Re: [gtk-list] Re: Focus problem causing "clumsy" feeling...

[Marc van Kempen <marc bowtie nl>]

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> Marc van Kempen <marc@bowtie.nl> writes:
> > > I'd like to know whether anyone else uses "focus-follows-mouse" and
> > > experienced similar problems... or does everyone else use
> > > "click-to-focus" ??? Which system, X server and window manager you are
> > > using would be a helpful bit of information as well (if you use
> > > focus-follows-mouse without these effects especially).
> > This is one of the brilliant (IMHO) features of the kde window manager.
> > It combines focus-follows-mouse with giving focus to every window that
> > pops up, regardless if the mouse is positioned in that window.
> 
> So you mean it has a policy that the focus is automatically in the
> last visited window and every new window gets the focus automatically
> (provided the mouse is not in  another window at that point) ? Did I
> get this about right ? Not bad - although I like to have the

I'm not sure,

The window manager can be set to use 'focus-follows-mouse' or 
'click-to-focus'. If you choose 'focus-follows-mouse' the focus changes
from window1 to window2 as you move your pointer from window1 to window2.
Also if you move the pointer from a window to the root, the focus stays 
on the last visited window.

However, if a new window pops up, it gets the focus regardless in which
window your pointer is.

> possibility to have the focus on the root window with fvwm2 - this way
> I can start basically all applications I need with a simple F-key.
> 
I'm not sure if this is possible with kwm, but I don't miss this, you'd
have to move the mouse anyway to go to rootwindow, you might as well 
use it to select an app from a menu or from a panel. 

The point is to 
be able to use your desktop most of the day without having to resort to
your mouse for windowmanagement.

I can select a windowlist with ctrl-esc, select a window with the arrow
keys and move to it. 

All windows get a different name in the windowlist, for example multiple
xterms are named: xterm, xterm <1>, xterm <2>, etc.

This way you alway be able to find back your window when you have a lot of 
them open.

Selecting windows using alt-tab, works exactly like in windows, you can
use alt-tab, shift-alt-tab and pressing esc while still holding down 
alt-tab puts you back where you where without doing anything.

This is beginning to sound like a rant for kwm ;-), but it's the most 
*usable* windowmanager I have yet worked with, and I have (and still am) 
seriously considered to port it to gtk+.

> > This also greatly reduces the strain in your arm and shoulder, because 
> > you don't have to move the mouse every time some stupid program pops up
> > a dialog (netscape comes to mind). 
> > I don't know of any other windowmanager that has this functionality, and
> > I have tried quite a few ...
> 
> So are you telling me you have that "clumsy feeling" problem or are
> you telling me you don't ? Strictly speaking your window manager
> doesn't appear to be a total "focus-follows-mouse", so it seems the
> problem only occurs there...
> 
I don't have the "clumsy feeling" problem, all gtk+ popups are usable
right away.

Bye,
Marc.


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Marc van Kempen                 BowTie Technology     
Email: marc@bowtie.nl            WWW & Databases
tel. +31 40 2 43 20 65         
fax. +31 40 2 44 21 86         http://www.bowtie.nl
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