i3 FAQ - Individual question feed

i3 FAQ - Individual question feedhttps://faq.i3wm.org/questions/Frequently asked questions and answers about the i3 window managerenCopyright i3, 2012Tue, 17 Sep 2013 22:58:34 +0000Force one i3 instance/workspace across multiple monitorshttps://faq.i3wm.org/question/1659/force-one-i3-instanceworkspace-across-multiple-monitors/Until recently I was using i3 with fairly old nVidia drivers (TwinView). As far as RandR was concerned I just had one big 3840x1200 monitor, which made i3 work in just the way I wanted it to - each workspace covered both screens, so super+N would change both monitors at once to workspace N Now I upgraded my drivers so that RandR actually knows about my two monitors, but unfortunately this means i3 runs two "instances" with different independent workspaces on each physical monitor, and it's impossible to for example move a window from one monitor to the other. This is essentially unusable as far as I'm concerned Is there any way to force the global workspace behaviour? I can't seem to find any way to make xrandr tell i3 there's only one physical monitor.Fri, 19 Apr 2013 12:26:56 +0000https://faq.i3wm.org/question/1659/force-one-i3-instanceworkspace-across-multiple-monitors/Comment by mschaefer for Until recently I was using i3 with fairly old nVidia drivers (TwinView). As far as RandR was concerned I just had one big 3840x1200 monitor, which made i3 work in just the way I wanted it to - each workspace covered both screens, so super+N would change both monitors at once to workspace N Now I upgraded my drivers so that RandR actually knows about my two monitors, but unfortunately this means i3 runs two "instances" with different independent workspaces on each physical monitor, and it's impossible to for example move a window from one monitor to the other. This is essentially unusable as far as I'm concerned Is there any way to force the global workspace behaviour? I can't seem to find any way to make xrandr tell i3 there's only one physical monitor. https://faq.i3wm.org/question/1659/force-one-i3-instanceworkspace-across-multiple-monitors/?comment=1661#comment-1661for your "move a window from one monitor to the other" issue: Have a look at the "move workspace/container to output right" commands, they allow you to do that.Fri, 19 Apr 2013 12:39:45 +0000https://faq.i3wm.org/question/1659/force-one-i3-instanceworkspace-across-multiple-monitors/?comment=1661#comment-1661Comment by STU for Until recently I was using i3 with fairly old nVidia drivers (TwinView). As far as RandR was concerned I just had one big 3840x1200 monitor, which made i3 work in just the way I wanted it to - each workspace covered both screens, so super+N would change both monitors at once to workspace N Now I upgraded my drivers so that RandR actually knows about my two monitors, but unfortunately this means i3 runs two "instances" with different independent workspaces on each physical monitor, and it's impossible to for example move a window from one monitor to the other. This is essentially unusable as far as I'm concerned Is there any way to force the global workspace behaviour? I can't seem to find any way to make xrandr tell i3 there's only one physical monitor. https://faq.i3wm.org/question/1659/force-one-i3-instanceworkspace-across-multiple-monitors/?comment=1664#comment-1664but why should I need to use different commands for moving windows around depending on whether the move happens to cross the boundary between my monitors or not. That's ridiculous even with this command, being able to switch the entire desktop at once to different windows is kind of necessaryFri, 19 Apr 2013 12:47:55 +0000https://faq.i3wm.org/question/1659/force-one-i3-instanceworkspace-across-multiple-monitors/?comment=1664#comment-1664Comment by STU for Until recently I was using i3 with fairly old nVidia drivers (TwinView). As far as RandR was concerned I just had one big 3840x1200 monitor, which made i3 work in just the way I wanted it to - each workspace covered both screens, so super+N would change both monitors at once to workspace N Now I upgraded my drivers so that RandR actually knows about my two monitors, but unfortunately this means i3 runs two "instances" with different independent workspaces on each physical monitor, and it's impossible to for example move a window from one monitor to the other. This is essentially unusable as far as I'm concerned Is there any way to force the global workspace behaviour? I can't seem to find any way to make xrandr tell i3 there's only one physical monitor. https://faq.i3wm.org/question/1659/force-one-i3-instanceworkspace-across-multiple-monitors/?comment=1665#comment-1665For