Virtual Box 6.08 on Ubuntu 19.04 : manager screen fonts huge

[stephenboston]

This is not an issue with the guest screen resolution, this is an issue with the manager main window opening on Ubuntu 19.04 MATE screen.

It is sized for what looks to be 640x480 -- on a 1920x1080 screen.

The Settings/Display dialog offers options for only the client displays.

The only likely setting I've found is in the ~/.config/VirtualBox/VirtualBox.xml file :

Code: Select all

<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/LastWindowPosition" value="0,42,960,479,max"/>

But trying a number of different values for 'value', including blanks, has no effect.

It is interesting that 'Restoring' the window from Maximized before exit, removes the max value from the setting, so perhaps this setting is about the Manager window.

Deleting that file between invocations of VB has no effect.

There is a virtualbox file in /etc/default but there is no reference to display attributes in my version of that file.

[socratis]

It is sized for what looks to be 640x480 -- on a 1920x1080 screen.

Can you include a scaled (about 50%) picture of your desktop so that we know what you're talking about?

[stephenboston]

Here you go. This is the manager window maximized on a 1920x1080 screen.

https://pasteboard.co/IgOZRJu.png

[socratis]

I should have mentioned that you should attach the image locally (see the "Upload attachment" tab below the reply form). Not a lot of people will go to 3rd party sites. Plus, it's more convenient if the image goes along with the message...



Now, I'm not sure what I'm seeing here, I don't understand the problem to be honest with you...

[stephenboston]

Ah! Okay thanks. Didn't see that.

Here it is the right way. Screenshot from 1920x1080 display.

Ah

screenshot.20190528_103912.png (39.15 KiB) Viewed 3274 times

I hope.

[socratis]

Thanks for including the picture locally. However, I still can't understand the problem. You said:

It is sized for what looks to be 640x480 -- on a 1920x1080 screen.

The picture that you attached is 960x479. Not sure if you scaled it to 50% as I told you originally, but that would put it to 1920x978, which sounds sort of like a maximized window on a 1920x1080 monitor.

What am I seeing and what is the problem?

[stephenboston]

Thank you for your patience.

The image is scaled approximately 1/2, yes. The actual pixel count may be skewed in conversion or transmission but the scale was sent to 960x540.

Here is the VirtualBox GUI manager in Windows 10 on the same 1920x1080 display. Image scaled to 960x540 using Gimp.

Note the relative size of the screen elements. In the Ubuntu screen the fonts and icons are much larger than the fonts and icons in the window manager's theme. The Windows 10 screen shows the proportionality I am accustomed to seeing with my Ubuntu MATE screens.

Screenshot - 2019-05-29 , 4_19_52 AM.png (27.28 KiB) Viewed 3265 times

[socratis]

I think I understand what you're talking about; the VirtualBox Manager UI is scaled at approximately 2x the size that you would expect. Double size the fonts, double size the scrollbars, double size the icons. Is that correct?

Ubuntu 19.04 MATE screen

I think the "MATE" part might be the problematic one. I have a Mint19 (based on Ubuntu 18.04) with Cinnamon, and I don't have such issues. Can you try with Cinnamon and see what happens?

Also, are we talking about a HiDPI monitor, i.e. is the true resolution something higher and MATE is scaling it down to 1920x1080? Like my Mac is supposedly 2880x1800 but the apparent resolution has a limit of 1920x1200 (1.5x lower).

[socratis]

It's worth taking a look at the thread "Graphic corruption when using dual monitors", as well as ticket #18597: Large icons when i drag from small to big monitor. They seem to describe similar issues.

[stephenboston]

Ah. That is an interesting discussion.

Thank you.

This is a Dell U2417H monitor connected to Asus N501VW. The laptp display is 3840x2160 and the monitor maximum is 1920x1080.

[socratis]

Same issue then; two monitors, each with a different pixel density. That seems to be a common theme that confuses the VirtualBox Manager. Which is why I avoid mixing my main HiDPI display in my MBP with my two external displays that are non-HiDPI. I've seen a lot of weird effects, and I know enough to let others ... discover them.