BOINC Manager exits completely when closing minimised window.

[kotenok2000]

Describe the bug
A clear and concise description of what the bug is.

Steps To Reproduce

1. Open boinc manager window.
2. Minimize it.
3. Hover over it.
4. Close window with middle mouse button.

Expected behavior
A clear and concise description of what you expected to happen.
Boinc window closes without killing boincmgr.exe
Screenshots
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System Information

• OS: Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.22621.1413]
• BOINC Version: 7.22.0

Additional context
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This issue was seen even on 6.10.48
https://boinc.berkeley.edu/forum_thread.php?id=11667&postid=79148

[BrianNixon]

This behaviour has been deliberately implemented (for Windows in 2b5630c): if the top-level window is closed when minimised, CBOINCBaseFrame::OnClose() destroys it, which will exit the application.

Anyone know the history/​rationale?

[RichardHaselgrove]

Under Windows, 'closing' the Manager window actually minimises it to the notification area (system tray). Right-clicking the icon - most Windows users don't have a middle button - brings up a context menu with an entry for 'Exit' - there's no point in closing it further, since it's already been closed. There's a conscious difference in the Windows implementation between "close" and "exit", but it doesn't necessarily translate easily to the other operating systems.

[kotenok2000]

Mouse wheel works as button when pressed.

[RichardHaselgrove]

Windows doesn't show a taskbar icon when the window is closed/minimised - or didn't, with the versions current when this feature was implemented (mostly Windows 7). Windows 10, and in particular 11, may have changed that.

[kotenok2000]

Taskbar displays classic context menu when i hold shift and right click or right click aero preview.

[BrianNixon]

We need to be careful with terminology here.

In BOINC Manager’s normal case, selecting ‘Close’ does not close or minimise the window; it hides it (with the side-effect of also removing the taskbar button), but the application continues running.

Minimised (a.k.a. iconised) top-level windows do have taskbar buttons.

The fact here is that the code makes a special case of a request to close a minimised window, and causes the application to exit. The discussion is whether or not that is the right thing to do (for any or all window systems).

[also minimized and iconized, for the benefit of anybody searching for the en-⁠US spellings]

[RichardHaselgrove]

Indeed - we do have to be careful with terminology, and with interpreting the implications of user actions.

Let's concentrate on Windows, and use your word hidden for the minimal-footprint case.

Under Windows XP, a BOINC Manager icon was always visible in the system tray when the main window was hidden.

With the change to a 'notification area' under Windows 7, the icon was always available, but was set by default to "Only show notifications" - it popped into view whenever a notice reminder was displayed, but was invisible otherwise. Windows 7 provides a clear and simple user interface for changing the default mode to "Show icon and notifications", which makes it permanently visible again.

Under Windows 10 and 11, it has become increasingly difficult to force the display mode into "Icon always visible" mode. And with some iterations of the development of the new interfaces, users have reported problems in re-displaying the full manager window when it's hidden and icon-free. By default, BOINC only allows one copy of the Manager to be active at the same time: re-launching the application fails, because the hidden copy is still active - but Windows hasn't always restored and given focus to the running copy instead.

It's a version-control minefield, and should only be meddled-with after full consideration of all of the above. You did ask if anyone knew the history!

[BrianNixon]

All good stuff; thanks. But the issue here is nothing to do with the notification area icon.

Perhaps the question is better phrased as: “Under what circumstances should BOINC Manager exit?”

[BrianNixon]

Intricacies of the notification area aside, the Manager behaviour on Windows is clearly inconsistent. The ‘Close’ action should have the same effect, whichever method is used to make it happen.

PR #5174 fixes this for Windows while preserving the existing behaviour on Mac (exit if minimised, otherwise hide, per be2b680) and GTK (always exit, never hide).

[davidpanderson]

We've always had the problem that the Manager and the client are separate programs,
and "Exit BOINC" is ambiguous - does it exit one or both?

[BrianNixon]

The “unwanted” exit under discussion here is a fast path out of the Manager only: the Exit Confirmation dialog is not shown, and the client remains running (regardless of stored preferences). The (only?) user-visible effect of the exit is that the notification area icon is removed.