Hello there!

I'm wondering how you organize your application windows. One day I got tired pressing Alt+Tab again and again. If the windows are presented as list or as icons, you still have to choose the right entry. Do this all day I'll get annoyed, since the order in the list is always different. Same is true for the "Present all Windows" feature.

So I was searching for a better way to switch between open windows. Here are my requirements:

Requirements for switching to a certain window

• (1) switching via keyboard
• (2) small shortcut (not more than two keystrokes!)
• (3) always the same shortcut for the same window/application

Solution so far
I haven't found a generic solution, but this is what I came up with so far:

For my often used application/windows I assign a shortcut via "Window Rules" (System Settings -> Window Behavior -> Window Rules) e.g.:

• KMail: Win + M
• Krusader: Win + K
• Konversation: Win + I
• Opera: Win + O
• ...

(by "Win" I mean the "Meta_L" key)

This works quite good, since I don't have to (process and) choose from an always changing list (alt+tab switcher). I think of Mails and just hit Win + M...there it is, instantly.

(I've a similar shortcut to launch the application, e. g. I launch KMail via Win + Shirt + M...but it would be nice to make no difference here. Win + M should always open me the kmail main window. If kmail is not running, it should launch kmail...this actually works for kmail, since the launched kmail demands "attention"...but not all apps have a single instance mode...does anybody know a generic solution for this?)

But still, there are some problems left:

Problem #1 - Accessing the other (not often used) windows
Solution: Since accessing the often used application works quite fast, remove their entries in the task bar and the alt+tab switcher (this is also possible via "Window Rules"). The only entries left are the not so often used application - here I use the old alt+tab shortcut to select these windows.

Problem #2 - Focusing windows of applications running in the system tray
For KMail I've set the option "Always show KMail in the system tray". Now if I close the KMail window, there is only the icon in the system tray left. My set up shortcut is not working because there is no window for KMail... (same problem with konversation and others).
Solution: Don't close the windows...if you don't need them, just minimize them.

Enhancement - Windows of same group on same desktop
There are a lot of applications I'm using only for "Communication": KMail, Konverstaion, Pidgin, Skype ... I just put them on a desktop #2. Via "Window Rules" you can force the windows to open on a certain desktop. All other windows are opened on desktop #1. That is, if I start an application on desktop #2, I've to switch desktop #1 to see it...switching is quite easy since KWin allows you to define a shortcut for "Activate Window Demanding Attention" ... this switches automatically to the desktop of the window if you hit the shortcut. Nevertheless it would be nice if the switching would happen automatically on application launch...

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To me, having the most important windows at a finger tip is quite important since it saves you time and "processing power" (doing it all the day).

It's not perfect, but it works quite good. Any comments or improvements to this?

That's how I organize my windows. What's your approach? Especially if you're using the keyboard, I'm very interested to hear from you!

klebezettel