Clicking on Category Field causes misfunction
Whenever I tab or click into the category field on any account register, including in transaction reminders, the pop-up window to select a category goes crazy, flashing quickly, repeatedly, endlessly until I tab or click out of the field.
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31 Posted by Stuart Beesley ... on 28 Dec, 2025 04:57 PM
so...
does NOT appear in the file that toolbox is showing you. Thus, it has not been added?
32 Posted by Maxim Weinstein on 28 Dec, 2025 07:35 PM
Isn't that a Windows setting?
33 Posted by Jack Dixon on 28 Dec, 2025 08:36 PM
Probably.
I created the file and then set toolbox advanced to look for it. I also put the setting into a bash file and ran it. The bash file sets that setting then successfully runs Moneydance with no effect on the problem with the category field dysfunction. So maybe that works for windows, but my problem is with Pop!_OS 24.04.
Looks like I'm out of luck so far.
On Dec 28, 2025 at 2:35 PM -0500, Maxim Weinstein <[email blocked]>, wrote:
34 Posted by dwg on 28 Dec, 2025 08:56 PM
The line is a Java setting.
35 Posted by dwg on 28 Dec, 2025 09:00 PM
FWIW this setting is used to turn off the Java 2D system's use of Direct3D in Java.
It has been seen that this can help with some screen rendering problems, including corruption, hence I believe the suggestion to try it and see if it helps here.
36 Posted by Stuart Beesley ... on 28 Dec, 2025 10:23 PM
It's a JVM setting (Os agnostic). I have no idea it will work, but so far no one has shown me a valid vmoptions file with it added?
37 Posted by Jack Dixon on 28 Dec, 2025 10:38 PM
I followed this suggestion:
Nice find!
I think is the same as passing the following to the JVM
-Dsun.java2d.d3d=false
I wonder if setting this in your vmoptions file for moneydance would do the same thing?
I think the default is Moneydance.vmoptions in the same folder as the Moneydance.exe file. Toolbox advanced options can show you how to use this..
i created the file in /opt/moneydance and told MD to refer to it. Is that not what I was supposed to do?
On Dec 28, 2025 at 5:23 PM -0500, Stuart Beesley (Mr Toolbox) <[email blocked]>, wrote:
38 Posted by Stuart Beesley ... on 28 Dec, 2025 10:45 PM
Again, might be of no use, but you could try:
-Dsun.java2d.pmoffscreen=false
... in vmoptions
and perhaps any of the items here (if you are willing to play)
https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/15/troubleshoot/java-2d-pipe...
39 Posted by Jack Dixon on 28 Dec, 2025 10:52 PM
Thank you, Stuart. That didn't work, but I'm definitely going to keep
playing with it (using the link you sent). I'll play with it until
there's a solution; hoping System76 will take a look at it too, since it
seems to affect a lot of Pop!_OS users.
On 12/28/25 5:45 PM, Stuart Beesley (Mr Toolbox) wrote:
40 Posted by dwg on 28 Dec, 2025 11:34 PM
On Linux, if you use the standard locations, in /opt/Moneydance there is a file Moneydance/vmoptions.
This file is overwritten every time moneydnace is installed, hence it is not recommended to change it.
Instead, provision has been made to call the file ~/.moneydance/vmoptions.txt. So you create and add any Java options you want to this file.
41 Posted by Jack Dixon on 29 Dec, 2025 04:31 PM
Thank you!
Yesterday, I added this to Moneydance/vmoptions, at the top:
# If you'd like to customise the java launch settings, create
file called vmoptions.txt at the path below and put your custom
settings there.
-include-options ${HOME}/.moneydance/vmoptions.txt
This is the contents of /.moneydance/vmoptions.txt:
-Dsun.java2d.d3d=false
I must be doing something wrong here, but I don't know what it is.
Jack
42 Posted by Jack Dixon on 29 Dec, 2025 04:45 PM
This is the current toolbox output re: vmoptions.txt:
Contents of Moneydance's .vmoptions file (DO NOT CHANGE):
'/opt/Moneydance/Moneydance.vmoptions'
---------------------------------------------------------
# If you'd like to customise the java launch settings, create file
called vmoptions.txt at the path below and put your custom settings there.
