[Feature Request] Remember layouts for different workspaces

[aquatix]

First of all, thanks for this great extension!

I use multiple monitors, of which one is the primary. The other two are stationary when switching workspaces, meaning that they keep showing the same windows, which is the default in Gnome.

Since the multiple layout support per workspace feature has been introduced (good stuff!), I now have two issues:

1. the layout for both secondary monitors gets reset for every new workspace that the primary monitor has
2. layouts for the various workspaces are not remembered

The first case is kind of annoying, because every time I open a new workspace on the primary (middle) monitor, I have to set the layout of the other two monitors correctly if I want to adjust their windows, while they always should have the same layout.

This would be less of an issue if 2) was a thing, because then I could just set it once for the 5-6 workspaces I use (always in the same or really similar way), and it would remember the correct layouts even for the secondary monitors.

What do you think about this? Do you see a good solution?

I think being able to mark layouts as 'sticky' or something for a monitor would be helpful, basically unmaking the 'layout per workspace' for that monitor. If the extension could also remember the layout of the workspaces it had prevously, that'd be really helpful for me, but I don't know how that would influence the workflow of other users.

Thanks in advance!

[domferr]

Hey @aquatix thank you for sharing this. I agree with everything. The option I have in mind is similar to your idea!

1. when a new workspace is created, assign by default the layout of the last workspace
2. do option 1 if that workspace is created for the first time ever, otherwise remember what layout that workspace is used to have

As of today, every time a workspace is created, the first layout is assigned, which is not so useful!

[aquatix]

That sounds good indeed and as far as I can see, that should fix my current gripes, as long as I set the correct layouts to the secondary monitors immediately before switching to the next workspace. That sounds reasonable enough :)

[itay-grudev]

If my computer goes to sleep I think the settings are lost, which is why preserving the setting would be nice. This also covers the initial boot case. Can this be done per monitor per workspace, even if they don't exist yet?

For example your computer starts all apps automatically started are in workspace 1. If I move them to workspace 2 and 3, which are created on demand, can they default to their layout from before, possibly from a past session?

@domferr Your proposal for the new workspace using the layout of last workspace of the same monitor is also going to be extremely useful if a layout isn't already saved.

[domferr]

Hey everyone! I worked on this lately and I share with you the files if you want to try it in advance! If you do, please let me know how it is, thank you ❤️

• GNOME Shell 42, 43 or 44: GNOME.42-44.tilingshell@ferrarodomenico.com.zip
• GNOME Shell 45, 46 or 47: tilingshell@ferrarodomenico.com.zip

What's changed
When a new workspace is created, its layout is now the layout of the last workspace. If you don't tile anything on that workspace, Tiling Shell will ensure that if you change the layout of the second-last workspace, the last workspace will be set to the same layout. With these changes, if the last workspace is unused (i.e. you didn't tile any windows, yet), its selected layout will dynamically change according to the layouts you select in the second-last workspace. So, when you go from the second-last workspace to the last one you will find the same layout already set and waiting for you to be used

[aquatix]

I used the above zip on Gnome 47 (unzipped it over the extension in ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions), but it does not seem to remember the layouts of the last workspace. It does for the first one for some reason, but then it resets for all newly (automatically) created workspaces.

[itay-grudev]

I am getting an error:

SyntaxError: export declarations may only appear at top level of a module @ resource:///org/gnome/Shell/Extensions/js/misc/config.js:4:1

Stack trace:
  @file:///home/e2/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/tilingshell@ferrarodomenico.com/prefs.js:2:16
  _init/GLib.MainLoop.prototype.runAsync/</<@resource:///org/gnome/gjs/modules/core/overrides/GLib.js:263:34

[aquatix]

Maybe it has issues because I use three monitors? It seems to remember something but it does not remember the chosen config for all of them.

[itay-grudev]

Tell me if I can do anything to help.

[domferr]

Tell me if I can do anything to help.

Hey @itay-grudev, which GNOME shell are you using?

@aquatix it might be! Unfortunately I moved abroad and I haven't a secondary monitor in my new house, yet. So I hadn't the opportunity to test properly. Hope to figure out what the issue could be

[itay-grudev]

@domferr I'm on Fedora 41 Workstation with GNOME 47. My setup is 2 monitors, with workspaces enabled only on the primary one.

[domferr]

@itay-grudev Understood. I'm out of my computer right now, but probably you might be using the wrong zip file. Can you double check that? Thank you!

[aquatix]

@aquatix it might be! Unfortunately I moved abroad and I haven't a secondary monitor in my new house, yet. So I hadn't the opportunity to test properly. Hope to figure out what the issue could be

Is there something we can do to provide you with more info, using our multi-monitor setups? Glad to help! Also, congrats on the new house and such, sounds like a big move.