Projects/KWin/4.0-release-notes - Revision history

Mgraesslin: Warning that the content is outdated

2011-08-01T08:47:34Z

Warning that the content is outdated

Mss: Fix linking.

2011-05-13T10:04:13Z

Fix linking.

Mss: COMPOSITE_HOWTO is gone from trunk, this page is linked from KWin debug output. Link to last version available.

2011-05-13T10:02:52Z

COMPOSITE_HOWTO is gone from trunk, this page is linked from KWin debug output. Link to last version available.

Hilefoks: link to COMPOSITE_HOWTO fixed

2011-02-02T12:24:33Z

link to COMPOSITE_HOWTO fixed

Seli: KWIN_NVIDIA_HACK=1 is now the default

2008-03-20T11:35:18Z

KWIN_NVIDIA_HACK=1 is now the default

Seli: Somebody was kind enough to fix one heading, so fix the rest as well

2008-01-26T18:38:41Z

Somebody was kind enough to fix one heading, so fix the rest as well

Tampakrap: /* Why not Compiz? */

2008-01-26T10:14:44Z

‎Why not Compiz?

Seli: Please send non-trivial changes to kwin@kde.org first - I don't see how indirect rendering is more unsafe than any other thing

2008-01-20T15:51:23Z

Please send non-trivial changes to kwin@kde.org first - I don't see how indirect rendering is more unsafe than any other thing

Empee584: /* Performance */

2008-01-20T15:31:17Z

‎Performance

Empee584: /* Performance */ : add warning & tip to change texture filter

2008-01-20T15:30:52Z

‎Performance: : add warning & tip to change texture filter

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:47, 1 August 2011
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	'''KWin release notes for KDE4.0'''		'''KWin release notes for KDE4.0'''

		+	{{warning\|The sections on usage, configuration and performance may not apply to later version of KDE Plasma Workspaces. This page will not be updated!}}

	== Introduction ==		== Introduction ==

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 compositing support will be disabled again, therefore, if enabling compositing triggers any problems, it should be sufficient to wait several seconds before the changes are reverted. Note that after enabling or disabling compositing it is recommended to restart your KDE session in order to ensure that all applications detect the change.
-If you cannot enable desktop effects, it may be because either your KDE is not built with the necessary support, or more probably because your system is not capable of providing compositing support. See file [https://projects.kde.org/projects/kde/kdebase/kde-workspace/repository/revisions/bb6fa0acde8525f63d09c198f7c6fb7a312d85fc/entry/kwin/COMPOSITE_HOWTO#L1] for some instructions on setting up your system. Note that there may be other factors affecting whether you do or do not have compositing support.
+If you cannot enable desktop effects, it may be because either your KDE is not built with the necessary support, or more probably because your system is not capable of providing compositing support. See [https://projects.kde.org/projects/kde/kdebase/kde-workspace/repository/revisions/bb6fa0acde8525f63d09c198f7c6fb7a312d85fc/entry/kwin/COMPOSITE_HOWTO#L1 COMPOSITE_HOWTO] for some instructions on setting up your system. Note that there may be other factors affecting whether you do or do not have compositing support.
 == Usage ==

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 compositing support will be disabled again, therefore, if enabling compositing triggers any problems, it should be sufficient to wait several seconds before the changes are reverted. Note that after enabling or disabling compositing it is recommended to restart your KDE session in order to ensure that all applications detect the change.
-If you cannot enable desktop effects, it may be because either your KDE is not built with the necessary support, or more probably because your system is not capable of providing compositing support. See file [https://projects.kde.org/projects/kde/kdebase/kde-workspace/repository/revisions/master/raw/kwin/COMPOSITE_HOWTO COMPOSITE_HOWTO] for some instructions on setting up your system. Note that there may be other factors affecting whether you do or do not have compositing support.
+If you cannot enable desktop effects, it may be because either your KDE is not built with the necessary support, or more probably because your system is not capable of providing compositing support. See file [https://projects.kde.org/projects/kde/kdebase/kde-workspace/repository/revisions/bb6fa0acde8525f63d09c198f7c6fb7a312d85fc/entry/kwin/COMPOSITE_HOWTO#L1] for some instructions on setting up your system. Note that there may be other factors affecting whether you do or do not have compositing support.
 == Usage ==

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 compositing support will be disabled again, therefore, if enabling compositing triggers any problems, it should be sufficient to wait several seconds before the changes are reverted. Note that after enabling or disabling compositing it is recommended to restart your KDE session in order to ensure that all applications detect the change.
-If you cannot enable desktop effects, it may be because either your KDE is not built with the necessary support, or more probably because your system is not capable of providing compositing support. See file [http://websvn.kde.org/*checkout*/trunk/KDE/kdebase/workspace/kwin/COMPOSITE_HOWTO COMPOSITE_HOWTO] for some instructions on setting up your system. Note that there may be other factors affecting whether you do or do not have compositing support.
+If you cannot enable desktop effects, it may be because either your KDE is not built with the necessary support, or more probably because your system is not capable of providing compositing support. See file [https://projects.kde.org/projects/kde/kdebase/kde-workspace/repository/revisions/master/raw/kwin/COMPOSITE_HOWTO COMPOSITE_HOWTO] for some instructions on setting up your system. Note that there may be other factors affecting whether you do or do not have compositing support.
-−
 == Usage ==

