Window focus on desk/page change?

Configuration General Questions
21

Use FvwmEvent if you want to catch all page changes, instead of using a function to switch pages.

22

How would you know which page you last were on? I see how everything else can be done with FvwmEvent, but would you store or check the previous page?

23

You would have to save that in an InfoStore variable since the new_page and new_desk events will only send the desk you moved to. Either that or store info about which window was last focused using State, and in this case you donā€™t really need to know what the previous page is. Next (CurrentPage, State X) will find the window you want to focus.

24

This State function works fine for my Xfce friends. I like it. It does the focus on any number of pages. Also, not a problem if it turns the previous window unfocused from an empty page because nobody goes to empty pages without doing anything there.

Has a slightly unstable focus when going drastically from one end of a Desk to another. Not a problem, just a sign of moving between Desks.
The function is simple and easy to understand. I copied it here below, add it at the beginning of your config.

Remember focused window in current page:

SetEnv FocusPage 0

DestroyFunc SavePageFocus
AddToFunc SavePageFocus
+ I All (CurrentPage) State $[FocusPage] False
+ I Current State $[FocusPage] True

Restore previously focused window in current page:

DestroyFunc RestorePageFocus
AddToFunc RestorePageFocus
+ I Current (CurrentPage) Break 1
+ I Next (CurrentPage, State $[FocusPage]) Focus
+ I None (CurrentPage, Focused) Prev (CurrentPage) Focus

DestroyModuleConfig FvwmEvent-FDpg:*
*FvwmEvent-FDpg: Cmd
*FvwmEvent-FDpg: new_page RestorePageFocus
*FvwmEvent-FDpg: new_desk RestorePageFocus
*FvwmEvent-FDpg: focus_change SavePageFocus

Module FvwmEvent FvwmEvent-FDpg

NOTE: This shared code is tested and works well.

25

It keeps focus on the adjacent page of the next desk but no further distance e.g. from Desk 1 Page 1 0 to Desk 2 Page 0 0. Would be good also to fix this. Desker script in Fvwm Kise has 4 Desks, two pages each. Gets annoying with a focused email window on Desk 1 and going to search for data on an unfocused Desk 3.

It should be possible to include CurrentDesk and CurrentPageAnyDesk.

26

Donā€™t use CurrentPageAnyDesk, that is not what you want, add the new_desk event to FvwmEvent and run the exact same function.

Also, the FvwmEvent config is incorrect in the shared code, you need to use *FvwmEvent-Focus for all the configuration options (you were missing the -Focus). And then you launch it with Module FvwmEvent FvwmEvent-Focus.

27

:1st_place_medal: Thank you @somiaj, the focus works perfectly on all pages and desks.

Note: Doesnā€™t work if FvwmEvent-Focus is on all configuration options. This I also understood with @thomasadam suggestion: FvwmEvent-Focus: Cmd. -Focus is just any name to differentiate from other FvwmEvent. Only for Cmd.

so that multiple FvwmEventā€™s can then be defined for other Events. It might be the case that a user has other events scheduled which would get overriden with the binding to just ā€œFvwmEventā€, as you have it in your example.

Not to confuse -Focus as a command, I edited it to *FvwmEvent-FDpg: Cmd and added option *FvwmEvent: new_desk RestorePageFocus.

My shared code that was posted, I have corrected and tested it. Works well.

28

That is not how module alias work. Thomasā€™ suggestion was to use a module alias. In this case you need to configure the alias with *AliasName: ConfigOption, and then launch the module with Module FvwmEvent AliasName. For an example see the default-config and how it uses the EventNewDesk alias for FvwmEvent.

Note this isnā€™t special to FvwmEvent either. The default-config also uses the alias RightPanel for the FvwmButtons module. All of the options to configure it use *RightPanel for the alias configuration. Because you are setting configurations for the main FvwmEvent module, you wonā€™t achieve the effect Thomas was talking about because you are writing the configuration for just FvwmEvent.

The way you would use an alias in your case is as follows:

DestroyModuleConfig FvwmEvent-FDpg:*
*FvwmEvent-FDpg: Cmd
*FvwmEvent-FDpg: new_page RestorePageFocus
*FvwmEvent-FDpg: new_desk RestorePageFocus
*FvwmEvent-FDpg: focus_change SavePageFocus

Module FvwmEvent FvwmEvent-FDpg

Iā€™m unsure why your test are failing, but I think you are just getting lucky that your code works since you are setting configuration for the main FvwmEvent and not just the alias. And the only thing you are setting for the alias is Cmd which is the default anyways.

29

@amlug, I am glad that you worked out the solution, though, last part is not correct.

@somiaj is right. I think you are using Fvwm Kise? The Thumbnails script has FvwmEvent that causes a double event which makes the focus work.

With somiaj correction, I will add this function to Kise. :star2:

30

Good to know. I have corrected the code.

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31

Today I noticed, that when returning from an empty page the current window is unfocused because one of the buttons or pager has taken it. The solution is to make all visible modules NeverFocus. End of my config I added a long listā€¦

Style RightPager NeverFocus
Style ControlMP NeverFocus
Style ExitBar NeverFocus
Style RightTbar NeverFocus
Style HideBar NeverFocus

Now when returning, a window is always focused even if a window was closed on another page.

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