https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=522613
Bug ID: 522613
Summary: Make overview usable with the keyboard
Classification: Plasma
Product: kwin
Version First 6.7.2
Reported In:
Platform: Gentoo Packages
OS: Linux
Status: REPORTED
Severity: wishlist
Priority: NOR
Component: effects-overview
Assignee: [email protected]
Reporter: [email protected]
Target Milestone: ---
DESCRIPTION
Right now, Overview is not really usable with the keyboard due to a few easily
fixable choices. (Probably due to nobody having thought of it yet.)
I’m using it as a task switcher because it’s the only one that isn’t just
one-dimensional/linear, and the only one not re-ordering the windows each
freaking time I switch for some “smart” reasonoid. Making choice of window much
quicker… in *theory*.
In practice, Overview has the following problems:
OBSERVED BEHAVIOR
1. When launching Overview, no window is selected.
2. Using any cursor key always selects the same window (the most bottom right
one).
3. Moving around the windows doesn’t work like moving around characters in text
(which is what people are used to and hence feels intuitively how it should
be).
4. There is no way (that I know of) to re-order the windows, esp. to another
desktop, nor to change the rule by which they are ordered. The logic by which
they are ordered is unknown but not the same as the windows on the actual
desktop, it seems.
EXPECTED BEHAVIOR
1 & 2. When launching Overview, select the currently active window (before
Overview was opened).
3. Like in text editor, remember the “column” the cursor is in, so e.g. when
moving from a row with three windows and being on the third one, to a row with
two windows, and then back, it goes back to the third window, not the second
one. (And if the cursor is moved, then that sets the column, and it won’t
remember the old one.)
3b. Also, ideally, the cursor should wrap around, to make selection even
quicker. (This conflicts with moving to another *desktop* with simple cursor
movements though. So for now, maybe just do it when there is no desktop in that
direction. Ideally one would get to choose if to wrap around to move to another
desktop.)
4. Display, in the free space at the screen border, a hint „Hold [SomeKey] to
*move* windows“. (E.g. Ctrl, as you are controlling things.) And when the user
does so, the window itself is moved around like a tile in a tile puzzle. Of
course this only makes sense if the windows are actually arranged in a way that
is useful (e.g. like they are on the desktop).
4b. Ditto for selecting multiple windows. (E.g. with Shift, as it is the usual
key for selection.)
So basically, the more logic is in common with the cursor and characters in a
text editor’s document widget, the better. If done right, this allows code
sharing, even for other things than these two. But of course then in becomes a
lot of effort the first time (in return for avoiding a lot of duplicate effort
after). Therefore, for now, I kindly request the above functionality. :)
This would make it very nice to use with the keyboard, and as a general task
switcher.
SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Operating System: Gentoo Linux 2.18
KDE Plasma Version: 6.7.2
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.27.0
Qt Version: 6.11.1
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Right now, the way to use with with (purely) the mouse is ideal either,
but that is not Overview’s fault.
There is only this bad misfeature of “Have it pop up every time you
accidentially move the mouse to a corner.” that KWin provides. Compiz had the
ability to trigger different things when you *click* in a screen corner (with
different mouse buttons). I quickly hacked together a script (`xecke`) to bring
that back in an universal way, by having it create a transparent 1px window in
the corner, that, when clicked, triggers whatever it is passed as parameters.
In my case, I have `xecke UL /usr/local/bin/xdotool key Super+Return` in
autostart, to just trigger the shortcut.
So right now, the only way to use Overview (without major annoyance) seems to
*require* those annoying keyboard-mouse switches that are the bane of every UI
whose design is coprorat-appeal-driven.
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