@@ Line 61: / Line 61: @@
 Tip: Performance/smoothness with nVidia cards: Smoothness of KWin rendering
 can be improved by setting the env.variable KWIN_NVIDIA_HACK to 1 (e.g. append
-'export KWIN_NVIDIA_HACK=1' to your ~/.profile file). This sets '__GL_YIELD=NOTHING' for KWin, letting KWin use more CPU time for OpenGL operations, however at the expense of affecting performance of other applications. Therefore, this is disabled by default. This setting may be removed in the future if the negative impact becomes insignificant. See section 'OPENGL YIELD BEHAVIOR' in README.txt for nVidia cards.
+'export KWIN_NVIDIA_HACK=1' to your ~/.profile file). This sets '__GL_YIELD=NOTHING' for KWin, letting KWin use more CPU time for OpenGL operations, however at the expense of affecting performance of other applications. This option is enabled by default since KDE4.0.3, as the performance impact seems to be non-significant. See section 'OPENGL YIELD BEHAVIOR' in README.txt for nVidia cards for details.
 Tip: In some cases, overall smoothness may be increased by turning off direct rendering in advanced options in the Desktop Effects configuration module (Alt+F3->Configure Window Behavior).

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
-= Introduction =
+== Introduction ==
 KWin, the standard KDE window manager in KDE4.0, ships with the first version
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
-= Setting up =
+== Setting up ==
 Compositing support is enabled in KWin's configuration. Press Alt+F3 and select 'Configure Window Behavior'. In the configuration module, select the page 'Desktop Effects' and enable the checkbox 'Enable desktop effects'. After accepting the changes, a dialog with a timeout will appear, asking to confirm enabling of compositing support. If you do not confirm within the timeout,
@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
-= Usage =
+== Usage ==
 A quick overview of features provided by the compositing manager in KWin:
@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
-= Using KWin without KDE desktop =
+== Using KWin without KDE desktop ==
 Similar to older KWin versions it is possible to use KWin with other desktop environments or even as a standalone window manager, as long as the required KDE libraries are installed. Please note that KWin is a pure window manager and does not provide a panel or handle desktop background like some window managers do. KWin's compositing features work in the standalone mode, with some functionality missing (because of a missing taskbar, for example), and, while this has not been tested, it is expected that compositing features will work also when running in other desktop environments, possibly with some
@@ Line 50: / Line 50: @@
-= Performance =
+== Performance ==
 Compositing internally works by redirecting window drawing to offscreen memory and composing it on the screen in an additional drawing pass. This means that, in general, a composited desktop (on average) has worse performance than a non-composited desktop (although in some cases it may perform better, be that real improvement or just perceived one due to animations, better
@@ Line 67: / Line 67: @@
 Tip: Changing the Texture filter in the Advanced Compositing Options to Nearest may improve performance considerably (at the cost of aliasing artifacts), especially on low-end graphics equipment.
-= Troubleshooting =
+== Troubleshooting ==
 As already said, compositing support in KWin is considered usable and reasonably stable, but due to several reasons it may not work properly for you.
@@ Line 80: / Line 80: @@
 Note: When reporting bugreports for KWin compositing, it is useful to check whether Compiz works on the same system.
-= XRender mode =
+== XRender mode ==
 It is possible to use XRender for compositing instead of the default OpenGL.
@@ Line 86: / Line 86: @@
-= Developers =
+== Developers ==
 KWin provides support for writing compositing effects that may be loaded into KWin as plugins. These effects communicate with the KWin core using C++ API specially designed for this purpose, making effects not directly dependent on the KWin core or changes in it.
@@ Line 98: / Line 98: @@
-= FAQ =
+== FAQ ==
 === Why not Compiz? ===
@@ Line 122: / Line 122: @@
 It should be also noted that Metacity, GNOME's window manager, has not been dropped in favour of Compiz either, but is still, to our knowledge, under development and adding compositing features to it is a work in progress.
-== Why not use plugins from Compiz? ==
+=== Why not use plugins from Compiz? ===
 This option was considered in the past as well. After examination of Compiz code the conclusion was that this is technically almost impossible. Compiz plugins appear to be merely parts of Compiz that are separated from its core, but which still heavily depend on it - there are even plugins that appear to copy and paste parts of the Compiz core and modify it. Making it possible to use such plugins from KWin would essentially require KWin to become Compiz.
-== Why add compositing support to KWin when Compiz is better ? ==
+=== Why add compositing support to KWin when Compiz is better ? ===
 There can be different ideas about what better means, but regardless of that, the main aim of KWin is not to replace Compiz. Many users have asked for compositing support in KDE, and, as explained in 'Why not Compiz?', the best way to achieve that is considered to be adding compositing support to KWin. KWin aims to provide compositing support, focusing on providing useful compositing features and basic visual effects, while keeping its other strengths.

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:31, 20 January 2008
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	Tip: In some cases, overall smoothness may be increased by turning off direct rendering in advanced options in the Desktop Effects configuration module (Alt+F3->Configure Window Behavior). This may however completly garble up your display, in which case you better wait 10 seconds (instead of pressing enter) to make KWin discard the changes.		Tip: In some cases, overall smoothness may be increased by turning off direct rendering in advanced options in the Desktop Effects configuration module (Alt+F3->Configure Window Behavior). This may however completly garble up your display, in which case you better wait 10 seconds (instead of pressing enter) to make KWin discard the changes.
		+
	Another Tip: Changing the Texture filter in the Advanced Compositing Options to Nearest does improve performance considerably (at the cost of aliasing artifacts), especially on low-end graphics equipment.		Another Tip: Changing the Texture filter in the Advanced Compositing Options to Nearest does improve performance considerably (at the cost of aliasing artifacts), especially on low-end graphics equipment.