== Using i3
Throughout this guide, the keyword +$mod+ will be used to refer to the
-configured modifier. This is the Alt key (Mod1) by default, with the Windows
-key (Mod4) being a popular alternative.
+configured modifier. This is the Alt key (+Mod1+) by default, with the Windows
+key (+Mod4+) being a popular alternative.
=== Opening terminals and moving around
One very basic operation is opening a new terminal. By default, the keybinding
-for this is $mod+Enter, that is Alt+Enter in the default configuration. By
-pressing $mod+Enter, a new terminal will be opened. It will fill the whole
-space available on your screen.
+for this is +$mod+Enter+, that is Alt+Enter (+Mod1+Enter+) in the default
+configuration. By pressing +$mod+Enter+, a new terminal will be opened. It
+will fill the whole space available on your screen.
image:single_terminal.png[Single terminal]
To move the focus between the two terminals, you can use the direction keys
which you may know from the editor +vi+. However, in i3, your homerow is used
for these keys (in +vi+, the keys are shifted to the left by one for
-compatibility with most keyboard layouts). Therefore, +$mod+J+ is left, +$mod+K+
-is down, +$mod+L+ is up and `$mod+;` is right. So, to switch between the
-terminals, use +$mod+K+ or +$mod+L+. Of course, you can also use the arrow keys.
+compatibility with most keyboard layouts). Therefore, +$mod+j+ is left, +$mod+k+
+is down, +$mod+l+ is up and `$mod+;` is right. So, to switch between the
+terminals, use +$mod+k+ or +$mod+l+. Of course, you can also use the arrow keys.
At the moment, your workspace is split (it contains two terminals) in a
specific direction (horizontal by default). Every window can be split
=== Closing windows
If an application does not provide a mechanism for closing (most applications
-provide a menu, the escape key or a shortcut like +Control+W+ to close), you
+provide a menu, the escape key or a shortcut like +Control+w+ to close), you
can press +$mod+Shift+q+ to kill a window. For applications which support
the WM_DELETE protocol, this will correctly close the application (saving
any modifications or doing other cleanup). If the application doesn’t support
image::tree-layout2.png["layout2",float="right"]
image::tree-shot4.png["shot4",title="Two terminals on standard workspace"]
-=== Orientation and Split Containers
-
[[OrientationSplit]]
+=== Orientation and Split Containers
It is only natural to use so-called +Split Containers+ in order to build a
layout when using a tree as data structure. In i3, every +Container+ has an
On first start (and on all following starts, unless you have a configuration
file), i3 will offer you to create a configuration file. You can tell the
-wizard to use either Alt (Mod1) or Windows (Mod4) as modifier in the config
+wizard to use either Alt (+Mod1+) or Windows (+Mod4+) as modifier in the config
file. Also, the created config file will use the key symbols of your current
keyboard layout. To start the wizard, use the command +i3-config-wizard+.
Please note that you must not have +~/.i3/config+, otherwise the wizard will
-------------------
[[fonts]]
-
=== Fonts
i3 has support for both X core fonts and FreeType fonts (through Pango) to
--------------------------------------------------------------
[[keybindings]]
-
=== Keyboard bindings
A keyboard binding makes i3 execute a command (see below) upon pressing a
alias for Group2.
[[mousebindings]]
-
=== Mouse bindings
A mouse binding makes i3 execute a command upon pressing a specific mouse
--------------------------------
[[binding_modes]]
-
=== Binding modes
You can have multiple sets of bindings by using different binding modes. When
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[floating_modifier]]
-
=== The floating modifier
To move floating windows with your mouse, you can either grab their titlebar
hide_edge_borders vertical
----------------------
-=== Arbitrary commands for specific windows (for_window)
-
[[for_window]]
+=== Arbitrary commands for specific windows (for_window)
With the +for_window+ command, you can let i3 execute any command when it
encounters a specific window. This can be used to set windows to floating or to
The valid criteria are the same as those for commands, see <<command_criteria>>.
-=== Don't focus window upon opening
-
[[no_focus]]
+=== Don't focus window upon opening
When a new window appears, it will be focused. The +no_focus+ directive allows preventing
this from happening and must be used in combination with <<command_criteria>>.
-------------------------------
[[variables]]
-
=== Variables
As you learned in the section about keyboard bindings, you will have
you should create a little script which generates a configuration file and run
it before starting i3 (for example in your +~/.xsession+ file).
-=== Automatically putting clients on specific workspaces
-
[[assign_workspace]]
+=== Automatically putting clients on specific workspaces
To automatically make a specific window show up on a specific workspace, you
can use an *assignment*. You can match windows by using any criteria,
The flag --no-startup-id is explained in <<exec>>.
