multiple workspace and desktop management on additional monitors

Question

I like the feature of gnome that allows me to have multiple workspaces but not have them on all monitors. I especially use this for having a youtube video or movie playing on one monitor while doing other things and I can switch between desktops without interruption to whatever is happening on that screen.

But the reality is I never really use that feature that often. Having my main display as a 4K monitor I usually manage everything on the one screen just nicely.

However, I have recently added a third much smaller screen to the mix and it's very handy to have something running on that display. Right now it's just htop but it can be multitail my google calendar various feeds or whatever.

What I would like to have to is ahortcut that allows multiple desktops on just one monitor (other than the primary monitor). I'd almost be happy to forego the multiple workspaces on the main monitor if I could have them just on one of the side monitors. That way when I do want to switch between them a shortcut key could change the desktop on just that monitor.

is/are there any tools for managing multiple workspaces/desktops across monitors individually or allow me to just control the workspace on a side monitor?

I don't really want to totally lose the feature on the main monitor, but I do want to make better use of the side monitors.

Answer 1

The most practical/easiest solution I can think of for that workflow is just right clicking the title bar of the window on the monitor you want "sticky" and choosing show on all desktops/workspaces. I know you can do that in XFCE, not sure about gnome.

I used to have a workflow like that where a movie or audio playlist played on the third monitor and an IDE and app/webpage in question on the second monitor. That's how I did it.