ALT-TAB to traverse windows on all desktops?

[Guss77]

Hi.

I'd like to be able to have the ALT-TAB key cycle through windows on all desktops, as I usually use a lot of windows on a lot of desktops and I'm used to ALT-TABing through the list as the fastest way to get to a specific window on a specific desktop (the other options being a two stage change-desktop + ALT-TAB or manually scanning the window task list, which isn't even ordered in any reasonable manner and does not show enough title text).

I'm using Fedora Core 5 with GNOME and the default metacity and I search high and low and couldn't find a configuration option for that. I thought about replacing the window manager, for example - for kwin which offers that option, but in GNOME the "run application" functionality is built into the window manager, unlike any other desktop environment where it is built into the desktop - so replacing the window manager will cost me the "run application" dialog, in addition to the deskbar access shortcut key, which for some reason doesn't work unless metacity is the window manager.

Is there any other option that I can try to get global window traversal or do I have to suffer quietly ?

TIA

[daihard]

KDE does allow cycling through open apps with <Alt> + <TAB>, albeit per desktop. You _can_ cycle through desktops with <Ctrl> + <TAB>, so you can use the combination to cycle through all the open apps, if not seamlessly.

There's also a tool called Kompose, which works like Expose on Mac OS X.

http://kompose.berlios.de/

[Lluisanunez]

It runs nicely on XFCE

[Guss77]

Currently I'm using GNOME and not KDE - On my previous Linux desktop I used KDE, but I don't like what Fedora does to KDE's look and feel, and wanted to give GNOME a chance. In KDE you can configure the windows behavior to traverse windows on all desktops w/o requiring CTRL-TAB (kcontrol->desktop->windows behavior->focus->navigation->traverse windows on all desktops), but its not an option with metacity.

Regarding xfce - how can I use the XFCE window manager instead of metacity ? to use kwin instead of metacity I run "kwin -replace". what do I need to run in order to replace metacity with the XFCE window manager ? I'd like to continue using GNOME (I appreciate XFCE but I prefer the GNOME desktop at this point), but I'd also like to replace metacity with something that will let me ALT-TAB to other desktops.

[daihard]

Originally Posted by Guss77

Currently I'm using GNOME and not KDE - On my previous Linux desktop I used KDE, but I don't like what Fedora does to KDE's look and feel, and wanted to give GNOME a chance. In KDE you can configure the windows behavior to traverse windows on all desktops w/o requiring CTRL-TAB (kcontrol->desktop->windows behavior->focus->navigation->traverse windows on all desktops), but its not an option with metacity.

Aah, I didn't know such an option existed! Thanks!

As for the look and feel of KDE, you can always bring back the default KDE behaviour. In fact, I doubt many of the KDE users on Fedora retain the Bluecurve theme on their desktops.

[Guss77]

Originally Posted by daihard

As for the look and feel of KDE, you can always bring back the default KDE behaviour. In fact, I doubt many of the KDE users on Fedora retain the Bluecurve theme on their desktops.

How ? KDE defaults normally to the plastik theme, but it doesn't seem to be installed under Fedora Core 5 - under kcontrol's style configuration I can only select one of QT's built-in (yucky) styles.

[Guss77]

I just tried to use xfwm4 instead of metacity and its even worse then kwin - I get the gnome-panel only on the first desktop, and I still can only cycle through windows on the same desktop. Also - as mentioned on my first post - no "run application dialog".