5 ms·

Fancy Zones makes my day-to-day so much more convenient. I wish there was an equivalent in Linux that worked as well - I’ve tried a few gnome plugins but always

Fancy Zones makes my day-to-day so much more convenient. I wish there was an equivalent in Linux that worked as well - I’ve tried a few gnome plugins but always been disappointed.

loeg 4y ago
KDE has Windows-style snap-to-halves or quarters by default. If you’re happy with those basic zones, it definitely works well. I don’t know if there’s a way to configure more complex zones.
- arendtio 4y ago
  A few months ago I tried a few KDE kwin scripts. Ultimately I went with 'Ultrawide Windows' [1], mostly because I like it better than the defaults and at the same time it is still simple to use. The Github page gives an impression of its capabilities and lists the hotkeys, but it is also available via the KDE integrated tools [2]. What I am still missing is a tool to simply define and use custom layouts. [1] https://github.com/lucmos/UltrawideWindows/ https://github.com/lucmos/UltrawideWindows/ [2] https://store.kde.org/p/1276605/ https://store.kde.org/p/1276605/
- Symbiote 4y ago
  I'm not aware of a more advanced built-in mode than the 8 zones (corners + sides). It's in Settings → Workspace Behaviour → Screen Edges. There are plugins (Window Management → KWin Scripts) that add options, I see Tiling, FlexGrid, KWin QuickTile, and several more.
- indymike 4y ago
  KWin Scripts is where all the magic snapping is hiding in KDE.
  - Crespyl 4y ago
    I'm a huge fan of Khronkite myself, it's a quite competent tiling script that still plays nice with floating windows and all the standard KWin behaviors.
    - lewispollard 4y ago
      "bismuth" is an updated fork of Khronkite, which last I checked, was abandoned. (Just checked, and it has had some recent commits, though seemingly just compatibility updates so far).
- Zardoz84 4y ago
  KDE had it BEFORE Windows 8.1/10 copy it.
desi_ninja 4y ago
Windows 11 has snap layout feature which is very similar to fancy zones
samstave 4y ago
Winery+arrows change the location/min-max of a window. Win+shift plus arrow moves window to each monitor Three finger swipe on track pad give you open windows as displayed on each desktop, with ability to drag window to whatever desktop. I keep three desktops, all with a different wallpaper so I know which desktop for what. All work windows on D1 - research - d2 - and primary app I’m using if needs full screen on d3. The only problem is forgetting to switch desktop when you switch mental modes…. Like opening a bunch of HN links in your app desktop… So just redraft them from whatever to wherever. I’ll check out fancy… —- What I also like, is I have two external USB monitors for my laptop.. And I have a diff display layout depending on which of the additional screens I have plugged in. It remembers the location of each. So when I have just one screen plugged in, the second is to the right. When both are connnected: it knows that one is right and one is up above.
t0astbread 4y ago
Probably not exactly what you're looking for but i3 could be worth checking out. It's a tiling window manager with a powerful customization/scripting interface and it has a feature to save and restore window layouts. There's also Sway which is similar but based on Wayland though it does not have the save/restore feature. Granted they might not be as easy to set up as installing PowerToys on Windows if you have specific expectations. (But it's not rocket science either.)
- xen2xen1 4y ago
  Isn't I3 terminals only? Am I just missing something?
  - vladvasiliu 4y ago
    No, i3 is a full, graphical, window manager, for graphical applications. https://i3wm.org/ https://i3wm.org/ As GP said, by default, it's automatic, so there are no pre-defined "zones". But it can be scripted to do quite a lot of things.
  - t0astbread 4y ago
    Maybe you're thinking of tmux which splits your terminal into multiple panes and can look similar.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - erikbye 4y ago
    Not at all. It's a tiling window manager with workspaces, for all your applications. Terminals, web browser, audio settings, etc. Personally I run 10 workspaces, named, e.g. 1:Firefox work, 2:vim, 3:tmux+vim, 4:terminals, etc. I even have a workspace designated to "wasting time", tiled reddit, hn, youtube, etc. Each workspace always have the same apps, tiled in the same way, so I always know where to find what. It's very efficient.
- octagons 4y ago
  I'm aware of i3 and I think I've tested it out in the past but had some silly nit to pick about it. Thanks for the reminder - I'll give it another try!
di4na 4y ago
Imho the best approximation for gnome is pop_os Windows manager
Jenk 4y ago
i3/bspwm/dwm (x11) or sway (wayland). FancyZones is a poor imitation (but still worth using compared to not) of those window managers.