-include-options ${HOME}/.moneydance/vmoptions.txt
-include-options ${HOMEDRIVE}${HOMEPATH}\.moneydance\vmoptions.txt
# PLEASE NOTE: If you make changes to this file (instead of the one
referenced above) then
# those changes will likely be overwritten the next time you update or
reinstall Moneydance
# Below are some example entries that you might add to the vmoptions.txt
file mentioned above.
# The file format expects one entry per line, and ignores lines that
start with a #
# For example, the following line sets the maximum memory usage to 80%
of the amount of physical memory in your computer.
#-XX:MaxRAMPercentage=80
# Or, the following line sets the maximum memory usage to 2GB
#-Xmx2048m
# to set the maximum memory limit to 4GB, remove the # from the
following line
#-Xmx4096m
# If you use Linux or FreeBSD, the following lines can adjust the UI
scaling factor, which may be useful on high-res displays
#-Dsun.java2d.uiScale=2
#-Dsun.java2d.uiScale.enabled=true
<END>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents of Local user vmoptions.txt file (create/edit):
'/home/jack/.moneydance/vmoptions.txt'
--------------------------------------------------------
-Dsun.java2d.d3d=false
<END>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<INSTRUCTIONS - MEMORY>
======================
>>>> As of MD2023.2(5057) the default on all platforms is
'-XX:MaxRAMPercentage=80' (allow up to 80% usage of available memory) <<<<<
>>>> it is highly unlikely that you should need to
adjust your memory settings on build 5057 or later <<<<<
>>>> however, changes should ONLY be made to the
/.moneydance/vmoptions.txt file (which you should create) <<<<<
>>>> (note: the 'vmoptions.txt' file location is the same location as
the errlog.txt & config.dict files) <<<<<
>>>> the 'Moneydance.vmoptions' file should NOT be
changed! <<<<<
MD's .vmoptions file (DO NOT CHANGE):
'/opt/Moneydance/Moneydance.vmoptions'
Local user vmoptions.txt file to create/edit:
'/home/jack/.moneydance/vmoptions.txt'
You can change / override Moneydance's memory usage (and other JVM
settings) by creating / editing your local 'vmoptions.txt' file.
WITH MONEYDANCE CLOSED... Create/open/edit the
'/home/jack/.moneydance/vmoptions.txt' file with a suitable text editor.
Update your settings and save...
... suggested text editors: Windows: Notepad, Linux: KWrite (from
Software Manager/app Store)
Using ONE of the following lines would override the default 80% max
memory JVM usage:
-XX:MaxRAMPercentage=50 (would limit usage to 50% of max
memory available)
-Xmx2048m (would limit usage to 2MB of memory)
If you want to prove this worked.. At MD launch, the Toolbox extension
informs you of the memory being used in Help/Console Window.
Also on opening Toolbox, the bottom status bar line provides JVM Memory
information.
<INSTRUCTIONS - Linux and High Resolution Screens>
=================================================
When running Linux on a computer with a high resolution display, some
distributions will let you adjust the "scaling" of
the interface to provide clearer graphics at a larger size. If you use
scaling on your Linux desktop but the contents of
the Moneydance window appears very small then you may need to adjust
Moneydance's scaling.
To change the scaling, open '/home/jack/.moneydance/vmoptions.txt' with
a text editor (as per instructions below) add the following two lines to
the bottom of the file:
-Dsun.java2d.uiScale=2
-Dsun.java2d.uiScale.enabled=true
>>PLEASE NOTE: that as of this writing, non-integer scales (for
example, 1.2) are not supported.
refer:
https://infinitekind.tenderapp.com/kb/linux/linux-and-hidpi-high-resolution-screens
after saving the file, restart Moneydance
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On 12/28/25 6:34 PM, dwg wrote:
43 Posted by Stuart Beesley ... on 29 Dec, 2025 06:23 PM
So it’s clear that setting doesn’t fix the issue. Oh well.
