How to distribute windows over virtual desktops in Gnome

Question

I have a load of virtual desktops running and I usually have one full screen application per desktop (so sort of like the Ratpoison WM but with an option to use it in other ways when needed). I want new windows to automatically be put in certain desktop numbers when they start up. What's the easiest way to do this?

Answer 1

If you're using Compiz, install compizconfig-settings-manager, activate the "Place Windows" plugin, and in the "Fixed Window Placement" tab, you can adjust which windows should default to which viewport.

Answer 2

You might want to take a look at the Devil's Pie tool; it is available in Ubuntu as package devilspie (apt-get install devilspie).

This article and this other one explain some of its prominent features, and provides some example code, including how to move a window to a certain workspace and maximize it.

Answer 3

I, too have a lot of virtual desktops and a workflow that has me opening windows on different workspaces, but I've adopted an 'open and slide' approach with compiz.. right after opening an application, I use a customized shortcut to slide the new window to the appropriate workspace, then slide back to the previous workspace with another shortcut.

In my case, this is something like shift-ctrl-left arrow then ctrl-alt-right arrow.. very, very quick and I have full control over where they go every time instead of being locked-in to one configuration.

Answer 4

If your requirement can make use of scripts, then it might be worth investigating wmctrl eg wmctrl -s 0 would switch to desktop 0.