Bug 343690 - Missing windows tabbing
Summary: Missing windows tabbing
Status: RESOLVED INTENTIONAL
Alias: None
Product: kwin
Classification: Plasma
Component: decorations (show other bugs)
Version: 5.17.1
Platform: Arch Linux Linux
: NOR wishlist
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: KWin default assignee
URL:
Keywords:
: 347616 401535 466986 474739 (view as bug list)
Depends on:
Blocks: 340137
  Show dependency treegraph
 
Reported: 2015-02-02 10:55 UTC by Jiri Tyr
Modified: 2024-08-28 23:15 UTC (History)
45 users (show)

See Also:
Latest Commit:
Version Fixed In:
Sentry Crash Report:


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Description Jiri Tyr 2015-02-02 10:55:41 UTC
I just switched to Plasma 5 and I can not find the "Attach as tab to..." option to group windows. Is this very useful feature gonna be implemented?

Reproducible: Always


Actual Results:  
No such option.

Expected Results:  
Right-click on the window title should show the option "Attach as tab to..." and middle-mouse click should allow to group windows.
Comment 1 Thomas Lübking 2015-02-02 11:03:08 UTC
api is still there, matter of decorations to use it.
Comment 2 Jiri Tyr 2015-02-02 11:05:03 UTC
(In reply to Thomas Lübking from comment #1)
> api is still there, matter of decorations to use it.

I see. Then please could you add this feature into the Breeze decoration?
Comment 3 Martin Flöser 2015-02-02 12:15:03 UTC
(In reply to Thomas Lübking from comment #1)
> api is still there, matter of decorations to use it.

actually no: it's not yet exposed in kdecoration2
Comment 4 kdeuser56 2015-02-18 15:28:21 UTC
This is not possible to introduce in a small release right? I hope this feature returns soon, other than that, the new stuff is an awesome job, kudos!
Comment 5 Martin Flöser 2015-02-18 15:36:13 UTC
(In reply to kdeuser56 from comment #4)
> This is not possible to introduce in a small release right?

no, sorry that cannot be done for multiple reasons (the feature freeze could be bended given that it's a regression, but language freeze, Oxygen not ported, etc. make it to much for a minor release)

> I hope this
> feature returns soon, other than that, the new stuff is an awesome job,
> kudos!

thanks.
Comment 6 Martin Flöser 2015-05-12 16:09:42 UTC
*** Bug 347616 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 7 Gilboa Davara 2015-09-25 05:35:32 UTC
Hello Martin,

Before I begin, many thanks for the hard work.
Any timeframe / roadmap to re-adding this feature.
At least in my case, I had huge amount of kwin rules that auto-tabbed windows that I cannot move from kwin4.

- Gilboa
Comment 8 Gilboa Davara 2015-09-30 16:15:54 UTC
Duplicate of https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=340137?
Comment 9 Thomas Lübking 2015-09-30 16:18:10 UTC
Yesno. Tabbing isn't enabled in the core (the code is cut short), (afair) not implemented in libkdecoration2 and finally not used in Breeze.
Comment 10 Gilboa Davara 2015-10-14 09:05:57 UTC
Idiotic question: Are there any existing kwin that still use the old kdecoration that are compatible with Plasma 2 and capable of window tabbing?
Comment 11 Martin Flöser 2015-10-14 09:28:32 UTC
> Are there any existing kwin that still use the old kdecoration that are compatible with Plasma 2 and capable of window tabbing?

well any kwin (+oxygen) before the change to kdecoration2. Whether that's compatible with current Plasma is unlikely though. Plasma, kwin, kdecoration and breeze are released together and expected to be used together. Nobody tries other combinations so it might or might not work.
Comment 12 Gilboa Davara 2015-10-14 18:15:10 UTC
Thanks for the (prompt) answer.
Guess I'll have to grow some patience. :)
Comment 13 Paul Fee 2016-07-05 10:47:21 UTC
Is there a target release for this feature?  I had used it before in KDE4 and I'm now missing it with KDE5 on Fedora 23.  No need to squeeze it in past any release freezes, just wondering what future release will have it so it'll then make its way down into distro packages.
Comment 14 Martin Flöser 2016-07-05 11:34:00 UTC
> Is there a target release for this feature? 

Sorry no, there is no target release for this feature yet. With every release cycle I hope to find some time for it, but well...
Comment 15 Paul Fee 2016-07-06 08:56:31 UTC
Thanks for the update Martin.  I expect features such as Wayland support take priority (and rightly so).  Your hard work is appreciated and I can wait for window tabbing to make its return someday.
Comment 16 Michael D 2016-10-18 14:30:52 UTC
Perhaps it is then best to remove the window tabbing settings under "Window Behavior" --> "Advanced" until it becomes available.
Comment 17 John 2017-02-08 19:00:10 UTC
I'm really missing this!!! It helps a lot to keep work organized!!!
Comment 18 therapon 2017-12-12 14:06:20 UTC
Seems like it's about time to get serious or get honest. Either restore the "missing feature" or take it off the list. Three years and 11 minor versions with no progress is too many! At least for me, it is not simply eye candy. Not being able to tab windows directly impacts my daily efficiency and is a continual frustration. Same goes for a particular broken package (https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=370964). If only I could go back to KDE4 that had issues like these resolved in lots less than 3 years!
Comment 19 John 2017-12-12 17:32:09 UTC
I have to say this affects me and my work too!!! (if only i could code well enough...)
Comment 20 therapon 2017-12-12 17:43:02 UTC
(In reply to john from comment #19)
> I have to say this affects me and my work too!!! (if only i could code well
> enough...)

