[Xmonad] Question about window ordering

[David Roundy]

On Mon, Aug 06, 2007 at 04:48:54PM -0700, Michael Vanier wrote:
> I just installed the Tabbed extension, and it's great (thanks, David!).  
> Now I can probably ditch ion for good.  However, the tabs revealed to me 
> something I hadn't noticed before: that a new window gets placed to the 
> left of the currently selected window.  Is there any way to make the new 
> window come up to the right of the currently selected window, which I find 
> more intuitive?

The trouble is that there are a few counterintuitive choices in xmonad's
window ordering, and we'd actually have to make more than one change in
order to get things right (i.e. one change outside of Tabbed).  (Where
"right" is defined by what makes intuitive sense to me with tabbed.)

The mod-tab rotation order also ought to go to the right (which it does).
If we switched the mod-tab rotation order, then we could simply reverse
the display relationship of windows, and everything would be intuitive.

If we kept the display the same (relative to xmonad's internal Stack
structure), then we could modify xmonad to put new windows on the right
instead of the left, but then we'd also need to modify filter so that when
a window is closed the focus moves to teh left instead of to the right.

Without a change to the normal keybindings, I don't see a way to get things
cycling like I'd like.

In defense of the normal xmonad rotation order, by default mod-tab brings
you to a parent window from a just-popped-up window, which I think is quite
reasonable.  Mostly I'm ambivalent on the subject, but obviously verbosely
so...

And you're welcome!  :)
-- 
David Roundy
Department of Physics
Oregon State University