Workspace switcher limitations

Skaperen · 2013-06-15 20:09:13

When I tried to increase the number of workspaces from the menu for that, it let me create 100 of them. That's plenty. I'm using 36 virtual desktops in Gnome with Compiz now. I need a few more. I now have a new PC with more memory (64GB) that should handle it. So I was going for 60 or so.

In addition to that, I'm also trying to get it to do direct to workspace switching, instead of sliding around in a grid like Compiz does. I found the file '.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfce4-keyboard-shortcuts.xml' so I can automate the update of multiple users on multiple systems. I tried both ways, first with the settings editor to be sure the xfce4-keyboard-shortcuts.xml really would be written as expected (yes, it was), and by editing the xfce4-keyboard-shortcuts.xml file itself for a test user that was not logged in at that time. The settings I edited in showed up in the settings editor after that.

But they did not work.

The best guess I have at the moment is the shortcut command of "workspace_XX_key" does not work when XX is greater than 12. I also put in a lot of them, so maybe I busted an array somewhere (I doubt it, code should check that, I hope).

I did put these new properties under:

<channel name="xfce4-keyboard-shortcuts" version="1.0">
  <property name="xfwm4" type="empty">
    <property name="custom" type="empty">

Here are a FEW of what I added:

      <property name="&lt;Super&gt;8" type="string" value="workspace_21_key"/>
      <property name="&lt;Super&gt;9" type="string" value="workspace_22_key"/>
      <property name="&lt;Super&gt;minus" type="string" value="workspace_23_key"/>
      <property name="&lt;Super&gt;equal" type="string" value="workspace_24_key"/>

I decided to use the Windows key by itself as the hold-down of the key chord. Hopefully I do not have to release it and re-press it when I want to do two workspace switches in sequence (usually to peek at another workspace and switch back). But I could use Ctrl+Win or Alt+Win if needed.

So does anyone know why it won't work? And if any source code needs to be patched to make it work, does anyone know where?

System is Slackware64-current (pre 14.1), The following packages from its "xfce" directory are installed:

 997140 May 18 23:01 Thunar-1.6.3-x86_64-1.txz
 555440 Mar 21 19:52 exo-0.10.2-x86_64-1.txz
 116988 May 18 23:04 garcon-0.2.1-x86_64-1.txz
  60688 Mar 21 19:11 gtk-xfce-engine-3.0.1-x86_64-1.txz
 170764 Jul 19  2012 libxfce4ui-4.10.0-x86_64-1.txz
 109444 May 18 22:40 libxfce4util-4.10.1-x86_64-1.txz
 253896 Jul 19  2012 libxfcegui4-4.10.0-x86_64-1.txz
1473196 Jun  5 00:40 orage-4.8.4-x86_64-2.txz
 113780 Jul 19  2012 thunar-volman-0.8.0-x86_64-1.txz
 143196 Mar 28 02:12 tumbler-0.1.25-x86_64-3.txz
 103904 May 18 22:50 xfce4-appfinder-4.10.1-x86_64-1.txz
 590608 Jul 19  2012 xfce4-clipman-plugin-1.2.3-x86_64-1.txz
  35888 Jul 19  2012 xfce4-dev-tools-4.10.0-x86_64-1.txz
 138468 Jul 19  2012 xfce4-mixer-4.8.0-x86_64-1.txz
  72276 May 18 22:52 xfce4-notifyd-0.2.4-x86_64-1.txz
 557700 May 18 22:42 xfce4-panel-4.10.1-x86_64-1.txz
 551104 Jul 19  2012 xfce4-power-manager-1.2.0-x86_64-1.txz
 614980 Jul 19  2012 xfce4-screenshooter-1.8.1-x86_64-1.txz
 613348 May 23 23:57 xfce4-session-4.10.1-x86_64-2.txz
 339628 May 18 22:47 xfce4-settings-4.10.1-x86_64-1.txz
  36788 Jul 30  2012 xfce4-systemload-plugin-1.1.1-x86_64-1.txz
  59396 Jul 19  2012 xfce4-taskmanager-1.0.0-x86_64-1.txz
 321944 May 18 23:03 xfce4-terminal-0.6.2-x86_64-1.txz
  27516 Jul 19  2012 xfce4-volumed-0.1.13-x86_64-1.txz
2183956 Mar 21 20:00 xfce4-weather-plugin-0.8.3-x86_64-1.txz
 139672 Jul 19  2012 xfconf-4.10.0-x86_64-1.txz
 473296 Mar 21 20:01 xfdesktop-4.10.2-x86_64-1.txz
 406876 May 18 22:58 xfwm4-4.10.1-x86_64-1.txz
 383964 Jul 19  2012 xfwm4-themes-4.10.0-x86_64-1.txz

jimwg · 2013-06-16 08:07:22

Do you think your solution can be used to assign different backgrounds to different workspaces too?

Jim in NYC

Skaperen · 2013-06-16 14:05:52

jimwg wrote:

Do you think your solution can be used to assign different backgrounds to different workspaces too?
Jim in NYC

It would be nice if it could. But I think switching to different workspaces is a different thing than setting up other properties of workspaces to include a designation of a background image. TOL: there would have to be some kind of array or list indexed by workspace with current properties, like which windows are being displayed. Wherever that is, storing the background image reference there would seem right. I have no idea how it really is done. But there is the chance that it was not done by design because of the delay involved in actually doing the image change. If video RAM is partitioned into desktop spaces, the backgrounds can already be there. But if it works by doing expose operations on different windows, the background would have to be reloaded intentionally (no expose operation) or it would have to be emulated as an undecorated full screen window always on the bottom of the window stack.

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#1 2013-06-15 20:09:13

Workspace switcher limitations

#2 2013-06-16 08:07:22

Re: Workspace switcher limitations

#3 2013-06-16 14:05:52

Re: Workspace switcher limitations

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