ALT+TAB Solution

Discussion in 'Wish Lists' started by Rayo_McQueen, Dec 17, 2014.

  1. Kristoff Rand

    Kristoff Rand Registered

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    That wasn't it. I saw three solution in one wiki

    remove plugins
    windowed full screen size
    and this setting in the userfolder.

    i didn't remove any plugins and I didn't change screen size and the setting fixed it.
     
  2. mavericckk

    mavericckk Registered

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    I use windowed and the calculator opened and I get alt-tab many times with no problems.
    is the only way to work for me. it since the 3 or 4 last builds.
     
  3. Kristoff Rand

    Kristoff Rand Registered

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    I have been looking all over and can't find it. but it exists... I swear.
     
  4. DurgeDriven

    DurgeDriven Banned

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    Wonder if it is Vsync ?

    I don't use as you can see this is sitting live online, I can browse etc.

    If I select another app, yes, the fps will drop ...momentarily, then go up again.

    If I watch a movie VLC will run at 24fps but rF2 does not get laggy unless I multi task
    something while out on the lap, I can drive smooth and watch a movie.

    Like in a race online if I want to restart I press then FN key on logitech K/B and
    I can access anything in startmenu and taskbar then click restart race with mouse

    It will get laggy for a instant but comes good straight away.

    If i do a race with the dedicated menu on top in corner I get no lag whatsoever can press
    restart without using taskbar.


    I swear lol look at 2nd pic, I watching movie as I take Eau my usual flat out from pits and even one handed and click printscreen ( IE: if I had used bandicam you would not have seen Chrome window )


    Just so you not I not Bsing .......
    The 3rd pic I ran both rF2 and Bandicam counters LOOK at the rF2 counter top right .........lool
    Shows the "NORMAL" RF2 framerate ( for me) at that point of Eau Rouge and running flat out smooth. !

    1/2 fps my butt. :rolleyes:


    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  5. Euskotracks

    Euskotracks Registered

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    I had a race yesterday and since I had to admin the race I had to switch from the game to Team Speak, Chrome (to check number of hotlaps per driver) and Remote Desktop to connect to the server.

    I used ALT+ESCAPE quite a lot of times to minimize rF2 by alternating the focus as suggested in the other thread where this issue was also commented.

    I was able to recover fullscreen in all the cases. This is quite remarkable considering the normal behaviour when I used ALT+TAB, WIN or WIN+D.
    When using those I would have normally had to restart rF2 once or twice for not being able to recover focus.

    It was very interesting, however, that ALT+ESCAPE would not regain the focus to rF2 to get back ingame. I had to regain focus by pressing ALT+TAB.


    In case that using ALT+ESC for minimizing prevents rF2 from being unable to regain focus is confirmed, it could mean that the problem is in how the game loses the focus rather than how it recovers it. I would understand that, if confirmed, it could be a clue for developers to solve the problem.

    I am depending on my phone for Internet connection now so I cannot do many tests now.

    Considering that there are at least up to 4 ways to lose the focus this can take some time to properly test it.

    Enviado desde mi GT-I9505 mediante Tapatalk
     
  6. Euskotracks

    Euskotracks Registered

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    I haven't started any thread about alt tab. My mate descoat opened a thread about all the problems suffered during the preparation for Lemans. He has a GtX980 and I don't.

    Among those problems, the random crashing of rF2 in Lemans circuit was one of them but not the one that provoked the problem that we didn't start the race.

    The problem was that an external program stole the focus and since ALT TAB did not work we had to restart rF2 and could not get back to the game in time.

    Before speaking so loud it would be nice that you had reviewed a little bit my posts. Now we are on topic since I answered your unfounded accusation in the correct thread.

    An when I use window mode with My TV connected via HDMI I see the title bar of the window and the lower part of screen does not appear. Therefore it is not a solution for me. Is it clear now why I complain about this BUG? BTW it is not the first time I say that windowed mode does not correctly fit my screen but apparently you read what is convenient for you.

    Enviado desde mi GT-I9505 mediante Tapatalk
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 25, 2015
  7. Nielsen

    Nielsen Registered

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    Hey folks:)
    Im new to rFactor 2 but I know my Win7 inside and out;-)
    And if people have an issue with ALT+TAB while using rF2 then its probably not rF2 that is the cause but the way Windows is solving this shift between programs.
    Its mainly not a problem when all programs are running in Windows "normal" mode (socalled Windows Mode) but its often a problem if one of the programs that is shiftet to or from are running in Full Screen Mode.
    In iRacing its also often a problem to get back into iRacing if you as example have ALT+TAB´ed out to MoteC.
    Just like in rFactor 2.

