cinnamon app menu delayed

Please post suggestions for improvement of Cinnamon on:
https://github.com/linuxmint/Cinnamon
Forum rules
Before you post read how to get help. Topics in this forum are automatically closed 6 months after creation.
Locked
beauman

cinnamon app menu delayed

Post by beauman »

Hello everyone,

I got just a short question about the cinnamon application starter in the panel. There's a slight delay when opening the menu. Sometime it's almost two seconds, if I haven't used the menu for a longer time or sometimes it's just half a second. So it always feels a little slow, more or less. I'd like to know if you have similar experience and maybe know a workaround. Thanks!

Regards,
beauman
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
anandrkris

Re: cinnamon app menu delayed

Post by anandrkris »

http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... 8&t=116702 A lengthy discussion here.

You can try alternate "Configurable Menu", which has a feature where Menu opens upon pressing the button (Default Menu's behavior is on release which creates a perception of slow".

http://cinnamon-spices.linuxmint.com/applets/view/171
You choose how the menu should be opened: by pressing & releasing the mouse button, by just pressing the mouse button, or by hovering the mouse pointer on the menu icon.
nomko

Re: cinnamon app menu delayed

Post by nomko »

You can try alternate "Configurable Menu", which has a feature where Menu opens upon pressing the button (Default Menu's behavior is on release which creates a perception of slow".
+1!!!

I've noticed also another bug about the Cinnamon menu beside the delayed reaction time which is annoying too. Cinnamon is consuming memory without any reason! I mailed this issue to Clem but (in my opinion) his reaction was more like it is normal that Cinnamon is consuming memory without any reason. I've posted this issue on this forum as well: http://forum.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=208&t=153281.

I think the "Configurable Menu"is the best replacement option for Cinnamon until the Cinnamon development team realizes that they must improve Cinnamon much better regarding to this unwanted/ridiculuous memeory leak and the delayed opening time.
beauman

Re: cinnamon app menu delayed

Post by beauman »

You can try alternate "Configurable Menu", which has a feature where Menu opens upon pressing the button.
Can you be a bit more specific on how to solve the bug? how to try? thx

Ahh, now I get it! It is indeed only opening, when I release the mouse button. Never noticed that before! So when I press and hold the mouse button it won't do anything. Yes, it is wasting some ms here, I think so too. Ok, just let me know how to set up the alternate menu.
anandrkris

Re: cinnamon app menu delayed

Post by anandrkris »

Right-Click Panel
Add Applets to Panel
Applet Settings Window > Get More Online > Click Refresh List button
Image
Search for Configurable Menu (or filter by latest) and Install
Add to Panel
Image
lestcape
Level 2
Level 2
Posts: 80
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 2:15 am
Location: Cuba
Contact:

Re: cinnamon app menu delayed

Post by lestcape »

I'm not thinking that Cinnamon menu lost the memory without any reason. The Cinnamon menu lost the memory, to increase the menu speed more... And Configurable Menu works equally than the Cinnamon Menu, and also lost more memory than Cinnamon Menu(Configurable Menu makes more things )...

On my personal opinion about this, "clutter component", it's really the reason of the menu delayed... and the devs try to fix this with a preload of the menu(this is the cause of a big memory consumption). When you have open the menu, the menu need memory to display the icons of the app... The memory can be released when the menu is closed, but they do that, then when you open the menu again you need to load all icons again, and this take time. The several things that the Cinnamon have it's controlled by only one thread of execution, because GTK components(used to display the visual components) do not allow concurrent access... This also avoid the speed of the Menu...
https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=687362

This can not avoid that other thing can be do, for example right now lost time on the seconds load of the menu, because they do not store the menu size, and they need to recalculate this... also Configurable menu can be more fast, on the first load if I can control all posible menu state... I need to do that, but take time and need several test...

Thanks to the devs of Cinnamon, was changed the mode of they handle all applets menu... Now they are handled with mouse press instead mouse release...(for all applet that used the normal way and only on the nightly build for now).
beauman

Re: cinnamon app menu delayed

Post by beauman »

lestcape and anandrkris, both of you are right. One component of the delay is added by the click behavior. The menu opens only when the mouse button is released, not already when clicked. The second component is some kind of missing pre-caching or something in that direction.

I have been testing this now on a) my seven year old work PC b) my brand new monster of gaming PC c) in a virtualbox on my old PC. On the slower machines a) and c) the delay component that lestcape describes has a bigger influence. And once the menu has been used before, it is getting better. On a fast machine (case b) ) the click behavior adds mainly to the delay effect.

