GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 152003
Proposal: make the stack of windows be tracked per-workspace
Last modified: 2004-12-24 00:06:52 UTC
If a user raises or lowers an on-all-workspaces window (which could also be done indirectly by clicking on it to focus it) and then moves to a workspace they had previously used, they may be surprised to see that their desktop has been modified (the stacking order has changed). This is perhaps mitigated by the fact that the pager immediately shows the reshuffling of stacking on all workspaces, but it's kind of confusing to see all workspaces being modified just because of something you do in the current one. Note that bug 97635 was filed about sticky windows retaining focus on workspace switch and was fixed by making mru lists be per-workspace. I think making the stack be per-workspace (in addition to continuing to be per-screen as well) is consistent with that change. See also bug 87531 (whether or not to show sticky windows in the pager, plus some similar issues), which is partially related.
Actually, I'm not so sure this is necessary anymore. The previous user model was: 1) I start on some workspace with some existing stacking of the windows 2) I move to another workspace; some windows happen to also be on that workspace (the "on all workspace" windows that simultaneously exist on all desktops) 3) I interact with the omnipresent windows, and am surprised to see the stacking change in the pager for the workspaces that aren't being used. 4) When I return to the original workspace, the stacking indeed has changed just like as shown in the pager. The surprise is "I'm not on that desktop--why did the windows on it move?" Since the behavior in bug 87531 is going to be implemented (see bug 156182), that means that the user model would now be: 1) I start on some workspace with some existing stacking of the windows 2) I move to other workspaces, and some windows come with me to whatever desktop I go to (the "on all workspace" windows that "migrate" with the user) 3) I interact with the migratory windows, but that only affects the current workspace in the pager (since that is the only place those windows appear) 4) When I return to the original desktop, all my windows have their original stacking, except for the ones that travelled with me from desktop to desktop. Here, I don't think there's a surprise because the thought is "The windows that moved with me had to get shuffled back into the desktop when I returned." So, I'm going to close as a duplicate of bug 87531. *** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 87531 ***