Using mielwm
Focus and switching
Move between windows with the arrows, jump back to the last one with ⌥Tab, and decide what happens at a workspace's edge.
On this page
Focus by direction
⌥ with an arrow focuses the nearest window that way. ⌥⇧ with an arrow moves the focused window that way: it swaps with the tile next to it, or nudges a floating window one grid step.
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌥← ⌥→ ⌥↑ ⌥↓ | Focus the nearest window that way. In a stack, the previous or next window. |
| ⌥⇧← ⌥⇧→ ⌥⇧↑ ⌥⇧↓ | Swap tiles, or nudge a floating window. Hold to keep going. |
At the edge of a workspace
Focus and move stop at the edge of the workspace, the way AeroSpace's do. To have them go on into the next workspace, turn on Settings > Layout > Focus and move past the edge. Then ⌥→ on the rightmost tile focuses the nearest window on the workspace to the right, and ⌥⇧→ carries the window there.
They always roam freely in two cases:
- In the overview, where the arrows reach every window on the canvas.
- When new windows float, set in Settings > Layout > New windows.
Recent windows
⌥Tab is a window switcher, like ⌘Tab for windows:
- Tap ⌥Tab to go back to the last window you used, on any workspace.
- Hold ⌥ and press Tab again to walk further back. A list of your recent windows shows, and letting go of ⌥ switches.
- ⌥⇧Tab walks the other way.
In a stack, ⌥Tab steps through the stack's windows instead.
The last workspace
The Last workspace action goes to the workspace you were on before, and again comes back. It has no key until you give it one in Settings > Keyboard, under Workspaces. From a terminal it's mielwm workspace-back-and-forth.
Settings > Layout > Workspace key goes back does the same from the workspace keys: on workspace 3, ⌥3 takes you back to the one before.
Close and minimize
Close window and Minimize window act on the focused window. Close works like a click on its close button, so the app may still ask to save. Neither has a key until you give it one in Settings > Keyboard, under Windows.
After you close, minimize or hide the focused window, you stay on the same workspace and the most recent window on screen takes the focus.
What has the focus
Window keys like ⌥T act on the focused window. When you click the desktop, a dialog or an app mielwm leaves alone, no managed window has the focus, so those keys do nothing until you pick a window again.