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I’m a long time MBP user who’s switched to Linux on a thinkpad recently, after the butterfly switch debacle. I think the one gesture I used more than any other

I’m a long time MBP user who’s switched to Linux on a thinkpad recently, after the butterfly switch debacle. I think the one gesture I used more than any other on my MBP was the 4-finger swipe left and right to switch workspaces. I would have a fullscreen iterm/tmux/vim session in each workspace - each tmux is a separate project with multiple panes and windows. I can't really bind a keyboard shortcut to switch workspaces because I have so many shortcuts already bound to tmux/vim/coc and other vim extensions, which is why it's so nice to be able to switch workspaces with a touchpad gesture. I could flip back and forth between workspaces effortlessly, without losing precious key shortcuts for development. It’s a fantastic dev setup. Fedora 32 seems to support this now! I don’t think that F31 did, but on F32 I can do the 4 finger swipe to switch workspaces, and on my thinkpad it works pretty much as smoothly and as interactively as it did on my MBP - swipe slowly and the screen slides following your fingers, change direction in the middle of the gesture and the screen slides back - the whole ‘stream input events and the screen is an extension of your fingers’ as you describe. The Linux desktop is getting a lot better. I don’t think I would ever have switched without Wayland and now they’re getting gestures right.

jeffbee 6y ago
The 4-finger swipe is responsible for a huge number of family tech support calls. "Dad, all my windows are gone again!". Pretty much a constant theme.
- fragmede 6y ago
  Why not turn it off for them then?
  - jeffbee 6y ago
    It turns out that kids like to go into settings and click every button and change every thing. I don't really mind. I pretend they are learning something about computers.
    - azinman2 6y ago
      They are! They’re exploring and being curious. This is one of the most important things to encourage. I’m so thankful my parents let me disassemble the VCR, computers, other people’s computers, etc. I did end up learning a lot and the curiosity has served me well.
- sitkack 6y ago
  Imagine if there was an undo buffer for OS events and one could just say, "reset workspace" and boom, everything is fixed. PriorArt.
tsar9x 6y ago
It worked on Fedora 31, but they did noticeably improvment in F32. If you are fun of Wayland I recommend to check Sway.
- ghostpepper 6y ago
  As someone using sway on Arch, is there a way to get these gestures? Or is it something specific to Fedora?
tstrimple 6y ago
Three finger drag is the killer one for me. Once you're used to it, it's difficult to go back.
- paines 6y ago
  Same here. When I first saw that feature 2014 on my MBP back then I thought Linux will have that soon. Man was I wrong....But actually it should work, as I can e.g. tap 3 fingers on a link now here on a XPS to open it in a new tab.
- jonny_eh 6y ago
  Agreed. It strikes me as odd that Apple hides this ability deep in the Accessibility settings.
  - mikewhy 6y ago
    It wasn't always relegated there, and had a more prominent place right in the trackpad settings. Probably related: right around when the setting was moved deep into accessibility, Finder started having issues with three-finger drag.
  - vetinari 6y ago
    Because it changes the gestures for workspace switching / expose. They are no longer three-finger, but four-finger, thus more difficult. I'm in the group that gladly foregoes three finger drag, if it means we get to keep other three finger gestures.
    - FillardMillmore 6y ago
      When did switching workspaces become four-finger? Meaning you can't use the three-finger option? Catalina? I have a MacBook Pro on Mojave and the trackpad accepts three-finger for the gesture of switching workspaces and the Magic Mouse has an option for two-finger.
      - vetinari 6y ago
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
thom 6y ago
I do this so much I just assign Ctrl+1/2/3/4 to switch instantly to desktops so I'm not having to move my hands so much.
floatboth 6y ago
I have implemented that gesture in Wayfire last year :) but yeah GNOME already had it for quite some time. KDE Plasma too, I think.
bdcravens 6y ago
Isn't it 3 finger? As someone who installed Linux on a computer for the first time 22 years ago (Slackware via floppies!), but have never used it full time for more than a few days before I'd jump back to Windows/Mac, I'm amazed more every year how "we're almost there" is a recurring theme.
- CountSessine 6y ago
  I'm amazed more every years how "we're almost there" is a recurring theme. Yeah, but I think a lot of that was because so much dev effort has been wasted trying to make X11 suck less, and building infrastructure around X11. Between Wayland, libinput, and freedesktop, it feels like we're finally moving forward. I don't think that the linux desktop will ever be 'mainstream' - there are too many issues with commercial software - but at least it can be a pleasant experience for the technically-inclined.
- dfinninger 6y ago
  It's a dropdown in Preferences. I have mine set to 3 fingers because my pinky is short compared to my other fingers. My wife has hers set to 4 fingers. I forget which is the default.
  - bdcravens 6y ago
    I don't recall changing it when I got a new machine in December, but with so much stored in iCloud, I'm uncertain if that's default or not.
whatch 6y ago
As someone who used MacBook for ~5 years I miss touchpad especially for switching between workspaces. The closest alternative (for me) on Ubuntu (Gnome) I've come up with is Super+J/K for switching between workspaces and, as a bonus, moving windows between workspaces with Super+Shift+J/K. Feels almost as productive as on MacBook with touchpad
- ekvintroj 6y ago
  Have you tried this? https://github.com/bulletmark/libinput-gestures https://github.com/bulletmark/libinput-gestures I'm using three fingers swap for switching between workspaces. But I agree with the comment above, the animation is key.
- ZeroCool2u 6y ago
  If you use Wayland on Ubuntu (Gnome), the exact gesture you're talking about already exists, it's just vertical instead of horizontal. It's actually my most used gesture personally.
ncrmro 6y ago
Should be control arrow key left or right if I remember correctly

