ALT + TAB Configuration (switching between open windows)

[Subito Piano]

This has nagged me for a long time. I wish to use ALT + TAB to switch between open windows BUT not cycling through them in the order they were opened; rather going between them in the order they were most recently used. EXAMPLE: if i have leafpad, sylpheed, and ROX open, and was working in sylpheed, and just now switched to leafpad, then pressing ALT + TAB one time would take me back to sylpheed. Now that i'm in sylpheed, pressing ALT + TAB one time would take me not to ROX, but right back to leafpad, where i was a moment ago. This is the the way it is typically done in other distros (and FWIW, Windoze), and is more convenient to me. The way it is set up in the default Puppy configuration, i have to cycle through all windows to go back to the previous one i was working in....quite the pain should one have, say, a dozen windows open!

I read at Joe Wingbermuehle's website that in the .jwmrc file i can edit the line

Code: Select all

<Key mask="A" key="Tab">next</Key>

(in my case, line 436). There are four options listed for switching between windows with the ALT + TAB combination.

next = Switch to the next window in the task list. (the default, above)
nextstacked = Switch to the next window in the stacking order.
prev = Switch to the previous window in the task list.
prevstacked = Switch to the previous window in the stacking order.

However, changing "next" to "prev" or to "nextstacked" did NOT give me what i am looking for -- it simply continued to cycle through windows without reference to the previous window i was working on. Of course, i restarted the WM and even logged off and back on....no go.

Any insights?

[MochiMoppel]

"nextstacked" works for me. It's important that you release the Alt+Tab keys after each switch. If you keep Alt pressed and press Tab repeatedly you will cycle through the stack list but not between current and previous window.

[Subito Piano]

Hmm - strange. Helpful to know it's working for you, but to be sure i tried again -- restarted WM, restarted X, rebooted -- no change. I'm using TahrPup -- which pup are you using?

[MochiMoppel]

I read at Joe Wingbermuehle's website that in the .jwmrc file i can edit the line

Code: Select all

<Key mask="A" key="Tab">next</Key>

That's not exactly what it says. It says "Configuration of JWM is done by editing ".jwmrc"" , but it also says that "Other configuration files ... may be included.... via the Include tag".

You are configuring the wrong file.
You need to make the changes in /root/.jwm/jwmrc-personal, not /root/.jwmrc.

[Subito Piano]

OH MAN! Sorry i didn't reply. Your answer was what i needed. THANK YOU!

[tallboy]

"nextstacked" works for me. It's important that you release the Alt+Tab keys after each switch. If you keep Alt pressed and press Tab repeatedly you will cycle through the stack list but not between current and previous window.

Interestingly, and unlike the >next< option, when I keep Alt pressed and press Tab repeatedly, it does not cycle through the windows, but rather through the title fields on top of the windows like with the Sloppy focus, letting me see the chosen one (if not covered by another window) before I release the Alt key.

[Subito Piano]

also interesting -- on one computer "nextstacked" goes back and forth between the two most recent windows, but on another "next" does that. Weird.