Re: Alt-Esc (switch windows directly) needs improvement

[Patrick Chkoreff <pc loom cc>]

Mike Miller wrote, On 03/13/2014 10:08 AM:

> On Thu, Mar 13, 2014 at 06:58:21 -0400, Patrick Chkoreff wrote:
> > One thing I liked about Gnome Classic was the ability to switch between
> > windows using Alt-Tab.
> >
> > In Gnome 3, Alt-Tab switches between applications, not windows.  I'm not
> > that interested in switching between applications.
>
> Have you tried the AlternateTab extension [1]? I think it makes Alt-Tab
> do exactly what you want. It is part of the gnome-shell-extensions
> Debian package for me. I don't use it myself, but I think it is quite
> popular for users who want what you describe.
>
> [1] https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/15/alternatetab/


Thanks Mike, I *may* try that, later, we'll see.  For now, I aim to
stick with the defaults, deviating as little as possible, and only when
the pain gets too high.

This morning I finally caved in and deviated from the defaults.  In
System Settings, Keyboard, Shortcuts, Navigation, I made these minimal
changes:

  Switch Applications                 Alt+`
  Switch Windows of an application    Alt+Tab

In other words, I simply swapped the key mappings there.

Now I'm happy.  The problem before was when I had two Terminal windows
open, side by side.  I edit the code in the left window, and run it in
the right.

> From my previous years with Gnome Classic, I had developed a strong
habit of pressing Alt-Tab to switch between those two windows.  It was
hard to break that habit and use Alt-` instead.  I would reflexively
press Alt-Tab, with jarring effects as it brought up IceWeasel or some
other application.

Finally the pain got great enough for me to change the defaults very
slightly.  Things are good now.

As for Alt-Esc, I don't use that at all.  It's ugly in its default
implementation, and I don't need it anyway.


-- Patrick