jeffbee 6y ago

The 4-finger swipe is responsible for a huge number of family tech support calls. "Dad, all my windows are gone again!". Pretty much a constant theme.

fragmede 6y ago
Why not turn it off for them then?
- jeffbee 6y ago
  It turns out that kids like to go into settings and click every button and change every thing. I don't really mind. I pretend they are learning something about computers.
  - azinman2 6y ago
    They are! They’re exploring and being curious. This is one of the most important things to encourage. I’m so thankful my parents let me disassemble the VCR, computers, other people’s computers, etc. I did end up learning a lot and the curiosity has served me well.
sitkack 6y ago
Imagine if there was an undo buffer for OS events and one could just say, "reset workspace" and boom, everything is fixed. PriorArt.

tsar9x 6y ago

It worked on Fedora 31, but they did noticeably improvment in F32. If you are fun of Wayland I recommend to check Sway.

ghostpepper 6y ago
As someone using sway on Arch, is there a way to get these gestures? Or is it something specific to Fedora?

tstrimple 6y ago

Three finger drag is the killer one for me. Once you're used to it, it's difficult to go back.

paines 6y ago
Same here. When I first saw that feature 2014 on my MBP back then I thought Linux will have that soon. Man was I wrong....But actually it should work, as I can e.g. tap 3 fingers on a link now here on a XPS to open it in a new tab.
jonny_eh 6y ago
Agreed. It strikes me as odd that Apple hides this ability deep in the Accessibility settings.
- mikewhy 6y ago
  It wasn't always relegated there, and had a more prominent place right in the trackpad settings. Probably related: right around when the setting was moved deep into accessibility, Finder started having issues with three-finger drag.
- vetinari 6y ago
  Because it changes the gestures for workspace switching / expose. They are no longer three-finger, but four-finger, thus more difficult. I'm in the group that gladly foregoes three finger drag, if it means we get to keep other three finger gestures.
  - FillardMillmore 6y ago
    When did switching workspaces become four-finger? Meaning you can't use the three-finger option? Catalina? I have a MacBook Pro on Mojave and the trackpad accepts three-finger for the gesture of switching workspaces and the Magic Mouse has an option for two-finger.
    - vetinari 6y ago

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

thom 6y ago

I do this so much I just assign Ctrl+1/2/3/4 to switch instantly to desktops so I'm not having to move my hands so much.

floatboth 6y ago

I have implemented that gesture in Wayfire last year :) but yeah GNOME already had it for quite some time. KDE Plasma too, I think.

bdcravens 6y ago

Isn't it 3 finger? As someone who installed Linux on a computer for the first time 22 years ago (Slackware via floppies!), but have never used it full time for more than a few days before I'd jump back to Windows/Mac, I'm amazed more every year how "we're almost there" is a recurring theme.

CountSessine 6y ago
I'm amazed more every years how "we're almost there" is a recurring theme. Yeah, but I think a lot of that was because so much dev effort has been wasted trying to make X11 suck less, and building infrastructure around X11. Between Wayland, libinput, and freedesktop, it feels like we're finally moving forward. I don't think that the linux desktop will ever be 'mainstream' - there are too many issues with commercial software - but at least it can be a pleasant experience for the technically-inclined.
dfinninger 6y ago
It's a dropdown in Preferences. I have mine set to 3 fingers because my pinky is short compared to my other fingers. My wife has hers set to 4 fingers. I forget which is the default.
- bdcravens 6y ago
  I don't recall changing it when I got a new machine in December, but with so much stored in iCloud, I'm uncertain if that's default or not.

whatch 6y ago

As someone who used MacBook for ~5 years I miss touchpad especially for switching between workspaces. The closest alternative (for me) on Ubuntu (Gnome) I've come up with is Super+J/K for switching between workspaces and, as a bonus, moving windows between workspaces with Super+Shift+J/K. Feels almost as productive as on MacBook with touchpad

ekvintroj 6y ago
Have you tried this? https://github.com/bulletmark/libinput-gestures https://github.com/bulletmark/libinput-gestures I'm using three fingers swap for switching between workspaces. But I agree with the comment above, the animation is key.
ZeroCool2u 6y ago
If you use Wayland on Ubuntu (Gnome), the exact gesture you're talking about already exists, it's just vertical instead of horizontal. It's actually my most used gesture personally.

ncrmro 6y ago

Should be control arrow key left or right if I remember correctly