Clicking per-game properties doesn't open the settings window

[NolanSyKinsley]

Your system information

• Steam client version (build number or date): 1686880776
• Distribution (e.g. Ubuntu): Arch
• Opted into Steam client beta?: [Yes/No] Yes, I think, can't seem to find it in settings anymore
• Have you checked for system updates?: [Yes/No] yes
• Steam Logs: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/kk2v1lq6u4j49069zlcxe/steam-logs.tar.gz?dl=0&rlkey=m63kz86e5meppgyf3rkiub4o4
• GPU: Nvidia/Intel/AMD NVIDIA RTX 2060KO

Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible:

The recent UI update to the steam client has made it so I cannot adjust the properties of any games, the window just never opens when you click on the settings for games. Overall client settings are accessible.

Steps for reproducing this issue:

1. Run steam
2. Attempt to open the settings of a game by going to its library page, clicking the gear icon, and clicking on settings

I noticed an issue like this starting before the UI update, I was not able to change the proton version of games, the list would pop up, but no matter what I clicked it would just vanish and not change the selection. Now it has gotten worse and I cannot open the game properties of any game. I was struck by the other bug that caused the client to not launch at all, had to remove XDG-desktop-portal to get it working again.

[kisak-valve]

Hello @NolanSyKinsley, this issue is already being tracked at #9273. Closing as a duplicate.

[NolanSyKinsley]

@kisak-valve It is a duplicate of the drop down issue in the old client I mentioned tangentially, it is not a duplicate of the main issue of the settings window no longer opening at all in the new client UI update.

[kisak-valve]

I still think this is a duplicate of #9273, but for the sake of visibility, I'm reopening this issue report. There's no hint that the root cause is different here.

The main details is that it's more likely to occur with Xmonad or openbox, and in some cases, holding down the control key while clicking the selection avoids the issue for some reason for some users who see the issue.

Side note: #9656 did not influence re-opening this issue report.

[EluWriter]

Can confirm, the issue is there. And holding ctrl does help open the settings. Debian 12 Bookworm, running on Ryzen 5 2600x, 16GB 3200MHz DDR4, GTX 1070.

[JoseGuilhermeCR]

Using Fedora 38 Workstation + Nvidia (unfortunately) drivers from RPM Fusion. This happens under X11, but not under Wayland...

[kuramayouko]

This is so annoying every time I want to edit game proprieties i had to launch Big Picture mode

[fiver22]

see https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/9273#issuecomment-1483915910 In gnome tweaks>windows>window focus. I prefer focus follows mouse and had THAT (they call it focus on hover) set. Switching to Click to Focus allows me to access game properties. This isn't a fix but it will allow you to get to properties, at least

[danielgarciagarcia]

Issue still there. @kisak-valve any news on the fix?

[Majorowsky]

problem still persists, Distribution : Lubuntu 22.04.3 (Openbox) Steam Version: 1701289036 System updates: Latest

[csmr]

I can confirm that this issue still exists: in Steam Library > Game > Settings (cog icon) menu, just clicking Left Mouse Button does nothing.

But, holding down CTRL-key with Left Mouse Button does open the respective Properties and other menu-windows.

Same even applies to the left-mouse-button context menu in the Steam Help > About Steam window, without CTRL-key the "Copy" won't happen. :)

Version info: Steam Version: 1701289036 Steam Client Build Date: Wed, Nov 29 9:59 PM UTC -08:00 Steam Web Build Date: Wed, Nov 29 9:03 PM UTC -08:00 Steam API Version: SteamClient021

Kernel: 6.1.0-13-amd64 OS: Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm) x86_64 Debian 6.1.55-1 (2023-09-29) x86_64 GNU/Linux DE: LXQt 1.2.0, Qt 5.15.8.

[jseyfert3]

see #9273 (comment) In gnome tweaks>windows>window focus. I prefer focus follows mouse and had THAT (they call it focus on hover) set. Switching to Click to Focus allows me to access game properties. This isn't a fix but it will allow you to get to properties, at least

I could also not access the game properties. Linux Mint 21.2. Found your comment, I have "sloppy" window focus. I changed it to focus on click and I could immediately open the game properties. So mouse focus is definitely a factor at play here.

[sodiboo]

I'm experiencing this issue still, and what @kisak-valve said one year ago seems to still be relevant

it's more likely to occur with Xmonad or openbox

I'm running Steam inside a rootful Xwayland instance, where i previously ran openbox, in which case i could not open the properties window. Just rawdogging Xwayland with no WM solves the issue, but also comes at the cost of no more window management. Running with practically any other WM solves my issue - i didn't try Xmonad, but i noticed that fluxbox and i3 were unaffected by the issue, and it also worked fine in Sway (but this a wayland compositor, so less relevant). I ended up running Metacity within Xwayland, as it appears to work very similarly to openbox using default settings (and since this isn't my main environment, i don't really care much for configuring it, i just want it to work) and Steam looks indistinguishable between the two.

Additionally, i noticed Big Picture Mode (the Steam Deck / gamepadui) was kinda borked when using openbox - mouse/keyboard controls were very unreliable, the side menu (which could only be opened with a controller) had white bars over/under it, and the launch animation never played in fullscreen. I didn't test these in all other WMs, but none of those issues seem to occur when using Metacity. I have no reason to believe that this is any different on other WMs that aren't openbox.

[bstar]

This issue persists for me. I'm running i3, Xorg and no desktop manager. When I access Steam, change workspaces and then change back to the Steam workspace, I can no longer select items in my library. A quick fix is to spawn a terminal in that workspace and then Steam clicks becomes responsive again. None of the other suggestions have worked for me.