A layout combinator that allows layouts to be nested.

You can use this module with the following in your xmonad.hs:

import XMonad.Layout.SubLayouts
import XMonad.Layout.WindowNavigation

Using XMonad.Layout.BoringWindows is optional and it allows you to add a keybinding to skip over the non-visible windows.

import XMonad.Layout.BoringWindows

Then edit your layoutHook by adding the subTabbed layout modifier:

myLayout = windowNavigation $ subTabbed $ boringWindows $
                       Tall 1 (3/100) (1/2) ||| etc..
main = xmonad def { layoutHook = myLayout }

XMonad.Layout.WindowNavigation is used to specify which windows to merge, and it is not integrated into the modifier because it can be configured, and works best as the outer modifier.

Then to your keybindings add:

, ((modm .|. controlMask, xK_h), sendMessage $ pullGroup L)
, ((modm .|. controlMask, xK_l), sendMessage $ pullGroup R)
, ((modm .|. controlMask, xK_k), sendMessage $ pullGroup U)
, ((modm .|. controlMask, xK_j), sendMessage $ pullGroup D)

, ((modm .|. controlMask, xK_m), withFocused (sendMessage . MergeAll))
, ((modm .|. controlMask, xK_u), withFocused (sendMessage . UnMerge))

, ((modm .|. controlMask, xK_period), onGroup W.focusUp')
, ((modm .|. controlMask, xK_comma), onGroup W.focusDown')

These additional keybindings require the optional XMonad.Layout.BoringWindows layoutModifier. The focus will skip over the windows that are not focused in each sublayout.

, ((modm, xK_j), focusDown)
, ((modm, xK_k), focusUp)

A submap can be used to make modifying the sublayouts using onGroup and toSubl simpler:

,((modm, xK_s), submap $ defaultSublMap conf)

NOTE: is there some reason that asks config >>= submap . defaultSublMap could not be used in the keybinding instead? It avoids having to explicitly pass the conf.

For more detailed instructions, see the tutorial and XMonad.Doc.Extending.

Larger version: http://haskell.org/sitewiki/images/8/8b/Xmonad-SubLayouts-xinerama.png

Issue 288

XMonad.Layout.ResizableTile assumes that its environment contains only the windows it is running: sublayouts are currently run with the stack containing only the windows passed to it in its environment, but any changes that the layout makes are not merged back.

Should the behavior be made optional?

Features

• suggested managehooks for merging specific windows, or the apropriate layout based hack to find out the number of groups currently showed, but the size of current window groups is not available (outside of this growing module)

SimpleTabbed as a SubLayout

subTabbed works well, but it would be more uniform to avoid the use of addTabs, with the sublayout being Simplest (but simpleTabbed is this...). The only thing to be gained by fixing this issue is the ability to mix and match decoration styles. Better compatibility with some other layouts of which I am not aware could be another benefit.

simpleTabbed (and other decorated layouts) fail horribly when used as subLayouts:

• decorations stick around: layout is run after being told to Hide
• mouse events do not change focus: the group-ungroup does not respect the focus changes it wants?
• sending ReleaseResources before running it makes xmonad very slow, and still leaves borders sticking around