Reorganize the tree

[wernight]

I found myself often with a tree that doesn't look like what I want (for example two large horizontal wide windows on an already wide screen instead of two vertical ones).

However to change the tree structure I found it really difficult:

1. Mod + Ctrl + h/j/k/l - Set where you want the child
2. Mod + Enter - Create a new window there
3. Drag & drop to that new terminal
4. Close the terminal opened at step 2

Is there a simpler way? Something along like drag & drop on edges?

[baskerville]

bspc desktop -R 90 or the corresponding window command to only rotate a specific edge?

[wernight]

Ah ha! Thank you.

I didn't expect rotate to do that. Thanks I'll set that up. Should that be in a wiki page? I wish I could see https://www.reddit.com/r/unixporn/comments/1m0ea1/arch_bspwm_why_bspwm_watch_this_screencast_and/ which sounds like the only cool demo video of BSPWM that existed (seems gone now).

[wernight]

bspc destop -R 90 is working well for the entire desktop (all windows). Actually 90 is the only shortcut you really need (just repeat it 1x, 2, 3x), and possible 180 for mirror left/right.

bspc window -R {left|right|top|bottom} {90|180|-90} however gives what feels like random results. For example bspc window -R left 90 sometimes changes:

                                    | B
 A | B | C          –>           A  | —
                                    | C 

... and sometimes I get:

                                     A
                                     — 
 A | B | C          –>               B
                                     — 
                                     C 

... depending visibly if I've B or C selected. This is further more confusing that often I cannot rotate on some edges.

I found no sxhkdrc using it. The transformation above is however useful. It'd be most useful by a drag&drop (example drag C to bottom edge of B generates the first transform, the second is the desktop -R).

[anko]

I use i3 and this is the issue blocking me from switching to bspwm. I figured a visual example would help, so here:

Given a starting state

I want to move one of the stacked windows out into its own column on the right.

In i3, I would focus the window and press Mod4 + Shift + L, which is the default shortcut for move right. Windows moved this way reorganise the layout tree.

A similar operation in bspwm is possible with the right node movements and tree rotations, but often a confusing exercise. This is because understanding the underlying binary tree based on an arrangement of windows is easily complicated by manual split directions. For example, based on the above initial arrangement of windows, which of these trees is correct?

It's ambiguous. The three-stack arrangement on the right could have happened through either the top or the bottom node being split vertically.

Once we do figure that out, which node do we choose to move or rotate, and in which direction? Am I rotating the binary tree or its visual representation? How does one map to the other? How do manual splits affect that mapping? How the heck do I just push this window to right there?

The documentation seems to assume I know all of these things (and I thought I did!). For now, I'll continue staring at the output of bspc query --tree, in the hope that something will click.

Am I missing something?

If someone can explain this to me, I'd be happy to make illustrations to help document it.

[baskerville]

@anko:

That's a valid complaint: there're many cases where it's impossible to know in advance what layout will produce a local rotation.

In you particular example, bspc window -w down && bspc window -R down 90 should work but is unintuitive.

If I manage to generalise window commands to internal tree nodes, the given example would be solved by preselecting right on the root node and by re-inserting the focused window on that node.

The graphics are very nice by the way.

[shanechin]

Is this something still being planned?

[baskerville]

It is, but I don't have too much time to work on bspwm right now.

[baskerville]

It is now possible (as of eb07d2f) to preselect internal nodes.

[alkeryn]

sory for unburying but with good use of the node roatate fonction anko problem is solved in 3 step

What you can't solve with rotate however is when you have 4 nodes on default shape (fibonacci layout) and you want them to take a grid layout
tried to fix it with bspc -f @{west,south,north,west} in my sxhkb, didn't work