Xfce Forum

PseudAnonymous

Member

Registered: 2021-04-05

Posts: 42

[FEATURE REQUEST] KDE-like 'activities'

Periodically, I have a bit of a play with KDE/Plasma, but I just can't get enthusiastic.

Try as I might, I simply can't get it to look as slick as my XFCE config - something like it, sure, but not 100%.

One thing I do like about it though is its Activities - I can approximate the feature with XFCE by having a 2D (X/Y) grid of workspaces, but it's not as convenient to list them all with xfdesktop --windowlist as it is to SUPER+TAB from one row to another and then CTRL+ALT+<cursor> between workspaces on the same row.

So, an equivalent feature for XFCE would be greatly appreciated ... all the more so, if an extra feature could be included to allow a choice of landing on the last desktop used or setting a specific default; and if each activity group could have an arbitrary number of desktops instead of all of them having the same number, whether necessary of not, that'd be the icing on the cake - I'll settle for 'activity' groups though (they could be called something like, oh, just off the top of my head, workspaces ... and what are currently called 'workspaces' could be called 'desktops'. or something )

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Don't dance like nobody's watching, dance like a toddler instead - they don't even care if there's any music!

Clio

Member

Registered: 2011-01-25

Posts: 97

Re: [FEATURE REQUEST] KDE-like 'activities'

You probably know that there are no developers here in the forum. You should send your request to https://gitlab.xfce.org/.

chang-zhao

Member

Registered: 2023-11-20

Posts: 35

Re: [FEATURE REQUEST] KDE-like 'activities'

I doubt there would be many people interested in implementing many workspaces. I only use 2. But if you don't mind to program a bit in Python, see

https://lazka.github.io/pgi-docs/#Wnck- … space.html
https://specifications.freedesktop.org/ … 1147624624

For example, a task switcher in WNCK can be done as simple as this:

#!/usr/bin/env python
import gi
gi.require_version("Gtk", "3.0")
gi.require_version("Wnck", "3.0")
from gi.repository import Gtk, Wnck

Wnck.set_client_type(Wnck.ClientType.PAGER)
Wnck.set_default_icon_size(48)
Wnck.set_default_mini_icon_size(48) # = Icons on TaskBar buttons

class MyWindow(Gtk.Window):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__(
            decorated=False,
            default_height=150,     # or other size
            default_width=150,      #
            skip_pager_hint=True,
            skip_taskbar_hint=True,
            type_hint=6,    # = Gdk.WindowTypeHint.DOCK,
            )               # Don't want to import Gdk just for this constant
        self.stick()
        self.tasks = Wnck.Tasklist.new()
        self.add(self.tasks)

win = MyWindow()
win.connect("destroy", Gtk.main_quit)
win.show_all()
Gtk.main()

The only problem I encountered is that documentation can require some digging, between GTK 3 and 4, between C or Python bindings, etc. Perhaps if you program in C it might be a bit easier.

Last edited by chang-zhao (2023-12-14 20:03:54)

PseudAnonymous

Member

Registered: 2021-04-05

Posts: 42

Re: [FEATURE REQUEST] KDE-like 'activities'

You probably know that there are no developers here in the forum.

As it happens, I didn't, no.

I possibly should have done (or even did at one point a long time ago and just forgot in the meantime). But I'm not here very often; only (briefly) about every two years - if even that often (it's a testament to XFCE that I don't feel the need to ask for help/features more frequently).

You should send your request to https://gitlab.xfce.org/.

I'll ask there instead - thanks for the heads-up.

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Don't dance like nobody's watching, dance like a toddler instead - they don't even care if there's any music!

PseudAnonymous

Member

Registered: 2021-04-05

Posts: 42

Re: [FEATURE REQUEST] KDE-like 'activities'

I doubt there would be many people interested in implementing many workspaces. I only use 2. But if you don't mind to program a bit in Python [...] The only problem I encountered is that documentation can require some digging, between GTK 3 and 4, between C or Python bindings, etc. Perhaps if you program in C it might be a bit easier.

Sadly, it has been a very long time indeed since I needed to do anything more sophisticated than a bit of bash scripting for sysadmin purposes and it's been literally decades since I did any scripting more sophisticated than automating sysadmin tasks, let alone actual programming/development of any kind. I'd understand the principles no doubt, but I've long since forgotten what I knew, never mind what's arisen in the meantime [1], and the chances of my integrating my desired solution into a DE are (to put it charitably) slim, I'd say.

Thanks for the tip though - if it ever does reach that stage, I'll know where to start at least.

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[1] The last time I had to do anything of the like, an API was a document listing the binaries available, the functions they exposed, the parameters that could be passed to them, the results they'd return ... and the need to "get it done by Friday" - there were no frameworks or 'kits' anything like that and my IDE consisted of a text editor and two terminal windows (one for compiling and the other running a stepper/debugger).

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Don't dance like nobody's watching, dance like a toddler instead - they don't even care if there's any music!

Crippled2013

Member

Registered: 2023-12-04

Posts: 16

Re: [FEATURE REQUEST] KDE-like 'activities'

You probably know that there are no developers here in the forum. You should send your request to https://gitlab.xfce.org/.

I don't think so because I didn't know that even after using Xfce for 8 years so far. Thank you for letting everyone know about that here.

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I am horrible at using the terminal as I could never learn the command line.