Dialogue box off-screen, cannot move, access, or view.

alyshadeshae · 11-04-2019, 04:31 PM

So at first I thought Calibre was freezing because I would hit "download metadata" and nothing would happen and I wouldn't be able to close it or anything. Then, after searching a bit, I came across this link in one of the threads: https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/faq...s-occasionally

Which included this:

Quote:

You recently connected an external monitor or TV to your computer. In this case, whenever calibre opens a new window like the edit metadata window or the conversion dialog, it appears on the second monitor where you don’t notice it and so you think calibre has frozen. Disconnect your second monitor and restart calibre.

Immediately after hitting the "download metadata" button, I hit "alt-f4" and was able to use calibre again like usual so that is clearly the issue. I just can't find the dialogue box. It's not under windows or on another screen or anywhere visible. It's fully off-screen.

I've tried using the "cascade windows" options to force it onto the visible screens, but this dialogue box ignores it. I've turned off the "extend monitors" option and set it to use only one monitor for everything and it still didn't work.

Does anyone have any idea how to fix this? Or maybe reset the window preferences for dialogue boxes or anything? I'm losing my mind here!

alyshadeshae · 11-04-2019, 05:09 PM

I cannot figure out how to edit or delete the original post. O_O However, I was lucky enough to find the answer in another thread shortly after posting this but before it was approved.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Tap Alt+Space and see if a control menu pops (the one you get of you click program icon top left) - if it pops, tap 'M' and move window with arrow keys until you can see title bar. Then deal with it using the mouse etc.

BR

That was the solution that worked. Hitting "alt+space" and then using the arrow keys!

Unfortunately, while I did search the forum for answers using the search bar, I neglected to skim the recent posts and my search terms did not pull up the post that ultimately held the answer. I apologize.

theducks · 11-04-2019, 05:54 PM

I have no idea why this off screen is suddenly happening (without having missing/moved monitors).
Lucky, we seem to be able to work around it.

BetterRed · 11-04-2019, 08:04 PM

-

Something similar happened to me yesterday, and it persisted across calibre restarts, I fixed it by doing a Switch User (back to myself) - other programs: Firefox, Chrome, Sigil, Notepad++, PageEdit, Word, Videodub, Flimora etc were fine.

Tried to retrace my steps - didn't happen again - weird.

BR

alyshadeshae · 11-05-2019, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

I have no idea why this off screen is suddenly happening (without having missing/moved monitors).
Lucky, we seem to be able to work around it.

I'm not going to lie, I'm glad it's not just me! I keep my calibre set-up on a portable drive so that I can work across multiple computers, but I've never had an issue like this before. It was crazy!

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetterRed

-

Something similar happened to me yesterday, and it persisted across calibre restarts, I fixed it by doing a Switch User (back to myself) - other programs: Firefox, Chrome, Sigil, Notepad++, PageEdit, Word, Videodub, Flimora etc were fine.

Tried to retrace my steps - didn't happen again - weird.

BR

Yeah, none of my other programs were acting up at all! And now that it's fixed, it doesn't seem to be racing back off-screen! But thank you so much for your tip from the other thread! I had been searching various sites for rescuing a lost dialogue box for over an hour before I finally found your solution. It's like magic!

theducks · 11-05-2019, 10:51 AM

I think this is just a glitch that happened with the Calibre QT switch-over from 3.x to 4.x .
Many Calibre updates do not need any change to stored settings.
This one might have needed a bit of adjustment (and some went south or north)

BetterRed · 11-05-2019, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

I think this is just a glitch that happened with the Calibre QT switch-over from 3.x to 4.x .
Many Calibre updates do not need any change to stored settings.
This one might have needed a bit of adjustment (and some went south or north)

But it has happened prior to version 4,

: Preferences->Look and Feel/Miscellaneous->Reset Window geometry settings (requires a restart) option.

I don't think my problem was an instance of the window 'out of sight' problems. It just had some similar symptoms, e.g. I couldn't give focus to anything, although I could Minimise/Maximise.

