Is there a command to go a specific workspace?
You can use wmctrl.
Basics commands:
wmctrl -d
to show all of your workspaces.
wmctrl -s <workspace_name>
to change to a specific workspace.
If you are using Compiz, you will have to do a trick because Compiz "workspaces" are actually Viewports of a single Workspace.
Trick Instructions
Check the output of wmctrl -d
For example, mine is:
0 * DG: 4098x2304 VP: 1366,0 WA: 0,23 1366x745 N/A
This means that actually I have one Workspace of 4098 x 2304 instead of what I "think" I have (nine "workspaces", 3 x 3).
I was at what was supposed to be "workspace" 2, but actually I was at viewport (VP) 1366,0 (4098 / 3 = 1366) as showed by the output above.
So this is how it works: we take the whole Workspace and divide for the numbers of "workspaces" we "think" we have. In my case: 4098 / 3 = 1366 and 2304 / 3 = 768.
If I want to go to my "workspace" 1, the command is:
wmctrl -o 0,0
Then, if I want to go to my "workspace" 4, the command is:
wmctrl -o 0,768
If I want to go to my "workspace" 8, the command is:
wmctrl -o 1366,1536
If I want to go to my "workspace" 9, the command is:
wmctrl -o 2732,1536
Got it? ;-)
The -o
flag "truncates" their values.
In other words it changes the "workspace" where the actual pixel is belonging to.
The following are equivalent:
wmctrl -o 0,0
wmctrl -o 1365,767
It is beautifully simple to achieve what you want with xdotool
, which has multiple options for managing different workspaces (also known as 'desktops' within the program documentation). I find it can be very interesting and creative to string together commands from man xdotool
; the commands I have formulated below might be useful in scripts.
Note: With some window managers, or if you are using compiz
, you may need to use xdotool
commands such as set_desktop_viewport
and get_desktop_viewport
. You may have to specify the commands in a different way like desgua suggests above, but for me the set_desktop
and set_desktop_for_window
commands proved most useful on a non-compiz system.)
(The solution is most useful for Xubuntu/Lubuntu users, or those who are not running compiz,etc.)
To list the number of current workspaces, enter
xdotool get_num_desktops
The following commands will only work if you have at least 1 other workspace.
To change focus to your workspace 1, just enter
xdotool set_desktop 1
Then to return to the default workspace, enter
xdotool set_desktop 0
The workspace just needs to be specified as the last value in the command (1 or 2 or 3, etc).
To find the number of the workspace you are currently on, you could use
xdotool get_desktop
These commands could be used in scripts and they should be very useful for achieving what you what.
For how to switch applications to a particular desktop, see my answer here:
- how to shift applications from workspace 1 to 2 using command
For more useful options available for workspace switching, consult man xdotool
.