alt tab makes me visit EVERY SINGLE WINDOW

**triplemaya** · July 5th, 2021

If I get all my windows restored on startup I have to alt tab to EVERY SINGLE WINDOW - (and in the correct order!) - before alt tab will just take me to the window in the desktop in which I am working!? I use a lot of firefox windows open and I am now getting RSI from this.

Running ubuntu mate 20.04 standard new install. All this was true before on 18.04

**TheFu** · July 5th, 2021

And <shift><alt><tab> doesn't go in the opposite order? I'm just asking. My WM let's be control what ALT-TAB does.

RSI? That's a new one to me.

**GhX6GZMB** · July 5th, 2021

I always thought that that's what Alt+Tab is supposed to do. Am I missing something here?

**Tadaen_Sylvermane** · July 8th, 2021

Your computer must not have that mind reading module. All the good ones have it these days!

**TheFu** · July 8th, 2021

Originally Posted by ml9104

I always thought that that's what Alt+Tab is supposed to do. Am I missing something here?

Alt-tab is just another chord. It can be anything your mind and WM can create. On Unix systems, any GUI is just another program. It isn't part of the OS, so there aren't any mandated key chords outside the power button which usually needs pressing for 5-10 seconds before the HW aspect kicks in and it powers off a system. Everything else is optional and configurable.

I guess kids these days don't learn that. In the mid-90s, we had to setup any chords that we wanted.

Even the hot areas in the L/R corners of titlebars for a window are configurable too. We can have 0-6 "buttons" in the corners, each can be programmed for anything - add in the 3 main modifiers and that's 18 possible window commands. Add in the possible chords (shift or shift-alt or shift-ctl) and the possibilities explode. And that's with just 1 mouse button. Some mice have 7 buttons. Imaging the possibilities! All of this is configurable ... well, maybe not using Gnome, but if other WMs are used, all of this is configurable.

Odd thing. I never setup alt-tab, so that does nothing here. If I right click on any part of the empty desktop a list of all windows gets displayed which can be selected via mouse or arrows.

**triplemaya** · July 27th, 2021

Sorry to all. I don't think I have made myself at all clear.
Alt tab should just go between the windows on a desktop.
That is what it does just fine in ordinary operation.
And yes, shift alt tab goes in the opposite direction.
But when I get this problem on restart, it goes to each window on each desktop in some order I cannot work out. And I have to visit each and every window before it will function normally and just go between the windows on one desktop.
(And I have not responded before because I am not getting notifications for some reason. But I have ticked the correct box on the interface.)

**TheFu** · July 27th, 2021

https://ubuntu-mate.community/t/18-1...rkspaces/17832
Seems the default way this works changed. Compiz seems to be interfering. Try disabling that.

BTW, instead of searching for answers using "desktop", try using "workspace."

In 20.04, I only used Mate for about 30 minutes. It was too slow, so I switched to a no-DE environment with more control, fvwm.

**triplemaya** · July 27th, 2021

Thanks

I do not use compiz. Far too slow on a 4th gen i5.

Again I have not made myself clear. The problem only happens once. After I have visited every page, everything works as it should. The problem as I see it is that the os 'thinks' each page is a newly opened page that it is trying to alert me to.