How can I see a list of all open windows in a panel in Unity?

Question

Is there any reason why this is missing from Unity? It's a really helpful thing to have when you have a lot of windows open.

Answer 1

I have developed an application indicator which shows a list of open windows. To keep with the Unity one-panel style, windows are accessed from an icon on the indicator panel.

Window-List

Category: Other, Window Management

Window-list displays a list of current open desktop windows. Windows can be activated by selecting them from the menu list.

Window-List is available for all versions of Ubuntu running Unity.

install via ppa:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jwigley/window-list
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install window-list

deb package is also available from the launchpad repository.

run application by:

window-list

Answer 2

I've the same problem, but I found tint2. It is a bottom bar with all yours opened windows, it is available on main Ubuntu repo, and you can install it with

sudo apt-get install tint2

To help configure tint2 you can use this python based gui:

wget http://tintwizard.googlecode.com/files/tintwizard-0.3.4.tar.gz
tar -zxvf tintwizard-0.3.4.tar.gz
./tintwizard.py

Source: http://www.tuxgarage.com/2011/10/running-tint2-under-unity.html

Answer 3

A quite convenient alternative to a windows list is the windows preview inbuilt in the Unity Launcher. A minimized preview of all windows opened by a certain application is shown when clicking on its launcher icon. This is shown here on Unity 2D for three LibreOffice windows opened at the same time:

Just click on the window you want to work on to have it opened on top.

Note that all running applications that have a window opened are marked with tiny white dots on the left side of their panel icon.

Answer 4

There is also,

Unity Window Quicklists

Unity Window Quicklists displays a list of open windows as quicklists for each application on the Unity launcher, and you can use them to switch between those windows. The quicklists are dynamic, meaning that when a window is closed or a new window is open, the quicklists are instantly updated.

More info http://www.webupd8.org/2012/06/unity-window-quicklists-switch-between.html

Download it https://launchpad.net/~alanbell/+archive/unity

Answer 5

The list of open windows in unity is shown as a dock (the launcher) would be, on the left side. If you need this on the bottom, you can use a dock like Docky or Avant Window Navigator, or possibly even a panel like the one in fluxbox.

Answer 6

Unity is a dock-based interface, the dock replaces the taskbar usually found on the gnome-panel. If i were you i would log in with a classical mode rather than Unity, which will provide the gnome-panel and taskbar, and if you do want a dock, you can use Docky or Cairo-Dock. The latter will allow you more cutomisation.

Answer 7

You can also run gnome-panel in Unity, see How do I use the GNOME Panel in Unity?

Answer 8

Interestingly enough, shantanu, I have taken a closer look at this and found graphical indication of multiple instances of an application in the Unity dock. What I did not originally realize is that when I click on the appropriate icon in the dock, the multiple instances of the application are graphically depicted as window previews. From there it is simply a matter of selecting the instance in which I am interested.

Answer 9

I think the question was why unity doc does not show the list of multiple instance of a application?

My opinion: it is a bug or they don't want to. always maximize all your windows then unity behaves OK. When click on application (with multiple instance) unity open recent one (actually all but recent one in top) and double click will show all instance in expo style. It is difficult to find exact instance.