Disconnecting a monitor: hidden windows

[nicolandu]

Disconnecting a monitor (e.g., in the case of a laptop), results in all windows which were on the disconnected monitor to remain opened on a now-inaccessible workspace. It seems the only way to resolve the problem is to focus on the "shadow" workspace with keyboard shortcuts, and to transfer each window by doing the same.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Open one or more windows on a second monitor.
2. Disconnect said monitor.
3. The windows which were on the disconnected monitor are not accessible.

Expected behavior
Windows on a disconnected monitor should be automatically moved to a visible monitor's workspace.

System information:

Distribution: Debian 12 Bookworm
GNOME Shell: 43.9
Display server: X11

An about tab is not visible in PaperWM.

[Thesola10]

Have you checked the other workspaces through GNOME Overview?

[nicolandu]

Yes, indeed. I see in GNOME's app bar that apps are open, but clicking on them does nothing. I also can't change to the shadow workspace through PaperWM's keyboard shortcut: it goes straight from Workspace 1 to Workspace 3, and I can't access Workspace 2 which used to be on the disconnected monitor.

[Thesola10]

Okay, so the actual isssue is that PaperWM's workspace switcher believes the workspace to still be attached to the other monitor and refuses to switch to it.

Unfortunately your GNOME version is EOL and we don't officially maintain PaperWM for GNOME < 45. I'm leaving this open for someone to come and fix on their own time, but you should consider upgrading if possible.

[nicolandu]

I run Debian, which is indeed not known for being most up-to-date... Thank you for your help nonetheless.

[astr64]

I run Debian, which is indeed not known for being most up-to-date... Thank you for your help nonetheless.

Upgrade to trixie, comes with gnome 48.