    This problem have got worse with the launch of Windows 10 - where a lot of people who was able to use ALT+TAB before now are unable to it.
    Im running Win7 and have absolutely no problem using ALT+TAB in both rFactor 2 and iRacing.
    Since I installed the rF2 Demo I have used ALT+TAB more than 100x (probably) without a single error!

    I use ALT+TAB to get out of rF2 onto MoteC and then I click on the rF2 logo down below the desktop window to get back into rF2.
    I agree it take some time for Windows to get back into rF2 (mostly 2-5sec) but thats because of rF2s Full Screen Mode.
    The only advice I have is to allways get into rF2s "Garage" and then "Pause" rF2 before using ALT+TAB.
     
  8. Bjørn

    Bjørn Registered

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    It's hard to pause an online session :)

    And welcome to a fellow dane, by the way :)
     
  9. Nielsen

    Nielsen Registered

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    Thanks:)
    OK I didnt think of that online thingie.
    I have until now only been driving rF2 offline.

    But if I take my example from iRacing then I have absolutely no ALT+Tab issues there - even in online sessions.
    So eventhough my pause advice in rF2 sounds a bit goofy then I would be a bit surpriced if I cannot use ALT+Tab in rF2 online too.
    Because my point is that its some kind of Windows issue - and at least on my Win7 install ALT+Tab is working 100% every time in rF2 too.
    Hehe until now.
     
  10. DurgeDriven

    DurgeDriven Banned

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    July 2015
    [​IMG]

    I can do a new one if you like, still works the same way for me so I dunno, unless you think I edit the screenshot. lol :)


    I only ever recommended this for single screen @ recommended resolution.

    I made that point back in 2012 when I first posted my experience and Tim said "good find"
    BTW, back then I had GTX460, later GTX570

    I admit every sim since GPL had niggling issues with alt-tab , multi tasks , etc

    But rF2 with Win key ( whatever it is called ) is simply flawless online, offline... my settings anyways
    Only ever use alt-tab in rF2 to use task manager on rare occasions.

    *If you multi task a lot disable all replay modes. ;)

    P.S.

    Hey don't get me wrong, ALT-TAB works fine nothing wrong with it compared to other sims.

    Other then I do not like black screens ( I like my sim on top lol ) ....... and WIN is one less finger. lol ;)
     
  11. RoboCAT10

    RoboCAT10 Registered

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    Oh yes please... this drives me crazy. :eek:
     
  12. stonec

    stonec Registered

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    ^^ This is the solution for any ALT-TAB issues, plus disable any plugins that use a modified d3d9.dll (TrackMap notably).

    Then of course if you run in windowed mode it doesn't matter, the game always stays running in background, so in theory you can't make it crash. Doesn't matter if you use WIN key or ALT-TAB in this case.
     
  13. MystaMagoo

    MystaMagoo Registered

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    I've had problems even in windowed mode.
    Has anyone tested if it's 'session' related?
    practice,quali,warmup and race?
     
  14. peterchen

    peterchen Registered

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    I must agree that this is a kind of windows problem.
    Most of the times it works for me (on- and offline), sometimes it doesn´t. Seems depending on what proggi is running else
    and what I did before. For example: excessive use of steam before seems to screw it up....
     
  15. Euskotracks

    Euskotracks Registered

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    Facts about ALT+TAB problem

    I will rescue this thread as I already stated I would in a recent post where someone brought this topic up. I considered this post the most complete, recent and detailed one among the results of google search:rfactor 2 alt tab site:isiforums.net. Considering that it seems to be times where people are willing to write their Christmas present letter to Studio 397 fellows...

    This is my wish: Please solve the ALT+TAB issue which is a known bug for over 3 years know as stated in the Release notes of Build 218.
    I cannot avoid smiling about the comment of not being able to recreate it... I hope devs were finally able to reproduce it...
    I will go through different topics, providing at the end some facts which I think are relevant and helpful in order to solve it, in case real interest is payed in solving this.

