WinPos

Tool for Ubuntu/Linux that positions your windows to a dedicated place defined in a configuration file.

It identifies the windows by title or by process name and positions them according to the values defined in conf.json.

The following commands are used to achieve the desired functionality:

• xrandr to retrieve the number of screens and their sizes.
• xdotool to get and set the number of desktops, set window position, set window size, place the window on desired desktop, identify a window by process ID.
• pgrep to search for a process and retrieve its ID.

Installation and execution

1. Clone the current repository and navigate to its folder.

   git clone git@github.com:cix-code/win-pos.git
   cd win-pos

2. Install xdotool.

   sudo apt install xdotool

3. Create a copy of sample.config.json and edit your configuration as desired.

   cp sample.config.json config.json
   nano config.json

4. Run the winpos.py and check its output.

   python3 winpos.py

5. Run this as a delayed startup script to automatically place the windows to their correct place.

Configuration

config.json should contain a list of all applications you want to be positioned to a dedicated screen, desktop and place.

The following properties can be configured for each window:

• name - A name for the application. This doesn't influence the window position, but it helps to analyze the output and identify a problem based on this name.
• search_name - Regular Expression that matches the window title. This can be used for windows that have a static text part of their title.
• search_process - Identifies the window by process name. Useful when the window title changes dinamically.
• screen - The numeric index of the screen counting from the most left which has the value 0.
• desktop - WinPos can automatically create new desktops and position your windows accordingly. However, don't configure it to position a window on desktop 2 until desktop 1 doesn't have at least one window on it.
• width and height - Allows you to set the window's size. The values can be numeric to represent the number of pixels, or percentage relative to screen's size.
• align - Defines the vertical respectively horizontal position. Accepted values for the vertical position: top|center|bottom or a percentage value for the center point of the window. Accepted values for the horizontal position: left|center|right or a percentage value for the center point of the window.

Examples

    // Postitions the Spotify window on the most left screen, 
    // on the first desktop centerly aligned.
    {
        "name": "Spotify",
        "search_name": "^Spotify$",
        "screen": 0,
        "desktop": 0,
        "width": "50%",
        "height": "60%",
        "align": "center center"
    },

    // Positions the PyCharm window on the second screen, 
    // on the second desktop and covers the whole real estate.
    // --
    // The window is identified by part of the process' full path.
    {
        "name": "PyCharm",
        "search_process": "pycharm/jbr/bin/java",
        "screen": 1,
        "desktop": 1,
        "width": "100%",
        "height": "100%",
        "align": "top left"
    },

    // Positions Telegram window on the second screen, 
    // on the third desktop aligning it 60% from the top and fully to the right.
    // --
    // Telegram is one of the apps that changes the window title to the selected chat name. 
    // Therefore the window is identified by the process name.
    {
        "name": "Telegram",
        "search_process": "telegram-desktop",
        "screen": 1,
        "desktop": 2,
        "width": "40%",
        "height": "60%",
        "align": "60% 100%"
    }