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Ubuntu 20.04, Gnome Desktop 3.36.8.

Suppose I have only one monitor, only one workspace and I am currently working on three windows of three different applications, App1, App2 and App3.

App1's window is maximised and therefore takes up the entire display. App2 and App3's windows are arranged in optimal sizes so that they do not overlap each other. . Whenever I have to switch from App1 to either App2 or App3 I have to use Alt+Tab twice to bring up their windows so that they are visible on top of App1's window.

So my question is: can I group App2 and App3 windows so that when I switch to any of them I get the group of windows raised together on top of the other remaining windows?.

Leandro Lima
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  • Would GNOME Extension ShellTile not perform that for you? ShellTile – graham Apr 10 '21 at 15:33
  • Thanks for the comment. ShellTile looked promising, I installed it as a Firefox extension but it seemed not to be working on on my Gnome Desktop 3.36.8. The behaviour I get is exactly the same without ShellTile. – Leandro Lima Apr 12 '21 at 02:42

3 Answers3

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That is exactly where the dynamic workspaces fit in on the standard Ubuntu Desktop with Gnome Shell: visually separating different application, i.e. your two arranged windows from a full screen application.

Just put App2 and App3 on a separate desktop. When you switch to either of them, you will see the two applications as you wanted, just by a regular Alt+Tab switch or a click on the launcher's icon. Problem solved.

And yes, you need to use the workspaces to achieve that. Embrace them.

vanadium
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I don't know of any native way. But if it's always the same windows you want to group/focus you can add custom key shortcut to run a script to focus one or more windows, I do this to quickly set focus to apps even if they are on different workspaces.

e.g. simply using window titles with wmctrl:

/usr/bin/wmctrl -a Firefox

or

/usr/bin/wmctrl -a "Google Chrome"

See man wmctrl for more options.

codlord
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None of us can help you without knowing your version of Ubuntu. I didn't use Ubuntu/Lubuntu/Xubuntu for long time. That's why I don't think my answer will helpful or not. enter image description here. Workspace depends on gnome version also. You can change gnome version also. Here's an answer which may help you. How to check gnome version?. If you visit the link. Than, you will see that there's two type of desktop in Ubuntu not only in Ubuntu either. Some has workspaces Some hasn't... And, if you are facing issue with shortcuts than, you can add shortcuts in settings.. enter image description here