    Update 14 (Build 218) Changelog (May 20, 2013):
    =====================================================
    KNOWN ISSUES ON RELEASE:
    ————————
    – Modders tracks may need a very minor update if they don’t already have Vertex Alpha at 99.99%, to trigger the billboarding without the side-effect of transparency.
    – Possible MP lag/stutter when player disconnects
    – Possible alt-tab crash (we have not been able to recreate yet)


    Why is important to solve it?. Because the only working solutions provoke a significant fps loss.
    Some people say they don't. Why would affect this differently depending on the hardware? Anyone else sharing his benchmarks?
    Effect on Performance of available display modes.
    All tests have been performed using FRAPS at 1366x768, my laptop native recommended resolution (ASUS N55S).
    Other display settings are irrelevant. I have used my typical values for full screen mode.

    FULL SCREEN MODE
    2016-10-20 23:38:34 - rFactor2
    Frames: 9787 - Time: 131812ms - Avg: 74.250 - Min: 60 - Max: 87

    WINDOWED MODE
    2016-10-21 00:04:41 - rFactor2
    Frames: 7288 - Time: 131765ms - Avg: 55.311 - Min: 48 - Max: 62

    BORDERLESS MODE
    2016-10-21 00:07:59 - rFactor2
    Frames: 7234 - Time: 131906ms - Avg: 54.842 - Min: 47 - Max: 62

    Facts that could help solving the issue:

    1. Builds 1084 and earlier would very rarely show the problem when playing offline. ALT+TAB would work fine.

    2. Builds 1084 and earlier would often show the problem when playing online. In general after a variable number of ALT+TABS

    3. I only remember case 1 failing (it did 100% of the times) when using Gerald Jacobson's TV plugin. I will try to add some more info about this since I gave him feedback about. He even made a version to check if it solved it (which it didn't)

    4. To leave rF2 using WIN+D or ALT+TAB never made any difference. Case 1 wouldn't fail and case 2 would.

    5. To recover rF2 using ALT+TAB or clicking in the windows task bar icon never made any difference. For the good or the bad, as in 3.

    6. Ingame and nvidia profiler settings never made any difference.

    7. Build 1098 shows the problem both offline and online! Both Steam and No Steam!! And now offline it fails 100% of the times using only rF2 default plugins, while online maintains the emotion after hitting ALT+TAB!!!


    I hope that now all the especulations of being a Windows problem will disappear.
    It is clearly an rF2 problem with the way it interacts with Windows.
    The solution to this problem should be found by Studio397.
    They are the ones that know what changes have they made in B1098 offline mode wrt B1084 offline mode.
    They also know what kind of differences are there between previous builds offline and online modes.

    I hope all this evidence helps sorting the issue.
    I will be glad to clarify anything that might be confusing.
    Thanks for reading and caring and please forgive my ironies
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 21, 2016
  16. Euskotracks

    Euskotracks Registered

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    No replies, no interest?

    Enviado desde mi ONE A2001 mediante Tapatalk
     
  17. mavericckk

    mavericckk Registered

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    already a long time and no solution
    for rf2 I use windowed and the calculator opened ,so alt tab work.
    AC really works fine.
    Pcars I need some steam window opened too.
     
  18. Lazza

    Lazza Registered

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    It's a wishlist, and you made your view pretty clear. What exactly were you hoping for? +1s? Applause?
     
  19. Euskotracks

    Euskotracks Registered

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    For sure. Now that you get your answer I guess that you will be happy and let others talk about the topic.

    Enviado desde mi ONE A2001 mediante Tapatalk
     
  20. Lazza

    Lazza Registered

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    Well if I may join in...

    Perhaps they actually meant they couldn't reproduce it consistently, in order to test possible fixes. Or maybe the monitoring environment they were using during testing (to try and detect the issue) was itself 'fixing' the issue, because obviously you wouldn't normally run the game that way.

    I do admin in races and have long resigned myself to using windowed mode in rF2 because I never found a surefire workaround. I did try the Windows-D method for a short time and felt like it had a better rate of success (than alt-tab), but could have been luck/coincidence.

    I'd love this to be fixed, but if it's not just rF2 having this issue (and other fullscreen games haven't had a clear fix at some point, showing it's possible) it may be difficult to remedy (note the 'if's; I'm not claiming anything). Personally since changing to an AMD card I felt the problem got worse, and there have always been some people who seem to have no troubles with alt-tabbing (either ever, or for long periods) which makes me think it's something system related, since we collectively have an enormous combination of hardware but we're all playing the same game.
     

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