[feat-req] show scratchpad over maximized windows

[philiparvidsson]

I'm submitting a…

[ ] Bug
[x] Feature Request
[ ] Documentation Request
[ ] Other (Please describe in detail)

Current Behavior

When pressing the keybinding to show the scratchpad while having a maximized window on screen, the maximized window unmaximizes itself.

Desired Behavior

I would like to be able to show a scratchpad window over the maximized window temporarily.

Impact

[x] This feature requires new configuration and/or commands

Environment

Output of i3 --moreversion 2>&-:

i3 version: 

Binary i3 version:  4.22 (2023-01-02) © 2009 Michael Stapelberg and contributors
Running i3 version: 4.22 (2023-01-02) (pid 1168)
Loaded i3 config:
  /home/philip/.config/i3/config (main) (last modified: mån 11 sep 2023 05:32:42, 530442 seconds ago)

The i3 binary you just called: /usr/bin/i3
The i3 binary you are running: i3

- Linux Distribution & Version: EndeavourOS
- Are you using a compositor (e.g., xcompmgr or compton): picom

[i3bot]

Please note that new features which require additional configuration will usually not be considered. We are happy with the feature set of i3 and want to focus in fixing bugs instead. We do accept feature requests, however, and will evaluate whether the added benefit (clearly) outweighs the complexity it adds to i3.

Keep in mind that i3 provides a powerful way to interact with it through its IPC interface: https://i3wm.org/docs/ipc.html.

[the-lne]

I can only reproduce this if I have multiple windows open on the same desktop. If there is just one window on my virtual desktop, then the maximized window remains unchanged when I call 'scratchpad show'. A way around this could be setting up keybindings to start your critical applications and keeping them in their own desktop's.

[okraits]

I guess the author means fullscreen and not maximized.

[philiparvidsson]

@okraits, you're correct and I'm likely using the incorrect terminology here. I want to be able to have a fullscreen window with the scratchpad showing over it.

[okraits]

You can probably work around this with a script which listens to window events (using the i3 IPC interface).
The script would remember the window which leaves fullscreen mode and re-enable fullscreen mode if that window gets focus again.

Unfortunately it's not a solution, just a workaround.

[philiparvidsson]

Thanks. It doesn't really work for me - what I optimally want to be able to do is have to windows on the screen (e.g., splith or whatever). Then I toggle one of them to fullscreen, normally the web browser. Sometimes I want to upload files, so I have a file browser in the scratchpad. So I want to be able to show the scratchpad over the fullscreen browser and drag files into it.

Right now, as soon as I open the scratchpad, the browser jumps back to its non-fullscreen position.