prevent ALT-Tab from bringing all windows to the front

Question

I'm using GNOME3 (under Ubuntu 16.04) and I actually like the ALt-Tab; Alt-^/` (key above Tab, varies regionally depending on the layout of the keyboard) bindings for switching between applications and windows of a specific application, respectively.

My concern is that ALt-Tab will take all windows of one application to the front whereas all I usually want and expect is the topmost of the windows from that application. How can I get this behavior?

Answer 1

This is how the default Alt+Tab switcher, which is an application switcher works, and how Gnome developers currently intended it to work. As usual, it does not fit all use cases equally well. This is great for multi-window applications such as Gimp, or to bring a few open related terminal windows to the front, but less ideal if you want to switch between, say, your browser and a specific window of your file manager to upload a file by drag and drop.

There are a few options:

• Develop the habit of using Alt+tab followed by Key_above_tab (` on querty keyboards) while you keep holding Alt to select only the window you want. (Drawback: you have to do this each time switching back between two window, which is why Ubuntu developpers proposed at one time to only switch the last window on a fast Alt+Tab)
• Make more intensive use of work spaces, where these windows of a same applications that do not belong directly to the current job at hand are moved to other work spaces. Alternatively, hide the windows you momentarily do not need (Super+h). (Drawbacks: may not be suit use cases where all windows actually belong to the same activity, but are not needed all at once; you need to "prepare", i.e think of/bother with shuffling different windows around on different work spaces or hide them.)
• Change the key binding of Alt+Tab to the Window switcher rather than the Application switcher. This gives you a more conventional switcher, allowing to switching between windows rather than between applications. You could then still have Super+Tab bound to the Application switcher. (Drawback: too many window switcher to choose from, asking mental energy to decide how you are going to make your next switch).
• There are some extensions that change the Alt+Tab behavior so only one window of the target application is raised, e.g. Alt Tab lift first window by cork (Gnome Shell 3.12 to 3.28) and AltTab mod by Leleat (Gnome Shell 3.36 and up)