i3 FAQ - Individual question feed

negated command (for_window)

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:18:12 +0000

I am trying to make a tool-window (and splash screen) floating with for_window, but want the main window to act normal (non floating). The application is DDD (Data Display Debugger). for_window [class="Ddd"] floating enable
does work. Is it possible to append something like: [instance!="command_shell"]
Note the ! before =, to negate the instance. What I try to achieve in words: Make all windows with class="Ddd" floating, **EXCEPT** where instance="command_shell". PS: I have got the proper definition with xprop -spy.

Comment by joepd for
I am trying to make a tool-window (and splash screen) floating with for_window, but want the main window to act normal (non floating). The application is DDD (Data Display Debugger).

for_window [class="Ddd"] floating enable
does work. Is it possible to append something like:

[instance!="command_shell"]
Note the ! before =, to negate the instance.

What I try to achieve in words: Make all windows with class="Ddd" floating, EXCEPT where instance="command_shell".

PS: I have got the proper definition with xprop -spy.

Fri, 24 May 2013 04:59:12 +0000

Closing question, as it is a duplicate of https://faq.i3wm.org/question/243/how-do-i-use-an-exclude-regex-in-i3-config/.

Answer by mschaefer for
I am trying to make a tool-window (and splash screen) floating with for_window, but want the main window to act normal (non floating). The application is DDD (Data Display Debugger).

for_window [class="Ddd"] floating enable
does work. Is it possible to append something like:

[instance!="command_shell"]
Note the ! before =, to negate the instance.

What I try to achieve in words: Make all windows with class="Ddd" floating, EXCEPT where instance="command_shell".

PS: I have got the proper definition with xprop -spy.

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:37:09 +0000

The i3 documentation for [command criteria](http://i3wm.org/docs/userguide.html#command_criteria) states that arbitrary regular expressions can be used. I am no expert in regex, but I think you should be able to build something that fits your needs.

Answer by cee for
I am trying to make a tool-window (and splash screen) floating with for_window, but want the main window to act normal (non floating). The application is DDD (Data Display Debugger).

for_window [class="Ddd"] floating enable
does work. Is it possible to append something like:

[instance!="command_shell"]
Note the ! before =, to negate the instance.

What I try to achieve in words: Make all windows with class="Ddd" floating, EXCEPT where instance="command_shell".

PS: I have got the proper definition with xprop -spy.

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:57:27 +0000

Thank you.
I am no expert at Regex as well. It seems, that **(?!something)** would match, if **something** is not found. It does not work for me yet.
To me it's still unclear if this regex would work, if it is supported in i3 and if the syntax in my conf file is correct. For now I have it like this: for_window [class="Ddd" instance="tool"] floating enabled This of course does not work for the splash screen, but the most important thing is, that the tool window is floating. If anybody can enlighten me, I would be very happy. But I can live with this solution. (Still bugs me a little to not have the perfect solution, though)