X11 unable to maximize applications when no window manager is used

Question

We have a Linux based system that does not use a Window manager. When we start certain applications (for instance Firefox) from a terminal window (e.g. Firefox &) we find that no matter what we do, we can't get the application to display full screen.

If we run xrandr, it shows the default resolution is 1280x1024, but when we try to maximize Firefox (by pressing F11) the application is only sized to 1203x650.

Another application that seems to have the same problem is the evince PDF reader.

Our application is not configured to run a window manager (and we don't want to add one), so I'm wondering if there is something else that we can do to get these applications to render full screen.

Thanks...

Answer 1

Does passing the "-geometry=1280x1024+0+0" option to Firefox help?

Answer 2

Although you don't want to use a window manager, you might need to use a window manager.

I haven't dug into the X server sources around this, so I can't definitively say X requires a window manager to run properly. But as somebody who writes X client code, and hacks the X server, on minimalist embedded devices with small screens, low CPU power and no GPU... let's just say, all the major players in that space use one, and have good reasons for it.

If you want to avoid chewing up a lot of disk space, RAM or CPU power doing window management, you should check out matchbox. It's a low-footprint window manager designed to meet those criteria, and it's what many folks in that minimalist embedded space are using. My employer uses it on cell phones, configured so that only one app at a time is visible to the user, and the foreground app takes up the whole screen with no window borders. But you can use it other ways, too - Nokia uses it for their Maemo-based network tablets.

Answer 3

You could use xwit(1) to forcibly resize and place the windows. But as as far as I know, X11 in itself does not have the concept of a "maximized" window; the very idea is only added by most window managers and/or applications (like Firefox).

Answer 4

Oh, also... if you don't explicitly set a window manager, you might be unexpectedly falling back to the default X11 window manager. If you're not absolutely positive there's no window manager, you should check into this possibility.

Answer 5

Have managed to inadvertently create similar situation (distorted screen) by pressing Shift key at same time as Enter key when invoking a bash script which includes line: gdm-restart . After that the computer behaved variably. At first a reboot would fix problem. Later it became persistent despite brief power off/on. After leaving computer switched off for a few minutes it is now fine on reboot. Sorry I don't know what this all means. Hopefully it might offer some clue in sorting out. Regards, John Fleming