#[1]KDE UserBase Wiki (en) [2]KDE UserBase Wiki Atom feed

   [3]Jump to content

   [ ] Main menu
   Main menu
   (BUTTON) move to sidebar (BUTTON) hide
   Navigation
     * [4]Home
     * [5]Quick Start
     * [6]Recent changes

   Contributors
     * [7]Start Contributing
     * [8]Modify Existing Pages
     * [9]Add New Pages
     * [10]Page Elements Explained
     * [11]Display elements markup
     * [12]More Markup Help

   Translators
     * [13]Get a Translator Account
     * [14]Languages represented
     * [15]Working with Languages
     * [16]Start Translating
     * [17]Request Release

   Languages
   Language links are at the top of the page across from the title.
   [18]KDE UserBase Wiki
   [19]Search
   ____________________
   (BUTTON) Search

     * [20]English
     * [21]Log in

   [ ] Personal tools
     * [22]Log in

   [ ]

Contents

   (BUTTON) move to sidebar (BUTTON) hide
     * Beginning
     * 1Feature Overview

     2Practical Features

     3Tutorials
   (BUTTON) Toggle Tutorials subsection
     * 3.1You want an application to launch in a specific size and position every
       time



   3.2Customise the position of titlebar buttons



   3.3If you prefer a Classic, KDE3-style Desktop



   3.4Open applications directly into a different desktop



   4Using with small screens (eg Netbooks)

   (BUTTON) Toggle Using with small screens (eg Netbooks) subsection
     * 4.1Make the window decorations smaller



   4.2Change the base fonts



   4.3KMail's Aggregation options take up too much space



   4.4KMail's Folder-List Tooltips hide too many folder names



   4.5Gallery



   4.6Troubleshoot Graphics Problems



   4.7Defining Window Rules



   5More Information

   Toggle the table of contents

   [ ] Toggle the table of contents

KWin

     * [23]Page
     * [24]Discussion

   [ ] English

     * [25]Read
     * [26]View source
     * [27]View history

   [ ] Tools
   Tools
   (BUTTON) move to sidebar (BUTTON) hide
   Actions
     * [28]Read
     * [29]View source
     * [30]View history

   General
     * [31]What links here
     * [32]Related changes
     * [33]Special pages
     * [34]Printable version
     * [35]Permanent link
     * [36]Page information

   From KDE UserBase Wiki
   This page contains [37]changes which are not marked for translation.
   [40px-Flag-red.png]

   Proposed for Deletion
   This page has been proposed for deletion for the following reason:

     This page is quite dated. Should it be updated, or can relevant info be found
     elsewhere?

   Please use the discussion section of this page to voice your opinion on this.
   [40px-Warning.png]

   Obsolete Page
   This page is no longer relevant -- it will be archived.

   Other languages:
     * [38]Deutsch
     * English
     * [39]català
     * [40]dansk
     * [41]español
     * [42]italiano
     * [43]português do Brasil
     * [44]Ellynika'
     * [45]russkij
     * [46]ukrayins'ka
     * [47]­(­½§)
     * [48]­(º£)
     * [49]¥¬

   [50][356px-KWin_Plasma_5_16.png] KWin running a Plasma 5.16 desktopThe reliable
   and flexible window manager for KDE Plasma Desktops, now with effects!

Feature Overview

          + Stable and reliable
          + Compositing, 3D effects
          + Easy configuration
          + Improved efficiency

   KWin (pronounced as "Quinn", with alternative pronunciation "kay-win" proposed by
   some developers [51][1]) is the window manager for the KDE Plasma Desktop. It
   gives you complete control over your windows, making sure they're not in the way
   but aid you in your task. It paints the window decoration, the bar on top of
   every window with (configurable) buttons like close, maximize and minimize. It
   also handles placing of windows and switching between them.

   KWin supports compositing, which means using 3D effects for handling your
   windows. This can make window management smoother, easier, more efficient and
   more natural. It's hardware requirements are very modest and pretty much every
   reasonably modern system since 2002 supports it.

Practical Features

   Click with your right mouse button on a window decoration or use [52]System
   Settings to access the new and easier configuration of KWin. Here you can enable
   effects to more efficiently manage your windows. You can for example use the
   Present Windows as the effect for window switching. Instead of showing you icons
   or very small previews of your applications, it arranges them in a grid so you
   can quickly choose the right one. Just use the Alt-Tab keysequence and keep the
   Alt key pressed. You can now use tab to switch through the windows or just
   activate the right one using the mouse. Hitting Alt-Tab keys quickly will show
   you the next window in the queue, just like it used to.

   If your X server already supports compositing, switching it on is as easy as
   opening System Settings, opening the Worskpace Appearance and Behaviour module,
   choosing Desktop Effects and enabling the checkbox Enable desktop effects at
   startup. More advanced compositing settings (such as Use VSync, Scale method,
   Compositing type) are available through the Advanced dialog. Customising the
   behaviour of the KWin effects means opening the All effects tab, and choosing the
   plugins you want to use. Please note that only a subset of the plugins works with
   XRender-based compositing. For the full experience, you need to use OpenGL mode.

