Xfce Forum

daeron

Member

Registered: 2019-03-05

Posts: 8

Feature Request: Workspace Launcher

I suggest a Launcher that changes it's Command/Comment/Name/Icon depending on which Workspace (Virtual desktop) it is currently being displayed on, would aid XFCE productivity.

I routinely setup desktop environments to have multiple virtual desktops (work spaces) for different type of activity; eg Browsing, Command-line/Terminal, Editing, EMail. 
  For each type of Workspace activity I have a major workhorse and several utility applications that I use extensively for the activity but not in other activities. As a kludge you can dig through an application menu of hundreds of applications for the one you want (hoping you don't accidentally open an unwanted app wasting time) ; but having a user selection of tools for each type of Workspace activity seems more desirable.

ToZ

Administrator

From: Canada

Registered: 2011-06-02

Posts: 11,815

Re: Feature Request: Workspace Launcher

This might be too niche to add to the code, However, you can script a solution to give you the functionality you are looking for. Here is a bash script that will do that:

#!/usr/bin/env bash

##### CONFIGURATION SECTION

# the directory for the launcher
LAUNCHER_DIR="$HOME/.config/xfce4/panel/launcher-14"

# per workspace apps
WSAPP[0]="/usr/share/applications/xfmpc.desktop"
WSAPP[1]="/usr/share/applications/org.xfce.mousepad.desktop"
WSAPP[2]="/usr/share/applications/geany.desktop"
WSAPP[3]="/usr/share/applications/engrampa.desktop"

##### DO NOT EDIT ANYTHING BELOW

# make sure that only one instance of this script is running per user
lockfile=/tmp/.wslauncher.$USER.lockfile
if ( set -o noclobber; echo "locked" > "$lockfile") 2> /dev/null; then
  	trap 'rm -f "$lockfile"; exit $?' INT TERM EXIT
  	echo "wslauncherDEBUG: Locking succeeded" >&2

	# get current workspace
	CWS=$(wmctrl -d | grep \* | cut -d' ' -f1)	

	# every second, query the active workspace and adjust launcher
	while true; do
		# get workspace
		NWS=$(wmctrl -d | grep \* | cut -d' ' -f1)	
		# if the workspace has changed...
		if [ $CWS -ne $NWS ]; then
			# delete the existing contents of the launcher dir on start
        	rm $LAUNCHER_DIR/*
			cp ${WSAPP[$NWS]} $LAUNCHER_DIR
            CWS=$NWS
		fi

		sleep 1
	done
			
# can't create lockfile - notify user and quit
else

  	echo "wsp_notifyDEBUG: Lock failed, check for existing process and/or lock file and delete - exiting." >&2
  	exit 1
fi			

exit 0

To test it:

1. Add a launcher to the panel (or use an existing one) and get its launcher ID (hover over the launcher in the Panel Properties>Items tab)

2. Change the launcher ID in the first of the configuration options in the script to match your launcher ID

3. Edit the WSAPP[x] settings with the specific .desktop files for the app you want displayed in the launcher

4. Make the script executable and run it in a terminal window. Change workstations to see if the launcher changes.

If everything works, then you can add the script to you autostart.

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