Definition:
Wayland is a system architecture that is used to display the graphical interface of applications.
You can find a detailed description of Wayland on the Wayland website:
https://wayland.freedesktop.org/
You can also find various information about Wayland use within Ubuntu on the Ubuntu website:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Wayland
Issue:
Some applications are not yet fully compatible with the default Wayland interface that Ubuntu now uses for the Linux accounts.
Caldera RIP is fully compatible with Wayland but it's not the case yet for example for Teamviewer.
This article will explain how to switch to the Xorg interface which has a wider compatibility with applications.
In session, to check if you are running on Wayland or Xorg:
The selection of the type of interface to use is done before accessing the Linux account but if you are already logged there is a way to tell which interface you are on by using the Terminal.
Open a Terminal and type the following (validate with Enter):
echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE
It will then provide you the reply "Wayland" or "X11" (for Xorg).
To choose Xorg instead of Wayland:
This selection has to be done before entering the Linux account, when requested for the password of the session.
Before validating the password you have to click on the wheel in the right bottom of the screen and select "Ubuntu on Xorg". (The default value is "Ubuntu" which is using "Wayland").
Once the selection has been done you can access your account.
Please be aware that:
- you must see the password field to be able to see the wheel in right bottom.
- the Linux session must be closed to see the wheel, you will not see it if you only locked your session and are trying to log back.
In some rare cases you may not see the wheel at all: it usually means that some program is always forcing a specific type of interface to be used, not giving you the possibility to choose.
For example the official NVIDIA drivers may force the use of the Xorg interface.
Article created the 25th October 2022.