I had this problem in Ubuntu 13.04, then later in 13.10 (upgraded from 13.04) on multiple occasions - usually this happens at least twice a week.
Possible ways to handle it (for people who come across this via search) till it gets fixed: 1) Press Alt-F2, then type 'unity'. Unity will reset (all the windows will go to the first workspace), and the launcher will auto-hide once more. (Recommended option) 2) Set Launcher autohide in System Settings > Appearance> Behavior to false, launcher will no longer autohide, but at least the applications will no longer render to fill the space under the launcher. Once you are done with your work, either do the same as (1), or logout and log back in, or restart, the turn autohide back on 3) If you are not doing any serious work, just logout and log back in or restart. In regards to cause of the problem, I don't think touchscreens are an issue, none of my devices running full Ubuntu had a touchscreen. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of DX Packages, which is subscribed to unity in Ubuntu. Matching subscriptions: dx-packages https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1158107 Title: launcher does not hide when auto-hide is enabled Status in “unity” package in Ubuntu: Confirmed Bug description: After upgrading to raring, the launcher never auto-hides, even with the "Auto-hide the Launcher" setting is enabled. When the setting is toggled, maximized windows resize to fit the full as if the launcher were hidden, but it never disappears. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 13.04 Package: unity 6.12.0daily13.03.13.1-0ubuntu1 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.8.0-13.22-generic 3.8.3 Uname: Linux 3.8.0-13-generic x86_64 NonfreeKernelModules: wl ApportVersion: 2.9.2-0ubuntu1 Architecture: amd64 CompizPlugins: [core,composite,opengl,compiztoolbox,decor,vpswitch,snap,mousepoll,resize,place,move,wall,grid,regex,imgpng,session,gnomecompat,animation,fade,unitymtgrabhandles,workarounds,scale,expo,ezoom,unityshell] Date: Wed Mar 20 22:49:59 2013 EcryptfsInUse: Yes InstallationDate: Installed on 2012-09-17 (184 days ago) InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS "Precise Pangolin" - Release amd64 (20120425) MarkForUpload: True ProcEnviron: TERM=xterm PATH=(custom, no user) XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set> LANG=en_US.UTF-8 SHELL=/bin/bash SourcePackage: unity UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to raring on 2013-03-19 (1 days ago) To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/unity/+bug/1158107/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~dx-packages Post to : dx-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~dx-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
