Don't use system tray on Linux
complete
C
Cristian Álvarez
Gnome is Linux's most used desktop environment (used by default in Fedora, Ubuntu, Pop OS!, Debian, etc.).
Gnome does not officially support the system tray. Support has to be added manually using an extension (this extension is installed in Ubuntu by default).
When you close the Screen's window, it keeps running on the tray. This means that for a lot of Linux users, Screen keeps running in the background and they can not stop it since they don't have a system tray.
Log In
M
Matthew Gabeler-Lee
I was about to file a bug that the tray indicator was gone ... with a tool like this, having the tray indicator available is quite useful IMO.
I agree that, for folks where the tray does _not_ work, having it "disappear" to the tray is bad. But having the tray icon so you can launch things quickly when it's minimized, etc. is I think useful.
I think we could possibly have the best of both worlds here?
J Sherwani (Pop Team)
Matthew Gabeler-Lee: Would it work if we always keep the dock icon visible instead on Linux?
M
Matthew Gabeler-Lee
J Sherwani (Pop Team): Yes, that's essentially what I was trying to suggest -- always show the dock icon, but keep the close/minimize behavior like it is now. Your wording is much simpler than my convoluted sentences were :)
J Sherwani (Pop Team)
Matthew Gabeler-Lee: Hmmm I just checked, and we do support the following states in Linux:
- App running and visible
- App running, but hidden (click minimize on the main window)
- App quit (click close on the main window)
- You can also pin the dock icon by moving it up / adding it to favorites, so it's always there even if the app is not running (and clicking it will launch the app)
- When you join a meeting, the main window gets hidden, but the dock icon is still there.
Given that we’ve removed system tray support for Linux across the board (to keep things simple in our code), what specific improvements would you like to see beyond the current state described above?
M
Matthew Gabeler-Lee
J Sherwani (Pop Team): My like of the tray icon is that it is always directly available, without getting in the way. Accessing the dock icon or the minimized window requires both clicks and key presses (or multiple key presses) just to get to the app, and then clicking something in the app. A tray icon is just click to activate the menu and click for a common action.
J Sherwani (Pop Team)
complete
J Sherwani (Pop Team)
in progress
The latest version of Screen for Linux (v1.0.27) addresses this. Closing the main window will quit Screen, though minimizing it will keep it running (clicking the dock should bring it back). Let me know if you encounter any issues. Thanks!
C
Christian Hujer
As a workaround, until there is a solution for Linux desktops without system tray, GNOME users can try this workaround: https://ep.gnt.md/index.php/how-to-install-and-enable-gnome-system-tray-icons-in-debian-10/
J Sherwani (Pop Team)
planned
Thanks for the information, it’s a sensible request. We’ll try to get to this soon.
C
Cristian Álvarez
Slack had this same problem some time ago. You closed the Slack window but the application kept running in the background. Since many users don't have a system tray, they couldn't completely close Slack in any other way that manuall killing the process.
Since then they have added a setting to avoid keeping the application running in the background after the window is closed.