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New s/linux/osx/g I know, solving wrong problem :-)
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 50 years. meep
New You can't do what I want with OS X, either.
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
New perhaps you are right but from your description
of what you want to do sounds like what I used to do with Solaris, 2 monitors, one virtual desktop with different visual applications and xterms and mouse from the edge of one screen would place the pointer on the other.My understanding was that MacOS and OSX could do the same.
thanx,
bill
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 50 years. meep
New Read the description again
Particularly the bit about where I want any combination of virtual desktops on the left and the right. In fact it should even be possible to wind up with the same virtual desktop on the left and the right.

You're describing one of the options that I said I knew I could do, but isn't what I want.

The reason why I want this is that with one monitor I currently have 6 virtual desktops and find that I wind up going through periods where I'm rapidly switching between any pair of them. (I rarely wind up swapping rapidly through three, just pairs.) So for 2 monitors to really reduce how much time I spend swapping desktops around, I'd need to wind up at different times with any pair of 6 different desktops visible at once.

Right now I'm not hopeful that it is possible for me to get what I want.

Regards,
Ben
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
New Can you simulate what you want?
Instead of 6 square virtual desktops, make 3 double-wide virtual desktops, perhaps? You would still have the issue of having to (somehow) run multiple views of the same application if you want to see it on both tubes at the same time, but it might reduce your desktop flipping a little.

Maybe you can get your boss to get you one of [link|http://www.digitaltigers.com/displays-atlas.shtml|these] and not need worry about it any more. ;-)

Cheers,
Scott.
New It is closer to...
just run 2 copies of X, one for each monitor. Then put 3 virtual desktops on one side, and 3 on the other.

Your suggestion gives me 3 possible pairs of virtual desktops up at once. This gives me 9 out of the 15 desired pairs of virtual desktops up at once. Any time that I'm interested flipping between the other 6 combinations, I'll be cursing away. :-/

Cheers,
Ben
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
New From what I'm reading....
you're looking at having 2 monitors, while using xwindows, and displaying one virtual desktop on one monitor and a different virtual desktop on a different monitor.

I agree that it's an window's manager issue. (Currently most dual monitor setups under X use a single large buffer for display where 1/2 the buffer goes to one monitor and 1/2 the buffer goes to the other monitor.)

However, given how XWindows works (in particular it's DISPLAY setting....it may be due-able.)

Still researching.

-----------------------------
There is an X2X program out there...don't think it's what your looking for though

Mostly, from what I see, you're looking to run dual monitor with xinerama turned off. Then it appears to be just a question of configuring the windows manager to display the appropriate virtual window to the appropriate monitor (using :0.0 or :0.1 iirc).

However, I don't see any windows managers that have been configured for that as yet. :-(

(And I'm planning on getting a multiple-monitor system in the very near future....so this was of vast interest to me.)
Expand Edited by Simon_Jester Jan. 12, 2006, 02:04:30 PM EST
New That part of it is very doable
In my initial post I described what I know how to do. In particular it is possible to set things up so that you have 2 copies of X running, one for each monitor. Now each one can have independent sets of virtual desktops.

I believe that some window managers have even figured out how to enable cut and paste between the copies of X, though I'm not entirely positive on that. If they haven't, though, the flexibility is more important to me than cut and paste. Worst comes to worse, I can save data to a file on one monitor, read it on the other.

The gap between this and what I really want is that 2 copies of X ties the virtual desktop to the monitor, which means that I can only get some combinations of virtual desktops.

Now 3 of my desktops are my email, my browser (which has request tickets), and one in which I'm trying to develop and run a long one-off report that occasionally needs nudges. While looking at the report I might need to be referring to an email or to the request ticket. While replying in email I might need to be looking at the report I'm developing or a request ticket. While entering stuff in the request ticket I might need to be looking at email or at the report. So I really might wind up working in any of the desktops and referring to stuff in either of the other two.

So tying the virtual desktop to the monitor means deciding which combination I can't display.

However, as my response to bepatient pointed out, getting what I want requires a ton of support from the window manager. And it doesn't look like any window managers supply that support.

Cheers,
Ben
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
New An alternate approach (new thread)
Created as new thread #241204 titled [link|/forums/render/content/show?contentid=241204|An alternate approach]
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
     Dual desktops, to same set of virtual desktops? - (ben_tilly) - (47)
         I haven't found anything. - (folkert) - (35)
             Thanks for trying - (ben_tilly) - (31)
                 Brute-force method - (drewk) - (30)
                     That solves the wrong problem - (ben_tilly) - (29)
                         Punt - (drewk) - (28)
                             Ironic - (ben_tilly) - (27)
                                 No reply would have been better than #240993. IMHO. -NT - (Another Scott) - (26)
                                     Can you explain why? - (ben_tilly) - (25)
                                         Clarification - (drewk) - (4)
                                             Can you tell me how... - (ben_tilly) - (3)
                                                 I think this is clearer. - (Another Scott) - (1)
                                                     Yes, that is clearer - (ben_tilly)
                                                 It's an "instance" problem - (drewk)
                                         Why people get pissed off at you: - (admin) - (17)
                                             Try to word my ideal response - (ben_tilly) - (16)
                                                 I did... - (admin) - (1)
                                                     Not quite - (ben_tilly)
                                                 Been meaning to ask - (drewk) - (13)
                                                     WTF is that supposed to mean? -NT - (ben_tilly) - (12)
                                                         Lighten up, Francis[1] - (drewk) - (8)
                                                             None of which I have seen - (ben_tilly) - (7)
                                                                 You've never seen *any* of them? - (drewk) - (6)
                                                                     I don't watch TV, remember? -NT - (ben_tilly) - (4)
                                                                         Two were movies, and yes I remember - (drewk) - (3)
                                                                             Well next time please do - (ben_tilly) - (2)
                                                                                 Ben, you and I both had somewhat eclectic upbringings - (boxley)
                                                                                 Didn't mean to - (drewk)
                                                                     maybe the same planet I'm from 'cause - (cforde)
                                                         Nanu, nanu! -NT - (admin) - (1)
                                                             Shazbot! -NT - (Yendor)
                                                         Jesus wept - (broomberg)
                                         My $0.02. - (Another Scott) - (1)
                                             Thanks, that helps -NT - (ben_tilly)
             What about VNC? - (bepatient) - (2)
                 How could that possibly work? - (ben_tilly) - (1)
                     nope, you're correct - (bepatient)
         Maybe Xfce 4.2? - (Another Scott) - (1)
             Thanks, that *does* look promising..or not - (ben_tilly)
         s/linux/osx/g I know, solving wrong problem :-) -NT - (boxley) - (8)
             You can't do what I want with OS X, either. -NT - (ben_tilly) - (7)
                 perhaps you are right but from your description - (boxley) - (6)
                     Read the description again - (ben_tilly) - (5)
                         Can you simulate what you want? - (Another Scott) - (1)
                             It is closer to... - (ben_tilly)
                         From what I'm reading.... - (Simon_Jester) - (2)
                             That part of it is very doable - (ben_tilly)
                             An alternate approach (new thread) - (ben_tilly)

Wait 'til you sneeze, next.
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