Compiz Question

[Tony Arnold]

Kent,

On Thu, 2007-10-25 at 12:50 -0400, Kent Borg wrote:
> Tony Arnold wrote:
> > If you install compizconfig-settings-manager you can disable both the
> > ring switcher and the shift switcher which I think will leave you with a
> > simple switcher. It only shows a few windows at a time but does give a
> > preview of each window.
> No go. They are off. (In fact, when I try turning them on I don't see 
> any difference.)

That's because they use 'Super TAB' combination, not 'Alt TAB'. The
Super key on my system is the the one with the Windows logo between
control and alt. Using Super-Shift-TAB goes backwards.

> I don't want a preview unless it can be very small and somehow include 
> an icon. I want to see all the windows summarized so I can quickly spot 
> the one I need. I also want to switch backwards with the shift-alt-tab, 
> because I sometimes go too far. The compiz switcher won't let me switch 
> backwards.

The ring switcher puts all windows in a circle and you can move through
them. They are scaled to fit them all on the screen, but they are
previews.

There is also Shift-Alt-UpArrow, which lays out all windows in a grid on
the screen. (Enable the Scale option in the Window Management section)
You can use the arrow keys to move around or select the window you want
with the mouse (check the settings though). Again, they are previews,
not icons, although it will overlay an emblem/icon on each preview.

> Take a look at this image: borg.org/~kentborg/switcher_cropped.tiff
> 
> At a glance I can see there are three Thunderbird windows, six Firefox 
> windows, four terminals, etc. It makes it easy to navigate through 21 
> windows. The compiz window switcher makes it cool to navigate through 
> windows, but not easier.

OK, I've not see anything quite like that in Compiz, but see what you
think of my suggestions above.

Regards,
Tony.
-- 
Tony Arnold, IT Security Coordinator, University of Manchester,
IT Services Division, Kilburn Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL.
T: +44 (0)161 275 6093, F: +44 (0)870 136 1004, M: +44 (0)773 330 0039
E: tony.arnold at manchester.ac.uk, H: http://www.man.ac.uk/Tony.Arnold