Focus

[Colin Watson]

On Sun, Nov 01, 2020 at 09:11:54PM +0000, Peter Flynn wrote:
> Does anyone know if there is a setting in any of the window management
> implementations that will force focus to the only window open in a desktop
> when there is only one window open in it.
> 
> I typically have four desktops, and slide between them because I have them
> set up for different tasks usually involving groups of applications, but
> often, one of them will have only a single application in it. None of them
> are full-screen, and I use focus-follows-mouse.
> 
> It seems perverse that when I flick to such a desktop, the cursor remains in
> the position it was in the previous desktop. I can see the logic of that
> when the system cannot guess which of multiple applications you are going to
> use next, but in the case where there is only one there, it would be nice
> for the focus to move to that application.

If I'm understanding you correctly, this is how it works for me with
Ubuntu 20.04 and GNOME Shell.

I think the only possibly-relevant non-default thing I have is in Tweaks
→ Windows → Window Focus, where there are three options, "Click to
Focus", "Focus on Hover", and "Secondary-Click" (roughly equivalent to
what were classically called "click to focus", "sloppy focus", and
"focus follows mouse" respectively); I use "Focus on Hover", but IIRC
the default is "Click to Focus" and both of those behave the way you
ask.  Only "Secondary-Click" leaves the desktop focused in the situation
you describe.

If your window manager calls your setting "focus follows mouse", then
I'd be looking for a setting called "sloppy focus" or similar.

-- 
Colin Watson (he/him)                              [cjwatson at ubuntu.com]