In app designer, cursor disappears and all keyboard input stops working after clicking on window on Linux. How can I fix?

Hello,

Whenever I bring focus back to an App Designer window by clicking on a text box, my cursor appears and I can type in the text box, but if I click anywhere else on the screen again, my cursor disappears and I can't type at all. Keyboard shortcuts don't work either, but the mouse still works. The only way I can get keyboard input back is to click on a different window, such as Google Chrome, and click back on the textbox in App Designer. The apps made by the designer also have this problem.

It's fairly annoying and breaks my workflow, and I've considered running MATLAB in a Windows VM to get around the bug and to be able to finish my work faster. The normal MATLAB editor and command window works fine.

Running Ubuntu 22.04 using Wayland, window is running in XWayland mode.

[Vinayak]

One possible solution to this could be to hit "Esc" after clicking into the Designer window or you may update to the latest version of MATLAB.

[Nicolas Zerbinopoulos]

Hitting Esc does nothing. I will try to install MATLAB 2022b to see if that fixes the issue.

[Nicolas Zerbinopoulos]

The problem is not fixed in 2022b. The problem also happens in the installation window, I have to click off the window and back onto it to get the cursor back.

[茄宇]

When it happens in the installation window, I can't input my mailbox. Change Input method to English works.

Answer 1

[DGM]

This is a bug that's been around for a while and is probably here to stay. Unless you want to change your environment for the sake of MATLAB, there are various unsatisfactory workarounds.

This answer includes links to the bug report and related topics.

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/1599904-file-installation-key-freezes-during-install

You may also notice certain elements (e.g. dropdown menus in Add-On manager) won't respond to mouse clicks. In my experience, they actually do respond, but you only have a roughly 5% chance of the event being registered.

[Nicolas Zerbinopoulos]

Disappointing, but it's comforting to know others have this issue as well.

[Hans]

I have the same problem running Matlab 2023a. In other words, still no hint of a fix almost a year later.

According to the release notes by Mathworks, my configuration is compatible (Ubuntu 22.04, processores, etc.). Why are we paying for a product that does not work?

[Sebastian]

Still a problem in 2025 lmao!