https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=435170
Bug ID: 435170
Summary: REQUEST: Application-centric task switching like
macOS/GNOME
Product: kwin
Version: 5.21.3
Platform: Other
OS: Linux
Status: REPORTED
Severity: normal
Priority: NOR
Component: tabbox
Assignee: kwin-bugs-n...@kde.org
Reporter: redb...@redbearnet.com
Target Milestone: ---
SUMMARY
KDE has a window-centric model of task switching. Each window is treated as
independent.
MacOS and GNOME (stock, unmodified) have an "application-centric" model of task
switching. Every window that belongs to the same application is brought to the
front when clicking the application icon on the Dock, or when Alt+Tabbing to
that application.
There is no way currently to get KDE to treat all of a single application's
windows (in the same workspace/virtual desktop/activity) as a hierarchical
group that will be brought to the front together when switching between
"applications".
There is a setting in the Task Switcher settings module, "Only one window per
application" which causes the Alt+Tab switcher UI to group application windows
under a single icon instead of showing one icon per window. However when task
switching with this option enabled, only the foremost window belonging to that
application is pulled to the front in the Alt+Tab stack. Closing that window
will usually result in being essentially task-switched into a different
"application", requiring Alt+Tabbing back to the other application to access
any other open windows.
This is contrary to the idea of application-centric task switching used in
macOS and stock GNOME.
STEPS TO REPRODUCE
1. Open Dolphin. Open several separate Dolphin windows. Same workspace.
2. Open Firefox or some other application.
3. Alt+Tab to Dolphin with "Only one window per application" enabled in Task
Switcher settings.
4. Only one of the several Dolphin windows will be brought forward in front of
the Firefox window. Close it, and you will be back in Firefox. The rest of the
Dolphin windows will be "behind" the Firefox window in the stack of windows.
OBSERVED RESULT
Alt+Tab only brings forward one application window, the one that is in front of
others in the Alt+Tab stack.
EXPECTED RESULT
Switching to another "application" in an application-centric task switcher mode
should result in _all_ of that application's "grouped" windows being brought to
the front of the Alt+Tab stack. Alt+Tabbing again to another "application"
should bring all of that application's windows forward.
Alt+Grave (Alt+`) will of course as usual just switch between windows of a
single application. This functionality should not change.
Application-centric task switching becomes a hierarchical model where you
switch between "applications" and then only switch between "windows" within
that application if you need to. So it is a paradigm with two "levels" of task
navigation that perform different isolated but complementary actions.
It is normal (I think) for most application-centric task switching desktop
environments to ignore windows on other workspaces (or virtual desktops,
"activities" groups) by default. That is one way to limit the number of
different windows of the same application that get pulled forward together.
SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Operating System: KDE neon 5.21
KDE Plasma Version: 5.21.3
KDE Frameworks Version: 5.80.0
Qt Version: 5.15.2
Kernel Version: 5.4.0-70-generic
OS Type: 64-bit
Graphics Platform: X11
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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