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I would like to have some applications always appear in a specific workspace. For example: I would like my mp3 player on the bottom left workspace, and terminal application on the bottom right one;

I am new to Ubuntu, so tried using wmctrl but it looks to me as desktop wall works by creating one big desktop and then splitting it up into 4 pieces.

pomsky
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Anders
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3 Answers3

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Note: This answer was written for systems running the Compiz window manager (default in Ubuntu 7.04 to 17.04). For versions of Ubuntu using Gnome Shell see this answer.

  1. Install compizconfig-settings-manager:

    sudo apt install compizconfig-settings-manager

  2. Go to Window Management -> Place Windows -> Fixed Window Placement

  3. Under Windows with fixed viewport click on new

    • class=NameOfYourProgram (Here the spelling is important. Better use the green plus sign and "Grab" this parameter in the resulting window)
    • Position : {1,1}top left; {1,2}bottom left, ...
    • example opens Gnome-terminal in bottom right workspace : enter image description here

More information on wiki.compiz.org

danjjl
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    It works so far - but how can i make unity to automatically switch to the specified workspace when opening the program? Right now I always how to manually switch to the workspace the program has been opened in. – gucki May 27 '13 at 17:41
  • @gucki you could edit the .desktop file to launch the program, then switch. – Tim Jun 23 '14 at 16:14
  • does anyone know why this doesn't work for skype? – Blank Chisui Dec 10 '15 at 18:29
  • This didn*t work for me on 14.04 – mace Mar 08 '16 at 10:31
  • does anyone know why this doesn't work for steam or discord? (works on chrome tho) – Jason Nov 25 '17 at 13:32
  • outdated solution – Pierre Cavin Jul 10 '19 at 14:45
  • This doesn't address the OP's question which was to start an application in a specific workspace, probably one you're not currently in. I'd like to know how to do this using MATE and Compiz as well as being able to start an app in all workspaces. – Andrew DeFaria Apr 15 '22 at 15:14
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Install the Gnome extension "Auto Move Windows".

  1. The package should come with Ubuntu, otherwise sudo apt-get install gnome-tweak-tool
  2. Open Tweaks
  3. Go to Extensions
  4. Configure and Activate Auto Move Windows
Sebastian Graf
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  • Using Auto Move Windows still works in 19.04, you just need to install it from Ubuntu Software because it is no more available inside gnome-tweak-tool – Pierre Cavin Jul 10 '19 at 14:47
  • This is already something but when connecting/disconnecting an external monitor it still scrambles windows all over workspaces – wranvaud Nov 22 '19 at 19:14
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Devilspie does a wonderful job of controlling how your windows launch, no matter what.

jokerdino
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balloons
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