
Why You Should Try a Tiling Window Manager - Adrock
http://adereth.github.io/blog/2013/10/02/why-you-should-try-a-tiling-window-manager/
======
CJefferson
I currently use xmonad, along with the gnome top-bar to get applets, network
configuration, etc. I have found this the easiest way to move into tiling
window managers.

It still annoys that tiling window managers all seem designed to be hard to
use to configure, almost as a matter of principle. I see no reason that a
tiling window manager can't still be easy to use (for example, I use the mouse
as much with xmonad as I can, and would like to be able to use it more).

~~~
gizmo686
I think the problem is that tiling window managers have never been mainstream,
so they are all targeted at people who would go out of there way to install a
tiling window manger. By contrast, even non-mainstream composting window
managers have the benefit of seeing how the mainstream ones do things to be
usable (and have had more effort put into them in general). Another problem is
that tiling window managers are (almost?) never part of a complete desktop
environment. They may pay lip service to this (in the form of a basic start-
menu type thing), but for the most part they are simply window managers. With
composting window managers, no one (except the developer) thinks of the WM by
itself.

~~~
rob05c
> a complete desktop environment

I agree. I wish more Tiling WMs came with a GUI application launcher, better
mouse support for moving and resizing, login screens, etc.

Not everyone uses a Tiling WM because they're a masochist musophobe.

~~~
gizmo686
I think you are looking at it from the wrong angle. The WM is just a component
of a complete desktop environment. Instead of making a Tiling WM that comes
with the kitchen sink, we should make a Tiling WM that simply replaces the WM
on the pre-existing, and fully featured, desktop environment you already have.
Technically speaking, this is not challenging. For example, to make Awesome
the defualt window manager in gnome, one need only run:

    
    
      "gconftool-2 --type string --set /desktop/gnome/session/required_components/windowmanager awesome"
    

Obviously, this is a large barrier for a casual user wanting to try a tiling
window manager. However, if WM installer changed that setting instead of just
creating its own desktop environment, then we would not be having this
problem.

~~~
jjsz
I'm a casual user of GNOME. I would like to do what someone mentioned on here:
use a TWM with the GNOME menu bar for applets but I want them to have
predifined "snaps". [0]

How hard is it to implement this?

[0] [http://imgur.com/SO4LmDq](http://imgur.com/SO4LmDq)

------
seniorsassycat
I'm not familiar with notion or ion3, but I've used all of the other tilling
managers listed. I really like AwesomeWM as a starting point because it comes
sanely configured, and does not rely on haskell like Xmonad. Awesome is
configured via Lua scripts, Lua might not be the most popular language but
it's easier to pick up than Haskell and has a smaller dependence base.

Besides notion/ion3, which I am not familiar with, all these tilling managers
are automatic. You select a layout directive like

\- place all windows horizontally,

\- place all windows in a grid,

\- place one window filling 2/3rd the screen and the rest stacked in the
remaining 1/3rd

There are other tilling wm's like i3, wmii, bspwm, and herbstluftwm which are
manual tilling managers. i3 and wmii are probably the best ones to start with,
but herbstluftwm is my favorite.

With manual tillers you typically split the workspace into multiple frames and
windows are automatically arranged in those frames.

Here is an impressive gif of bspwm, a manual tilling window manager [0], and
here is the reddit thread where the creater talks about his configurations [1]

[0]
[http://paste.unixhub.net/index.php/NlKe/](http://paste.unixhub.net/index.php/NlKe/)

[1]
[http://www.reddit.com/r/unixporn/comments/1m0ea1/arch_bspwm_...](http://www.reddit.com/r/unixporn/comments/1m0ea1/arch_bspwm_why_bspwm_watch_this_screencast_and/)

------
z0r
The combination of xmonad, dmenu and emacs --daemon has brought me great joy.
The way I use computers has changed completely since starting down the tiling
window manager road. It's a shame that getting the configuration for them
right can be such a pain, but it has been well worth the trouble!

~~~
nilved
No doubt. I've used Arch and awesome for a few months now and it's remarkable.
The increase in efficiency and usability is made most apparent when I need to
use OS X again.

I only started using dmenu yesterday and I've already written a few scripts
I've found very handy: passphrase autotyping[0] and music playing[1] to name
two.

[0]
[https://github.com/devlinzed/dotfiles/blob/master/bin/dmenu-...](https://github.com/devlinzed/dotfiles/blob/master/bin/dmenu-
pass-autotype)

[1]
[https://github.com/devlinzed/dotfiles/blob/master/bin/dmenu-...](https://github.com/devlinzed/dotfiles/blob/master/bin/dmenu-
mpc)

------
dexen
I'm happy with tiled windows in Acme (editor/IDE) for daily work. The
layouting algorithm (a simple one) does the right thing most of the time :^)

My usual mode is Acme maximized on one screen, and browser, email and IM
spread on the other.

See it in action in rsc's screencast:
[http://research.swtch.com/acme](http://research.swtch.com/acme)

~~~
rkowalick
I really wanted to like it, but the lack of syntax highlighting drove me nuts.

~~~
RBerenguel
I got used to it (at least for go.) I use acme for go and at the same time a
full-screened emacs for html/css (and gnus) at the same time. Works far better
than expected, speed wise.

------
zdw
If you're on OS X, I've found Slate to be the best option:
[https://github.com/jigish/slate](https://github.com/jigish/slate)

It's open source, has a simple text file based config, and is generally more
configurable than most other similar tools.