Ditto. I would fix it if I could. Meanwhile, window tabbing has been added to MacOS and is coming soon to Win10 thanks to 20,000 votes for it. It's a huge productivity enhancer.
Comment 21 John 2017-12-13 18:03:45 UTC
(In reply to therapon from comment #20)
> (In reply to john from comment #19)
> > I have to say this affects me and my work too!!! (if only i could code well
> > enough...)
> 
> Ditto. I would fix it if I could. Meanwhile, window tabbing has been added
> to MacOS and is coming soon to Win10 thanks to 20,000 votes for it. It's a
> huge productivity enhancer.

I think i'll grab some popcorns and see who (from Apple or Windows) will be the first to claim they came up with that idea (as already happened with the "convergence" concept which, actually, born from KDE)!!!

Anyway 20,000 votes are a lot of people that "take up the work" to vote for the feature. It should indicate something...
Comment 22 Kai Uwe Broulik 2018-01-04 17:20:50 UTC
*** Bug 340137 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 23 Vlad Zahorodnii 2018-11-29 14:03:48 UTC
*** Bug 401535 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 24 Oussema Bouaneni 2019-01-14 13:16:13 UTC
I would love to see this feature. Is anyone planning to work on it?
Comment 25 koukasio 2019-10-18 18:03:38 UTC
I have to admit that the reason I am stuck to kde4 is because of this feature.I thought that it would not take long until this feature was implemented. Unfortunately I have no idea about harcore programming such as this, which leaves me to only wish that this will be implemented soon. I strongly endorse this implementation.
Comment 26 Zachary Hubbell 2020-05-07 14:57:14 UTC
+1, would love to see this feature implemented!
Comment 27 Claudius Ellsel 2020-06-12 13:28:42 UTC
Since it worked in KDE 4 apparently, can this be seen as a regression?

Also marking as confirmed based on the comments here.
Comment 28 José 2020-11-18 22:56:54 UTC
I was just thinking the same thing. If it was in Plasma 4, it'd be a regression as this feature won't be dropped soon AFAIK
Comment 29 Gauthier 2021-08-31 08:22:51 UTC
Hello,

For a while this feature was highlighted as missing in in the errata of new plasma release but now (for a long while in fact) it's not being shown at all.

This makes me think it is now abandoned...am I right to think that there now no plans from the core plasma dev to bring it back? 

If so, is there any clues at to what makes it hard to port/implement from Plasma 4 to Plasma 5 so maybe someone else can have a go at the task (as this was such a brilliant feature)?

Many thanks
Comment 30 Nate Graham 2023-03-13 16:41:27 UTC
*** Bug 466986 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 31 Wyatt Childers 2023-04-06 16:31:14 UTC
I'd like to advocate that this feature could pair very well with the new Kwin tiling.

There could be a default, or optional setting, where if you shift drag a window over another window, they automatically tab together. Similarly, a shift drag from the tab would pull the window out of the tab group, and allow it to be made an independent window or allow it to be dragged into another tab group.
Comment 32 ksthiele 2023-05-28 20:32:01 UTC
Would be cool to revive this feature, somehow modernized, like allowing to show those apps tiled and adjusted how it is displayed in the Window Panel and create new short cuts for those windows
Comment 33 David Edmundson 2023-09-20 15:48:36 UTC
We are not reviving this feature. The prevalence of CSDs makes this impossible to do well.
Comment 34 David Edmundson 2023-09-20 15:48:50 UTC
*** Bug 474739 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 35 Ryein Goddard 2023-09-20 15:53:50 UTC
(In reply to David Edmundson from comment #33)
> We are not reviving this feature. The prevalence of CSDs makes this
> impossible to do well.

I don't think CSDs make it impossible to do well.  Why do you say that?
Comment 36 Maximilian Böhm 2023-09-20 19:21:01 UTC
Concept for tabbing mixed SSD and CSD windows: You initiate window merging via shortcut or taskbar option, then select a second (and third…) window. Plasma windows without CSD get regularly tabbed, CSD windows get an extra title bar to be tabbed. The title bar disappears after dissolving the window tabbing.
Comment 37 Wyatt Childers 2023-09-20 19:23:39 UTC
(In reply to Maximilian Böhm from comment #36)
> Concept for tabbing mixed SSD and CSD windows: You initiate window merging
> via shortcut or taskbar option, then select a second (and third…) window.
> Plasma windows without CSD get regularly tabbed, CSD windows get an extra
> title bar to be tabbed. The title bar disappears after dissolving the window
> tabbing.

