Conky displays on 2nd monitor, not primary

[JHBlackstone]

been running Conky (~/.conkyrc) on my Ubuntu 24.04lts, but it shows up on my 2nd monitor, not the laptop primary monitor. why can it not be on the primary... or even better on both?

here's my conkyrc file:

conky.config = {

update_interval = 1,
cpu_avg_samples = 2,
net_avg_samples = 2,
out_to_console = false,
override_utf8_locale = true,
double_buffer = true,
no_buffers = true,
text_buffer_size = 32768,
imlib_cache_size = 0,
own_window = true,
own_window_type = 'normal',
own_window_argb_visual = true,
own_window_argb_value = 50,
own_window_hints = 'undecorated,below,sticky,skip_taskbar,skip_pager',
border_inner_margin = 5,
border_outer_margin = 0,
alignment = 'top_right',
gap_x = 0,
gap_y = 30,
draw_shades = false,
draw_outline = false,
draw_borders = false,
draw_graph_borders = false,
use_xft = true,
font = 'Ubuntu Mono:size=12',
xftalpha = 0.8,
uppercase = false,
default_color = 'white',
own_window_colour = '#000000',
minimum_width = 300, minimum_height = 0,
temperature_unit = 'fahrenheit',
};
conky.text = [[
${time %r}${alignr}${time %d-%m-%y}
${voffset -8}${font sans-serif:bold:size=18}${alignc}${time %I:%M %p}${font}
${voffset 4}${alignc}${time %A %B %d, %Y}
${font}${voffset -4}
${color red}${font Ubuntu:bold:size=20}${voffset -14}          BLACKSTONE
${color yellow}${font sans-serif:bold:size=10}${voffset -12}SYSTEM ${hr 2}
${font sans-serif:normal:size=8}$sysname $kernel $alignr $machine
Host:$alignr$nodename
Uptime:$alignr$uptime
File System: $alignr${fs_type}
Processes: $alignr ${execi 1000 ps aux | wc -l}
${color green}${font sans-serif:bold:size=10}CPU ${hr 2}
${font sans-serif:normal:size=8}${execi 1000 grep model /proc/cpuinfo | cut -d : -f2 | tail -1 | sed 's/\s//'}
${font sans-serif:normal:size=8}${voffset -8}${cpugraph cpu0}
CPU0: ${cpu cpu0}% ${cpubar cpu0}
${font sans-serif:normal:size=8}${voffset -8}${cpugraph cpu1}
CPU1: ${cpu cpu1}% ${cpubar cpu1}
${color lightblue}${font sans-serif:bold:size=10}MEMORY ${hr 2}
${font sans-serif:normal:size=8}RAM $alignc $mem / $memmax $alignr $memperc%
$membar
SWAP $alignc ${swap} / ${swapmax} $alignr ${swapperc}%
${swapbar}
${color lightgreen}${font sans-serif:bold:size=10}DISK USAGE ${hr 2}
${font sans-serif:normal:size=8} $alignc ${fs_used /} / ${fs_size /} $alignr                             ${fs_used_perc /}%
${fs_bar /}
${color lightmagenta}${font Ubuntu:bold:size=10}CPU temperature ${hr 2}
${hwmon 1 temp 1}°F
${color orange}${font Ubuntu:bold:size=10}NETWORK ${hr 2}
