xrandr screen rotation in Gutsy

[smurtguy]

man xrandr 1.2 is really pissing me off

I've been looking for a few days now, for information on how to get it rotate a single screen properly.
And all I see are posts gushing on and on about how great it works. However none of the posts go into any depth on what config requirements the new randr extension has. AND not a single one actually is trying to rotate a screen.

the randr extension is now multidisplay extension.

I really wonder if the 1.2 screen rotation even works.

You can add the line

Option "RandRRotation" "true"

to the screen section.

This will allow the old style rotation to seem to work.
I say seem because you are quite likely to have the window manager still think the display has not been rotated.

btw once the above line is set, you get a different error when you try

xrandr --output default --rotate left

it will tell you that there is no mode for "1050x1400"

so does this mean we need to setup up additional mode lines in xorg.conf?
If so, how do we specify the which 1050x1400 is the left rotation and which is the right rotation
plus how do we add the line for the inverted screen. 1400x1050 is there

BTW another fun thing about xrandr now is that if you use an invalid "output" it won't generate an error.

so

xrandr --output GARBAGE --rotate left

doesn't do anything, even complain that this is not a valid output


So where can we find some documetation that explains what we need to do get xrandr to do what everyone claims it does?

I really do want to know what it really takes to set this up

I guess I'll try the extra mode line, but personally I think having to do that is pretty crappy.
1) because there is no clear documentation that I can find describing what is needed
2) because no non-linux-guru will ever want to put with this this much garbage just to rotate a screen.

If rotation is enabled for a display of resolution 1400x1050, this needs to imply then that 1050x1400 will exist

Finally I think KDE doesn't really support randr. Even with 7.04, a rotated screen displays repeated visual errors. With SUSE and 7.10 beta it doesn't even respond to xrandr anymore

ok last bit to my rant

X's configuration IMO is the biggest hindrance to general linux adoption

[PhantamaroK]

smurtguy, I read your post nodding my head the whole time.

I can't for the life of me figure out how to get rotation working in Gusty and can't believe that it's not a bigger issue amongst users. As bad as it sounds, I'm glad to finally find people with a similar problem. What a waste of a tablet it is (I have a Thinkpad X61) to not be able to rotate my screen.

I really think, at least for me, that it's an issue with Compiz Fusion. I have a T60 running Xubuntu 7.10 on which rotation (xrandr) seems to be working fine, and I'm seriously considering just loading xubuntu on my X61. It's awesome to be able to show off useless animations to people who have never seen them before, but I spend so much more time frustrated with a landscape tablet than I do showing off a rotating cube.

[george1984]

Hello. I am a non-technical novice. This thread has solved my problem. Thanks.

Rotation now works in Gutsy. It does not work in Feisty, but I have not not attempted the change to xorg.conf in Feisty as this is my main install, and I do rather mess things up, and I am about to change to Gutsy anyway.

Equipment – Graphics card...Geforce 7300 LE/PCI ( proprietary driver)
Screen – HP LP2065 (with pivot function)

System>Preferences>Screen Resolution...Rotation function was greyed-out.
In a terminal...xrandr -o left... produced this message (actually I have just generated this in Feisty which is where I am right now, But I think it is identical)

george@MrGrumpy-01:~$ xrandr -o left
X Error of failed request: BadMatch (invalid parameter attributes)
Major opcode of failed request: 156 (RANDR)
Minor opcode of failed request: 2 (RRSetScreenConfig)
Serial number of failed request: 12
Current serial number in output stream: 12
george@MrGrumpy-01:~$

Next, Examine the contents of /var/log/Xorg.0.log
The relevant lines were present, namely:-
(--) RandR enabled
(II) Initializing built-in extension RANDR

This seems to indicate that the card driver ( nvidia propriatory ) is capable.

Next examine the xorg.conf file
There is no reference to Xrandr, or any rotation capability.

