 GB RAM, Intel GM45 video card (using i810 & later driver), dual core 2.1 GHz Intel processor. I'm fully updated via PASS server.

I'm having a problem with KSnapshot, which I use quite a bit to grab screen shots to accompany the articles I write for the magazine. However, KSnapshot stopped working properly for me ever since upgrading to KDE 4.6.1. I am fully updated, and KSnapshot USED to work perfectly for me.

All the "settings" in KSnapshot work as they should (capturing full screen, rectangular area, user-defined irregular area, etc.), EXCEPT capturing the window under the mouse cursor. I typically have KSnapshot set up with a 3 second delay, so it can get out of its own way before taking the screen shot. Changing the delay does not have any effect on KSnapshot's "misbehavior."

I was talking to JohnW on IRC, and he is not experiencing this misbehavior, and capturing the window under the mouse cursor is working for him.

Does anyone here have any ideas on why KSnapshot has stopped capturing the window under the mouse cursor (a.k.a. the "active window")? I'm out of ideas and welcome input on this so I can get KSnapshot performing as it should -- and used to.

Thanks!

parnote

[Bald Brick]

KSnapshot works quite normally here. It will actually capture the window under the cursor even if that isn't the active window. And it will capture the whole window under the cursor even if it's partially covered by other windows.

Have you tried renaming ~/.kde4/share/config/ksnapshotrc?

[Old-Polack]

As you can see, not a problem here, even when taking a snap of the KSnapshot window itself, from a second instance.



Have you tried going to /home/<you>/.kde4/share/config/ and renaming the ksnapshotrc file to ksnapshotrc-old, to see if a new default one will solve the problem? The *rc files are where I usually start with this kind of thing.

I have three fully upgraded KDE4 systems now and ksnapshot works as expected in all of them, so it has to be a local glitch... we just need to find where the glitch is.

Edit: Hey Bald Brick, do you hear an echo in here?

[Archie]

Have you tried reinstalling it?

[Texstar]

Try closing out ksnaphot then delete its configuration file in /home/parnote/.kde4/share/config/ksnapshotrc

Are you using ksnapshot from within the KDE desktop or are you using another DE? Just trying to see if I can duplicate your issue.

Tex

[parnote]

Try closing out ksnaphot then delete its configuration file in /home/parnote/.kde4/share/config/ksnapshotrc

Are you using ksnapshot from within the KDE desktop or are you using another DE? Just trying to see if I can duplicate your issue.

Tex

Tex,

Using KSnapshot from within the KDE desktop. Most of my other computers run Phoenix, and I use a customized (older) version of xfce4-screenshooter provided by one of our wonderful packagers for screen shots there.

Meanwhile, I'll give the other solution a try and report back ......

parnote

[parnote]

Ok ... first, I tried renaming ksnapshotrc to ksnapshotrc.old ... no changes in behavior.

Next, I tried reinstalling ksnapshot, renamed the new ksnapshotrc file to ksnapshotrc.old2 ... still no changes in behavior. I also tried saving the image anyways, just in case the preview window wasn't displaying the new image properly. No go there, either.

All the other settings work just fine ... it's only window under mouse cursor that is failing.

Googling the problem doesn't reveal much, either.

parnote

[parnote]

Ok ... I'm going to mark this one as solved. I found the culprit. Thinking back to when I updated to 4.6.1 and all the things I had to re-setup on my desktop, I went back and checked my KWin Compositing settings (Configure Your Computer > Workspace Effects > Desktop Effects > All Effects tab). There was an effect listed there, called "Screenshot." Apparently, it conflicts with the KSnapshot tool, and won't allow KSnapshot to properly capture the window under the mouse cursor. I do NOT remember selecting this "effect" when I re-setup my KDE desktop effects when I upgraded to KDE 4.6.1.

Clearing the check for "Screenshots" locked up KDE, and forced a restart of X. But when I was returned to the KDE desktop, I tested KSnapshot, and it now behaves as it should, and captures the window under the mouse cursor.

Thanks for all your help guys!

parnote