Explicit workspace switching

[danirabbit]

Problem

Currently running apps are all presented as a list at the end of the dock but there's no real indication about which workspaces those apps exist on.

It can also be cumbersome to access the multitasking view via launcher to then access the workspace switcher. So we're presenting two UIs to represent running applications with the one that communicates information about workspaces being hidden

Proposal

Integrate the workspace switcher into the dock

Prior Art (Optional)

https://github.com/orgs/elementary/discussions/337

[danirabbit]

@leolost2605 from #134 (comment)

And on the right we have the workspaces like in the mockup but for workspaces with multiple apps it expands on hover and shows it apps with launcher size where clicking will activate on single window and show a spread for this specific workspace on multiple windows. So that you have a workspace/multitasking area with some finer grained focus control.

There's no hover for direct input devices like pens or touch, so I don't think it's a good idea to gate features behind hover.

My initial idea was, if you click a workspace that you're not on it navigates to it. And if you click a workspace that you are on, you get multitasking view. It's the same amount of movement as doing a window spread but then you have a quick way to access the whole multitasking view 🤷

[leolost2605]

Are running apps shown somewhere else then as well?
Because if not this would add a lot more movement for an app with just a single window open. Instead of click -> focus, you go click -> multitasking view -> search -> click -> focus

[leolost2605]

Maybe if only the workspace you are currently on is "expanded"?
This would help to easily show which workspace you are on and you have the apps from you current workspace nicely packed together for easy switching, interacting etc.
Just for opening the multitasking view we already have the multitasking view icon i guess 🤷

[danirabbit]

I think this probably needs like some more drawings or diagrams or something to kind of flesh out how things are supposed to work 😅 maybe a flowchart lol

[seifeldinio]

I explored this solution, and here's a prototype for it:

demo.mp4

Additionally, here is a flowchart for it:

Note: Indicator for Pinned Apps

• Opened App in Workspace:
  • If an app that is pinned to the dock is opened in the workspace:
    • An indicator appears under the pinned app in the dock, showing it is open in the workspace.
    • Clicking on the opened pinned app switches to the workspace where the app is open.
    • If the app is open in multiple workspaces, the user can:
      • Select the specific workspace icon (e.g., "Workspace 2").
      • Click the pinned icon to switch to the first workspace where the app is open.
• Workspace Group Icon Hover:
  • Displays the workspace name (e.g., "Workspace 2") on hover.

Shows the opened apps within the workspace when clicked for easy management.

Scalability and Future-Proofing

• Many Workspaces:
  • No issues with displaying many workspaces in the dock, until it reaches the dock limit.
• Multiple Opened Apps in a Workspace:
  • If more than 4 apps are open in a single workspace, display only the 4 most recently opened ones in the group icon.

Mockups

This approach seamlessly integrates workspace switching into the dock, providing a more intuitive and efficient way to manage and switch between workspaces.

Would love to hear your feedback!

[leolost2605]

This looks really really cool! @danirabbit what's your opinion on this?

[wpkelso]

Could/would this eventually lead into not needing the full multitasking view, instead pushing everything workspace management related into the dock? I could see an extension of that idea being to have an "Add Workspace" or + button on the end of the dock (pretty much this prior art link, Im basically echoing dani's explorations ) that would create new workspaces, with applications then being moved between workspaces with hotkeys or by dragging from the detail view to another workspace on the dock.

[seifeldinio]

@wpkelso

I could see an extension of that idea being to have an "Add Workspace" or + button on the end of the dock

I created this prototype:

Prototype.mp4

Adding a workspace button at the end of the dock helps reduce interaction costs by eliminating the need to switch to multitasking view. Users can add a new workspace directly from the dock, drag a window into an existing workspace, or create a workspace with an open window by dragging it over the "Add workspace" button.

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Users can create empty workspaces that remain visible in the dock without any open windows.

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Visual cues like color and a dot indicator provide clarity by highlighting the active workspace.

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Hovering over the dock and scrolling with the mouse wheel allows workspace switching. Holding Alt + Scroll also switches workspaces when the cursor is on the desktop or other areas, offering a flexible mouse-based navigation option.

Would love to hear your feedback!

[danirabbit]

We had a branch a long time ago of dragging a window down to anywhere on the bottom of the display to open multitasking view which I think is a cool interaction.

Dragging a window to the new workspace button is also very cool, I'm +1 on that. It's like current multitasking view behavior

Currently scrolling over app icons in the dock switches between windows for those apps, so there would be a conflict there. I think scrolling over new workspace button to switch is cool. We also have an option for scroll over panel these days. I think generally scrolling and a modifier is used for zoom though, either app zoom or desktop zoom, so I'm not sure about that one

Generally I'm -1 on having workspaces that are empty. We do our best in the window manager to clean up empty workspaces automatically. A workspace isn't really an object in and of itself but merely represents a group of app windows