Fix collapsing submenus on refresh (Issues #143, #29, #40) + optional reopen/minwidth support

CHANGES.md

@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+# Argos – Changes in this Fork
+
+This fork is based on [p-e-w/argos](https://github.com/p-e-w/argos) and adds several features not available in upstream.  
+The goal is to stay compatible with existing scripts while making the extension more robust and convenient in daily use.
+
+---
+
+## New Features
+
+### 1. Preserve Submenu State
+- **Problem:** On every refresh (`updateInterval`), the entire menu was rebuilt, causing all open submenus to collapse.
+- **Solution:**  
+  - Open submenus are captured before `removeAll()` and restored after rebuilding.  
+  - Script output now supports an `id` property for submenu headers:  
+
+    ```text
+    -- Submenu Header | id=connection
+    ---- Item A
+    ---- Item B
+    ```
+
+  - Only if `id` is set will the state be stored and restored.  
+  - No `id` → no restore (backward compatible).
+
+- **Technical details:**  
+  - A new helper class `submenu_state.js` manages capture/restore of submenu states.  
+  - Internally, `GLib.idle_add` is used to ensure restoration happens after the rebuild, avoiding race conditions.
+
+### 2. Reopen Menu After Action
+- **Problem:** After running a command from the menu, the menu always closed. For certain workflows (e.g., toggles or quick repeat actions), this was disruptive.  
+- **Solution:**  
+  - Scripts can now add the property `reopen=true` to a line.  
+  - After executing the action, the menu automatically reopens with updated state.  
+  - Works only for `bash` commands.  
+
+- **Technical details:**  
+  - Integrated into `submenu_state.js` via `requestReopen()` and `finalizeUpdate()`.  
+  - `GLib.idle_add` ensures the reopen happens after the rebuild, minimizing flicker.  
+  - Backward compatible: lines without `reopen=true` behave as before.
+
+### 3. Minimum Width for Submenus
+- **Problem:** When menu entries of different length appear or disappear during refresh, the whole dropdown width jumps, leading to a distracting UI flicker.  
+- **Solution:**  
+  - Scripts can now specify a minimum width in pixels for submenu headers using a `minwidth` property:  
+
+    ```text
+    -- Status | id=status minwidth=360
+    ---- Connected
+    ---- Last handshake: 2m ago
+    ```
+
+  - The `minwidth` value is applied as a hard CSS `min-width` on the corresponding `PopupSubMenuMenuItem`.  
+  - Other items remain dynamic, only the submenu header defines the lower bound for its content.
+
+- **Technical details:**  
+  - Applied directly when creating a `PopupSubMenuMenuItem` in `button.js`.  
+  - Backward compatible: lines without `minwidth` behave as before.  
+  - Prevents width “jumping” when submenu content changes.
+
+---
+
+## Internal Changes
+
+- Code for tracking/restoring submenu state was moved out of `button.js` into a **dedicated utility class**.  
+- Refactored parts of the menu update logic for better maintainability.  
+- Centralized `reopen` handling in `submenu_state.js` instead of scattering flag checks across `button.js` and `menuitem.js`.  
+- Added support for per-submenu `minwidth` property.
+
+---
+
+## Known Limitations
+
+- Only one submenu can be open at a time (GNOME Shell limitation).  
+- Restoring an open submenu causes a short re-animation (visible “flicker”) because the menu is rebuilt.  
+- Without an `id` property in the script line, no state is restored.  
+- Menu reopen still causes a very short flicker, as the menu must be rebuilt before reopening.  
+- Minimum width applies only to submenu headers (`PopupSubMenuMenuItem`), not to the entire dropdown or the panel button.
+
+---

argos@pew.worldwidemann.com/button.js

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import * as PopupMenu from 'resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/popupMenu.js';
 import ArgosLineView from './lineview.js';
 import ArgosMenuItem from './menuitem.js';
 import * as Utilities from './utilities.js';
+import SubmenuState from './submenu_state.js';
 
 const cArgosButton = GObject.registerClass({
   GTypeName: "ArgosButton",
@@ -30,6 +31,7 @@ class ArgosButton extends PanelMenu.Button {
 
     this._file = file;
     this._updateInterval = settings.updateInterval;
+    this._subs = new SubmenuState();
 
     this._lineView = new ArgosLineView();
     this._lineView.setMarkup("<small><i>" + GLib.markup_escape_text(file.get_basename(), -1) + " ...</i></small>");
@@ -131,7 +133,7 @@ class ArgosButton extends PanelMenu.Button {
         buttonLines.push(line);
       }
     }
-
+    this._subs.prepareForUpdate(this);
     this.menu.removeAll();
 
