Lubuntu 19.10 and 20.04 (LTS) use Openbox as the window manager.
For Lubuntu 18.04 and 19.04, the file that allowed users to edit various Openbox settings, lubuntu-rc.xml and lxqt-rc.xml, respectively, has a section titled "Keybindings for window tiling" with keyboard shortcuts for
- HalfLeftScreen
- HalfRightScreen
- HalfUpperScreen and
- HalfLowerScreen
That section is missing in ~/.config/openbox/lxqt-rc.xml of Lubuntu 19.10 and 20.04 (LTS).
I followed the instructions in the release notes to delete
- ~/.config/lxqt/globalkeyshortcuts.conf
- ~/.config/lxqt/lxqt-runner.conf and
- ~/.config/openbox/lxqt-rc.xml
and to log out and log back in. However, lxqt-rc.xml still doesn't have the window tiling section.
I understand that there have been some conflicts with how the Super also known as Meta key conflicted somehow with LXQt. (All the window tiling keyboard shortcuts originally used the Super key.)
What can users of Lubuntu 19.10 and 20.04 do to get back "window tiling" keyboard shortcuts?
Edit dated 20200526: thanks to this question, I realized that another solution would be to change the shortcut for showing/hiding the LXQt menu to something like Meta+Space. In other words, if one sets Meta+Space to show/hide LXQt's menu, the "pure" Super is available for use in
~/.config/openbox/lxqt-rc.xml
. No need to use the combination ofC+W
detailed below. Your 18.04lubuntu-rc.xml
will work now in Lubuntu 20.04 (and 19.10).This answer is applicable to Lubuntu 19.10 and Lubuntu 20.04
And, for clarity, the file used in the Lubuntu session should be
~/.config/openbox/lxqt-rc.xml
and that in a pure Openbox session should be named~/.config/openbox/rc.xml
In How to snap windows?, a member of the Lubuntu team suggests including some code in lxqt-rc.xml to bring back window tiling and also addresses the conflict I mentioned in the question:
Please look at the keyboard shortcuts section in the manual for Lubuntu 20.04 which has the list of default keyboard shortcuts but also mentions this:
If one wants the same tiling shortcuts that were used in Lubuntu 19.04, here they are in a somewhat modified form. I've included using the Control key together with the Super key and the relevant arrow key instead of just the Super key and the relevant arrow key.
One important point with the keyboard shortcuts listed below is that the user must first press and hold the Ctrl key and then press and hold the Super key and then press the relevant arrow key before releasing all the keys. If the user first presses the Super key first, and then presses the Ctrl key, the shortcuts will not work.
After the edits, open a terminal and run
openbox --reconfigure
for the keybinding to take effect. Alternatively, log out and log back in.I didn't include keyboard shortcuts for maximizing or minimizing windows because these actions and many others can easily be accessed by pressing Alt+Spacebar. Note that Openbox prefers to use iconify instead of minimize.
DK Bose's answer is great.
In general, only two steps are involved:
lxqt-rc.xml
config.Disable
Super_L
.Search for "Shortcut Keys".
Look for
Super_L
entry and disable itConfigure Openbox keyboard binding.
Nice keyboard binding entry is found here in openbox documentation, they call it as "Window Snapping":
Then reconfigure Openbox by running
openbox --reconfigure
.Nice solution above. :-)
In the mean time I wrote a script to do the same. You can hook it to lxqt shortcuts - meta+left, etc.: