F15: Follow-mouse focus and hacks for GNOME shell?

[Marco Guazzone]

Didn't find a way to set this type of focus under GNOME shell.

Searching in the Web I've found these 2 hacks:

gconftool-2 -s /apps/metacity/general/focus_mode -t string sloppy

or

gconftool-2 -s /apps/metacity/general/focus_mode -t string mouse

Are they safe?

Further, is there a guide to "hack" my GNOME shell. It's really nice
but there's something I'd like to change, like focus mode and enable
workspace cycle (if possible)

Thanks!!

Best,

-- Marco

[Rahul Sundaram]

On 06/01/2011 01:40 AM, sguazt wrote:
> Didn't find a way to set this type of focus under GNOME shell.
>
> Searching in the Web I've found these 2 hacks:
>
> gconftool-2 -s /apps/metacity/general/focus_mode -t string sloppy
>
> or
>
> gconftool-2 -s /apps/metacity/general/focus_mode -t string mouse
>
> Are they safe?

Safe?  idk.  works fine

Rahul

[Hiisi]

On 1 June 2011 07:16, Rahul Sundaram  wrote:
> On 06/01/2011 01:40 AM, sguazt wrote:
> > Didn't find a way to set this type of focus under GNOME shell.
> >
> > Searching in the Web I've found these 2 hacks:
> >
> > gconftool-2 -s /apps/metacity/general/focus_mode -t string sloppy
> >
> > or
> >
> > gconftool-2 -s /apps/metacity/general/focus_mode -t string mouse

I was looking for the same functionality. Just was too lame to google
for them. Thanks!
> > Are they safe?
>
> Safe?  idk.  works fine

Safe? I don't care ;- )
> Rahul

--
Hiisi

[Ian Malone]

On 1 June 2011 07:50, Hiisi  wrote:
> On 1 June 2011 07:16, Rahul Sundaram  wrote:
> > On 06/01/2011 01:40 AM, sguazt wrote:
> > > Didn't find a way to set this type of focus under GNOME shell.
> > >
> > > Searching in the Web I've found these 2 hacks:
> > >
> > > gconftool-2 -s /apps/metacity/general/focus_mode -t string sloppy
> > >
> > > or
> > >
> > > gconftool-2 -s /apps/metacity/general/focus_mode -t string mouse
>
> I was looking for the same functionality. Just was too lame to google
> for them. Thanks!
> > > Are they safe?
> >
> > Safe?  idk.  works fine
>
> Safe? I don't care ;- )

My mouse burst into flames after doing this! Don't try it!

(No not really, actually follow focus carried over from F13 without me
having to do anything. So one Gnome3 thing works.)

[Marco Guazzone]

On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 9:00 AM, Ian Malone  wrote:
> On 1 June 2011 07:50, Hiisi  wrote:
> > On 1 June 2011 07:16, Rahul Sundaram  wrote:
> > > On 06/01/2011 01:40 AM, sguazt wrote:
> > > > Didn't find a way to set this type of focus under GNOME shell.
> > > >
> > > > Searching in the Web I've found these 2 hacks:
> > > >
> > > > gconftool-2 -s /apps/metacity/general/focus_mode -t string sloppy
> > > >
> > > > or
> > > >
> > > > gconftool-2 -s /apps/metacity/general/focus_mode -t string mouse
> >
> > I was looking for the same functionality. Just was too lame to google
> > for them. Thanks!
> > > > Are they safe?
> > >
> > > Safe?  idk.  works fine
> >
> > Safe? I don't care ;- )
>
> My mouse burst into flames after doing this! Don't try it!
>
> (No not really, actually follow focus carried over from F13 without me
> having to do anything. So one Gnome3 thing works.)

lol... Obviously I meant "safe" wrt the gnome-shell behavior ;)

For what concerns the workspace-cycle I found these two links:
- http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-637598.html
- http://www.yet-another-geek.org/archives/14-Cycle-through-your-workspaces-in...

Which inspired my this shell script:

--- [cycle_workspaces.sh] ---
#!/bin/sh

## Based on:
## - http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-637598.html
## - http://www.yet-another-geek.org/archives/14-Cycle-through-your-workspaces-in...

function usage
{
    echo "Usage: $0 {--prev|--next}"
    exit
}

function notify
{
    # to add before "wmctrl -s $newws"

numws=$1
    msg=$(($numws+1))
    # Use 'notify-send': nice but under Gnome-Shell the notification remains
    # in the systray.
    #notify-send "Desktop $msg" -i gnome-terminal
    # Use 'xosd': faster
    font="-adobe-helvetica-*-*-*-*-24-*-*-*-*-*-*-*"
    osd_opt="--delay=1 --outline=4 --outlinecolour=black --color=white
--pos=middle --align=center --lines=1 --font='$font'"
    killall -q osd_cat
    echo "< $msg >" | osd_cat $osd_opt - &
}

## main ##

if [ -n "$1" ]; then
    case $1 in
        --prev)
            dir=-1
            ;;
        --next)
            dir=1
            ;;
        *)
            usage
    esac
    maxws=$(wmctrl -d | wc -l)
    cmd='/*/{ rv=($1+'$dir')%'$maxws'; } END { print (rv < 0) ?
('$maxws'-1) : rv; }'
    newws=$(wmctrl -d | awk "$cmd")
#FIXME: 'notify' function still has problems
#    notify $newws
    wmctrl -s $newws
else
    usage
fi
--- [/cycle_workspaces.sh] ---

To make it works you have to run gconf-editor and set the following keys:
- /apps/metacity/global_keybindings/run_command_1 --> <Mod4>Up
- /apps/metacity/global_keybindings/run_command_2 --> <Mod4>Down
- /apps/metacity/keybinding_commands/command_1  -->
/path/to/cycle_workspaces.sh --prev
- /apps/metacity/keybinding_commands/command_2  -->
/path/to/cycle_workspaces.sh --next

Unfortunately I have two issues:
1. I lost the super-eye-candy workspace switcher notifier (I mean the
workspace change notifier that appears when you change the workspace
with <Ctrl>Up or <Ctrl>Down)
2. I am unable to make the function "notify" work. If I use
'notify-send' the notification remains in the systray area and it's so
baaaaad. If I use xosd (osd_cat) I get an error about "unrecognized
fond"; however If I run the same command from CLI it works.

Any idea or improvement?

Cheers,

-- Marco

[Genes MailLists]

On 06/01/2011 04:22 AM, sguazt wrote:
> > > > > Are they safe?
> > > >
> > > > Safe?  idk.  works fine

The question was reasonable and, setting glib responses aside, I
would suggest that perhaps the OP is asking if this is officially
supported and if so will it remain supported in Gnome 3?

Since much functionality has vanished and some (like this hack) work
(but with no official way to set them) it seems appropriate to ask.

This particular hack needs gconftool - and we were told a long time
ago that gconf was/is deprecated by dconf.

Perhaps a clear explanation of the roles of gconf vs dconf today and
going forward would be helpful.

It thus seems very reasonable to ask what is working by accident and
what by intent and what if anything will need to be done going forward
by the users to keep this (and perhaps other similar) hacks working or
if indeed such hacks will work at all going forward.

gene

[Tom Horsley]

On Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:09:09 -0400
Genes MailLists wrote:
> Perhaps a clear explanation of the roles of gconf vs dconf today and
> going forward would be helpful.

Yea, it is definitely confusing today. I ran dconf-editor to look for
the mouse focus settings I remembered from gconf-editor and they
were nowhere to be found (and dconf-editor doesn't have a Find...
button anywhere, which doesn't help).

But in gconf-editor, the same mouse setting was there and worked
the same way it did before (even though the setting is for metacity
which is no longer the window manager :-).