Unexpected order of monitors

[jheidbrink]

I have my external monitors placed above my laptop monitor. This is reflected in the following config:

ARRANGE: COLUMN
# Align ROWs at the TOP (default), MIDDLE or BOTTOM
# Align COLUMNs at the LEFT (default), MIDDLE or RIGHT
ALIGN: MIDDLE
AUTO_SCALE: true  # This respects the scale that I set manually for specific displays. For unspecified dispays, it uses the dpi
LAPTOP_DISPLAY_PREFIX: 'eDP'
ORDER:
  - 'DP-.+'  # external monitors should be labeled like this
  - 'BOE NE135A1M-NY1.*'  # the framework laptop monitor
SCALE:
  - NAME_DESC: 'BOE NE135A1M-NY1'
    SCALE: 1.8

I've set this up some days ago and it seemed to work so far. Today one external monitor is placed below the laptop monitor. I can't say if this is the bug or if my config is wrong. This is the log:

I [13:58:34] way-displays version 1.11.0
I [13:58:34]
I [13:58:34] Found configuration file: /nix/store/zh30l0b1gdg25q621zcp9cmh4x2is4dh-etc-way-displays-cfg.yaml
I [13:58:34]
I [13:58:34] Active configuration:
I [13:58:34]   Arrange in a COLUMN aligned at the MIDDLE
I [13:58:34]   Order:
I [13:58:34]     DP-.+
I [13:58:34]     BOE NE135A1M-NY1.*
I [13:58:34]   Scaling: ON
I [13:58:34]   Auto scale: ON (min: 1.000)
I [13:58:34]   Scale:
I [13:58:34]     BOE NE135A1M-NY1: 1.800
I [13:58:34]   Laptop display prefix: eDP
I [13:58:34]
I [13:58:34] Monitoring lid device: /dev/input/event2
I [13:58:34]
I [13:58:34] Lid open
W [13:58:34]
W [13:58:34] WARNING: 2880x1920@60Hz (60,001mHz)  already specified for 'eDP-1', ignoring 2880x1920@120Hz (120,000mHz) (preferred)
I [13:58:34]
I [13:58:34] eDP-1 Arrived:
I [13:58:34]   info:
I [13:58:34]     name:      'eDP-1'
I [13:58:34]     make:      'BOE'
I [13:58:34]     model:     'NE135A1M-NY1'
I [13:58:34]     desc:      'BOE NE135A1M-NY1 (eDP-1)'
I [13:58:34]     width:     290mm
I [13:58:34]     height:    190mm
I [13:58:34]     dpi:       254.46 @ 2880x1920
I [13:58:34]     mode:      2880 x 1920 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz (preferred)
I [13:58:34]     mode:      2880 x 1920 @  96 Hz   96,000 mHz
I [13:58:34]     mode:      2880 x 1920 @  72 Hz   72,007 mHz
I [13:58:34]     mode:      2880 x 1920 @  60 Hz   60,001 mHz  60,000 mHz
I [13:58:34]     mode:      2880 x 1920 @  50 Hz   50,004 mHz
I [13:58:34]     mode:      2880 x 1920 @  48 Hz   48,000 mHz
I [13:58:34]     mode:      2880 x 1920 @  30 Hz   30,000 mHz
I [13:58:34]     mode:      1920 x 1200 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [13:58:34]     mode:      1920 x 1080 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [13:58:34]     mode:      1680 x 1050 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [13:58:34]     mode:      1600 x 1200 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [13:58:34]     mode:      1440 x  900 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [13:58:34]     mode:      1280 x 1024 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [13:58:34]     mode:      1280 x  800 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [13:58:34]     mode:      1280 x  720 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [13:58:34]     mode:      1024 x  768 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [13:58:34]     mode:       800 x  600 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [13:58:34]     mode:       640 x  480 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [13:58:34]   current:
I [13:58:34]     scale:     2.000 (2.651)
I [13:58:34]     size:      1440x960
I [13:58:34]     position:  0,0
I [13:58:34]     mode:      2880x1920@120Hz (120,000mHz) (preferred)
I [13:58:34]     VRR:       off
I [13:58:34]
I [13:58:34] eDP-1 Changing:
I [13:58:34]   from:
I [13:58:34]     scale:     2.000 (2.651)
I [13:58:34]     size:      1440x960
I [13:58:34]     position:  0,0
I [13:58:34]     mode:      2880x1920@120Hz (120,000mHz) (preferred)
I [13:58:34]     VRR:       off
I [13:58:34]   to:
I [13:58:34]     VRR:       on
I [13:58:34]
I [13:58:34] Changes successful
I [13:58:34]
I [13:58:34] eDP-1 Changing:
I [13:58:34]   from:
I [13:58:34]     scale:     2.000 (2.651)
I [13:58:34]     size:      1440x960
I [13:58:34]     position:  0,0
I [13:58:34]     mode:      2880x1920@120Hz (120,000mHz) (preferred)
I [13:58:34]     VRR:       on
