Re: GTK menus on Ubuntu

[Richard Shann <richard rshann plus com>]

> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2016 09:49:53 -0400 (EDT)
> From: Allin Cottrell <cottrell wfu edu>
> To: Jason Benjamin <hexusnexus gmail com>
> Cc: gtk-app-devel-list gnome org
> Subject: Re: GTK menus on Ubuntu
> Message-ID:
>       <alpine.LNX.2.20.3.1610130932190.5851@localhost.localdomain>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
>
> On Tue, 11 Oct 2016, Jason Benjamin wrote:
>
> > On Wed, 5 Oct 2016 21:11:41 -0400 (EDT)
> > Allin Cottrell <cottrell wfu edu> wrote:
> >
> > > I'm wondering if anyone knows the machanism whereby Ubuntu
> > > "commandeers" the main menu system of a GTK application and sticks
> > > it into the global top-of-screen menu bar, or combines it with the
> > > application-window title bar? I'm talking about a "traditional",
> > > non-CSD GTK application, where the "natural" location for the main
> > > menu system is at the top of the program's window but underneath the
> > > window's title bar as added by a WM.
> >
> > I am familiar with this "distribution", if you could link some
> > screenshots with details for the different operating systems that would
> > help. That could be difficult, but if you need to use VirtualBox or
> > something.  I may not be able to give you an answer with the little
> > time I have right now, but at least someone else may be able to with a
> > more comparable question.
>
> Thanks, Jason. I think I now have a better handle on what's going on. 
> It seems that the code responsible for the effect I mentioned is
> unity-gtk-module, a "GTK+ module for exporting old-style menus as 
> GMenuModels". There's a mechanism for "blacklisting" applications so 
> they're not subject to this treatment, and there's also a relevant 
> environment variable, UBUNTU_MENUPROXY: I gather that if this is set 
> to 0 then unity-gtk-module doesn't kick in.
>
> It seems to me that Ubuntu would have been better to adopt a 
> "whitelist" approach -- that is, apply this mechanism only to programs 
> that have been properly tested as working well under it. In the case 
> of my application the main menus are set up using the GtkUIManager and 
> GtkAction APIs, and the trouble (or one trouble) with unity-gtk-module 
> is that calls to gtk_action_set_sensitive() are not getting through to 
> the "hijacked" menus. It's hard to believe that my app is the only one 
> to get broken in this way.

Indeed not, GNU Denemo was distributed in broken form for some years by
Ubuntu, I don't know if it is fixed now...

Richard