now I have just reverted to the old driversFri, 19 Apr 2013 12:49:22 +0000https://faq.i3wm.org/question/1659/force-one-i3-instanceworkspace-across-multiple-monitors/?comment=1665#comment-1665Answer by STU for Until recently I was using i3 with fairly old nVidia drivers (TwinView). As far as RandR was concerned I just had one big 3840x1200 monitor, which made i3 work in just the way I wanted it to - each workspace covered both screens, so super+N would change both monitors at once to workspace N Now I upgraded my drivers so that RandR actually knows about my two monitors, but unfortunately this means i3 runs two "instances" with different independent workspaces on each physical monitor, and it's impossible to for example move a window from one monitor to the other. This is essentially unusable as far as I'm concerned Is there any way to force the global workspace behaviour? I can't seem to find any way to make xrandr tell i3 there's only one physical monitor. https://faq.i3wm.org/question/1659/force-one-i3-instanceworkspace-across-multiple-monitors/?answer=1684#post-id-1684So, it turns out it's possible to force the functionality I want by using the (undocumented, as far as I can tell) config option: fake-outputs 3840x1200+0+0 (I have two 1920x1200 screens.) I can't accept this answer because I need 20 pointsMon, 22 Apr 2013 11:50:57 +0000https://faq.i3wm.org/question/1659/force-one-i3-instanceworkspace-across-multiple-monitors/?answer=1684#post-id-1684Comment by jbohren for So, it turns out it's possible to force the functionality I want by using the (undocumented, as far as I can tell) config option: fake-outputs 3840x1200+0+0 (I have two 1920x1200 screens.) I can't accept this answer because I need 20 points https://faq.i3wm.org/question/1659/force-one-i3-instanceworkspace-across-multiple-monitors/?comment=2544#comment-2544This works great for me, too! I've got 4 panels, one fake output for the leftmost and one fake output for the other 3. The config line for me is: `fake-outputs 1920x1200+0+0,5760x1200+1920+0`Tue, 17 Sep 2013 22:58:34 +0000https://faq.i3wm.org/question/1659/force-one-i3-instanceworkspace-across-multiple-monitors/?comment=2544#comment-2544Answer by itJunky for Until recently I was using i3 with fairly old nVidia drivers (TwinView). As far as RandR was concerned I just had one big 3840x1200 monitor, which made i3 work in just the way I wanted it to - each workspace covered both screens, so super+N would change both monitors at once to workspace N Now I upgraded my drivers so that RandR actually knows about my two monitors, but unfortunately this means i3 runs two "instances" with different independent workspaces on each physical monitor, and it's impossible to for example move a window from one monitor to the other. This is essentially unusable as far as I'm concerned Is there any way to force the global workspace behaviour? I can't seem to find any way to make xrandr tell i3 there's only one physical monitor. https://faq.i3wm.org/question/1659/force-one-i3-instanceworkspace-across-multiple-monitors/?answer=2044#post-id-2044Use arandr for set two displays workMon, 17 Jun 2013 09:38:13 +0000https://faq.i3wm.org/question/1659/force-one-i3-instanceworkspace-across-multiple-monitors/?answer=2044#post-id-2044Answer by Michael for Until recently I was using i3 with fairly old nVidia drivers (TwinView). As far as RandR was concerned I just had one big 3840x1200 monitor, which made i3 work in just the way I wanted it to - each workspace covered both screens, so super+N would change both monitors at once to workspace N Now I upgraded my drivers so that RandR actually knows about my two monitors, but unfortunately this means i3 runs two "instances" with different independent workspaces on each physical monitor, and it's impossible to for example move a window from one monitor to the other. This is essentially unusable as far as I'm concerned Is there any way to force the global workspace behaviour? I can't seem to find any way to make xrandr tell i3 there's only one physical monitor. https://faq.i3wm.org/question/1659/force-one-i3-instanceworkspace-across-multiple-monitors/?answer=1672#post-id-1672You could use workspace 1 to 10 on the left monitor and 11 to 20 on the right monitor, then change your keybindings to switch both at once. Granted, that’s a little kludgy and might not yield best results. It’s the only possibility though, as what you consider “unusable” is what we consider correct. Switch to another window manager if it’s really a deal-breaker.Sat, 20 Apr 2013 17:07:16 +0000https://faq.i3wm.org/question/1659/force-one-i3-instanceworkspace-across-multiple-monitors/?answer=1672#post-id-1672