I [13:58:34]   to:
I [13:58:34]     scale:     1.750
I [13:58:34]
I [13:58:34] Changes successful
I [15:54:10]
I [15:54:10] Lid closed
I [17:24:12]
I [17:24:12] Lid open
I [17:24:33]
I [17:24:33] DP-2 Arrived:
I [17:24:33]   info:
I [17:24:33]     name:      'DP-2'
I [17:24:33]     make:      'Dell Inc.'
I [17:24:33]     model:     'DELL U2719D'
I [17:24:33]     serial:    '2XSLSS2'
I [17:24:33]     desc:      'Dell Inc. DELL U2719D 2XSLSS2 (DP-2 via HDMI)'
I [17:24:33]     width:     600mm
I [17:24:33]     height:    340mm
I [17:24:33]     dpi:       107.97 @ 2560x1440
I [17:24:33]     mode:      2560 x 1440 @  60 Hz   59,951 mHz (preferred)
I [17:24:33]     mode:      2048 x 1080 @  60 Hz   59,998 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:      2048 x 1080 @  24 Hz   23,997 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:      1920 x 1200 @  60 Hz   59,951 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:      1920 x 1080 @  60 Hz   60,000 mHz  60,000 mHz  59,940 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:      1920 x 1080 @  50 Hz   50,000 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:      1680 x 1050 @  60 Hz   59,951 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:      1600 x 1200 @  60 Hz   60,000 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:      1440 x  900 @  60 Hz   59,951 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:      1280 x 1024 @  75 Hz   75,025 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:      1280 x 1024 @  60 Hz   60,020 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:      1280 x  800 @  60 Hz   59,951 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:      1280 x  720 @  60 Hz   60,000 mHz  60,000 mHz  59,940 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:      1280 x  720 @  50 Hz   50,000 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:      1152 x  864 @  75 Hz   75,000 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:      1024 x  768 @  75 Hz   75,029 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:      1024 x  768 @  60 Hz   60,004 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:       800 x  600 @  75 Hz   75,000 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:       800 x  600 @  60 Hz   60,317 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:       720 x  576 @  50 Hz   50,000 mHz  50,000 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:       720 x  480 @  60 Hz   60,000 mHz  60,000 mHz  59,940 mHz  59,940 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:       720 x  400 @  70 Hz   70,082 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:       640 x  480 @  75 Hz   75,000 mHz
I [17:24:33]     mode:       640 x  480 @  60 Hz   60,000 mHz  59,940 mHz  59,940 mHz
I [17:24:33]   current:
I [17:24:33]     scale:     1.000 (1.125)
I [17:24:33]     position:  1645,0
I [17:24:33]     mode:      2560x1440@60Hz (59,951mHz) (preferred)
I [17:24:33]     VRR:       off
I [17:24:33]
I [17:24:33] DP-2 Changing:
I [17:24:33]   from:
I [17:24:33]     scale:     1.000 (1.125)
I [17:24:33]     position:  1645,0
I [17:24:33]     mode:      2560x1440@60Hz (59,951mHz) (preferred)
I [17:24:33]     VRR:       off
I [17:24:33]   to:
I [17:24:33]     VRR:       on
I [17:24:33]
I [17:24:33] DP-2:
I [17:24:33]   Cannot enable VRR: this display or compositor may not support it.
I [17:24:33]   To speed things up you can disable VRR for this display by adding the following or similar to your cfg.yaml
I [17:24:33]   VRR_OFF:
I [17:24:33]     - 'DELL U2719D'
I [17:24:33]
I [17:24:33] eDP-1 Changing:
I [17:24:33]   from:
I [17:24:33]     scale:     1.750 (2.651)
I [17:24:33]     size:      1645x1097
I [17:24:33]     position:  0,0
I [17:24:33]     mode:      2880x1920@120Hz (120,000mHz) (preferred)
I [17:24:33]     VRR:       on
I [17:24:33]   to:
I [17:24:33]     position:  315,0
I [17:24:33]
I [17:24:33] DP-2 Changing:
I [17:24:33]   from:
I [17:24:33]     scale:     1.000 (1.125)
I [17:24:33]     size:      2560x1440
I [17:24:33]     position:  1645,0
I [17:24:33]     mode:      2560x1440@60Hz (59,951mHz) (preferred)
I [17:24:33]     VRR:       off
I [17:24:33]   to:
I [17:24:33]     scale:     1.125
I [17:24:33]     position:  0,1097
I [17:24:33]
I [17:24:33] Changes successful

