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terano avatar Ubuntu

sometimes Thunderbird doesn't quit properly and switching windows with ALT+TAB doesn't work: how to solve?

pl flag
terano

Sometimes Thunderbird freezes on the Panel after quiting the program and simultaniously switching windows with ALT+TAB doesn't work anymore.

On my computer I can reproduce it this way:

Ubuntu 21.10
Thunderbird 91.5.0 (64-bit)

step 1: open a Terminal window
step 2: open a second Terminal window

note: it can also be any other window of another program, but for this test I used Terminal windows

step 3: open Thunderbird
step 4: check if with ALT+TAB you can switch normally between all 3 the windows; if so, proceed.

note: check also if SUPER+TAB switches normally between the programs Terminal and Thunderbird

step 5: go to Thunderbird and start a new message with CTRL+N
step 6: write a test message and send it (with CTRL+ENTER)

note: sending a message is essential, I can't reproduce the error if I only open Thunderbird and only read messages

step 7: at this point the error/bug occurs: with ALT+TAB I can't switch anymore to the opened Terminal windows.

note that SUPER+TAB still works normally

Not only the window switching is malfunctioning right now, but also Thunderbird doesn't quit anymore as it should:

step 8: go with the still functioning super key (windows key) SUPER to the opened Terminal windows and close them.
step 9: go to the opened Thunderbird window and close it under File->Quit (or with CTRL+Q)
step 10: hover with the mouse over the (side) Panel and see that Thunderbird is indicated still as running, even though it has been closed already.
step 11: right-click on the Thunderbird symbol in the panel and try to close the program with Quit there: this doesn't work and on my computer the menu that appears after right-clicking on Thunderbird in the panel stays open and doesn't go away anymore at all.

What can cause this problem? How can I debug it myself further?

Someone else already asked this question here, but following the suggestion in a comment there I re-post the same question in my own words here.

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mickmackusa avatar
ve flag
mickmackusa
This is a very high level of care, I would be very surprised if a Stack Exchange community would try to stifle such good content.
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terano avatar
pl flag
terano
@mickmackusa Thank you for the guidance you gave me on how and where I should post my question!
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uz flag
Jos
But isn't this the bug linked to in the other question? https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/thunderbird/+bug/1932328
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mickmackusa avatar
ve flag
mickmackusa
What is your concern, @Jos?
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terano avatar
pl flag
terano
@Jos the bug link in the other question seems to be describing a slightly different situation. The bug link you write in your comment actually does exactly describe the same problem. So please learn me how to interpret that bug page: on top of it I see "status: invalid" and "unassigned". At the bottom of the bug discussion (comment #72) I read that the status (in mutter-ubuntu) changed from "In progress" to "Fix Released". What does this mean for me as an end user? Should I wait for the next release of Ubuntu or can I do something else to fix this properly (not with a workaround please)?
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vanadium avatar
cn flag
vanadium
I cannot reproduce this on Ubuntu 21.10 with Th 91.5.0 - Oops, yes, I am on Xorg, so may be a Wayland issue indeed. Try running ` MOZ_ENABLE_WAYLAND=1 thunderbird` if not already, otherways turn around and have thunderbird run on xwayland by removing the variable to see if the issue disappears.
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vanadium avatar
cn flag
vanadium
I think the issue report linked by @jos may be relevant here. My suggestion is also there in the commants, see #18
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uz flag
Jos
@mickmackusa Although this is undoubtedly an important issue, bug reports are offtopic on this site. That is all.
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Score:3
vanadium avatar Ubuntu
cn flag
vanadium

Ubuntu 21.10 defaults to Wayland, even after an upgrade. The issue you experience agrees with the symptoms described in an existing bug report. This will need to be fixed by the upstream developpers. In the mean time you can

  • Run thunderbird on xwayland (an Xorg emulation layer on Wayland) instead. This involves commenting out the line export MOZ_ENABLE_WAYLAND=1 in /usr/lib/thunderbird/thunderbird.sh.
  • Move back to using Xorg: on the login screen, click the cog wheel and select the Xorg session of Ubuntu

Note As commented here, updates will revert the changes to /usr/lib/thunderbird/thunderbird.sh. To avoid this:

  1. Copy /usr/lib/thunderbird/thunderbird.sh to /usr/local/lib/thunderbird/thunderbird.sh and make the changes in the copy
  2. Create a symlink to your custom wrapper script in /usr/local/bin, i.e. ls -s ../local/lib/thunderbird/thunderbird.sh /usr/local/bin/thunderbird

The symlink in /usr/local/bin overrides the one installed with thunderbird. Both the custom link and wrapper script will not be affected by any future update of thunderbird.

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terano avatar
pl flag
terano
Thank you. I choose for now the quick and easy option: logging in with Xorg and that solves the issue completely. Maybe I'll try later the xwayland option with the symlink fix if I later would feel the need for Wayland for other reasons. Just wondering why Ubuntu choosed to make Wayland the default X-server if a very common application as TB still has a bug with Wayland? Does Ubuntu that way try to push TB developpers towards Wayland compatibility or is this just a bug nobody could have foreseen and apparently is not that easy to fix (because already known for more than half a year)?
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