#${font sans-serif:normal:size=8}Local IPs:${alignr}External IP:
#${execi 1000 ip a | grep inet | grep -vw lo | grep -v inet6 | cut -d \/ -f1 | sed 's/[^0-9\.]*//g'}  ${alignr}${execi 1000  wget -q -O- http://ipecho.net/plain; echo}
${color light blue}${font Ubuntu:bitalic:size=10}Local Area Network
${color lightgray}${font sans-serif:normal:size=8}Down: ${downspeed enp0s25}          ${alignr}Up: ${upspeed enp0s25} 
${color green}${downspeedgraph enp0s25 20,150 } ${alignr}${voffset -4}${upspeedgraph enp0s25 20,150 }$color${voffset -4}
${color light blue}${font Ubuntu:bitalic:size=10}USB wifi     ${color orange}${wireless_bitrate wlxe8de27a17927}
${color lightgray}${font sans-serif:normal:size=8}Down: ${downspeed wlxe8de27a17927}  ${alignr}Up: ${upspeed wlxe8de27a17927} 
${color green}${downspeedgraph wlxe8de27a17927 15,150 } ${voffset 4}         ${alignr}${upspeedgraph wlxe8de27a17927 15,150 }$color${voffset 4}
${color yellow}${wireless_essid wlxe8de27a17927} ${color red}${alignr}Signal:         ${color orange}${wireless_link_qual_perc wlxe8de27a17927}% ${wireless_link_bar 4,100 wlxe8de27a17927}
${color light blue}${font Ubuntu:bitalic:size=10}PCI wifi     ${color orange}${wireless_bitrate wlp2s0}
${color lightgray}${font sans-serif:normal:size=8}Down: ${downspeed wlp2s0}      ${alignr}Up: ${upspeed wlp2s0} 
${color green}${downspeedgraph wlp2s0 15,150 } ${voffset 4}     ${alignr}${upspeedgraph wlp2s0 15,150 }$color${voffset 4}
#${color blue}${font sans-serif:normal:size=8} ${voffset 5} Wireless» $hr${color green}
#${color yellow}${wireless_essid wlxe8de27a17927} ${color red}${alignr}Signal:     ${color orange}${wireless_link_qual_perc wlxe8de27a17927}% ${wireless_link_bar 4,100 wlxe8de27a17927} 
${color yellow}${wireless_essid wlp2s0} ${color red}${alignr}Signal: ${color orange}${wireless_link_qual_perc wlp2s0}% ${wireless_link_bar 4,100 wlp2s0}
${color cyan}${font sans-serif:bold:size=10}TOP PROCESSES ${hr 2}
${font sans-serif:normal:size=8}Name $alignr PID   CPU%   MEM%${font sans-serif:normal:size=8}
${top name 1} $alignr ${top pid 1} ${top cpu 1}% ${top mem 1}%
${top name 2} $alignr ${top pid 2} ${top cpu 2}% ${top mem 2}%
${top name 3} $alignr ${top pid 3} ${top cpu 3}% ${top mem 3}%
${top name 4} $alignr ${top pid 4} ${top cpu 4}% ${top mem 4}%
${top name 5} $alignr ${top pid 5} ${top cpu 5}% ${top mem 5}%
${top name 6} $alignr ${top pid 6} ${top cpu 6}% ${top mem 6}%
${top name 7} $alignr ${top pid 7} ${top cpu 7}% ${top mem 7}%
${top name 8} $alignr ${top pid 8} ${top cpu 8}% ${top mem 8}%
]];

