Instead of making a new topic, I thought I should just ask this here:
Is there a way to make Element fit the screen better?
Using the Compositor scaling in the Mobile Settings app doesn’t seem to have any effect, and I can’t seem to disable the sidebar from within the Element settings.
Ctrl + - increases the resolution. You have to use it at least once to be able to use the next step. Rotating to landscape and back to portrait mode and the side elements will shrank to it’s minimum size. You can scale resolution further for more text space, but don’t do too much, because Ctrl + + does not work for no reason (resetting resolution is more complicated).
Or connect your mouse and drag&drop the sidebar as you can on desktop.
I provided all information to this topic here.
Thank you very much 
Hey lck, while using the Element app I hit Ctrl - a few times to shrink it and enabled landscape view, then roated it to landscape and back. Now it fits in the screen nicely, but I shrank it too much and can’t read the Element screen now (in either portrait or landscape mode) because the font is too small. Now hitting Ctrl + in either portrait or landscape view won’t enlarge the font, and now whenever I touch the Element app icon, the screen is always stuck in that “too small to read” setting. Even powering the L5 off and back on and re-entering the Element default keyring password doesn’t change the “too small to read” screen. Any suggestions what to try next?
Try uninstalling and reinstalling Element Desktop.
No need to reinstall. It’s written in a config file. From the linked post above:
Thanks. How do I get to the .config file? And how do I get into task manager?
.config is not a file, it’s a hidden folder (the dot in the name tells you that it’s hidden). Open your file manager and click on the upper right corner on the hamburger menu (3 stripes icon). Activate the upper checkbox (“show hidden files” or similar named). After this you should be able to find the folder.
Task manager is just a category of apps. On Librem 5 we have the “Usage” app. Just click on that icon, scroll down and if you find an Element-icon, click on it to close it (and accept with the red button).
Thanks very much for the explanation. lck I’ll give it a try.
By the way, have you guys been able to successfully make and engage in encrypted voice calls to other Element users on the Librem 5?
I called myself from phone to PC (of course encrypted). This was working fine. If you want to make a video call, you need an USB-webcam on Librem 5 at the current development level (internal camera will be solved some time in future). But you can display any incoming video to any time.
lck, your fix worked. Thanks. When you audio call your PC from the Librem 5, do you have VPNs running on either end?
Regarding the video, Element support has told me that Element uses Jitsi for video, which is NOT encrypted, but that Element texts and audio calls ARE encrypted as long as the room is encrypted.
I did not use VPN, but 2 different accounts. VPN shouldn’t make any difference in usage (as long as it does not slow down the connection itself too much).
About video, that’s right for the moment. I just wanted to give additional information about Librem 5 and camera usage in Element. But you bring this topic up … so some other information for you: the Element team is working on an own solution called “Element Calls”. It’s currently in beta stage and will be implemented into default Element clients some day. This enables not just encrypted video chat, but also encrypted video conferences with many participants. It’s a matter of time.
That information seems to contradict with this article:
Well, the article says:
"Does Jitsi support end-to-end encryption?
You can turn on end-to-end encryption (e2ee) as long as you are using Jitsi Meet on a browser with support for insertable streams. Currently this means any browser based on Chromium 83 and above, including Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Brave, Opera and others."
The way I read this is that Jitsi will encrypt video only if you use a non-Firefox browser that spies on you, and only if you use the web app and not the app installed on our L5s. Even on FF, I’ve found Element Web browser app difficult to use - I have to strip FF bare with no privacy protections and re-enable WebRTC, which may show my real ip behind a VPN. So I think this article is (not) saying that if you use the Linux, Windows or iOS apps, Jitsi video is not encrypted; you need to use it via a (non-FF) browser in order for Jitsi video to be encrypted.
That part of the article refers to E2EE. Below that section, there is this quote referring to Jitsi Meet’s encryption in more detail:
Element stopped working on my L5. I’d like to uninstall and then reinstall it. Does anyone know the linux command to uninstall it? I’ve tried:
sudo apt-get purge element and
sudo apt-get purge element-io
The terminal tells me it’s unable to locate the package.
Thanks.
Try out element-desktop instead of element. It’s the name described on install instructions.
Yes thank you sudo apt-get purge element-desktop worked without any issues BUT
Now when I run
sudo apt update and sudo apt install element-desktop
I get tons of certificate verification errors “certificate not trusted”, not only for element but pure OS as well. I’ve never gotten these before when installing something. Any idea how to fix this?
Usually certificate errors are due to a incorrect date and time, so ensure that they are accurate and up-to-date first.
Here’s another question about Element (element-desktop):
I’d like to be able to be online without showing that I’m online.