MuseScore gives a "not responding" message when moving the mouse

• Aug 27, 2022 - 03:10
Reported version
3.6
Type
Graphical (UI)
Frequency
Many
Severity
S1 - Blocker
Reproducibility
Always
Status
active
Regression
No
Workaround
Yes
Project
MuseScore

Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS
MuseScore-3.6.2.548021370-x86_64.AppImage

1) Launch MuseScore
2) Move mouse
3) Count to about 10 and the message shown in attached file (not-responding-message.jpg) appears.
4) The two options are to "Force quit" and "Wait"
5) If you click "Wait," or you simply wait for 5 seconds the message disappears
6) The message doesn't not return until the mouse is moved again
7) "Force quit" terminates the program

This cycle of presenting the not responding message (2 - 5) continues forever making it impossible to use the software for anything productive.

There is no workaround for this problem.

The above appimage ran fine under a previous Ubuntu install of 20.04 LTS. Two days ago the system was upgraded to 22.04.1 LTS and that's when the not responding message first appeared.

Attachment Size
not-responding-message.jpg 85.35 KB

Comments

• Aug 28, 2022 - 09:04
Workaround No ⇒ Yes

The same issue on my Ubuntu 22.04 on all computers I've installed it on. So I don't think, it's "few" in frequency. But finally I found a solution or at least a workaround:

Ubuntu 22.04 uses the display server "Wayland" by default. In Ubuntu 20.04 it was still "Xorg". The strange behavior only appears within the new display server Wayland (which still seems not to be implemented very well...). To disable Wayland log out from system and click on your account icon. In the bottom right corner you will find a gear icon. Click on it, choose "Ubuntu on Xorg" and log in again. Now the issue will be gone.

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• Aug 29, 2022 - 20:01

i had this issue when installing from appimage with no resolution anywhere. i am running latest version of ubuntu and followed steps on musescore to resolve without resolution. im running I5 3ghz with 16gb ram and extremely low latency. only installing from ubuntu software store ( (orange suitecase) fixed my issue. must be something with appimage installer configuration or wrong link on website to download. i did not experience this problem with windows 10 install on other computer.

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• Sep 7, 2022 - 18:19

The bad apple seems to be the libX11-xcb.so.1 in the app image. If I unpack the image with

  ./MuseScore-3.6.2.548021370-x86_64.AppImage --appimage-extract

and then move libX11-xcb.so.1 in the lib subdir away, so that the system version of the library is used, the "not responding" dialog is not popping up.

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• Sep 7, 2022 - 18:27

Do we have 5 already to qualify for "Many"? :). The issue seems to be generic not user-specific and affects the latest LTS of one of the most popular linux distros.

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• Sep 8, 2022 - 16:42
Frequency Few ⇒ Many

Indeed, I'd call it many. But, since MuseScore 3 isn't expected to get further updates, best to see if the problem is reproducible on a current nightly build of MsueScore 4. If so, then that would obviously be prioritized for a fix. Otherwise, probably this issue will be considered closed as already having a fix in place. Not to say someone couldn't build a special unofficial AppImage of 3.6.2 specifically for newer OS's.

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• Sep 8, 2022 - 19:08

Update

I performed an install procedure on 3.6.2 using, "./MuseScore-3.6.2.548021370-x86_64.AppImage install" according to https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/1987584 and launched it through the MuseScore icon in Show Applications resulting from the install. I then loaded a notation file and got the same, "Not responding message" so I figured that was not going to work around the issue.

However, I've just discovered that if I right click on the MuseScore notation file and select "Open with MuseScore 3.6-portable," also made possible by the above install procedure, the file loads and runs correctly without producing the "Not responding message."

This makes MuseScore 3.6.2 usable again. I don't know what the difference is in launching MuseScore in these two ways but somehow one works and the other doesn't. It should amount to a clue as to what's going on, like perhaps there are different dependencies involved in the different loading procedures.

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• Sep 8, 2022 - 20:11

Good clue indeed! The main difference I know of it, if you start by opening directly from a file, it bypasses the Start Center. If you open that now view the File menu or F4, does the problem return (if so, I assume it would only be duration of the session). Another check could be start from command line with -w, which opens the Start Center normally but without the web view.