I agree, I don't see why this would be undesirable at all... In fact I think this is exactly how tiling window managers go about resolving this issue.
Comment 38 koukasio 2023-09-23 12:18:45 UTC
I just want to thank everyone who is still paying attention to this "bug". I am still waiting in agony for this feature. It is sad for me that I don't have the programming skills to contribute.
I am still in kde4 (Kubuntu 14.04) !!!!! (for other reasons as well)
I will have to update this year, which means that the feature won't be available.
Speaking for myself, I still think that window tabbing is INCREDIBLY useful and productive.
There will be a lot of users who will appreciate this feature.
Comment 39 Gauthier 2023-09-30 11:23:41 UTC
I have to say I agree. This feature was SO good! ...and greatly missed since Plasma 5
Comment 40 andy 2023-10-29 09:28:50 UTC
I'm curious about this possibility as well. I came here after seeing on MacOS you can do tabbed windows and searching for other options. Also out of curiosity checked if there's a windows solution. I found some random program called TidyTabs, which makes me think a similar solution could be possible with a KWin script or plugin. A script to stack all windows of the same class on top of each other would be easy. Just needs a visual tabbed indicator and some constraint on extra padding for maximized area on top. The tabs could be a simple Qt app that the kwin script keeps glued to the top of the stack perhaps... But aside from a hack like that, it would be cool for built in support.
Comment 41 David 2023-11-02 13:34:11 UTC
(In reply to David Edmundson from comment #33)
> We are not reviving this feature. The prevalence of CSDs makes this
> impossible to do well.

Kwin currently allows overriding these with standard titlebars and such. Wouldn't it be a matter of just forcing this on windows that are tabbed?
Comment 42 Roke Julian Lockhart Beedell 2024-02-02 15:26:31 UTC
Does https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=42023 have any relevance to this? Worth putting it in the https://bugs.kde.org/page.cgi?id=fields.html#see_also?
Comment 43 uwuwotisdis 2024-07-08 17:01:24 UTC
(In reply to Maximilian Böhm from comment #36)
> Concept for tabbing mixed SSD and CSD windows: You initiate window merging
> via shortcut or taskbar option, then select a second (and third…) window.
> Plasma windows without CSD get regularly tabbed, CSD windows get an extra
> title bar to be tabbed. The title bar disappears after dissolving the window
> tabbing.

Totally agree with this. A piece of Windows software called Groupy by Stardock does exactly this. Native Windows title bars are modified with tabs directly inside, and software with their own title bars have a tab bar put above.
Comment 44 Kevin Messer 2024-08-28 10:02:07 UTC
The new cosmic desktop from System76 is doing it, so maybe there is a way on how to do it properly : https://system76.com/cosmic
Comment 45 Roke Julian Lockhart Beedell 2024-08-28 14:31:22 UTC
(In reply to Kevin Messer from comment #44)

> The new cosmic desktop from System76 is doing it, so maybe there is a way on how to do it properly : https://system76.com/cosmic

Ctrl+F-ing "tab" doesn't return anything. Can you quote or link whichever part of that discusses WM-level tabs?
Comment 46 Gauthier 2024-08-28 14:34:36 UTC
(In reply to Roke Julian Lockhart Beedell from comment #45)
> (In reply to Kevin Messer from comment #44)
> 
> > The new cosmic desktop from System76 is doing it, so maybe there is a way on how to do it properly : https://system76.com/cosmic
> 
> Ctrl+F-ing "tab" doesn't return anything. Can you quote or link whichever
> part of that discusses WM-level tabs?

"Stack windows from different apps like tabs in a web browser"  quote from the first paragraph under Adaptable Windows
Comment 47 Gauthier 2024-08-28 14:35:51 UTC
(In reply to Gauthier from comment #46)
> (In reply to Roke Julian Lockhart Beedell from comment #45)
> > (In reply to Kevin Messer from comment #44)
> > 
> > > The new cosmic desktop from System76 is doing it, so maybe there is a way on how to do it properly : https://system76.com/cosmic
> > 
> > Ctrl+F-ing "tab" doesn't return anything. Can you quote or link whichever
> > part of that discusses WM-level tabs?
> 
> "Stack windows from different apps like tabs in a web browser"  quote from
> the first paragraph under Adaptable Windows

And is demonstrate in the screenshot below the paragraph (on the right hand side of the image)
Comment 48 Kevin Messer 2024-08-28 14:40:11 UTC
(In reply to Roke Julian Lockhart Beedell from comment #45)
> (In reply to Kevin Messer from comment #44)
> 
> > The new cosmic desktop from System76 is doing it, so maybe there is a way on how to do it properly : https://system76.com/cosmic
> 
> Ctrl+F-ing "tab" doesn't return anything. Can you quote or link whichever
> part of that discusses WM-level tabs?

Yes, here is a Github discussion : https://github.com/pop-os/cosmic-comp/issues/262

And I also guess you guys can discuss with them how they did it technically.
Comment 49 Roke Julian Lockhart Beedell 2024-08-28 14:43:12 UTC
(In reply to Kevin Messer from comment #48)

Thank you.