Support Staff 44 Posted by Sean Reilly on 30 Dec, 2025 10:57 PM
Hi Jack,
Would it be possible to upload a screen recording showing the issue? The popover that shows the filtered category list automatically adjusts its size and position relative to the main moneydance window. I wonder if this might be conflicting with Pop!_OS' tiling window manager.
Thanks,
Sean
--
Sean Reilly
Developer, The Infinite Kind
https://infinitekind.com
45 Posted by yezdit on 31 Dec, 2025 12:40 AM
Following
46 Posted by Jack Dixon on 01 Jan, 2026 04:17 PM
Hi, Sean. I'd love to, but I don't want to post a screen recording of my personal financial information.
I ran Ubuntu 24.04 from live usb, installed MD, created a test file, and entered a transaction. The problem didn't happen with the Category field (flashing quickly, endlessly until I click out of the field or on the up/down search icon at the right end of the category field). It seems clear that at this point, the problem's only arising on Pop!_OS 24.04 with Cosmic Desktop.
Rather than beating this to death, I'm going to switch to Ubuntu and watch for progress on Pop. Or maybe just stay with Ubuntu.
Thank you!
Jack
On Dec 30, 2025 at 7:41 PM -0500, yezdit <[email blocked]>, wrote:
47 Posted by dwg on 01 Jan, 2026 09:54 PM
I would suggest that if someone wants to provide a screen recording, you can create a new Account set and use that to provide one.
48 Posted by yezdit on 02 Jan, 2026 07:11 PM
As mentioned in another thread, I'm by no means a programmer or even good at Linux.
However, did just notice that when you're in a reminder window for a regular periodic payment and you tab over from description field to category field everything works as it should. No flickering or difficulties. In my case it's a split field which opens and allows entry. If I do that on a non-split field in a reminder window same issue as before presents with the flickering.
Not sure if this is useful at all, but figured it could be disregarded easy enough if it isn't useful.
49 Posted by Jack Dixon on 03 Jan, 2026 02:28 PM
The category field problem began when I upgraded from Pop!_OS 22.04 to 24.04 (which has the Cosmic Desktop interface, which is brand new, replacing the tried-and-true Gnome desktop environment). System76 did warn me there could be problems. I replaced Pop with Ubuntu 24.04, and all's good. I think it’s safe to say that the category field problem is specific to the Pop!_OS 24.04 with Cosmic Desktop, since that's the only variable. Could be that 24.04 with the Gnome desktop would be fine, but I didn't test that.
On Jan 2, 2026 at 2:11 PM -0500, yezdit <[email blocked]>, wrote:
50 Posted by Maxim Weinstein on 03 Jan, 2026 02:30 PM
I can confirm that pop!_os 24.04 with GNOME desktop works fine. It's just
COSMIC desktop that's a problem. I assume it's a problem with Wayland (vs.
X11).
On Sat, Jan 3, 2026 at 9:28 AM Jack Dixon <[email blocked]>
wrote:
51 Posted by salvor on 11 Feb, 2026 01:08 PM
I have the exact problem as described here, using latest version of Moneydance on a MacBook Pro running a completely new install of Pop!OS 24.04 LTS with Cosmic. I wish I'd never upgraded to this version, as I never had any problems like this before. So for every person having this problem, you're not alone.
I've tried the vmoptions.txt file fix here- without success.
52 Posted by Jack Dixon on 11 Feb, 2026 01:52 PM
Good morning. Yeah, sadly, after many years, I switched back to Ubuntu. I'd hoped System76 would've at least replied to my ticket to acknowledge the bug in Cosmic Desktop, but they didn't, so I switched back. On Ubuntu 24.04 I have no problems.
On Feb 11, 2026 at 8:08 AM -0500, salvor <[email blocked]>, wrote:
53 Posted by joseph on 15 Feb, 2026 01:44 PM
Hi Sean / support team,
The category list popup flashes rapidly and uncontrollably when clicking or tabbing into the Category field in any transaction (register or reminder), making it impossible to select or search categories. This is on a fresh install of Moneydance 2024.4 (build 5253) on Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS with Cosmic desktop (Wayland). It did not happen on my previous Linux Mint setup.
