Re: [dwm] dwm and dualhead

From: David Tweed <david.tweed_AT_gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:57:38 +0000

On Thu, Dec 11, 2008 at 10:09 AM, Mate Nagy <mnagy_AT_port70.net> wrote:
> On Thu, Dec 11, 2008 at 09:52:45AM +0000, Anselm R Garbe wrote:
>> - have a dwm environment on each Xinerama screen (like multiple dwm's
>> in classic multihead setups) as suggested by Mate
>> -> the problem was, it didn't felt right because it added another
>> navigation layer on top of dwm, to basically navigate through screens
>> and to move clients between screens, the conclusion was, if you really
>> want this, run multiple instances of dwm with a classic multihead
>> setup
> I use all my systems like this, where I can. The point is, that you
> often *can't* do this any more, because bad driver support; also, not
> being able to move windows between screens sucks sometimes.
> I would still prefer this solution.
> The "extra navigation layer" means "next screen key" and "move client
> to next screen key"... not all that much. I would hazard that a majority
> of multi-monitor users still use two monitors (laptop + external
> monitor).

I use two LCD monitors of the same size put together so there's only
the two thins bezel between them. This is primarily for economic
reasons: I initially had one LCD and it was much cheaper to buy a
second than try and sell it and buy an ultra-widescreen LCD. It's
quite common where I work for people to have two LCDs (although I'm
the only person using dwm).

>> - make layout algorithms use more screens (keep the bar at a specific
>> "main screen")
>> -> the problem was, that it doesn't scale well, most layout
>> algorithms aren't designed for multihead setups, esp. if the screens
>> have different geometries
> I don't see how this would be usable.. also, depending on automatic
> tiling, clients jumping between screens would be a very confusing. The
> previous approach keeps clients on the same screen until explicit wish
> from the user.

I use some old patches I wrote for dwm-3.3 that use a multicolumn
layout (where the number of columns, etc, in the layout can vary per
tag). The major difficulty is not displaying clients but finding good
ways to control moving clients: with several different posI don't find
a client moving from one physical screen to another confusing, partly
because I don't really think of them as two physical screens but just
as one "workspace". Of course, if they were two different sized or
separated screens that'd probably be different.

-- 
cheers, dave tweed__________________________
david.tweed_AT_gmail.com
Rm 124, School of Systems Engineering, University of Reading.
"while having code so boring anyone can maintain it, use Python." --
attempted insult seen on slashdot
Received on Thu Dec 11 2008 - 16:57:38 UTC

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