Kubuntu lacks default key bindings for Switch One Desktop Down/Up/etc

[Jonathan Thomas]

Binary package hint: kubuntu-default-settings

By default, the actions in the KWin component "Switch One Window Down", "Switch One Window Up", "Switch One Window Left", "Switch One Window Right" do not have keybindings. I think that Kubuntu should provide default keybindings. The keybindings I'm suggesting for this feature are similar to Compiz Fusion (Which KDE 3 users will be familiar with come Hardy, given the shiny new Compiz integration)
The keybindings I'm suggesting are:

"Switch One Window Down" == Crtl+Alt+Down
"Switch One Window Up" == Crtl+Alt+Up
"Switch One Window Left == Crtl+Alt+Left
"Switch One Window Down" == Crtl+Alt+Right

These keybindings correlate to the Compiz Fusion keybindings that move you left and right along the sides of the cube, if you have it enabled.

[Jonathan Thomas (echidnaman)]

Fixed in bzr. (Rev 185)

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package kubuntu-default-settings - 1:8.10-3

---------------
kubuntu-default-settings (1:8.10-3) intrepid; urgency=low

  [ Jonathan Thomas ]
  * Add SwitchTabsOnHover setting in plasma-appletsrc to the right config
    section
  * Add default shortcuts for switching desktops. (LP: #212796)
  * Turn kblank screensaver on by default. (LP: #108355)
  * Remove the Oxygen Konversation nicklist theme, which is included in
    upstream now.

  [ Jonathan Riddell ]
  * Set text alongside icons
  * Lighter background colour

 -- Jonathan Thomas (The man) <email address hidden> Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:15:20 -0400

[Alex Wauck (awauck)]

This bug does not appear to be fixed as of 9.10 Alpha 3, and I don't recall it being fixed in 8.10.

[Alex Wauck (awauck)]

There are no default desktop-switching shortcuts in 9.10 RC. Did they get removed after 8.10?
It would also be nice if we could have Alt-F10 for maximize window and Alt-F9 for minimize window.

[Harald Sitter (apachelogger)]

I have been talk with a KWin developer about this and he said that those shortcuts are not set, because KWin already occupies a lot of shortcuts and application developers are running low on sensible shortcuts to use (obviously there are only so many sensible shortcuts available). I find this a very good reason for not implementing this.

Alex, if you wish to have this done in KDE, please report a wish at http://bugs.kde.org and take this out with the KWin developers, though as it seems right now, this is not going to be implemented.

If there were a lot of interest on this particular change, it would be considerable to act against upstream's advise, but I do not see much interest here (no additional affectees, only 2 subscribers), so I do think that it is best to stick with the choices the KWin developers make here.

Thanks for understanding and have a very nice day :)

[Alex Wauck (awauck)]

This seems to be a very easy thing to do. If there is something blocking it, I think it would be good to have that documented in this bug report.

[Harald Sitter (apachelogger)]

Documentation:

<apachelogger> mgraesslin: hey, can bug 212796 be implemented upstream?
<ubottu> Launchpad bug 212796 in kubuntu-default-settings "Kubuntu lacks default key bindings for Switch One Desktop Down/Up/etc" [Undecided,Incomplete] https://launchpad.net/bugs/212796
<mgraesslin> it could but I don't know if it is a good idea to enable those shortcuts by default
<mgraesslin> kwin has many, many shortcuts and if we enable too many of them by default app developers start to complain
<apachelogger> mgraesslin: well, as I understand it those short cuts are used by compiz anyway, so I wonder...
<mgraesslin> yeah I know, we get complaints about our shortcuts being different to Compiz again and again ;-)

If you convience the upstream developers to implement the shortcuts, they will end up in Kubuntu, however since upstream seems unwilling to do this, I do not see why Kubuntu would want to draw complaints onto itself by occupying shortcuts that have not be considered worth using by the upstream developers.

[Alex Wauck (awauck)]

Maybe we need a "Common Window Management Keys" spec on freedesktop.org. I don't think I have the time to manage such an effort myself, but I will see what I can do to get the ball rolling.