Fancy Zones makes my day-to-day so much more convenient. I wish there was an equivalent in Linux that worked as well - I’ve tried a few gnome plugins but always been disappointed.

loeg 4y ago

KDE has Windows-style snap-to-halves or quarters by default. If you’re happy with those basic zones, it definitely works well. I don’t know if there’s a way to configure more complex zones.

arendtio 4y ago
A few months ago I tried a few KDE kwin scripts. Ultimately I went with 'Ultrawide Windows' [1], mostly because I like it better than the defaults and at the same time it is still simple to use. The Github page gives an impression of its capabilities and lists the hotkeys, but it is also available via the KDE integrated tools [2]. What I am still missing is a tool to simply define and use custom layouts. [1] https://github.com/lucmos/UltrawideWindows/ https://github.com/lucmos/UltrawideWindows/ [2] https://store.kde.org/p/1276605/ https://store.kde.org/p/1276605/
Symbiote 4y ago
I'm not aware of a more advanced built-in mode than the 8 zones (corners + sides). It's in Settings → Workspace Behaviour → Screen Edges. There are plugins (Window Management → KWin Scripts) that add options, I see Tiling, FlexGrid, KWin QuickTile, and several more.
indymike 4y ago
KWin Scripts is where all the magic snapping is hiding in KDE.
- Crespyl 4y ago
  I'm a huge fan of Khronkite myself, it's a quite competent tiling script that still plays nice with floating windows and all the standard KWin behaviors.
  - lewispollard 4y ago
    "bismuth" is an updated fork of Khronkite, which last I checked, was abandoned. (Just checked, and it has had some recent commits, though seemingly just compatibility updates so far).
Zardoz84 4y ago
KDE had it BEFORE Windows 8.1/10 copy it.

desi_ninja 4y ago

Windows 11 has snap layout feature which is very similar to fancy zones

samstave 4y ago

Winery+arrows change the location/min-max of a window. Win+shift plus arrow moves window to each monitor Three finger swipe on track pad give you open windows as displayed on each desktop, with ability to drag window to whatever desktop. I keep three desktops, all with a different wallpaper so I know which desktop for what. All work windows on D1 - research - d2 - and primary app I’m using if needs full screen on d3. The only problem is forgetting to switch desktop when you switch mental modes…. Like opening a bunch of HN links in your app desktop… So just redraft them from whatever to wherever. I’ll check out fancy… —- What I also like, is I have two external USB monitors for my laptop.. And I have a diff display layout depending on which of the additional screens I have plugged in. It remembers the location of each. So when I have just one screen plugged in, the second is to the right. When both are connnected: it knows that one is right and one is up above.

t0astbread 4y ago

Probably not exactly what you're looking for but i3 could be worth checking out. It's a tiling window manager with a powerful customization/scripting interface and it has a feature to save and restore window layouts. There's also Sway which is similar but based on Wayland though it does not have the save/restore feature. Granted they might not be as easy to set up as installing PowerToys on Windows if you have specific expectations. (But it's not rocket science either.)

xen2xen1 4y ago
Isn't I3 terminals only? Am I just missing something?
- vladvasiliu 4y ago
  No, i3 is a full, graphical, window manager, for graphical applications. https://i3wm.org/ https://i3wm.org/ As GP said, by default, it's automatic, so there are no pre-defined "zones". But it can be scripted to do quite a lot of things.
- t0astbread 4y ago
  Maybe you're thinking of tmux which splits your terminal into multiple panes and can look similar.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- erikbye 4y ago
  Not at all. It's a tiling window manager with workspaces, for all your applications. Terminals, web browser, audio settings, etc. Personally I run 10 workspaces, named, e.g. 1:Firefox work, 2:vim, 3:tmux+vim, 4:terminals, etc. I even have a workspace designated to "wasting time", tiled reddit, hn, youtube, etc. Each workspace always have the same apps, tiled in the same way, so I always know where to find what. It's very efficient.
octagons 4y ago
I'm aware of i3 and I think I've tested it out in the past but had some silly nit to pick about it. Thanks for the reminder - I'll give it another try!

di4na 4y ago

Imho the best approximation for gnome is pop_os Windows manager

Jenk 4y ago

i3/bspwm/dwm (x11) or sway (wayland). FancyZones is a poor imitation (but still worth using compared to not) of those window managers.