window_summoner - A method to mark a window and instantly move it to any active workspace in XFCE

The following idea demonstrates a convenient way where the user can move a marked window from any workspace to the active one in an XFCE environment.

1. Click on the window you would like to be marked as, say MOVABLE_WINDOW_IDX , where MOVABLE_WINDOW_IDX can be any integer ranging from 0 to 9 .
2. Press Super+Shift+Key_MOVABLE_WINDOW_IDX to mark that active window, and to assign its corresponding movable window ID as MOVABLE_WINDOW_IDX .
3. Whenever you leave that workspace, move that window to the currently active workspace by pressing Super+Key_MOVABLE_WINDOW_IDX . Key_MOVABLE_WINDOW_IDX purely depends on the user’s keyboard-key preference.

Installation

One way to implement this concept is through the following instructions. It is worth noting that this method depends on the apt packages xdotool and wmctrl .

1. Under the user’s home folder create a directory named as .window_summoner .
2. Then navigate inside that directory and create 4 files. The first one shall be named as get_window_id.py and will contain the following content

import subprocess
import sys
import re
import os


rm_newline = lambda str_: re.sub('\n', '', str_)

current_dpath, _ = os.path.split(sys.argv[0]); del _
MOVABLE_WINDOW_IDX = int(sys.argv[1])
with open(current_dpath+'/'+'movable_window_id_list.txt', 'r') as file:
    MOVABLE_WINDOWS_ID = rm_newline(file.read()).split(' ')

MOVABLE_WINDOWS_ID[MOVABLE_WINDOW_IDX] = rm_newline(subprocess.check_output(['xdotool', 'getactivewindow']).decode(sys.stdout.encoding))

with open(current_dpath+'/'+'movable_window_id_list.txt', 'w') as file:
    MOVABLE_WINDOWS_ID = file.write(' '.join(MOVABLE_WINDOWS_ID))

The other file will be summon_window.py with its content being

import subprocess
import sys
import re
import os


rm_newline = lambda str_: re.sub('\n', '', str_)

current_dpath, _ = os.path.split(sys.argv[0]); del _
MOVABLE_WINDOW_IDX = int(sys.argv[1])
with open(current_dpath+'/'+'movable_window_id_list.txt', 'r') as file:
    MOVABLE_WINDOWS_ID = rm_newline(file.read()).split(' ')

os.system("""wmctrl -ir %s -t $(wmctrl -d | grep "*" | cut -d' ' -f1)"""%(MOVABLE_WINDOWS_ID[MOVABLE_WINDOW_IDX]))
os.system('xdotool windowactivate %s'%(MOVABLE_WINDOWS_ID[MOVABLE_WINDOW_IDX]))

To break down

wmctrl -ir $MOVABLE_WINDOW_ID -t $(wmctrl -d | grep "*" | cut -d' ' -f1):

• wmctrl: a command-line utility that can interact with and manipulate X Window System windows.

• -ir $MOVABLE_WINDOW_ID: the -ir flag tells wmctrl to "interact with the window with the given numeric ID". $MOVABLE_WINDOW_ID is a Bash variable that contains the numeric ID of the window we want to move.

• -t $(wmctrl -d | grep "*" | cut -d' ' -f1): the -t flag tells wmctrl to "move the window to the desktop with the given index". $(wmctrl -d | grep "*" | cut -d' ' -f1) is a command substitution that gets the index of the currently active desktop/workspace. Here's what's happening in that command substitution:

  • wmctrl -d: lists all available desktops/workspaces.
  • grep "*": filters for the currently active desktop/workspace, which is indicated by an asterisk (*) in the output of wmctrl -d.
  • cut -d' ' -f1: extracts the first field (which is the index of the desktop/workspace) from the output of grep "*".

The remaining two files are movable_window_id_list.txt and initial_movable_window_id_list.txt. Both should contain

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

where the latter file should be read-only, serving solely as an initial value prototype of the other txt file.

3. Now depending on the maximum number of windows you intend to have marked at the same time (assuming it doesn’t surpass 10), create the following shortcuts in XFCE’s keyboard settings panel.

Do the following for every keyboard integer MOVABLE_WINDOW_IDX you wish to be active. Shortcut: Super+Shift+Key_MOVABLE_WINDOW_IDX → Command: python3 /home/$USER/.window_summoner/get_window_id.py MOVABLE_WINDOW_IDX 

Shortcut: Super+Key_MOVABLE_WINDOW_IDX → Command: python3 ~/.window_summoner/summon_window.sh MOVABLE_WINDOW_IDX 

where obviously you replace Key_MOVABLE_WINDOW_IDX with your key of choice.

An example is the following

Shortcut: Super+Shift+1 → Command: source ~/.window_summoner/get_window_id.sh 1 

And this sets up the mentioned method that allows the user to move any marked window to their active workspace.