~~~
Zombieball
+1 vote for me. Slate has been great.

Additionally if you are using a Matrox device to get multiple screen support
on your Mac, Slate comes in real handy. Rather than get 2 virtual screens the
Matrox devices create one virtual screen that spans 2 monitors. Tiling
managers like Slate are super helpful for snapping programs to monitors in
cases like thos.

~~~
stcredzero
I used to use Divvy for this purpose.

------
conroy
I use SizeUp and have been very happy with it.

~~~
leetrout
This! +100 this.

I use SizeUp to make up for the windows 7 feature I loved the most and being
able to quickly scale and tile windows with keyboard shortcuts.

Works great and definitely worth the money.

[http://www.irradiatedsoftware.com/sizeup/](http://www.irradiatedsoftware.com/sizeup/)

------
joeframbach
I kind of use tiling in OSX. Most of my apps are running full-screen on two
monitors, and I swipe across desktops to get to other apps. Of course, I am
_able_ to stack apps on top of eachother, but for the most part I don't. I
have a desktop for sublime, a desktop for sequel pro, a desktop for a browser.
In the event I need to look at two things at once, it's easy enough to drag
things around.

~~~
ajross
This isn't really the same thing. Virtual desktops have been around for
decades now, and people have been using them like this (with or without two
physical displays) forever. It works for the kind of full-screenable "apps"
like you mention. It works poorly for smaller tools: what if you want to have
your editor and a console side-by-side, and still view a chat window below
that.

And of course you can do all that stuff with regular window UIs too, so that
isn't really the essence of a tiling window manager either. As I see it, the
real thing that distinguishes tiled environments isn't the "tiling" at all,
it's the keyboard-first navigation UI that the tiling enables. And even though
I don't actually use these things (I've tried now and again), that's something
I see a lot of value in.

------
yarou
I've used awesome before, and I was quite impressed. Once you get the hang of
shortcuts, you tend to be vastly more productive than if you were using a
traditional or compositing wm. I grew up with a compositing WM, but the
transition was easy enough. I'm curious if the advent of mobile devices (i.e.
smartphone, tablet, etc) would lead one to choose tiling WMs over the
traditional kind.

~~~
gizmo686
It looks like Windows 8 's metro interface is a basic tiling WM. It isn't very
featured, but it can show multiple apps at the same time, and will
automatically split the screen between them (without overlap).

~~~
yarou
Agreed, totally forgot about Metro.

------
chrisweekly
I _LOVE_ Divvy on OSX. [http://mizage.com/divvy/](http://mizage.com/divvy/)

------
United857
The funny thing is that Windows 1.0 in 1985 had a tiled manager, which was
replaced in 2.0 with overlapping windows.

Back to the future!

------
rob05c
_Eventually, you probably will stop relying on these things and do everything
with the keyboard_

I read so much about why Tiling is Great because the Mouse is Awful.

I think the mouse has its place. For writing code and text I have my hands on
the keyboard—which means I also want to create and move windows with the
keyboard.

But when I'm in a web browser, or a game, or any number of other GUI-centric
applications, my hand is already on the mouse. Which means I want a visual
dropdown for launching applications, and I want to drag and resize windows
with the mouse.

I love my Tiling because it doesn't waste space. To me, Windowing is just
silly; why would I ever want large swathes of my desktop empty, and
applications overlapping each other?

But I don't understand the mouse-versus-keyboard argument. I want both to
control my WM with both, because I use applications with both.

~~~
oftenwrong
As someone with no mouse, I agree that the mouse is a great thing. My RSI is
aggravated severely by mouse usage, so I stick to the keyboard. For me, a
fully-keyboard-controllable WM is essential to my career. The many programs
and sites that require a mouse make my life difficult. Much of the modern
computing world assumes a mouse is present. Still, even I admit the mouse is
awesome. It is especially great for selecting text. It can be done on a
keyboard usually, but it is not always as easy. It is nice to have options,
whether to accommodate physical restrictions or just personal preference.

------
zipperhead
Some questions from someone who likes the idea of a tiling window manager but
doesn't quite see how it would work better than compositing. I'm coming at
this from KDE. My top applications are: firefox, thunderbird, eclipse, sublime
text, and terminator.

When I'm browsing, I like to have firefox in the middle of my screen. If it's
stuck off to the side somewhere or buried amongst other tabs, I'm going to
hate it. How do I make that work?

Eclipse is going to be full screen. I assume that's not going to be difficult.

Now with all that, I get someone asking me a question via skype. How do I get
notified? Currently I get a nice notification via the taskbar. Do I lose the
concept of notifications?