This is the reason, why people here "perceive" this behavior so differently.

@lestcape:

It's good that a developer is joining our conversation here! If you have the contacts to menu developers, could you let them know how we think about this issue? Because sometimes very obvious bugs are not getting fixed. In return, I might even have a feedback for your sticky notes, that could help you to improve them. I am still testing with v0.9.1-Beta from 14 February 2014. If you press "Add new note" a new window opens. When right-clicking "Type to your note" the paste option is grey-ed. Bug? And the text for new notes could be changed to "Type your note". But besides of that, still loving this tiny little desklet! Ok, just tell them we want it really fast! :-D Thanks!

@anandrkris:

Thanks for posting the instruction! I'm going to check it out.

B.R.
lestcape
Level 2
Level 2
Posts: 80
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 2:15 am
Location: Cuba
Contact:

Re: cinnamon app menu delayed

Post by lestcape »

Ohh! I bow to you ... Really bothers me that sometimes the users say some thing without testing, and it's really easy test the problem. This is independent of whether or not they are right the arguments, or worse, just ask for things that they want and do nothing....

I do not I consider myself a developer, I consider a user like you. I also can not hold me sometime, to say things that I do not tested ... So I must admit I was impressed...

Let me say this... sure that i don't want to have several layout on Configurable menu, only i want to have the layout that i want to use... The several layouts it's because the Configurable Menu was create to be used for all, not just for me...

I'm a man like anyone... And I need help like anyone... There will always be someone who has a better idea than mine, or even better, you can always discuss. I don't know why only a few user come to github and tell about they want to have, or the errors that they have... I know that the people that used the menu are more than the people that come to say any thing... I know that the configurable menu have several problems and bug, but few say.

It's my personal opinion... maybe some developers actually bothered that some user come to speak ill of your application. I love that this happend so, if they come with really critical arguments. But well like i say, I'm a user.

All this to say "why people here "perceive" this behavior so differently".

Already and said many things in the cinnamon development page, most of them have no answers. And I have not and I do not want to have any privilege. In fact I not speak English well and if I have a good idea, the idea can be misinterpreted or confused the reasons why I said something.

If anyone wants that some thing that i do will be merge on Cinnamon, can tell your idea on github, like i say it's free software and I also will be for me a satisfaction that more people feel well with some feature... Unfortunately, the human factor is more difficult for me than write a code...

About the text on sticky note, what can i say, i not speak english well, need to be changed...
To the problem of sticky note, yeah bug ... something happened ... But not appear the type of bug that need to be fixed right now can wait a little. Right now i have several work to do. I try to make a cinnamon "package installer" that can be use on all distros. The final idea is to try to bring the feature of installing and uninstalling packages that have the Mint Menu to the Configurable Menu.
https://github.com/lestcape/Package-Installer

Please feel free to contribute in all of the things that I do ...
Thanks!!
anandrkris

Re: cinnamon app menu delayed

Post by anandrkris »

@lestcape - I have seen your work on applets / desklets / github ideas are very impressive. Cinnamon needs much support from third party developers like yourself, outside Mint development team to have a variety of applets / desklets.

Not all of us are native speakers of the English language so it is fine if communication is bit hard (thats where prototypes / diagrams help a lot, i think) - but what matters is the code speaks the right language and in your case it happens to be so true. :D

I use your Sticky Notes on a regular basis (my memory is bad :oops: )and find it much helpful. Thanks for all your work.

And good luck on package installer. Am a simple user with no prog. experience, so can not help much on code although I try to report issues / suggest features /etc.
lestcape
Level 2
Level 2
Posts: 80
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 2:15 am
Location: Cuba
Contact:

Re: cinnamon app menu delayed

Post by lestcape »

Hey anandrkris, do not take this personal...

I see that you are an active user, that help on cinnamon a lot, help the dev on cinnamon, clear it's help me, without cinnamon what can i do?

I speak about user that do not know that on the free software the people do not have money to make a thing, and they need to do other things... So if the user want to have a thing, he needs help with that. If he do not make any thing, and only request things, well that's not fair. Always he can do any thing... Just saying how can look like something better help because a programmer, are not a designer, and if that things look better, makes others interested, and can be happend that the others can help and it's possible that they know programming.