[alex-courtis]

I have my external monitors placed above my laptop monitor. This is reflected in the following config:

ORDER:
  - 'DP-.+'  # external monitors should be labeled like this
  - 'BOE NE135A1M-NY1.*'  # the framework laptop monitor

It looks like you'd like a regex. Please prepend with a !, otherwise they will be interpreted as strings. Please see wiki: On Names and Descriptions

^ at the start is needed for the first, lest it match eDP-1

Framework, nice.

[jheidbrink]

Thank you, I'll give it a try with the !. What's interesting is that it works today (without adapting anything). I'm logged in as another user now, and that user has its own config file, but the contents are exactly the same as the global config. In case that's relevant, here's today's logs:

I [14:26:17] way-displays version 1.11.0
I [14:26:17] 
I [14:26:17] Found configuration file: /home/jan/.config/way-displays/cfg.yaml
I [14:26:17] 
I [14:26:17] Active configuration:
I [14:26:17]   Arrange in a COLUMN aligned at the MIDDLE
I [14:26:17]   Order:
I [14:26:17]     DP-.+
I [14:26:17]     BOE NE135A1M-NY1.*
I [14:26:17]   Scaling: ON
I [14:26:17]   Auto scale: ON (min: 1.000)
I [14:26:17]   Scale:
I [14:26:17]     BOE NE135A1M-NY1: 1.800
I [14:26:17]   Laptop display prefix: eDP
I [14:26:17] 
I [14:26:17] Monitoring lid device: /dev/input/event5
I [14:26:17] 
I [14:26:17] Lid open
W [14:26:17] 
W [14:26:17] WARNING: 2880x1920@60Hz (60,001mHz)  already specified for 'eDP-1', ignoring 2880x1920@120Hz (120,000mHz) (preferred)
I [14:26:17] 
I [14:26:17] DP-2 Arrived:
I [14:26:17]   info:
I [14:26:17]     name:      'DP-2'
I [14:26:17]     make:      'Dell Inc.'
I [14:26:17]     model:     'DELL U2719D'
I [14:26:17]     serial:    '2XSLSS2'
I [14:26:17]     desc:      'Dell Inc. DELL U2719D 2XSLSS2 (DP-2 via HDMI)'
I [14:26:17]     width:     600mm
I [14:26:17]     height:    340mm
I [14:26:17]     dpi:       107.97 @ 2560x1440
I [14:26:17]     mode:      2560 x 1440 @  60 Hz   59,951 mHz (preferred)
I [14:26:17]     mode:      2048 x 1080 @  60 Hz   59,998 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      2048 x 1080 @  24 Hz   23,997 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1920 x 1200 @  60 Hz   59,951 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1920 x 1080 @  60 Hz   60,000 mHz  60,000 mHz  59,940 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1920 x 1080 @  50 Hz   50,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1680 x 1050 @  60 Hz   59,951 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1600 x 1200 @  60 Hz   60,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1440 x  900 @  60 Hz   59,951 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1280 x 1024 @  75 Hz   75,025 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1280 x 1024 @  60 Hz   60,020 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1280 x  800 @  60 Hz   59,951 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1280 x  720 @  60 Hz   60,000 mHz  60,000 mHz  59,940 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1280 x  720 @  50 Hz   50,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1152 x  864 @  75 Hz   75,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1024 x  768 @  75 Hz   75,029 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1024 x  768 @  60 Hz   60,004 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:       800 x  600 @  75 Hz   75,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:       800 x  600 @  60 Hz   60,317 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:       720 x  576 @  50 Hz   50,000 mHz  50,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:       720 x  480 @  60 Hz   60,000 mHz  60,000 mHz  59,940 mHz  59,940 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:       720 x  400 @  70 Hz   70,082 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:       640 x  480 @  75 Hz   75,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:       640 x  480 @  60 Hz   60,000 mHz  59,940 mHz  59,940 mHz
I [14:26:17]   current:
I [14:26:17]     scale:     1.000 (1.125)
I [14:26:17]     size:      2560x1440
I [14:26:17]     position:  0,0
I [14:26:17]     mode:      2560x1440@60Hz (59,951mHz) (preferred)
I [14:26:17]     VRR:       off
I [14:26:17] 
I [14:26:17] eDP-1 Arrived:
I [14:26:17]   info:
I [14:26:17]     name:      'eDP-1'
I [14:26:17]     make:      'BOE'
I [14:26:17]     model:     'NE135A1M-NY1'
