Cygwin X Windows (xterm) and VirtuaWin: How to fix the refresh problem when switching virtual desktops

[Steffen Dettmer <steffen dot dettmer at gmail dot com>]

Hi all

in short:
To make VirtuaWin refresh windows correctly when switching desktops,
generate a window rule that uses "Hide by move" for the X windows.

in more detail:
Several people like virtual desktops. On Windows, they can be
provided by a tool called VirtuaWin. However, together with
Cygwin XServer there are issues with refreshing the X windows
when switching desktops. I was annoyed for this known issue since
years and every now and then I looked to the internet checking if
a solution appeared. Interestingly such a solution exists [1]
since years (2009) but I did not find it before - now I am so
happy!

As this had be questioned on this list but as far as I see
without presenting the solution, I decided to write this mail.

To make VirtuaWin refresh windows correctly when switching
desktops, generate a window rule that uses "Hide by move" for X
windows. This can be done by clicking with the middle mouse
button on the title bar of an Cygwin X Windows window, such as an
xterm, and select "Add Window Rule". In the dialog near bottom
there is "Method for hiding the window", change it to "Hide by
move window". Do not forget to press "Add" and "Apply" buttons
afterwards.

With middle-click titlebar and selecting "Info" it can be
verified that instead of "Handling: Standard,Standard" now there
should be "Handling Move,....".

Please note that this might not instantly work for currently
opened windows or windows on another desktop. Re-apply the rule
on other desktops might help, a forum post [2] suggests rebooting
(well, it's Windows).

So just in case someone else lives with the same issue, I hope it
helped that I repeated (copied) the solution [1] here.

Regards,
Steffen

[1] http://sourceforge.net/projects/virtuawin/forums/forum/257054/topic/3413433
[2] http://sourceforge.net/projects/virtuawin/forums/forum/257054/topic/4089538

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