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CoverflowAltTab

CoverflowAltTab is an Alt-Tab replacement available as an extension for Gnome-Shell. It lets you Alt-Tab through your windows in a cover-flow manner.

Screenshot

Installation

Easiest way to install the extension is via extensions.gnome.org, the official Gnome extension platform. Head over there and install CoverflowAltTab with one click by toggling the switch on the site.

If you want to install it manually (e.g. to test the latest, probably unstable code):

  1. Download the zip file by clicking the zip button on the upper part of this page and extract it (or you can just clone the repository).

  2. Install the extension locally by running the following command in Terminal:

    • make all

Usage

Keybindings for System Actions

This extension uses the following system actions:

  • "Switch applications" (usually Alt+Tab): Cycle through windows grouped by application
  • "Switch windows" (usually undefined): Cycle through windows
  • "Switch windows of an application" (usually Alt+`): Cycle through all windows from the current application from all workspaces

Default and Recommended Shortcuts

Many users prefer a flat list of windows over a list grouped by application and so prefer the Alt+Tab key combination for "Switch windows". Such a user could change the keybindings as in the table:

System Action Default Shortcut Recommended Shortcut
Switch Applications Alt+Tab Super+Tab
Switch Windows None Alt+Tab

Keybindings for Internal Actions

The extension adds its own internal actions which can be bound to other keyboard shortcuts. This could, for example, be useful if you want to sometimes use another window switcher that uses system actions bound to one set of shortcuts and use this extension that uses internal actions bound to a different set of shortcuts.

Use the preferences gui to set the internal actions shortcuts. The internal actions correspond to the Switch Windows and Switch Applications system actions-- both system and internal Switch Windows and Switch Applications actions have the same effect to launch and cycle this extension.

All of the shortcuts with Shift key pressed cycles backward.

Running Switcher Control

Keypresses can control the running switcher:

  • Hit Esc to cancel without picking a new window.
  • Hit Return to pick current window.
  • Hit d to hide all windows and show the desktop.
  • Hit q to close the current window (mostly works, might have some edge case bugs).

You can also use the arrow keys, mouse wheel, or trackpad to cycle through the windows.

DBus

The extension exports a DBus interface. This can be used, for example, with the Custom Hot Corners - Extended extension to launch the switcher by moving to a corner.

The interface has four methods:

  1. The launch method which takes a string that should be either windows or applications
gdbus call --session --dest org.gnome.Shell.Extensions.Coverflowalttab --object-path /org/gnome/Shell/Extensions/Coverflowalttab --method org.gnome.Shell.Extensions.Coverflowalttab.launch "windows"
  1. The next method which takes no arguments.
  2. The previous method which also takes no arguments.
  3. The select method breaks out of the switcher.

Customization

Keybinding Shortcuts

To change the system action shortcuts, use gnome-control-center. To change the internal action shortcuts, use the preferences GUI.

Preferences GUI

To access preferences you can:

  • Open the Extensions tool. You should find it in your system menu
  • Click the preferences button on extensions.gnome.org
  • run
gnome-extensions prefs [email protected]

This will show you a preference dialog where you can change the settings to your needs.

License

CoverflowAltTab is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

See the contributors list and a copy of the license.