Keep the controllers in VR games while the screens stay up

Visible screens kept SteamVR's laser mouse on, which takes the controllers
away from a VR game. Now, by default, that's off while a scene app runs:
the screens stay over the game and the 3D mouse or the dashboard works
them. Frametop Display Settings has the choice (always, except during VR
games, only with the dashboard open); the socket command is controllers.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

display-settings/ft_display_settings.py

@@ -363,6 +363,8 @@ class Backend(QObject):
                 self._ask_screens(f"visibility {value}")
             elif key == "wrist_angle":
                 self._ask_screens(f"wrist {float(value):.1f}")
+            elif key == "controllers":
+                self._ask_screens(f"controllers {value}")
             else:
                 self._ask_screens(f"gesture {v['gesture_hand']} {float(v['gesture_angle']):.1f}")
 

display-settings/main.qml

@@ -567,7 +567,7 @@ Kirigami.ApplicationWindow {
 
                     Repeater {
                         model: [
-                            { value: "always", text: "Always", help: "Meta+Shift+H (or a mapped button) hides them, for a VR game." },
+                            { value: "always", text: "Always", help: "They stay up, over VR games too. Meta+Shift+H (or a mapped button) hides them." },
                             { value: "dashboard", text: "Only with the SteamVR dashboard open", help: "They come and go with the dashboard. Meta+Shift+H shows them anyway." },
                             { value: "gesture", text: "While I look at my wrist", help: "They show while you look toward the controller below. Meta+Shift+H shows them anyway." },
                             { value: "toggle", text: "Only when I show them", help: "Hidden until Meta+Shift+H (or a mapped button) shows them." }
@@ -615,6 +615,33 @@ Kirigami.ApplicationWindow {
                         Controls.Label { text: Math.round(gesture.value) + "° of it" }
                     }
 
+                    Kirigami.Separator { Kirigami.FormData.isSection: true; Kirigami.FormData.label: "Controllers on the screens" }
+
+                    Repeater {
+                        model: [
+                            { value: "outside_games", text: "Except during VR games", help: "Over a VR game the screens stay up, but the controllers stay in the game. Use the 3D mouse, or open the SteamVR dashboard, to work the screens." },
+                            { value: "always", text: "Always", help: "Controllers' lasers work the screens whenever they're visible, even over a VR game (which then can't use the controllers)." },
+                            { value: "dashboard", text: "Only with the SteamVR dashboard open", help: "Otherwise only the 3D mouse works the screens. Also for flatscreen games, which don't count as VR games." }
+                        ]
+                        delegate: ColumnLayout {
+                            required property var modelData
+                            spacing: 0
+                            Controls.RadioButton {
+                                text: modelData.text
+                                checked: (vpage.v.controllers || "outside_games") === modelData.value
+                                onToggled: if (checked) backend.setVisibility("controllers", modelData.value)
+                            }
+                            Controls.Label {
+                                text: modelData.help
+                                opacity: 0.7
+                                font: Kirigami.Theme.smallFont
+                                leftPadding: Kirigami.Units.gridUnit * 1.6
+                                wrapMode: Text.Wrap
+                                Layout.maximumWidth: Kirigami.Units.gridUnit * 26
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+
                     Kirigami.Separator { Kirigami.FormData.isSection: true; Kirigami.FormData.label: "Screens on a wrist" }
 
                     RowLayout {