   Employing motion physics, KWin provides your windows with a more natural feel.
   New desktop effects like the Cube desktop switcher and Magic Lamp minimize
   animation have been added. Improvements in the existing effects make window
   management smoother than ever. KWin has seen many performance improvements to
   enable these effects even on low-end hardware. Elaborate checks have been build
   in to ensure users with low-end hardware are not presented with an unusable
   setup. KWin detects the capabilities of the hardware and if needed gracefully
   scales its effects down. You can take control and disable these checks or change
   settings like the global animation speed to fine-tune your experience. When your
   computer is under heavy load, KWin will automatically disable the compositing
   temporarily to keep things running smoothly. It will notify you if it does so,
   and you can re-enable compositing by pressing Shift+Alt+F12. Finally, support for
   multiple screen handling has been improved in KWin using the new Kephal library.
   You can move maximized windows between Xinerama screens and the addition of
   external screens is handled correctly.

   More information about what was introduced in KDE SC 4.9 can be found at the
   following link:
     * [53]kwin improvements

Tutorials

You want an application to launch in a specific size and position every time

   [54][400px-KWin_Settings_Geometry.png] Size and Position

   Sometimes the screen position of an application is vital to your comfort, so use
   the flexibility of KWin to make sure it's always where you want it.

   Position the window where you want it to open, then right-click on the title-bar,
   choosing Advanced -> Special Window Settings. This will open a settings window,
   with appropriate entries already made. All you need to do now is select the Size
   & Position tab and check Position and Size. OK - you are finished!

Customise the position of titlebar buttons

   [55][400px-KWin_Configure_Buttons.png] Configure Buttons

   Take a look at System Settings -> Application Style -> Window Decorations ->
   Buttons tab. The options open to you may depend on your distribution or theme,
   and it's clear that there is more to come.

   To simply move things around you work with the specimen titlebar. Drag icons
   there to where you want to see them.

   You may find that you have other icons available to you. A circle indicates that
   the button will set that window on all desktops. Another icon that you may find
   useful is Shade - a toggle between rolled up (titlebar only visible) and normal
   view. These icons are added by dragging from the text description window onto the
   speciman title bar - just position them as you want to use them.

If you prefer a Classic, KDE3-style Desktop

   [56][Plasma_howto-thumbnail-45.png]
      Change to traditional desktop

   Right-click on your desktop - select Desktop Settings (or Appearance Settings, in
   some distros). Change the Layout: from Desktop to Folder View. The whole desktop
   is now a folderview, and another right-click on the desktop will allow you to
   select FolderView Settings. Set the folderview to the directory you want to use
   as your desktop.

Open applications directly into a different desktop

   Use commands like
kstart5 --desktop 4 kate

Using with small screens (eg Netbooks)

Make the window decorations smaller

   [57][400px-KWin_Small_Decorations.png] Breeze, Plastik, and Oxygen Styles

   System Settings -> Application Style -> Window Decorations tab. Two good options
   there:
   [58][300px-KWin_Breeze_Small.png] Configure Breeze Style
     * Using the default style (Breeze), select Configure Decoration and set Button
       size to Tiny or Small.
     * Using an other style, with smaller windows decorations.

   Both routes will give you slim and functional window titles and borders.

Change the base fonts

   On many netbooks the screen is very clear, so that reading fonts much smaller
   than you expect is feasible. On Acer Aspire One I find that 8 point is a good
   base settings.

KMail's Aggregation options take up too much space

   See [59]this FAQ to change it.

KMail's Folder-List Tooltips hide too many folder names

   See [60]this FAQ to change their behaviour

Gallery

   [61]The Gallery holds many screenshots of past and present desktops and effects.

Troubleshoot Graphics Problems

   Curing graphics problems depends on knowing the correct drivers for your graphics
   card. Learn more about this on the [62]Desktop Effects Performance page.

Defining Window Rules

   There is a tutorial on defining your own rules for the behaviour of specific
   windows on the [63]KWin Rules pages.

More Information

     * [64]Wikipedia
     * [65]Window manager (Arch Linux Wiki)
     * [66]Using Other Window Managers with Plasma

   Retrieved from "[67]https://userbase.kde.org/index.php?title=KWin&oldid=493738"
   [68]Categories:
     * [69]Proposed deletion
     * [70]Desktop

   Hidden category:
     * [71]Obsolete

     * This page was last edited on 2 April 2024, at 10:34.
     * Content is available under [72]Creative Commons License SA 4.0 unless
       otherwise noted.