[[workspace_screen]]
-
=== Automatically putting workspaces on specific screens
If you assign clients to workspaces, it might be handy to put the
force_display_urgency_hint 500 ms
---------------------------------
-=== Focus on window activation
-
[[focus_on_window_activation]]
+=== Focus on window activation
If a window is activated, e.g., via +google-chrome www.google.com+, it may request
to take focus. Since this may not preferable, different reactions can be configured.
none::
The window will neither be focused, nor be marked urgent.
+[[show_marks]]
=== Drawing marks on window decoration
If activated, marks on windows are drawn in their window decoration. However,
--------------
[[line_continuation]]
-
=== Line continuation
Config files support line continuation, meaning when you end a line in a
class::
Compares the window class (the second part of WM_CLASS). Use the
- special value +__focused__+ to match all windows having the same window
+ special value +\_\_focused__+ to match all windows having the same window
class as the currently focused window.
instance::
Compares the window instance (the first part of WM_CLASS). Use the
- special value +__focused__+ to match all windows having the same window
+ special value +\_\_focused__+ to match all windows having the same window
instance as the currently focused window.
window_role::
Compares the window role (WM_WINDOW_ROLE). Use the special value
- +__focused__+ to match all windows having the same window role as the
+ +\_\_focused__+ to match all windows having the same window role as the
currently focused window.
window_type::
Compare the window type (_NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE). Possible values are
id::
Compares the X11 window ID, which you can get via +xwininfo+ for example.
title::
- Compares the X11 window title (_NET_WM_NAME or WM_NAME as fallback).
- Use the special value +__focused__+ to match all windows having the
+ Compares the X11 window title (\_NET_WM_NAME or WM_NAME as fallback).
+ Use the special value +\_\_focused__+ to match all windows having the
same window title as the currently focused window.
urgent::
Compares the urgent state of the window. Can be "latest" or "oldest".
(The following aliases are also available: newest, last, recent, first)
workspace::
Compares the workspace name of the workspace the window belongs to. Use
- the special value +__focused__+ to match all windows in the currently
+ the special value +\_\_focused__+ to match all windows in the currently
focused workspace.
con_mark::
Compares the mark set for this container, see <<vim_like_marks>>.
information on how to use them.
[[exec]]
-
=== Executing applications (exec)
What good is a window manager if you can’t actually start any applications?
--------------
[[_focusing_moving_containers]]
-
=== Focusing containers
To change focus, you can use the +focus+ command. The following options are
See <<move_to_outputs>> for how to move a container/workspace to a different
RandR output.
-=== Moving containers/workspaces to RandR outputs
-
[[move_to_outputs]]
+=== Moving containers/workspaces to RandR outputs
To move a container to another RandR output (addressed by names like +LVDS1+ or
+VGA1+) or to a RandR output identified by a specific direction (like +left+,
--------------------------------------------------------
[[resizingconfig]]
-
=== Resizing containers/windows
If you want to resize containers/windows using your keyboard, you can use the
bindsym $mod+a [class="urxvt" title="VIM"] focus
------------------------------------------------
-=== VIM-like marks (mark/goto)
-
[[vim_like_marks]]
+=== VIM-like marks (mark/goto)
This feature is like the jump feature: It allows you to directly jump to a
specific window (this means switching to the appropriate workspace and setting
this mark, add it if the window has none or replace the current mark if it has
another mark.
-Refer to +show_marks+ if you don't want marks to be shown in the window decoration.
+Refer to <<show_marks>> if you don't want marks to be shown in the window decoration.
*Syntax*:
------------------------------
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
[[pango_markup]]
-
=== Window title format
By default, i3 will simply print the X11 window title. Using +title_format+,
----------------------------------------------
[[shmlog]]
-
=== Enabling shared memory logging
As described in http://i3wm.org/docs/debugging.html, i3 can log to a shared
------------------------------------------------
[[multi_monitor]]
-
== Multiple monitors
As you can see in the goal list on the website, i3 was specifically developed
on which hint the application sets. With i3bar, you can configure its position,
see <<i3bar_position>>.
+[[presentations]]
=== Giving presentations (multi-monitor)
When giving a presentation, you typically want the audience to see what you see
which only you can see on your screen, while the audience can only see the
slides.
-[[presentations]]
==== Case 1: everybody gets the same output
This is the simple case. You connect your computer to the video projector,
turn on both (computer and video projector) and configure your X server to
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