Next add the line... Option “RandRRotation” “True”
This is how xorg.conf now looks :-


# xorg.conf (xorg X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf manual page.
# (Type "man xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
# sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg

Section "Files"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Generic Keyboard"
Driver "kbd"
Option "CoreKeyboard"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "gb"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Configured Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "CorePointer"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Protocol" "ImPS/2"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "stylus"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Option "Type" "stylus"
Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "eraser"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Option "Type" "eraser"
Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "cursor"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Option "Type" "cursor"
Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "nVidia Corporation G72 [GeForce 7300 LE]"
Driver "nvidia"
Busid "PCI:1:0:0"
Option "AddARGBVisuals" "True"
Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "True"
Option "NoLogo" "True"
Option "RandRRotation" "True"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "HP LP2065"
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Device "nVidia Corporation G72 [GeForce 7300 LE]"
Monitor "HP LP2065"
Defaultdepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Modes "1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1280x960" "1024x768" "800x600" "720x400" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default Layout"
screen "Default Screen"
Inputdevice "Generic Keyboard"
Inputdevice "Configured Mouse"

# Uncomment if you have a wacom tablet
# InputDevice "stylus" "SendCoreEvents"
# InputDevice "cursor" "SendCoreEvents"
# InputDevice "eraser" "SendCoreEvents"
EndSection
Section "Module"
Load "glx"
EndSection

Reboot...and now Rotation works! Really chuffed.

Regards
George

[Mormiriel]

Ahh.. xrandr. I had this working perfectly (for me and my Toshiba Satellite Tablet) in my Kubuntu Fiesty. I thought Gutsy sounded like a great idea... but now I'm not sure...

I've had to tweak my old script to make things rotate when I turn the screen. I had to change the xorg again (which I expected I'd have to do), however the rotation does not work properly.

When I rotate with command line or by turning the screen, the display rotates, *but* the display doesn't switch to a portrait mode, thus making it really hard for me to take notes.

From my cursory looks, it seems that no one has a solution for this yet. Darn me and my not checking out the whines before upgrading.

[george1984]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune.

Just to confirm that on my equipment when I do "xrandr -o right" it rotates and changes from 1600x1200 to 1200x1600, realizing the full potential of my new LP2065 display

Regards
George

[Gaiwecoor]

Originally Posted by Mormiriel ... When I rotate with command line or by turning the screen, the display rotates, *but* the display doesn't switch to a portrait mode, thus making it really hard for me to take notes. ...

Mostly the same problem here, on an Acer TravelMate C300.

I'm running Kubuntu 7.10, and the resolution doesn't change (remains 1024x768, rather than switching to 768x1024) when I rotate the screen. This is my problem when using Kwin as the window manager. When using Compiz, the resolution will change as expected, but the windows don't update themselves. For example: when writing in a document, the changes will not appear until you switch to another window, then switch back. (This problem doesn't occur in Kwin)

Any recommendations?

[Mormiriel]

It seems that thus far a lot of people have similar problems, but there is no fix.

[DonaldPK]

i have it working in a default Ubuntu 7.10 installation on a Fujitsu U1010 mini laptop. no special settings in Xorg.conf except for some extra lines to get the touchscreen working.

it can show Normal and Inverted using System > Preferences > Screen Resolution > Rotation and also Left and Right but in those 2 modes, the cursor movement doesn't seem to follow the mouse or the touchscreen. needs some work.

[henriquemaia]

Originally Posted by DonaldPK i have it working in a default Ubuntu 7.10 installation on a Fujitsu U1010 mini laptop. no special settings in Xorg.conf except for some extra lines to get the touchscreen working. it can show Normal and Inverted using System > Preferences > Screen Resolution > Rotation and also Left and Right but in those 2 modes, the cursor movement doesn't seem to follow the mouse or the touchscreen. needs some work.

I have the same experience here. The mouse movement is not working properly when X is rotated. Any ideas on how to solve this?

[zackiv31]

I just stumbled upon this thread as I try to get my X61 tablet rotation working correctly, and it doesn't look like things are working out well for us :-/

Rotation through the menu works good (X must be updated and redrawn, but it correctly changes my resolution.

My stylus does not work when rotated... the pointer mirrors where I touch on the screen, meaning that the stylus drivers must be made aware of the change, but I have no idea how to remedy this.


Is there any other information out there for this problem?

Also is there a journal format that can be used with both Vista and Linux? Right now I'm using xournal for ubuntu, and it works great... I just wish I could share the files between both my OS's easily.