# What would cause a compositor to change numerical values midestream?

**URL:** <https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-would-cause-a-compositor-to-change-numerical-values-midestream/55021>\
**Category:** Applications\
**Created:** [May 8, 2024, 7:48pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-would-cause-a-compositor-to-change-numerical-values-midestream/55021 "2024-05-08T19:48:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![drunkenvicar](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/drunkenvicar/32/112222_2.png) [@drunkenvicar](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/drunkenvicar)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 7:48pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-would-cause-a-compositor-to-change-numerical-values-midestream/55021/1 "2024-05-08T19:48:32Z")

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just asking for some hypotheticals/spitballing here, so I thank you in advance. I’m in lxde.  
The mystery not killing me because I found a workaround, but it stays in my head as bizarre.

Situation for weeks: picom kept an app (plank) at 100% opacity its background by me using the digit 0= (zero) in the `/.config` folder `picom.conf` file. (see pic)  
 ![pi4](https://forum.endeavouros.com/uploads/default/original/3X/5/2/525c0068592843f50f325b5282b8feadaa222cbd.png)

Situation now: 0= (zero) now restores the non-opaque background (see pic).  
Because I haven’t changed this in the `~/etc` folder yet, so I have to do this daily to make background opaque–change the 0 to 10 to go back to opacque.  
 ![pi2](https://forum.endeavouros.com/uploads/default/original/3X/d/3/d355c5477e7993d5ac323ae957e860e4fcf31d74.png)

why would a compositor suddenly need different numerical input and change numerical values, seemingly, out of nowhere?

edit for the tldr’s: why does it now take a 10 when it used to be 0?

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**Author:** ![drunkenvicar](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/drunkenvicar/32/112222_2.png) [@drunkenvicar](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/drunkenvicar)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 9:29pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-would-cause-a-compositor-to-change-numerical-values-midestream/55021/2 "2024-05-08T21:29:02Z")

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[https://github.com/search?q=repo%3Ayshui%2Fpicom+plank&type=issues&p=2](https://github.com/search?q=repo%3Ayshui%2Fpicom+plank&type=issues&p=2)

apparently there is a history (and at least 9 pages) of Picom/Plank Glitchiness and numbers that change. I am closing this one. It would take me a couple hours to skim all the PPG bug issues.

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**Author:** ![eso](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/eso/32/36767_2.png) [@eso](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/eso)\
**Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 11:10am UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-would-cause-a-compositor-to-change-numerical-values-midestream/55021/3 "2024-05-09T11:10:38Z")

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I tried to understand the problem.  
Installed plank and selected by CTRL+right-click Preferences Theme Transparent.  
Installed picom and copied /etc/xdg/picom.conf to ~/.config/  
Put picom and plank to ~/.config/lxsession/LXDE/autostart  
Used default picom settings and it seems to work.

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**Author:** ![vazicebon](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/vazicebon/32/81098_2.png) [@vazicebon](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/vazicebon)\
**Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 12:54pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-would-cause-a-compositor-to-change-numerical-values-midestream/55021/4 "2024-05-09T12:54:53Z")

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> [@drunkenvicar](#):
>
> edit for the tldr’s: why does it now take a 10 when it used to be 0?

Last picom update was February, Plank was in 2022. If the apps didn’t change, it’s something else.  
I did the same as @eso in Xfce and it works, I don’t understand why you specify a transparency value for Plank in picom.conf.

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**Author:** ![drunkenvicar](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/drunkenvicar/32/112222_2.png) [@drunkenvicar](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/drunkenvicar)\
**Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 4:20pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/what-would-cause-a-compositor-to-change-numerical-values-midestream/55021/5 "2024-05-09T16:20:59Z")

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> [@vazicebon](#):
>
> I did the same as @eso in Xfce and it works, I don’t understand why you specify a transparency value for Plank in picom.conf.

because xfce has an in-house compositor; lxde does not.