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Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 19 May 2018 11:45
by kenbeek
Hi,
I'm using VLC on Ubuntu Gnome 18.04. Lately, the interface of VLC is abnormally large. Like it's zoomed 300% or something. It looks kind of similar to how I imagine VLC would look on something like a 640x480 screen (mine is 1980x1200), although not exactly because text size doesn't seem to be effected, and video playback works fine. Below is a screenshot of the non-fullscreen interface, and one with the fullscreen controller (showing that video quality is not affected).
The fullscreen controller is so large that it doesn't even fit on the screen entirely. I don't recall having done anything to cause this. I have tried 'reset preferences' but that did nothing. I have also looked through the 'customize interface' and 'preference'-menus, but I can't find anything relevant there.
I have also tried removing and reinstalling VLC and its dependencies through the following commands:
sudo apt remove vlc
sudo apt purge vlc
sudo apt autoremove
sudo apt install vlc
That didn't help either.
I'm at my wits end here. Any help? Greatly appreciated.
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 21 May 2018 23:23
by bob3000
I answer to up the post, I have the exact same issue on Debian 9, minus the full screen controller that doesn't fit. I just upgraded vlc and now I have an interface with too large buttons. I have a 1980*1080 laptop screen. Checkboxes on the View menu are also too large compare to the text.
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 22 May 2018 09:38
by InTheWings
Qt HiDPI mess hits again...
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 22 May 2018 15:10
by dupond
I have the same problem.
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 22 May 2018 22:22
by kenbeek
Qt HiDPI mess hits again...
Could you elaborate? Now that you mention it it does look like HiDPI is somehow enabled. How to turn it off?
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 23 May 2018 09:01
by InTheWings
Lots of bugs in Qt with HDPI... or not.
Confirm by trying
QT_SCALE_FACTOR=1 vlc
in console
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 23 May 2018 20:00
by kenbeek
Confirm by trying
QT_SCALE_FACTOR=1 vlc
in console
This shows me exactly the same screen as in the OP. What does this mean?
If I run QT_SCALE_FACTOR=0.5 vlc in the console, a VLC pops up that looks somewhat normal (scaling might still be a bit off, I'm not sure), but with super small text. See below (compare the text in the menus to the text in the console or in my browser):
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 25 May 2018 09:54
by chubinou
Hi,
other environment variable can have effect on your scaling,
try to set:
QT_AUTO_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTOR=0
QT_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTORS=1
And I advise against setting scaling factor below 1, it often mess up your scaling (esp. fonts)
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 26 May 2018 12:09
by bob3000
Launching vlc with
QT_AUTO_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTOR=0 vlc &
I get a normal size vlc player
QT_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTORS=1 vlc &
doesn't change a thing
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 27 May 2018 01:07
by kenbeek
QT_AUTO_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTOR=0
QT_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTORS=1
Same results as bob3000 here. Running
QT_AUTO_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTOR=0 vlc
shows a normal looking VLC media player, while
QT_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTORS=1 vlc
shows one with a large interface.
How can I make this the default setting?
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 03 Jun 2018 18:04
by user1230948457
One solution to make the QT_AUTO_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTOR=0 by default is to add it to your /etc/environment file, and reboot.
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 08 Jun 2018 11:24
by felipec
Why the --please stay polite-- do we need to use workarounds? VLC should have a sane interface by default.
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 08 Jun 2018 18:23
by Rémi Denis-Courmont
Because you try to use HiDPI monitors with software (Qt) that does not support it well yet.
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 25 Jun 2018 18:50
by kenbeek
One solution to make the QT_AUTO_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTOR=0 by default is to add it to your /etc/environment file, and reboot.
Thanks. This worked and as far as I can tell it doesn't affect other applications.
Because you try to use HiDPI monitors with software (Qt) that does not support it well yet.
My screen is nowhere near HiDPI. It's a 26" 1980x1200.
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 17 Jul 2018 15:14
by svejorange
Hi,
other environment variable can have effect on your scaling,
try to set:
QT_AUTO_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTOR=0
QT_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTORS=1
And I advise against setting scaling factor below 1, it often mess up your scaling (esp. fonts)
I had the same problem as the OP. That does the trick for me. Thank you
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 12 Jan 2019 00:38
by jelabarre59
Because you try to use HiDPI monitors with software (Qt) that does not support it well yet.
Considering it is an 11-year old TV with a VGA input, and Ubuntu running on a clunky SFF Lenovo that's probably just as old as the TV, I seriously doubt there's any HiDPI anywhere in the chain.
But the environment settings fix it. Not that it matters much, since the mainboard is dying anyway, but it works as a media center for the time being.
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 12 Jan 2019 11:26
by unidan
Because you try to use HiDPI monitors with software (Qt) that does not support it well yet.
Considering it is an 11-year old TV with a VGA input, and Ubuntu running on a clunky SFF Lenovo that's probably just as old as the TV, I seriously doubt there's any HiDPI anywhere in the chain.
But the environment settings fix it. Not that it matters much, since the mainboard is dying anyway, but it works as a media center for the time being.
Some TV seem to induce a x2 scale in the display server whatever the resolution is. I have the same case at work but it's more a Qt issue than a VLC issue so it's difficult to fix correctly. Even more, it's difficult to know whether you want a scaled display or not on a TV, as you want it more often than not but it's annoying in the cases you don't. The saner way to handle this would be a TV or display server setting but I'm not sure it's very accessible for a lot of people.
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 12 Jan 2019 11:52
by Rémi Denis-Courmont
You can check the reported output size in 'xrandr' command. With that and the resolution, you can deduce the pixel density.
AFAIK, the data comes from the EDID.
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 22 Mar 2019 20:27
by Buddy-Matt
Hi all,
same problem here.
QT_AUTO_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTOR=0 worked for me for general UI - but the font stayed huge,
Using QT_SCALE_FACTOR=0.6 does the trick though, including font size.
OS: Fedora 29
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 05 Apr 2019 17:03
by Zasinas
Hello guys, maybe some1 knows how to reverse it. ? My controls are very small, but upper menu is normal size (i'm running 4k TV, scaled x4) Maybe some1 knows a solution ?
UBUNTU 18
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 08 Apr 2019 09:27
by unidan
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 11 Apr 2019 15:58
by diskdusk
I have the same problem, but it just suddenly switched to the giant interface after running fine on my 55' 4k TV for a few months. The interface is so giant now that I can't even see all options in the preferences menu. What did I do to change it? And how can I change it back without working with some kind of code or whatever you are using here? I mean, it worked at some point...
edit: oh, sorry, I came here via google and saw that this is linux specific too late. I'm running Windows 10. Will ask in that subforum again.
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 15 Apr 2019 09:37
by unidan
@diskdusk, It also applies to windows, you can put the environment variable globally.
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 10 Jun 2019 21:52
by ineuw
A very late comment. Having had the same issue, I tested
Code: Select all
export QT_AUTO_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTOR=0 vlc
OR
export QT_SCALE_FACTOR=1 vlc
in the ~/.profile file. Either one works for me in LM19.1 Cinnamon
Re: Interface very large - how to return to normal?
Posted: 28 Jun 2019 18:08
by Pekolow
Thanks Ineuw it is never to late because i can try your solution and maybe i am lucky bad news is that my cli linux skills are too poor, so i have to beg my buddy to take over.
But the good news is i do run Cinnamon 19.1 and i have the exact same issue.