Alt-backtick should leave current window at the top of the stack *while* switching

[Sparhawk]

Steps to reproduce:
1) Have 3 or more windows open from one application.
2) Press alt-backtick (alt-`) twice. (That is, hold alt, press-and-release backtick twice, then release alt.)

Expected behaviour:
The third-highest window should move to the top of the stack and be activated.

Rationale:
This is observed when you do the same thing with alt-tab; the third-highest application is activated.

Observed behaviour:
The initial top-most window is reselected.
N.B. This happens whether you press alt-backtick quickly or slowly. For a rapid press, I would expect the "alt-tab switcher" not to pop up visually, although it does. This issue relates to this bug: https://bugs.launchpad.net/unity/+bug/987156

This bug occurs because unity immediately moves the top-most window to the second position in the stack (as observed from the "alt-tab switcher" thumbnails). That is, if the windows are initially ordered as #1, #2, and #3, then the "alt-tab switcher" shows them as #2, #1, #3. The initial alt-backtick then selects the top-most of this stack, which is now #2. This is counter-intuitive not only because of the bug described here, but also because until alt has been released, the "switch" has not occurred yet. The behaviour of the alt-tab switcher is more intuitive, where the #1, #2, #3 order is maintained, but the selection begins at the second-highest application.

This bug means the selection of other windows is counter-intuitive, and (for windows lower than #2) requires an extra key-press. i.e.:
1 × alt-backtick = select window #2 (as expected)
2 × alt-backtick = select window #1 (expect selection of window #3)
3 × alt-backtick = select window #3 (expect selection of window #4)

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
Package: unity 5.12-0ubuntu1.1
Uname: Linux 3.5.0-030500rc4-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.0.1-0ubuntu8
Architecture: amd64
CompizPlugins: [core,composite,opengl,compiztoolbox,decor,imgpng,move,snap,place,session,unitymtgrabhandles,vpswitch,mousepoll,resize,gnomecompat,wall,regex,grid,animation,expo,workarounds,fade,scale,ezoom,unityshell]
Date: Mon Jul 2 19:31:28 2012
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.10 "Oneiric Ocelot" - Release amd64 (20111012)
SourcePackage: unity
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to precise on 2012-04-29 (64 days ago)

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[selkovjr (selkovjr-observercentral)]

Related, if not the same: a quick press-and-release of alt-backtick (it's alt-$ on a Programmer Dvorak keyboard) works as intended, although without a visual feedback. It switches to the next window in the stack. But if the Alt key is not released long enough to activate the switcher window, the focus bounces back to the original window in which the switcher was activated, requiring another keypress to reach the next window.

So, as Sparhawk noted, two Alt-backticks in quick succession result in no change. However, with a short pause between them, the switcher goes to the next window, wasting a keypress and causing a delay.

[Sparhawk (sparhawkthesecond)]

So it's gotten worse with Unity 5.14.0-0ubuntu1. Now if you press and hold alt-` (e.g. for a second), no switch occurs at all! Tapping alt-` works as normal. More details here, where I believe the regression occurred:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/unity/+bug/987156/comments/15

[Alex Baggott (alex-baggott)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug. We have tried to recreate this on the latest release of Ubuntu, but cannot reproduce it. This bug is being marked as Invalid. If you believe the problem to still exist in the latest version of Ubuntu, please comment on why that is the case and change the bug status to NEW.