Displaying which workspace is active

[AmitGolden]

Hi,
This project looks like the best implementation of a windows tiling wm!

Is there a way to display what workspace is active on every monitor?
Maybe a tray icon of some sort?

[LGUG2Z]

Hey Amit, thanks for the great feedback and for taking the time to open an issue.

I believe that all the information is already there in komorebic state to be able to implement something like this, though I'm not really familiar with Windows GUI programming or manipulating the system tray. Given the changes to the system tray in Windows 11 that will remove the ability to show all system tray icons, I think it would be best for a feature like this to be handled by a separate app or maybe something with a hotkey which flashes the current workspace name/number momentarily.

I'm thinking of something like this in tmux, but operating on the workspace number instead of the split/window index number.

I'll leave this issue open if anyone wants to try implementing something like this directly in komorebi, otherwise if someone finds it easier to write up something quickly in C# or another language I'll be happy to link it in the README.

[pigmej]

I think ideally would be kinda cool to have similar "taskbar" as workspacer does. (or at least have possibility to exclude some part of screen from sizing so one can implement his own.

[LGUG2Z]

@pigmej I think that is a great idea, I have opened a new ticket for it and will work on it soon: #46

[LGUG2Z]

@pigmej I've done some work on this in #46, please check it out when you get a chance. 🙏

[belljames]

For inspiration in case someone else builds a bar before me (...which is very likely :) ),
I've tried a number of *nix inspired tilers and the bars tend to replace the Windows bar completely, but offer none of the needed functions. For example, notifications from teams or VPN access in the notification area aren't available.

I propose a small bar which can be configured to float over the default windows taskbar.

Example legend:
1-5 : desktop name
bar : desktop has managed window(s)
color : current view
symbol ( []= or ><> or [n]): mode symbol (tile / float / monicle)

Maybe not all of this would translate here, but I think a small bar that adds info without trying to reimplement things Windows already has is best.

[LGUG2Z]

#46 has now been merged to the master branch and will be available in the next release. This means that for anyone who wants to create their own toolbar, you can tell komorebi to exclude the area where your toolbar will be drawn on the desktop from tiling so that it is always visible.

[pigmej]

@LGUG2Z sorry had literally 0 time to check that ;/

[da-rth]

@pigmej I have started working on a taskbar that has a workspace widget for komorebi.

Feel free to check it out. It's very early in development though. With some CSS styles, you should be able to get the taskbar workspace overlay you desire

https://github.com/denBot/yasb

[LGUG2Z]

An image of yasb in action on my computer with the hostname, workspaces and clock widgets across the top of the screen, definitely a very cool project. 🚀

[JSamir]

This kind of forces us to have two bars. Is there no solution possible which integrates into the default task bar? Something like an application that takes up more space in the system tray (and is set to be always visible)?

I would also take any good alternative to the default task bar, but from what I tried they were rather hacky (and obviously did not even have the functionality to show the workspaces).

Edit: whichever solution there is, it would ideally also offer some support to recognize which monitor is the currently active one.

Btw, this project is really nice. I am currently trying to make it work with the default bindings from DWM which I use on my linux machine. I think it will mostly work and I will share my config here afterwards for anyone else coming from dwm.

[NylonDiamond]

This kind of forces us to have two bars. Is there no solution possible which integrates into the default task bar? Something like an application that takes up more space in the system tray (and is set to be always visible)?

I would also take any good alternative to the default task bar, but from what I tried they were rather hacky (and obviously did not even have the functionality to show the workspaces).

Edit: whichever solution there is, it would ideally also offer some support to recognize which monitor is the currently active one.

Btw, this project is really nice. I am currently trying to make it work with the default bindings from DWM which I use on my linux machine. I think it will mostly work and I will share my config here afterwards for anyone else coming from dwm.

Did you finish up your config? I'm coming from DWM as well.

[LGUG2Z]

After much reflection over the past 8 months, I have concluded that this is ultimately out of scope for komorebi. There are many ways now to integrate with the komorebi window manager state and have the latest information at any time, and this can be surfaced in the manner of a user's choosing, via yasb, another statusbar, notifications, or any other way.

[urob]

This kind of forces us to have two bars. Is there no solution possible which integrates into the default task bar? Something like an application that takes up more space in the system tray (and is set to be always visible)?

This was also the one thing that I found missing from komerebi. I wanted a minimalist way to display the currently focused monitor and workspace. As suggested by @LGUG2Z, I ended up creating a small application that lives in the system tray for this. If anyone is interested, the code is uploaded here https://github.com/urob/komotray.