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With xfce4 4.10.1 I would like to have windows tiled automatically (this means they use half the screen, right?) when moving them to the edge of the screen.

In the xfce4-settings-manager->Window Manager Tweaks->Accessibility I tick "Automatically tile windows when mowing toward the screen edge", but all this gets me is a window using full screen when hitting it against the top of the screen.

Hitting the window to the right or left of the screen does either nothing or moves it to the next workspace. At least instead of the "does nothing" part I would hope for a tiling.

Am I misunderstanding this option? What am I doing wrong?

Does it make a difference that I have two screens stacked up on top of each other?

Harald
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2 Answers2

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Tiling (snapping) windows can be enabled or disabled under Settings > Window Manager Tweak > Accessibility.

enter image description here

But it seems that snapping windows to the margins of the screen becomes difficult or impossible when the changing of workspaces by dragging the window is also activated in "wrap workspaces when reaching the screen edge" - "with a dragged window" under 'Settings > Window Manager > Advanced' because the two actions interfere and the workspace-changing has precedence when the edge resistance level is very close to "small".

It seems to me a bit too much to ask that the same action (dragging a window to the screen edge) should be able to trigger without problems two different results.

To avoid the interference use a different option for workspace:"wrap workspaces when reaching the screen edge" - "with the mouse pointer" - if you must keep a screen edge action for changing workspaces.

Or even disable it completely. That will certainly ensure window snapping/tilling:

enter image description here

If the option "wrap workspaces when reaching the screen edge" - "with a dragged window" is enabled but the edge resistance is increased towards "wide", the window snapping/tiling takes complete precedence and at this point it's the "wrap workspaces" action that is not achieved at all.

enter image description here

Finding the edge resistance level where both actions are easily accessible is possible, but not very practical in my opinion, as you often get one instead of the other. (That may also depend on the hardware as well as human factor.)

Summing it up:

In order to get the window tiling working:

  • Be sure you have it enabled in Window Manager Tweaks->Accessibility.

  • Disable "wrap workspaces when reaching the screen edge" - "with a dragged window" under Settings > Window Manager > Advanced OR keep it enabled but set the edge resistance wide enough to make the tiling take precedence over wrapping workspaces.

My version of xfwm4: 4.12.3-2.

Community
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    +1 For able to reproduce OP experience. It seems that the balance is easier to achieve when using Xfce 4.12 and laptop touchpad (experience may vary by edge resistance slider position and touchpad quality). P.S.: It's mostly impossible in Xfce 4.10 and wireless keyboard touch with desktop PC. –  Mar 14 '17 at 08:15
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Thanks to the comment from @clearkimura I checked the settings again. But instead of unchecking the checkbox I rather increased the edge resistance to about 25% of the slider between "small" and "wide". That way I can have both. If I run the mouse a lot over the screen edge, the window gets dragged to the adjacent workspace while a gentler touch at the screen edge indeed tiles the window into half or a quarter of the screen depending where I run the mouse against the edge.

Harald
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    Despite my hint in earlier comment, I was unable to have both tiling and dragging to adjacent workspace as explained in the answer. I wish there is a screenshot or animated GIF to explain the successful result before I could upvote this answer. –  Dec 14 '16 at 14:29
  • where do you set edge resistance? –  Mar 13 '17 at 12:19
  • @clearkimura - I will try to investigate this. It seems rather erratic in my case too. I am not in Ubuntu though, but in Manjaro, my Xfce version might be different. –  Mar 13 '17 at 16:35
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    @clearkimura - in fact yes, I can confirm the OP's statement, but I find it difficult to achieve and impractical: either only one action works (edge resistance is too big or too small) or, if you get a balance where both work, it becomes difficult to select between the two. I recommend either disabling workspace wrapping (and send a window to a different workspace with a shortcut for example) or the other way around. –  Mar 13 '17 at 18:17