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• Sep 8, 2022 - 20:51

Narrowing it down...

It appears that MuseScore 3.6.2 functions correctly when you launch it by opening a notation file directly. It then maintains its correct behavior even after loading one or more files from within that session using the file open dialog. However, at that point using the Start Center to load a file causes MuseScore to revert to the "Not responding" message for all the loaded files. Likewise, loading MuseScore from the icon and deselecting the Start Center followed by using the file open dialog still produces the "Not responding" message.

So it seems that launching MuseScore from the icon in all cases produces the "Not responding" message, but launching MuseScore indirectly from a file reference works for the loaded file as well as subsequent files opened with the file open dialog so long as the Start Center is not used to load a file.

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• Sep 8, 2022 - 23:43

Thanks for that. This works and the "Not responding" message doesn't appear even if you load a file from the Start Center.

I know this is off topic, but can this terminal command be put into a script and a desktop icon made out of it?

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• Sep 8, 2022 - 23:55

Yes, but simpler than that is to edit the MuseScore “.desktop” file in ~/.local/share/applications - that’s where the command line used when starting from the desktop or elsewhere comes from. You’ll see a line there starting with “Exec”. Just add the -w there. If you see something like %F at the end of the line, add it before that (with a space before and after the -w). That %F turns into the file name of the score when opening by double-clicking a MSCZ file.

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• Sep 13, 2022 - 08:16
Workaround Yes ⇒ No

Thanks a lot! The "-w" option solved another issue in addition: No more empty windows if you open any preferences or tools from the menu. After normal start (without "-w") I had to open and re-open these windows 3-4 times until its content has been shown.

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• Sep 16, 2022 - 18:28

Thanks @Jojo-Schmitz for sending me to this thread. I read through it all...but not sure exactly what to do.

Here's my issue:
Last night I switched from AV Linux to Ubuntu 22.04.1 ...hoping for more stability in other issues.

Only now I seem to have jumped into a worse scenario as Ubuntu is unable to load Musescore 3.6.2 Appimage from my download file.

I tried a number of options including using the terminal, but was unsuccessful with 3.6.2. Then I tried the Ubuntu apps folder, but it must be an older version as it states that their MS3.6.2 is a development program and unstable. So it seems like Ubuntu is the problem here?

So, now what is best for me to do?

  1. Go to another Linux distribution?

  2. Would Musescore 4 be a solution or will it cause more problems? I'd love to go on to MS4, but unsure about Linux with it...which would mean we need to make sure MS 3.6.2 is still workable for Linux people?

  3. So is it best to take Marc Sabatella Sept 8 directions? and if so, maybe clarify a bit...

Thanks, anxious to get back to composing :)

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• Sep 16, 2022 - 22:05

Assuming starting from the command line with -w solves it for you as it appears to have done for at least one other person, then the instructions I gave for modifying your desktop file are the best way I know to make sure every time you start MuseScore from the desktop normally it adds the -w automatically.

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• Sep 16, 2022 - 22:48

I think the simplest and quickest solution is Marc's suggestion to use the -w command line switch. You could be opening a can of worms by switching distros, and MS4 just isn't ready for prime time. I prefer having MuseScore iconized and placed on the app bar as opposed to manually running the Appimage. Don't forget to make sure the Exec line of musescore-portable.desktop allows a file specification to be passed to MuseScore, as in double-clicking on a MuseScore file. My Exec line is then Exec=/home/nick/.local/bin/MuseScore-3.6.2.548021370-x86_64.AppImage -w %F

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• Nov 23, 2022 - 17:14
Workaround Yes ⇒ No

So -w disables the 'web view', but now the 'Save Online' window is empty, also with 'Ubuntu on Xorg'.
Is there a way to use the 'Save Online' in this case?

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• Jul 17, 2023 - 11:57

Thanks for the working solution!
Despite the fact that I have been using MuseScore 4 for a long time, which does not have this problem, I still have to launch MuseScore 3 in order to convert notes to version 3, because the application for android still does not support notes from the version of MuseScore 4. I hope that soon the version for android will implement support for version 4, and you will not need to do so many extra steps.

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