[Caellian]

Assuming you use X11, and Ubuntu comes with Xinerama (likely), it's because the two monitors get treated as a single large one (workarea).

You can run two separate conky instances and change padding to get the other instance to display in the right place on primary monitor.

Another, mode advanced, option is to build conky without BUILD_XINERAMA option, but I'm not entirely sure how that would behave (e.g. maybe it would only show up on primary monitor) and can't test it out.

[JHBlackstone]

exactly how do I run two separate conky instances so it's on each monitor? using own_window_type = 'normal' puts it on 2nd display, and using own_window_type = 'desktop' puts it on my laptop monitor...

[JHBlackstone]

running Ubuntu 24.04.2LTS, wayland, and tried using 'xinerama_head = 1,' (and tried 0, 2, 3, 4, etc.) but nothing ever changed - no effect... like it just ignores it... my two displays use the same background, not one background spanning both, but is extended so I can move windows around to each. Get this:
conky
conky: desktop window (40000a) is subwindow of root window (137)
conky: window type - normal
conky: drawing to created window (0x1000002)
conky: drawing to double buffer
conky: can't parse X color 'lightmagenta' (12)

version is conky -v
conky 1.19.6 compiled 2024-04-01 for Linux x86_64

[Caellian]

Xinerama is an X11 extension (wordplay on X11+panorama I believe). So xinerama_head wouldn't do anything when running on wayland.
However, you're also running conky with XWayland because window type - normal output is X11 specific.

Use:

conky.config = {
  out_to_x = false,
  out_to_wayland = true,
  -- other settings ...
}

Then report back what you see.

XWayland is weird for programs like conky. I'm not familiar with what it precisely does and how (Wayland doesn't have some X11 features, not sure how those are handled), but supporting it is a lower priority than implementing direct wayland support.

[JHBlackstone]

adding it gets:

conky: '/home/batgirl/.conkyrc' modified, reloading...
conky: drawing to single buffer
conky: invalid setting of type 'table'
conky: can't parse X color 'lightmagenta' (12)

...and it dissappears, even conky -d won't bring it back

conky -d
conky: drawing to single buffer
conky: invalid setting of type 'table'
conky: can't parse X color 'lightmagenta' (12)
conky: forked to background, pid is 74008

deleted it and conky back after conky -d...

conky -d
conky: desktop window (60000a) is subwindow of root window (137)
conky: window type - normal
conky: drawing to created window (0xc00002)
conky: drawing to double buffer
conky: can't parse X color 'lightmagenta' (12)
conky: forked to background, pid is 74034

[JHBlackstone]

My Windows has "DeskTopInfo" (ie conky for windows), and is EASILY displayed on BOTH monitors - it is so easy to use - why does conky on linux got to be such a freakin' literal pain in the @$$?!?
IF I could get DeskTopInfo to run on Ubuttu, I'd do so in a heartbeat... bloody conky!

[Caellian]

From a technical perspective Windows and Linux are quite different when it comes to these types of applications.

Windows has a single WM, a single way to do something like drawing behind icons (although a bit hacky - not directly supported). Conky targets 10 different ways of drawing something like this, depending on display server, compositor, etc. Few collaborators have multiple screens to test things out. Wayland support is still in development. And lastly, very few people actively contribute to it.

Those are all the contributing factors. I'm sorry you have a bad experience, and understand your frustration, but it can't really be helped at the moment unless you're willing to champion this for Wayland/XWayland. There's a huge list of things that are on my personal todo before this.

[JHBlackstone]

Wish I was younger and less damaged - I'm 72 with multiple sclerosis which has taken out both my hands (loss of dexterity and both numb) so typing or using a computer is tedious... then there's I'm a stage IV metastasized cancer surgery and chemo survivor, and had VATS done on both lungs :-}

When it comes to linux, I'm an idiot ~ grew up on DOS and CPM... learned Fortran in school which I use in my fire modeling (computational fluid dynamics) for arson investigation - or used to, before becoming disable deputy of GA State Fire Marshal. Still a registered professional engineer (PE), but doesn't help me with computers, especially things like Conky, linux/ubuntu, or even the win10 machine I'm fighting with (I hate micro$lop Windoz). Great at Fortran code though!

[JHBlackstone]

OK! this works! change:
own_window_type = 'normal',
to
own_window_type = 'desktop',
and it is now on primary monitor!

now - how do I do this to have it on BOTH?

create ".conkyrc" and ".conkyrc2"?

noticed that using 'desktop', and not 'normal', setting:
alignment = 'top_right',
gap_x = 0,
gap_y = 30,
actually works - on 'normal' they are ignored...

[Caellian]

Changing the window_type isn't a good way of changing the display screen. xinerama_head is supposed to be used to switch the display monitor, but that won't work on Wayland because Wayland is lacking support for explicit window placement. That issue is well known with Wayland and we can't do anything about it from our side.

I'm not sure why window_type works in your case, but it shouldn't.