My gut feeling is that it had something to do with using Sigii->Open With->PageEdit on the content.opf whilst I had the same epub open in calibre viewer/editor (I forget which) - i.e. Clash of the Titans

Also suggests some sort of file locking came into play that was cleared by the Windows soft restart.

BR

Gary_M_Mugford · 11-07-2019, 10:13 AM

I haven't made the jump to v4 yet. And thus, I haven't had the problem. Yet. BUT I suspect I have the answer for the problem IF running Windows. I use a program called UltraMon (https://www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon/) to manage my multiple monitors. It's got one ability that directly addresses the issue ... It has shortcuts that force an app to run in a window at a set point and set size. I happen to always run Calibre on the second monitor across the lower half of the screen, up to about two inches from the far right side. That way, still can see my email in my web browser and my Notes app running down the far right side. Each of those applications are run through UltraMon's shortcut facility. And I never have a problem with them, no matter what our less than dear friends in Redmond try with their updates.

There aren't many updates to UltraMon. And it's NOT perfect. But it DOES the job and I grow to appreciate it more and more over the years when I (briefly) give the competition a try.

Quoth · 11-07-2019, 10:25 AM

I've seen windows go off screen since NT 4.0 and Win 9x. The Alt Space, M then arrow keys has rescued client's misplaced windows many times over the years. I think it's possible to accidentally move a window off screen and it may be nothing to do with calibre. Also a power cut while moving, opening or closing a window may do strange things. Hence my preference for laptops rather than All in Ones, minis or regular PC boxes.

Um... turn off "snap" on all oses. An evil idea.

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11-04-2019, 05:54 PM	#3
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 31,072 Karma: 60358908 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	I have no idea why this off screen is suddenly happening (without having missing/moved monitors). Lucky, we seem to be able to work around it.

11-04-2019, 08:04 PM	#4
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 21,740 Karma: 30237526 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	- Something similar happened to me yesterday, and it persisted across calibre restarts, I fixed it by doing a Switch User (back to myself) - other programs: Firefox, Chrome, Sigil, Notepad++, PageEdit, Word, Videodub, Flimora etc were fine. Tried to retrace my steps - didn't happen again - weird. BR

11-05-2019, 10:51 AM	#6
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 31,072 Karma: 60358908 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	I think this is just a glitch that happened with the Calibre QT switch-over from 3.x to 4.x . Many Calibre updates do not need any change to stored settings. This one might have needed a bit of adjustment (and some went south or north)

11-07-2019, 10:13 AM	#8
Gary_M_Mugford Groupie Posts: 180 Karma: 299 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Brampton ON Device: Kobo, Kindle3	I haven't made the jump to v4 yet. And thus, I haven't had the problem. Yet. BUT I suspect I have the answer for the problem IF running Windows. I use a program called UltraMon (https://www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon/) to manage my multiple monitors. It's got one ability that directly addresses the issue ... It has shortcuts that force an app to run in a window at a set point and set size. I happen to always run Calibre on the second monitor across the lower half of the screen, up to about two inches from the far right side. That way, still can see my email in my web browser and my Notes app running down the far right side. Each of those applications are run through UltraMon's shortcut facility. And I never have a problem with them, no matter what our less than dear friends in Redmond try with their updates. There aren't many updates to UltraMon. And it's NOT perfect. But it DOES the job and I grow to appreciate it more and more over the years when I (briefly) give the competition a try.

11-07-2019, 10:25 AM	#9
Quoth Still reading Posts: 14,110 Karma: 105211945 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	I've seen windows go off screen since NT 4.0 and Win 9x. The Alt Space, M then arrow keys has rescued client's misplaced windows many times over the years. I think it's possible to accidentally move a window off screen and it may be nothing to do with calibre. Also a power cut while moving, opening or closing a window may do strange things. Hence my preference for laptops rather than All in Ones, minis or regular PC boxes. Um... turn off "snap" on all oses. An evil idea.