Tiling
Here’s a beginner-friendly explanation of window tiling in GNOME and Tactile, written in Codekub style, keeping it clear, concise, and actionable:
Window Management & Tiling in GNOME
Managing multiple apps efficiently is key for productivity, especially when coding or working on projects.
Basic Two-Way Tiling (For Small Screens)
GNOME comes with built-in simple tiling:
- Super + Left Arrow → Snap active window to the left half
- Super + Right Arrow → Snap active window to the right half
- Super + Up Arrow → Maximize the window (fills screen, top panel visible)
💡 Example: Place your browser on the left and terminal on the right. This is ideal for laptops with smaller screens.
Tip: It’s a good alternative to one-app-per-workspace setups.
Advanced Tiling with Tactile (For Big Screens)
If you have a larger monitor, you can use Tactile, which splits the screen into 6 regions by default:
- Center: Two large slots
- Wings: Two slots on each side (smaller)
Key commands:
- Super + T → Activate Tactile grid
- Super + T + [slot letters] → Assign window to specific slots
💡 Examples:
- Assign a terminal to the E slot:
Super + T E - Expand it to fill both center slots:
Super + T W S - Combine multiple apps: two terminals in wings, browser in center
Tactile lets you fit multiple windows efficiently without manually resizing each one.
Moving Windows Manually
Sometimes manual adjustment is needed:
- With title bar: Click and drag the title bar
- Without title bar (e.g., Alacritty terminal): Hold Super, click anywhere inside the window, and drag
💡 Tip: This works even for windows with title bars, giving you flexibility when needed.
Quick Summary
| Feature | Shortcut / Action | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Snap left/right | Super + Left/Right | Two-way tiling on small screens |
| Maximize | Super + Up | Fill screen without hiding top panel |
| Tactile grid | Super + T | Advanced multi-window tiling |
| Move manually | Super + click & drag | Adjust windows with or without title bars |
Why This Matters for Developers
- Keep terminal, IDE, browser, and documentation visible
- Switch between coding, testing, and debugging quickly
- Reduces time wasted resizing windows
- Makes multi-tasking natural
If you want, I can next create a visual “GNOME + Tactile tiling cheat sheet” with keyboard shortcuts and examples that beginners can print or keep on screen while working.
Do you want me to do that?