Sublime Forum

Zoom screen sharing and ST3 on Linux

#1

I use Arch Linux / Wayland / Gnome.

When I am on a Zoom call and I share my screen, I cannot click in Sublime Text 3 windows. It is as though the window doesn’t exist, clicks go “through” it (e.g. if I have another window underneath it will focus that window). Keyboard works fine.

It has not always been like this, it only started happening recently probably after one of the pieces of software updated, but I cannot say which one.

I am unsure if this is a Zoom issue or a Sublime Text issue, but I don’t have it with other apps.

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#2

Which version of Sublime Text are you using? Is Sublime Text running under Wayland or XWayland? What about the other apps that can be focused?

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#3

Which version of Sublime Text are you using?

3.2.2 (build 3211)

Is Sublime Text running under Wayland or XWayland? What about the other apps that can be focused?

Oh, good guess maybe! It looks (according to the xeyes trick) like Sublime Text is running under Wayland whereas the other windows (my browser and terminal) use XWayland.

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#4

My guess would be that Zoom or your browser is using X11 to share your screen, which of course will only work with other XWayland apps. You can force Sublime Text to use XWayland using GDK_BACKEND=x11. IIRC firefox should work with wayland out of the box for screensharing, but chrome requires setting a flag.

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#5

I am using the Zoom desktop application.

The GDK_BACKEND trick works but it is a bit annoying because it doesn’t work for the Window Manager itself so you cannot drag the ST window etc.

I found a better solution: in the Zoom config file (~/.config/zoomus.conf) there is an option which is enableWaylandShare=false by default. Setting it to true solved the issue.

Thanks for the help!

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