Workspace switching

[Allan Day <allanpday gmail com>]

Hi all,

The most recent version of the shell design spec states that keyboard
shortcuts should be provided for workspace switching (via ctrl+alt+arrow
keys). I'd like to suggest that this switching mechanism be mapped onto
the arrangement of the workspaces in the overlay view.

Here's the idea. When switching workspaces using keyboard shortcuts:

 * workspaces would be arranged in the same manner as in the overlay
 * there would be no wrapping to enable travelling from one side of the
workspace grid/plane
 * the position of the current workspace in relation to other workspaces
would be communicated through visual cues provided during the transition
from one workspace to another (a zooming out effect or the display of a
small workspace map are possibilities)

The aims of this proposal are to:
 * make the overall shell design more consistent by unifying certain
interactions in the overlay mode and windowing area
 * make the space in which workspaces exist appear as tangible as
possible
 * aid the user in their awareness of the location of the current
workspace in relation to other workspaces

The problem is that what I've just suggested is rather incompatible with
the new overlay view which is being worked on [1]. I haven't used this
but the mockup suggests that, in this view, workspaces are not arranged
according to a grid or plane.

Thoughts?

Allan

[1] https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=593844

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