     if (this._cycleTimeout !== null) {
@@ -190,6 +192,16 @@ class ArgosButton extends PanelMenu.Button {
         // an error or warning, this should be considered a bug in GNOME Shell.
         // Once it is fixed, this code will work as expected for nested submenus.
         menuItem = new PopupMenu.PopupSubMenuMenuItem("", false);
+        //add optional support for restore after refresh
+        if (dropdownLines[i].id) {
+          menuItem._submenuKey = dropdownLines[i].id;
+        }
+        if (dropdownLines[i].minwidth) {
+          const px = parseInt(dropdownLines[i].minwidth, 10);
+          if (Number.isFinite(px) && px > 0) {
+            menuItem.actor.set_style(`min-width:${px}px;`);
+          }
+        }
         let lineView = new ArgosLineView(dropdownLines[i]);
         menuItem.actor.insert_child_below(lineView, menuItem.label);
         menuItem.label.visible = false;
@@ -206,6 +218,12 @@ class ArgosButton extends PanelMenu.Button {
       }
 
       menu.addMenuItem(menuItem);
+     if (menuItem._submenuKey && this._subs.wasOpen(menuItem._submenuKey)) {
+        GLib.idle_add(GLib.PRIORITY_DEFAULT, () => {
+            menuItem.menu.open(false); 
+            return GLib.SOURCE_REMOVE;
+        });
+     }
     }
 
     if (dropdownLines.length > 0)
@@ -217,7 +235,9 @@ class ArgosButton extends PanelMenu.Button {
     menuItem.connect("activate", () => {
       Gio.AppInfo.launch_default_for_uri("file://" + this._file.get_path(), null);
     });
+
     this.menu.addMenuItem(menuItem);
+    this._subs.finalizeUpdate(this);
   }
 });
 

argos@pew.worldwidemann.com/menuitem.js

@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ const cArgosMenuItem = GObject.registerClass(
       });
 
       let altSwitcher = null;
-
       let lineView = new ArgosLineView(line);
 
       if (typeof alternateLine === "undefined") {
@@ -56,6 +55,10 @@ const cArgosMenuItem = GObject.registerClass(
 	    eval(activeLine.eval);
 
 	  if (activeLine.hasOwnProperty("bash")) {
+        // support reopen
+        if (activeLine.reopen === "true") {
+            button._subs.requestReopen(button);
+        }
 	    let argv = [];
 
 
@@ -78,7 +81,9 @@ const cArgosMenuItem = GObject.registerClass(
 	    }
 	  } else if (activeLine.refresh === "true") {
 	    button.update();
-	  }
+	  }else if (activeLine.reopen === "true") { // trigger update even without bash
+        button.update();
+      }
 	});
       }
     }

argos@pew.worldwidemann.com/submenu_state.js

@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+import GLib from 'gi://GLib';
+// submenu_state.js
+export default class SubmenuState {
+  constructor() { this._openKeys = new Set(); }
+
+
+  wasOpen(key) { return key && this._openKeys.has(key); }
+
+  requestReopen(button) {
+    button._reopenAfterAction = true;
+    this._capture(button.menu);
+  }
+
+  prepareForUpdate(button) {
+    if(button._reopenAfterAction) return;
+    this._capture(button.menu);
+  }
+
+  finalizeUpdate(button) {
+    if (!button._reopenAfterAction) return;
+    GLib.idle_add(GLib.PRIORITY_DEFAULT, () => {
+      button.menu.open(false);
+      return GLib.SOURCE_REMOVE;
+    });
+    button._reopenAfterAction = false;
+    this._openKeys.clear();
+  }
+
+  _capture(rootMenu) {
+    this._openKeys.clear();
+    this._walk(rootMenu, item => {
+      if (item.menu?.isOpen && item._submenuKey) this._openKeys.add(item._submenuKey);
+    });
+  }
+
+  // interne Hilfe: durch alle Items (rekursiv) laufen
+  _walk(menu, fn) {
+    for (const it of menu._getMenuItems()) {
+      if (it.constructor.name === 'PopupSubMenuMenuItem') {
+        fn(it);
+        this._walk(it.menu, fn);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}

example.5s.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# demo-argos-features.10s.sh
+# Shows: submenu state restore (id=...), reopen=true, and minwidth on header.
+
+# Panel title
+echo "🧪 Demo"
+
+# Start dropdown
+echo "---"
+
+# 1) Submenu with a fixed minimum width and a stable id
+echo "⚙️  Settings | id=demo-settings minwidth=360"
+# Toggle a simple on/off flag in /tmp (purely demonstrative)
+FLAG="/tmp/argos-demo-flag"
+if [[ -f "$FLAG" ]]; then
+  echo "--✅ Enabled  | bash='rm -f \"$FLAG\"' terminal=false refresh=true reopen=true"
+else
+  echo "--❌ Disabled | bash='touch \"$FLAG\"' terminal=false refresh=true reopen=true"
+fi
+
+# 2) Another submenu to show that open state is preserved across refreshes
+echo "---"
+echo "📊 Status | id=demo-status minwidth=360"
+NOW="$(date '+%H:%M:%S')"
+echo "--Time: $NOW"
+echo "--Flag file present: $( [[ -f \"$FLAG\" ]] && echo yes || echo no )"
+
+# 3) A top-level action (closes unless reopen=true is used)
+echo "---"
+echo "♻️  Force Refresh | refresh=true"