float layout : closed pinned app get mouse focus on click event behind an open window

[krodelabestiole]

Describe the bug
on float layout, when I have a window opened on top of a closed app window (a black rectangle with the app icon on the center), and I click on this [top active window overlapping the closed one], I loose the app focus and open the closed app. It's like clicking through the top window.

Expected behavior
I wish I can use an app without opening another app unintentionally.

To Reproduce

• Occurs on Wayland
• GNOME Shell version: 43.6
• Distro: Debian 12 bookworm
• Material Shell 32
• Steps to reproduce :

1. open a new workspace with Float layout
2. open an app, pin it, close it.
3. open another app and move its window on top of the closed one, click it.
4. Bug

sorry if it's a duplicate, I have been searching, I'm afraid it's a bit crowded.

[PapyElGringo]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm not surprised to see such behavior on the float layout since it's not well polished...

I kept the float layout for specific apps that doesn't behave properly with the tiling but I don't see much value in it.

Why did you choosed to use it?

[krodelabestiole]

Thanks @PapyElGringo for your interest on my setup and this wonderful desktop you allow us to use !

There are plenty of use cases for multi windows apps, with windows size and placement depending on their content.

• Wayland is to implement this : https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/wayland/wayland-protocols/-/merge_requests/247
• W3C is probably going to reinvent the pop-up window for web apps : https://www.w3.org/TR/window-management/#motivations

There are many use cases described in this last link :

• Financial app opens a dashboard of windows across multiple monitors.
• Medical app opens images (e.g. x-rays) on a high-resolution grayscale display.
• Creativity app shows secondary windows (e.g. palette) on a separate screen.
• Multi-screen layouts in gaming, signage, artistic, and other types of apps.

Personally I fall on the creativity case : I use Pure Data (have a look at this screenshot ;) ) which is a graphical programming app that allows to create many interfaces on many windows. Each window size should depend on what there are supposed to display. (These programs we create are called patches and we can share them, use them on many different devices, etc., they remember windows sizes when saving.)

It is also very useful for music creation : many digital audio workstations use plugins (LV2, VSTs, ...) that display in separate windows. Plus Linux is an excellent system thanks to formerly JACK and now PipeWire to use plenty of different apps together.
In that case windows are not always freely resizable.

Having a workspace using a floating layout is a necessity in that regard.