The panel shifts left and right every time the seconds change on the clock + panel flickers when switching keyboard layouts

[IT-Tool]

Distribution

EndeavourOS

Package version

Cinnamon 6.6.3

Graphics hardware in use

No response

Frequency

Always

Bug description

There are two related visual issues with the Cinnamon panel regarding element positioning and redrawing:

1. Clock shifts left and right: When "Show seconds" is enabled in the Clock applet, causes adjacent panel applets and icons to shift left and right every second. The panel elements do not stay in a fixed position.
2. Keyboard Layout Flicker: When switching between keyboard input layouts (e.g., English to another language), the panel elements located to the left of the Keyboard Layout applet flicker momentarily during the switch.

Both issues cause noticeable visual instability of the panel and negatively affect the user experience.

Steps to reproduce

Issue 1 (Clock shifts left and right):

1. Left-click on the Clock applet in the panel and select "Date and Time Settings".
2. Enable the option "Display seconds".
3. Observe the panel icons adjacent to the clock as the time changes.

Issue 2 (Layout Flicker):

1. Ensure the "Keyboard" applet is added to the panel.
2. Ensure you have at least two input sources configured.
3. Switch the input language (either by clicking the icon or using a keyboard shortcut).
4. Observe the panel icons positioned after (to the left of) the keyboard indicator.

Expected behavior

1. Clock applet: Enabling seconds in the clock should not cause the panel to move or shift.
2. Keyboard applet: Switching the input layout should only update the language icon/text without causing the surrounding panel elements to flicker or redraw visibly.

The panel should remain visually stable in all situations.

Additional information

Rec-2026-01-05.mp4

[MaximS]

The same for keyboard indicator in Linux Min 22.3. If language labels differ in width (due to letters width, like "us" and "it") than entire panel to the left of a tray moves 1-2 pixels. The lables should be of fixed width and do not depend on the language lable text width.

[IT-Tool]

The fix has still not been implemented, or it is not working! Both panel bugs are clearly demonstrated! The panel still moves every second. (DE v6.6.8).

REC-2026-04-21.mp4

[claudiux]

Solved using:

Or using on a vertical panel this date format:
%a%n%e%n%b%n%n%H%n%M%n%S

[Richdark]

So am I supposed to use monospaced font as a default for my whole system just so the single Calendar applet performs like one would expect? Is this really the "solution"?

[Secret-chest]

I think there was an extension "Extra Panel Options" or something which can set the font just for panels. Also, the font need not be monospaced but any font with tabular figures should do. You are using the Inter font which has tabular figures, but they are not the default. @claudiux does the Cinnamon CSS engine support font-feature-settings?

[Secret-chest]

An example of a font which is not monospaced but does use tabular figures as the default is Roboto.

[mtwebster]

Have you tried different Cinnamon themes for the time issue? I can't reproduce this on the cinnamon or Mint themes - there's no shifting when the seconds change.

The keyboard layout issue has been fixed in #13603

[Richdark]

@Secret-chest I wasn't aware of tabular figures. I can confirm that switching the font to Roboto did the trick. Thank you very much.

[IT-Tool]

@claudiux, @Secret-chest

1. Thanks for the tip about the font—choosing one with 'Mono' in the name definitely fixes the issue with clock applet seconds.

   • However, that wasn't my only question.

2. I still can't confirm the Keyboard applet fix. The entire panel still flickers when I switch the keyboard layout. This is also evident in the video.