For example the thing that i want to do, it more difficult than make all menu, because involve several distros, and ofcourse that i can not install all distros and test that all it's ok... So i only can support some distros, and I hope that for other users this feature will be interesting, and they like to have the feature also on your distros... and help on this.

What happens is that I have such a pull request here:
https://github.com/linuxmint/Cinnamon/pull/2855

So, if you realize this is was time and no one says anything, are untouched ...

You think I'm going to start fixing things in cinnamon to waste my time and not used?

At less i need to know if the change are on the correct way, or it's important or not or if exist a better way to do that...

This is a problem that has already been discussed and is rather like working on cinnamon developers, the number of people who have and the number of projects... But that makes others stop doing things... See:
https://github.com/linuxmint/Cinnamon/issues/1828

That I can think me? I can think that they have a better idea about it. I can think that they think that it's an insult saying that things are bad...

We are all human and we all have different ideas... How can I help if I do not know accurately what they want to do in cinnamon... And sometimes completely opposite thoughts are valid both. See:
https://github.com/linuxmint/Cinnamon/issues/2607

Or well how can help if i say some thing and this can be misinterpreted. I read in different places "do not install cinnamon on ubuntu or unity run out"... That's scary to users and the reason is fully justified, this happend. I report what, and this take like a war, please see:
https://github.com/linuxmint/Cinnamon/issues/2498

The thing that i try to do it's complex, and i reported this before. Please see:
https://github.com/linuxmint/Cinnamon/issues/2279

Can be happend that some time, some thing, they do not want to listen(on my opinion this is why the menu slows the speed, cinnamon have only one thread):
https://github.com/linuxmint/Cinnamon/issues/2311

Then you say that i need to help...???
I do not think that my help is welcome ...
anandrkris

Re: cinnamon app menu delayed

Post by anandrkris »

What I meant from contribution was on developing additional applets / desklets. Look here for some of the ideas.
http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... 2&t=138104

I understand and sympathize on your frustrations on Cinnamon team not accepting pull requests (or not at pace you may want), design changes, etc but we will have to understand that Mint team moves at a slow and steady pace to ensure that any design level changes are not done in haste and break existing flows.
In one the github issue you have pointed out, Clem has pretty much expresses his views clearly. I am not saying there is not much scope for improvement in development process but we will have to respect Cinnamon devloper's views as well.
lestcape
Level 2
Level 2
Posts: 80
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 2:15 am
Location: Cuba
Contact:

Re: cinnamon app menu delayed

Post by lestcape »

I can not do a good thing with a problem inside... Bug fixed it's not the same that new feature....I speak about bug fixing... And I speak about that if someone is going to where these to give you something, the least you can do is give a little attention (if you gift an arrangement of cinnamon at least tell me thanks) ... Rules primary education ... I think ...

And like I said i have too much work...I wish do more things but I couldn't, thanks.

http://forum.manjaro.org/index.php?topic=11754.0
https://plus.google.com/104272811378318 ... fgV6gsRZLB
lestcape
Level 2
Level 2
Posts: 80
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 2:15 am
Location: Cuba
Contact:

Re: cinnamon app menu delayed

Post by lestcape »

The pull request was merged, and Configurable Menu will be released soon as possible on the spices. There are excelent features to the next release of Cinnamon. One of then are Hi-DPI support http://segfault.linuxmint.com/2014/03/h ... -cinnamon/
I have no way of knowing how far is the Configurable Menu support to this feature, because I don't have the hardware to prove it, if someone has the hardware and want the support, he need to work testing everything to be done... On the Configurable Menu website...
nomko

Re: cinnamon app menu delayed

Post by nomko »

lestcape wrote:I'm not thinking that Cinnamon menu lost the memory without any reason. The Cinnamon menu lost the memory, to increase the menu speed more...
IF this is about my findings.... i didn't increased the menu speed! And it is very weird that WITHOUT INCREASING THE MENU SPEED the memory loss rises up to 2 a 3 times the initial memory (increases up to and over 1 gigabyte is really really way too much!!!)

That's a bug, not something to ignore and blame it on menu speed.
lestcape
Level 2
Level 2
Posts: 80
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 2:15 am
Location: Cuba
Contact:

Re: cinnamon app menu delayed

Post by lestcape »

nomko I'm not saying it may or may not be a problem, I'm saying why the menu consumes much memory, and what is the rason. Now if there is a problem, that's another thing. I am not removing your reason, it can be a problem. In fact there are problems everywhere. Just go look, and the problem will be waiting for you.
Locked

Return to “Cinnamon”