I [14:26:17]     desc:      'BOE NE135A1M-NY1 (eDP-1)'
I [14:26:17]     width:     290mm
I [14:26:17]     height:    190mm
I [14:26:17]     dpi:       254.46 @ 2880x1920
I [14:26:17]     mode:      2880 x 1920 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz (preferred)
I [14:26:17]     mode:      2880 x 1920 @  96 Hz   96,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      2880 x 1920 @  72 Hz   72,007 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      2880 x 1920 @  60 Hz   60,001 mHz  60,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      2880 x 1920 @  50 Hz   50,004 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      2880 x 1920 @  48 Hz   48,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      2880 x 1920 @  30 Hz   30,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1920 x 1200 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1920 x 1080 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1680 x 1050 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1600 x 1200 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1440 x  900 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1280 x 1024 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1280 x  800 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1280 x  720 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:      1024 x  768 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:       800 x  600 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]     mode:       640 x  480 @ 120 Hz  120,000 mHz
I [14:26:17]   current:
I [14:26:17]     scale:     2.000 (2.651)
I [14:26:17]     size:      1440x960
I [14:26:17]     position:  2560,0
I [14:26:17]     mode:      2880x1920@120Hz (120,000mHz) (preferred)
I [14:26:17]     VRR:       off
I [14:26:17] 
I [14:26:17] DP-2 Changing:
I [14:26:17]   from:
I [14:26:17]     scale:     1.000 (1.125)
I [14:26:17]     size:      2560x1440
I [14:26:17]     position:  0,0
I [14:26:17]     mode:      2560x1440@60Hz (59,951mHz) (preferred)
I [14:26:17]     VRR:       off
I [14:26:17]   to:
I [14:26:17]     VRR:       on
I [14:26:17] 
I [14:26:17] DP-2:
I [14:26:17]   Cannot enable VRR: this display or compositor may not support it.
I [14:26:17]   To speed things up you can disable VRR for this display by adding the following or similar to your cfg.yaml
I [14:26:17]   VRR_OFF:
I [14:26:17]     - 'DELL U2719D'
I [14:26:17] 
I [14:26:17] eDP-1 Changing:
I [14:26:17]   from:
I [14:26:17]     scale:     2.000 (2.651)
I [14:26:17]     size:      1440x960
I [14:26:17]     position:  2560,0
I [14:26:17]     mode:      2880x1920@120Hz (120,000mHz) (preferred)
I [14:26:17]     VRR:       off
I [14:26:17]   to:
I [14:26:17]     VRR:       on
I [14:26:17] 
I [14:26:17] Changes successful
I [14:26:17] 
I [14:26:17] DP-2 Changing:
I [14:26:17]   from:
I [14:26:17]     scale:     1.000 (1.125)
I [14:26:17]     size:      2560x1440
I [14:26:17]     position:  0,0
I [14:26:17]     mode:      2560x1440@60Hz (59,951mHz) (preferred)
I [14:26:17]     VRR:       off
I [14:26:17]   to:
I [14:26:17]     scale:     1.125
I [14:26:17] 
I [14:26:17] eDP-1 Changing:
I [14:26:17]   from:
I [14:26:17]     scale:     2.000 (2.651)
I [14:26:17]     size:      1440x960
I [14:26:17]     position:  2560,0
I [14:26:17]     mode:      2880x1920@120Hz (120,000mHz) (preferred)
I [14:26:17]     VRR:       on
I [14:26:17]   to:
I [14:26:17]     scale:     1.750
I [14:26:17]     position:  315,1280
I [14:26:18] 
I [14:26:18] Changes successful

[alex-courtis]

Thank you, I'll give it a try with the !. What's interesting is that it works today (without adapting anything). I'm logged in as another user now, and that user has its own config file, but the contents are exactly the same as the global config. In case that's relevant, here's today's logs:

The difference is that the "discovered order" of the displays is different: DP-2 arrives before eDP-1. That order is unpredictable.

There are no matches for ORDER therefore it is arranged in the discovered order: in this cas DP-2 is put above eDP-1.

[jheidbrink]

Thanks, I tried it out, and can confirm that I now get the desired order even when plugging in the external monitor after sway and way-displays are started.

[alex-courtis]

Good to hear.

I'll update the examples and doc to avoid DP-x as it's an insidious trap.

[alex-courtis]

I'd be most grateful for a review of the cfg.yaml documentation changes: #208

The man page is the same as cfg.yaml