up vote 41 down vote favorite
14

I am looking for a clean and fast method to force GNOME in Ubuntu 14.04 to switch between active apps only on the current workspace when pressing the shortcut alt + tab.

share|improve this question
up vote 54 down vote accepted

Here is the solution I came up with:

Very fast & easy, without any installations/extensions:

  1. Install dconf-editor (already installed on current debian/ubuntu distributions):

    sudo apt-get install dconf-editor

  2. Open dconf-editor (from the Dash or a Terminal)

  3. Navigate to: org -> gnome -> shell -> app-switcher
  4. Set "current-workspace-only" to true

..and you're done :)

share|improve this answer
1  
Wish Gnome would just put this in their Settings applet – leo-the-manic Dec 28 '16 at 19:29
    
Please add @austinmarton answer too, since while this is more generic, there's a gnome way that requires no extra installs. – Mihail Malostanidis Oct 7 '17 at 14:54
up vote 35 down vote

Simply:

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.app-switcher current-workspace-only true
share|improve this answer
1  
super fast, no extra software necessary and does exactly what was asked for! +1 – Jamie-505 Mar 3 '17 at 10:52
    
This isn't working for me on Ubuntu 16.04. I think it might be due to these settings being managed in several different apps. Any idea how to make this setting overrule the others? – Dexter Morgan Oct 20 '17 at 13:09
    
It worked for me on Ubuntu 17.04 – Esteban Filardi Oct 23 '17 at 11:29
    
...and for me in 17.10. – colan Oct 25 '17 at 15:44
    
It worked for me too on ubuntu 17.10, and this is the best answer – Marco Oct 26 '17 at 19:22
up vote 11 down vote

As an alternative to installing dconf-editor and having to fiddle around with your mouse so much, you can also do this from terminal.

To create the current-workspace-only value:

dconf write /org/gnome/shell/app-switcher/current-workspace-only 'true'

To erase it, going back to default settings:

dconf reset /org/gnome/shell/app-switcher/current-workspace-only

I would like dconf-editor more if it could search through paths, properties, and values.

share|improve this answer
    
the (later) answer using gsettings is just a higher-level api that also sets the dconf values (and would probably be in general preferred over directly accessing dconf) – michael Jan 1 at 7:56
up vote 2 down vote

Seems to be fixed with

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.window-switcher current-workspace-only true
gsettings set org.gnome.shell.app-switcher current-workspace-only true
share|improve this answer
    
Looks like I need only the first one (.window-switcher) – kerner1000 Jan 5 at 17:52
up vote 0 down vote

An alternative for people who want to tab through open windows on current workspace but also want to be able to tab through all open apps (on any workspace) this can be achieved by changing the keyboard shortcuts.

Under Settings > Devices > Keyboard (on Ubuntu 17.10):

  • Switch Windows: Alt + Tab
  • Switch Applications: Super + Tab
share|improve this answer
    
That's tricky - Alt+Tab changes windows, even when changing the keyboard shortcuts. Is there a way to fix that? – Rick-777 Nov 29 '17 at 14:49
    
Yes, Alt+Tab will show the windows open on the current workspace whereas Super+Tab will show all open programs (on any workspace). What do you want to achieve, that Alt+Tab shows open programs on the current workspace instead of open windows? – Clauds Nov 30 '17 at 10:19

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.