Cannot exit drawing mode on tablet without hardware keyboard

[thw0rted]

Describe the bug
I installed this software on a Steam Deck. It includes a software (virtual) keyboard, but that has no function keys, including the default hotkey (F9). It also cannot type Alt or Meta modifiers. It is possible to start drawing mode using the tray icon, but it is not possible to quit. I had to force power cycle the device.

To Reproduce

1. Unplug your keyboard
2. Start drawing mode
3. Try to quit
4. Uh oh

Expected Behavior
If it's possible to enter drawing mode with only a mouse, it should also be possible to quit with only a mouse.

Environment (please complete the following information):

• Gromit-MPX version: 1.4.2
• Flatpak or Distribution-package or Built-from-source: flatpak (Discover store)
• OS and version: Steam OS 3.3.1
• Desktop Environment and version:
• X11 or Wayland session:

[thw0rted]

I would suggest a button that appears after hovering for a second, either in the top right corner (where window managers typically put an "X" button to close) or in the top center (where several browsers put a "quit fullscreen" button).

[bk138]

Well the challenge is that once drawing mode is enabled, one cannot click though to anything. So even if we had such a button, it would not be clickable :-). Would some feature like "toggle drawing mode by some mouse button" work for your use case instead?

[thw0rted]

I don't imagine it would, since the Steam Deck emulates a 2 button mouse with wheel by default (using trackpad plus gamepad triggers).

It's not just this device, though, it's any tablet style PC with no hardware keyboard -- and, sadly, only one USB port. This is a growing market (check out the website Liliputing, and brands like Aya and OneNetbook) and I think especially as SteamOS is free for OEMs to adapt, it could really take off as a consumer-facing Linux device. I'm just asking to think about a means of quitting without a keyboard.

(As a fallback, maybe also quit on multiple presses of ESC in a short time? The Deck has chord shortcuts for Enter, Tab, and ESC.)

[bk138]

(As a fallback, maybe also quit on multiple presses of ESC in a short time? The Deck has chord shortcuts for Enter, Tab, and ESC.)

You could try setting the hotkey to one of those, please see the last paragraph in https://github.com/bk138/gromit-mpx#configuration - other than that, I've got no good idea...

[thw0rted]

Do I understand correctly that HOTKEY toggles drawing mode both on and off? I don't think anyone would want the overlay to be turned on any time they press one of those keys (tab, enter, esc) in any application.

The core issue is that drawing mode can be launched with a hardware configuration that is not capable of ending drawing mode. I think any fix for this problem really requires having an action that quits drawing mode, which would not also start drawing mode:

• hover the pointer in an area to show a (clickable!) prompt to quit
• Press both mouse buttons at once (draw + erase doesn't really make sense, right?)
• press a key that is commonly available even on devices with limited inputs
• new idea: disable drawing mode when the system enters (or leaves) suspend/sleep mode -- most tablets have a hardware power button that suspends the device