Bug 65388

Summary:	shortcut to move windows to desktop corners
Product:	[Plasma] kwin	Reporter:	Justin Mason <jm-kde>
Component:	general	Assignee:	KWin default assignee <kwin-bugs-null>
Status:	RESOLVED DUPLICATE
Severity:	wishlist
Priority:	NOR
Version:	unspecified
Target Milestone:	---
Platform:	RedHat Enterprise Linux
OS:	Linux
Latest Commit:		Version Fixed In:
Sentry Crash Report:
Attachments:	move-window-to-corner patch kdebase-3.4.3-corner-pack-shortcuts.patch

Description Justin Mason 2003-10-02 18:40:57 UTC

Version: 0.95 (using KDE KDE 3.1.2)
Installed from: RedHat RPMs
OS: Linux

This patch (against current CVS) implements keyboard shortcuts to move the active window.

This is similar to the patch in bug 59161, which is now in CVS; however there are some important differences to that feature's behaviour: that patch allows the active window to be moved in a given direction until it either hits the screen edge, or until it bumps up against another window's borders. This patch will move the window into a screen corner, regardless of what other windows are present.

This is very useful on a crowded desktop. Consider what happens if you wish to move a window so that it lies against the left edge of the desktop, and your desktop is covered in several small windows. With the 59161 patch, you will have to repeatedly tap the "move window left" key; the first press will result in the window moving left until it abuts one of the background windows, then press again and it will move a little more left to bump against another background window, and repeat until it eventually "runs out" of windows to bump against and hits the side of the screen.

Note that in "focus follows mouse" mode, you may also have to move the mouse to keep the window focused each time; if the desired window moves out of focus, the keypress will not affect it (and would, in fact, affect one of the windows behind it).

As a result, each time the user must "think" about what the "move window left" keypress will do, to ensure they don't accidentally move the wrong window. I suggest that this is suboptimal in usability terms, if the user's desired task is simply to "move a window all the way to the left hand side of the screen".

I can attach screenshots to illustrate this issue if desired.

Note that bug 34773 contains a feature request for this feature too (the part about the <home> key).

Comment 1 Justin Mason 2003-10-02 18:41:27 UTC

Created attachment 2672 [details]
move-window-to-corner patch

Comment 2 Lubos Lunak 2003-10-02 19:06:18 UTC

I really have to wonder why somebody using focus follows mouse can't simply use the mouse.

Comment 3 Justin Mason 2003-10-02 19:32:25 UTC

why not "just use the mouse"?  it's a matter of the screen area of the window;
it's a lot easier to

- throw the mouse into anywhere in the area of 1 large window
- hit a key to move it

rather than

- move the pointer into the window's titlebar
- drag it to the new location, being careful not to drag too far (which would
result in half of the window being offscreen)

Since the entire window area is a lot bigger than the area of the draggable
title-bar, and since the window-to-corner key shortcut does not require the user
navigate the window to its new location manually with the mouse, it's quicker.

This is an application of Fitt's Law --
http://www.asktog.com/basics/firstPrinciples.html#fitts's%20law -- "The time to
acquire a target is a function of the distance to and size of the target."  

(You're right BTW.  There is no *need* for this, I could simply use the mouse.
It's a usability feature, for convenience, and the same can be said of pretty
much all the other keyboard shortcuts. ;)

Comment 4 Casey Allen Shobe 2003-10-02 19:38:51 UTC

> Since the entire window area is a lot bigger than the area of the draggable 
> title-bar 
 
Have you ever tried using the alt key?  Not saying that this feature shouldn't 
exist, just that your Fitt's Law argument is invalid.  Alt+drag anywhere in the 
window will move the window. 
 
But...I hate the mouse, and that's why I use ratpoison instead of KDE a lot.  
You can move the window with the keyboard (alt+F3, cursor keys) but it's slow.  
These shortcuts would help speed things up quite a bit.

Comment 5 Justin Mason 2004-04-15 20:59:16 UTC

FWIW, I should point out that if anyone else comes across this bug looking for the feature (unlikely, but you never know) -- I'm using sawfish again, since current sawfish in Debian unstable seems to support KDE ok.  Sawfish lisp libraries to do this are available at http://jmason.org/software/xvoice/ , along with the xvoice.xml file used to hook these functions into the "xvoice" speech recognition command-and-control tool, so that moving windows can be accomplished using voice control.

Also, Lubos: you'll be happy to hear I'm no longer using "Focus follows mouse". ;)

Comment 6 Lubos Lunak 2004-05-28 11:04:02 UTC


*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 82253 ***

Comment 7 Justin Mason 2004-05-28 18:32:30 UTC

This bug is not a duplicate of 82253.  They're totally different issues.

Comment 8 Lubos Lunak 2004-05-31 13:20:26 UTC

It is technically the same. If the window wouldn't lose focus, you could move windows to edges simply by holding down the "pack" shortcuts.

Comment 9 Justin Mason 2005-10-18 01:16:27 UTC

Created attachment 13033 [details]
kdebase-3.4.3-corner-pack-shortcuts.patch

back! ;)

I've updated the patch to work with kdebase-3.4.3.  here it is, in case anyone
wants it.