I've now tested extensively in an attempt to isolate/work around it without switching OS entirely. Here's everything I've tried so far:
On the host (native Pop!_OS 24.04 Cosmic):
Fresh Moneydance install via official .deb/tar.gz/sh installer.
Tried environment variable: _JAVA_AWT_WM_NONREPARENTING=1
JVM rendering tweaks via command line (e.g., -Dsun.java2d.opengl=true/false, -Dsun.java2d.xrender=true).
Lowered monitor refresh rate temporarily (from high Hz to 60 Hz).
No improvement—the flashing persists.
Attempted GNOME session on same host:
Installed gnome-session gdm3 gnome-shell.
Tried logging into GNOME, GNOME (Wayland), and GNOME on Xorg.
Result: Black/blue screen after login (compositor failure, likely AMD driver/Wayland issue with my hybrid GPU: discrete AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT + Ryzen iGPU). Reverted to Cosmic.
Distrobox container with Ubuntu 24.04 (isolated runtime):
Created container: distrobox create -n moneydance-box -i ubuntu:24.04 --additional-packages "sudo wget curl"
Installed OpenJDK 21 inside container.
Installed Moneydance via official moneydance_linux_amd64.sh script (installed to ~/moneydance/Moneydance).
Data folder (~/.moneydance) is shared automatically via Distrobox home mount.
Tested multiple launch combinations (all still show rapid flashing in category popup):
_JAVA_AWT_WM_NONREPARENTING=1 ~/moneydance/Moneydance
GDK_BACKEND=x11 _JAVA_AWT_WM_NONREPARENTING=1 ~/moneydance/Moneydance
GDK_BACKEND=x11 ~/moneydance/Moneydance
With vmoptions.txt in ~/.moneydance/ containing:text-Dsun.java2d.opengl=false
-Dsun.java2d.xrender=true
-Dsun.java2d.d3d=false
-Dsun.java2d.pmoffscreen=false(Launched with GDK_BACKEND=x11 and/or non-reparenting var)
Despite running in Ubuntu 24.04's environment (where the issue reportedly does not occur natively), the flashing still happens—likely because GUI rendering passes through the host Cosmic Wayland compositor.
Hardware notes:
GPU: AMD hybrid (lspci: Device 7550 discrete + Device 13c0 iGPU). Single ultrawide curved monitor (Samsung, high refresh rate). Mesa drivers up to date.
I'm happy to provide a short screen recording of the flashing (host + container) if helpful—just let me know how to upload/share it privately.
Any further suggestions, or is this confirmed as a Cosmic/Wayland + Java Swing compatibility issue awaiting a future update?
Thanks for your help!
Joseph
54 Posted by joseph on 15 Feb, 2026 03:50 PM
I have a Pop!_OS COSMIC work around until this issue can be resolved. I am using a using a nested X Server (Xephyr) and running moneydance within it. I have confirmed that the issue is Pop!_OS COSMIC’s compositor, not Moneydance or Java. I can now use moneydance in Pop!_OS COSMIC until this is fixed.
Here are my notes.
Install Xephyr (Pop!_OS)
$ sudo apt install xserver-xephyr
Quick One-Line Test
$ Xephyr :100 -screen 1920x1080 & DISPLAY=:100 /opt/Moneydance/Moneydance
Install a windows manager
$ sudo apt install openbox
Test it
$ Xephyr :100 -screen 1920x1080 &
DISPLAY=:100 openbox &
DISPLAY=:100 /opt/Moneydance/Moneydance
I created this bash script (attached) to launch it: moneydance-xepher.sh
55 Posted by Maxim Weinstein on 15 Feb, 2026 08:38 PM
Thanks for the workaround, Joseph! I'll have to give that a try.
For reference, I have not had any trouble with Moneydance on pop!_os 24.04 under GNOME on Wayland or GNOME on X11. Thus, as Joseph suggests, it does appear to be specific to COSMIC.