     * [73]Privacy policy
     * [74]About KDE UserBase Wiki
     * [75]Disclaimers

     * [76]Creative Commons License SA 4.0
     * [77]Powered by MediaWiki

     * (BUTTON) Toggle limited content width

References

   Visible links:
   1. https://userbase.kde.org/opensearch_desc.php
   2. https://userbase.kde.org/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom
   3. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin#bodyContent
   4. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:MyLanguage/Welcome_to_KDE_UserBase
   5. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:MyLanguage/Quick_Start
   6. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:RecentChanges
   7. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:MyLanguage/Tasks_and_Tools
   8. https://userbase.kde.org/Ub-helpfiles-modify-redirect
   9. https://userbase.kde.org/Ub-helpfiles-new-content-redirect
  10. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:MyLanguage/PageLayout
  11. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:MyLanguage/Typographical_Guidelines
  12. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:MyLanguage/Toolbox
  13. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:MyLanguage/Translator_Account
  14. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:ActiveLanguages
  15. https://userbase.kde.org/Ub-helpfiles-languages-redirect
  16. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:LanguageStats
  17. https://userbase.kde.org/ReadyForTranslation
  18. https://userbase.kde.org/Welcome_to_KDE_UserBase
  19. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:Search
  20. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin
  21. https://userbase.kde.org/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=KWin
  22. https://userbase.kde.org/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=KWin
  23. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin
  24. https://userbase.kde.org/Talk:KWin
  25. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin
  26. https://userbase.kde.org/index.php?title=KWin&action=edit
  27. https://userbase.kde.org/index.php?title=KWin&action=history
  28. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin
  29. https://userbase.kde.org/index.php?title=KWin&action=edit
  30. https://userbase.kde.org/index.php?title=KWin&action=history
  31. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:WhatLinksHere/KWin
  32. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:RecentChangesLinked/KWin
  33. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:SpecialPages
  34. javascript:print();
  35. https://userbase.kde.org/index.php?title=KWin&oldid=493738
  36. https://userbase.kde.org/index.php?title=KWin&action=info
  37. https://userbase.kde.org/index.php?title=KWin&oldid=469760&diff=493738
  38. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin/de
  39. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin/ca
  40. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin/da
  41. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin/es
  42. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin/it
  43. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin/pt-br
  44. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin/el
  45. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin/ru
  46. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin/uk
  47. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin/zh-cn
  48. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin/zh-tw
  49. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin/ja
  50. https://userbase.kde.org/File:KWin_Plasma_5_16.png
  51. https://phabricator.kde.org/D26500#600656
  52. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:MyLanguage/System_Settings
  53. http://blog.martin-graesslin.com/blog/2012/09/performance-improvements-in-kwin-4-9-2-and-4-10
  54. https://userbase.kde.org/File:KWin_Settings_Geometry.png
  55. https://userbase.kde.org/File:KWin_Configure_Buttons.png
  56. http://userbase.kde.org/images.userbase/e/ea/Plasma_howto-desktop-traditional-45.gif
  57. https://userbase.kde.org/File:KWin_Small_Decorations.png
  58. https://userbase.kde.org/File:KWin_Breeze_Small.png
  59. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:MyLanguage/KMail/FAQs_Hints_and_Tips#Get_more_screen_space_in_KMail
  60. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:MyLanguage/KMail/FAQs_Hints_and_Tips#Un-configure_KMail_folder_tool_tips
  61. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:MyLanguage/KWin/Gallery
  62. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:MyLanguage/Desktop_Effects_Performance
  63. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:MyLanguage/KWin_Rules
  64. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KWin
  65. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Window_manager
  66. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:MyLanguage/Tutorials/Using_Other_Window_Managers_with_Plasma
  67. https://userbase.kde.org/index.php?title=KWin&oldid=493738
  68. https://userbase.kde.org/Special:Categories
  69. https://userbase.kde.org/Category:Proposed_deletion
  70. https://userbase.kde.org/Category:Desktop
  71. https://userbase.kde.org/Category:Obsolete
  72. https://userbase.kde.org/KDE_UserBase_Wiki:Copyrights
  73. https://userbase.kde.org/KDE_UserBase_Wiki:Privacy_policy
  74. https://userbase.kde.org/KDE_UserBase_Wiki:About
  75. https://userbase.kde.org/KDE_UserBase_Wiki:General_disclaimer
  76. https://userbase.kde.org/KDE_UserBase_Wiki:Copyrights
  77. https://www.mediawiki.org/

   Hidden links:
  79. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin
  80. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin#Feature_Overview
  81. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin#Practical_Features
  82. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin#Tutorials
  83. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin#You_want_an_application_to_launch_in_a_specific_size_and_position_every_time
  84. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin#Customise_the_position_of_titlebar_buttons
  85. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin#If_you_prefer_a_Classic,_KDE3-style_Desktop
  86. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin#Open_applications_directly_into_a_different_desktop
  87. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin#Using_with_small_screens_(eg_Netbooks)
  88. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin#Make_the_window_decorations_smaller
  89. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin#Change_the_base_fonts
  90. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin#KMail's_Aggregation_options_take_up_too_much_space
  91. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin#KMail's_Folder-List_Tooltips_hide_too_many_folder_names
  92. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin#Gallery
  93. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin#Troubleshoot_Graphics_Problems
  94. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin#Defining_Window_Rules
  95. https://userbase.kde.org/KWin#More_Information