Gnome extension with a tiling function
Strictly Structured
The Gnome extension Material Shell organizes the windows on your desktop, giving you many options for smoothly switching between different applications and views.
Ever since Xerox Alto, the first workstation with a graphical user interface, was introduced in 1973, computer users have been pushing windowed applications across the screen with a click of the mouse [1]. At that time, the motion was still very jerky when moving open applications. Today, organizing applications on the desktop is hardly likely to faze the computer's graphics card.
Especially on systems with small monitors, however, freely floating windows have disadvantages: For example, the control elements for reducing, enlarging, or closing windows require valuable space on the screen. The now common screen format with resolutions in the 16:9 ratio intensifies the problem compared to the previously common 4:3 format. There is a massive amount of space available horizontally, but every pixel counts in the vertical direction.
Many users therefore prefer a tiling window manager (like i3 or herbstluftwm) that organizes the windows in a static grid on the screen. If windows cannot be moved freely, you don't need a window bar. In addition, there is often no need to use the mouse – the windows can be arranged on the screen using keyboard shortcuts.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
Linux Mint 22.2 Beta Available for Testing
Some interesting new additions and improvements are coming to Linux Mint. Check out the Linux Mint 22.2 Beta to give it a test run.
-
Debian 13.0 Officially Released
After two years of development, the latest iteration of Debian is now available with plenty of under-the-hood improvements.
-
Upcoming Changes for MXLinux
MXLinux 25 has plenty in store to please all types of users.
-
A New Linux AI Assistant in Town
Newelle, a Linux AI assistant, works with different LLMs and includes document parsing and profiles.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Released with Minor Fixes
The latest Linux kernel doesn't really include any big-ticket features, just a lot of lines of code.
-
EU Sovereign Tech Fund Gains Traction
OpenForum Europe recently released a report regarding a sovereign tech fund with backing from several significant entities.
-
FreeBSD Promises a Full Desktop Installer
FreeBSD has lacked an option to include a full desktop environment during installation.
-
Linux Hits an Important Milestone
If you pay attention to the news in the Linux-sphere, you've probably heard that the open source operating system recently crashed through a ceiling no one thought possible.
-
Plasma Bigscreen Returns
A developer discovered that the Plasma Bigscreen feature had been sitting untouched, so he decided to do something about it.
-
CachyOS Now Lets Users Choose Their Shell
Imagine getting the opportunity to select which shell you want during the installation of your favorite Linux distribution. That's now a thing.