What about for widget-like things (cpu/network/etc)? Do people use conky or
something like that in a tiled window?

~~~
nilved
Awesome has a builtin window layout that I think you'd like: it has one
program take up 80% of the screen in the center, and tiles horizontally the
rest behind it. But any WM can do that either by duplicating the layout or, in
the case of dynamic window managers, using floating windows.

Your notifications will stay. For widgets, stick it in the menu bars or use
conky -- the same options are available.

------
thinkersilver
I'm really surprised that he left out i3wm. It's lightweight and the tiling
placement is surprisingly intuitive and simple.

Here's the Google Talk:

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnYN2CTb1hM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnYN2CTb1hM)

~~~
sliverstorm
i3wm is the most difficult to get used to, from what I've seen. As always,
more configuration (in this case of window layout) makes for steeper learning
curves.

~~~
stormbrew
On the contrary i3 is the only one I've started using and stuck with. The
configuration is simple, the commands not horribly difficult to use or
understand, and it's pretty damn good at dealing with multimon, even dealing
with randr display names natively.

------
fnordfnordfnord
An article about window managers with no screenshots?

~~~
keithpeter
Perhaps the time element is important in evaluating a workflow so I think what
we actually need is a video.

------
jared314
I've settled on ShiftIt [1], which gives me more partial desktop control at a
good price (free). There was a good post, a while ago, on the various options
for OSX [2].

I've also noticed that, because I use a widescreen and split my web browsers
into two columns less-than 1000px wide, every Twitter Bootstrap site thinks
i'm on a mobile device and collapses the grid layout.

[1] [https://github.com/fikovnik/ShiftIt](https://github.com/fikovnik/ShiftIt)

[2]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4059820](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4059820)

------
sliverstorm
Reasons why you shouldn't try a tiling window manager:

Well, mostly if you use tools that have a "view portal" or depend heavily on
pop-out style toolboxes. The WM is constantly resizing your windows, which
makes it a chore to keep everything adjusted, and pop-out style toolboxes are
pretty much best at on-top usage by nature, rather than tiled.

I use CAD software on a regular basis, and while I managed to make a tiling WM
work for me for maybe 6 months, returning to a floating WM was a relief. If
you work directly with text all day, I bet they are great, but for me...

~~~
DSMan195276
Have you considered i3? It supports fully floating windows separate from the
tiling, and normal pop-up windows go straight to the floating layer. It's
extremely handy (As what you noted annoys me a ton with WM's like XMonad). i3
can act just like a normal floating WM if needed.

~~~
sliverstorm
i3wm was the only one I could even tolerate, and the one I used the longest. I
had enough control to make toolboxes floating, and to size important windows
correctly.

But at the end of the day it was a chore to use and just didn't add much
value. I guess what you could take away is I want/need my windows to be sized
& placed specifically the way _I_ direct, and a tiling WM is the opposite of
this.

------
qwerta
I use "sort of" Tiling WM. I have 4 screens in portrait mode and always
maximize windows across single screen. I never have to scroll or press alt-
tab.

BTW: KDE and XFCE WM has some basic tiling support as well.

------
noir_lord
I use Mint 15 XFCE on all my machines, I did try i3wm and a few others (i3wm
for a couple of weeks) but it always had a couple of silly niggles on 3
screens (cursor jumping back to the middle of the screen when I tried to move
it to another screen drove me crazy).

I've found XFCE with the keyboard shortcuts (built-in) to tile to
top,left,bottom,right,fullscreen work really well and fit my model of usage
(which is mostly open new source file, split screen).

------
eggoa
At work I spend all day in Windows 7. The best thing I've found is WinSplit
Revolution, which is nice but leaves a lot to be desired. (Unfortunately
switching to Linux just isn't going to happen, for a number of reasons. But I
get to use dwm at home, which I really like.)

------
davexunit
StumpWM is really cool. It uses a similar keybinding system to Emacs and is
extensible via Common Lisp.

------
kryptiskt
On Linux i tend to use dwm (and dmenu), it doesn't have many features but then
I don't really want anything more than a quick and easy way to fill a couple
of workspaces with terminals, editors and browsers.

On Windows 8, WinKey + Left or Right are handy shortcuts.

------
drcode
Anyone know if "Notion" works as well in the latest Ubuntu releases as
suggested by the author of the post?

(i.e. XMondad got jacked pretty badly in Ubuntu 13.04 and now requires lots of
low level linux voodoo.)

~~~
tomrod
Shucks. I haven't upgraded yet to 13.04. Should I skip it on by for 13.10 when
it comes out? If not, what voodoo did you do?

~~~
drcode
None- I just reverted to 12.x and stayed there. Reading online though, some
folks who knew what they were doing fared better though.

------
logicallee
Oh Windows 3.1, you were right all along. :(

------
brassybadger
Switching to DWM was the best thing that could have happened to my desktop. I
rarely use the mouse ever since.

------
andyl
xmonad => terminator => tmux => vim

tiling inception

