Default Window Postion

KitchM · 2016-11-20 15:55:59

Is there a setting somewhere that defines the default window position when a program opens?

It appears that most open in the top left corner of the desktop. However, I should note that there was a short period of time when they were opening in the top right corner. (I suppose that last situation was just an anomaly; one of the vicissitudes of computer use today.)

ToZ · 2016-11-20 16:23:53

Xfwm uses smart placement to place windows (Settings Manager > Window Manager Tweaks > Placement). The placement of the window is dependent on the other windows open on the desktop and the settings on that page.

In other words, the default placement of the window is either centre of screen or under mouse pointer (as selected in the settings) and affected by the size of the window based on the "minimum size" slider. If the window is smaller than the position of the slider, then xfwm will try to position the window in an open space on the desktop.

If you want any given window to always position itself in the centre or under the mouse pointer, drag the slider all the way up to large. If you want to force the position of a window to a specific location, you need to use a 3rd party tool (like devilspie).

KitchM · 2016-11-20 22:58:44

"Under the mouse pointer" makes no sense. If one clicks on a launcher or menu item, just when does it decide to notice the position of the mouse cursor?

Also, a small to large scale is sort of arbitrary, isn't it? How is that userful?

In any case, my default setting is to place in center. The slider is set approximately 1/5 of the way from the "Small" end on the left, which I assume to be the default position. But still programs open on an empty workspace top left corner (if not full screen).

I like to keep a clean desktop, so I normally have one program per workspace. Rarely do I start another application in a workspace where another is already running. And, of course, major apps such as word processors, e-mail clients and browsers are always run full screen. But small, non-fullscreen programs are not opening in the center for me. I must be doing something wrong.

ToZ · 2016-11-20 23:06:52

But small, non-fullscreen programs are not opening in the center for me. I must be doing something wrong.

Move the slider all the way to the right and keep "At the centre of the screen" selected.

Also, a small to large scale is sort of arbitrary, isn't it? How is that userful?

The slider is based on a 0-100 scale and stored in xfwm4's /general/placement_ratio xfconf configuration parameter. I'm not sure what exactly that maps to, but this is how xfwm is programmed.

KitchM · 2016-11-21 17:02:44

I tried it on a program that opens normalized, and it worked fine. It was in the dead center of the screen. Multiple instances opened in the exact same place, covering each other.

I tried it again with the slider to the left and the program opened top left, a second instance bottom right, a third top right and a fourth bottom left, and a fifth top left again. It appears to never place in the center.

There was one interesting and unexpected issue that popped up. Evidently, if a person has a top and bottom panel which both auto-hide as I do, when one opens a program from a quick launch on the upper panel, the program will start at top left at the bottom of that panel as long as the mouse cursor is hovering over the panel and keeping it down. When the mouse moves off the panel and it auto-hides, the program window does not move up to the top of the screen, but instead there is a space left above it where the panel was. On the other hand, this does not do the same with the lower panel. Odd.

Anyway, perhaps it would be nice have an infinite non-overlap mechanism, but that might be a difficult algorithm to program. As it is, it is an interesting feature and I guess I don't have to understand it, as long as it works by helping in some small way as it does.

I must admit that I like a system that immediately saves and activates the selected settings in the settings manager, or at least appears to do so. I didn't have to restart or anything to put the changes into play. That feature of Xfce is very cool.

Thanks for your help, ToZ.

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#1 2016-11-20 15:55:59

Default Window Postion

#2 2016-11-20 16:23:53

Re: Default Window Postion

#3 2016-11-20 22:58:44

Re: Default Window Postion

#4 2016-11-20 23:06:52

Re: Default Window Postion

#5 2016-11-21 17:02:44

Re: Default Window Postion

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