feat(desktops): arrow-key shortcuts + Overview-from-Show-Desktop fix#221
Merged
Conversation
Bare arrow keys (gated by text-entry focus) drive the four most
common virtual-desktop actions:
- Left / Right: switch to the previous / next desktop, wrapping at
the ends so repeated presses cycle through every desktop.
- Up: toggle Overview. In overview the press exits onto the highlighted
desktop (Enter does the same). In Show Desktop state it restores
all windows instead — symmetric to the ArrowDown gesture.
- Down: toggle Show Desktop. Suppressed mid-overview to avoid clashing
with the grid transforms.
While arrowing through desktops inside Overview, `switchDesktop` now
re-lays out the grid for the new active desktop and refreshes the
top-bar `--active` highlight. Without this the index moved but the
UI looked frozen.
Desktop switches outside overview play a one-shot horizontal
slide-in on `.desktop-mode-area` itself. The wallpaper is a sibling
of that element under `.desktop-mode-shell`, so the slide reveals
the wallpaper as a backdrop on the leading edge — no flash, no
gap. Respects `prefers-reduced-motion`.
Fixes a separate bug: entering Overview while every window on the
active desktop is minimized (Show Desktop) used to leave an empty
grid. Restoring those windows first now matches the user's
expectation that Overview reveals their work.
Public API: `WindowManager.switchDesktop()` now accepts an optional
`{ direction: 'next' | 'prev' }` so directional callers drive the
slide; jump-to callers (tile click, plugin API) omit it and the
switch is instantaneous.
Contributor
✅ WordPress Plugin Check Report
📊 ReportAll checks passed! No errors or warnings found. 🤖 Generated by WordPress Plugin Check Action • Learn more about Plugin Check |
…sktop Arrow keys inside overview now cycle through `[ Desktop 1, …, Desktop N, + ]` instead of just the real desktops. Parking the cursor on the trailing "+" tile highlights it (new `--cursor` class — solid accent border + halo, matching the visual weight of `--active`). Pressing Enter while the cursor is there creates a new desktop and exits overview onto it, matching the click-on-+ behaviour. To keep the keyboard selection unambiguous, desktop tiles drop their `--active` highlight while the cursor is parked on "+". Only the "+" reads as "Enter lands here"; the underlying active desktop's windows still render in the grid behind, so the user keeps context without a competing visual. State lives on `WindowManager._overviewAddTileFocused` and resets to `false` on overview exit so the next session starts with the cursor on the active desktop.
…pondering-gosling
…t outlive the hooks stub Several tests enter overview without explicitly exiting it. Both `enterOverview` and `exitOverview` schedule 280–300 ms setTimeouts that fire `doAction(OVERVIEW_ENTERED / OVERVIEW_EXITED)`. Under real timers those callbacks fire AFTER the test's `afterEach` cleared the `window.wp.hooks` stub, and `getWpHooks` then throws — flaky locally, deterministic on CI. Switching this file to `vi.useFakeTimers()` keeps the callbacks parked in the timer queue. `vi.useRealTimers()` in afterEach drops them along with the fake-timer state before the stub is cleared, so nothing ever runs against an unhooked window.
This file contains hidden or bidirectional Unicode text that may be interpreted or compiled differently than what appears below. To review, open the file in an editor that reveals hidden Unicode characters.
Learn more about bidirectional Unicode characters
Sign up for free
to join this conversation on GitHub.
Already have an account?
Sign in to comment
1 participant
Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.This suggestion is invalid because no changes were made to the code.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is closed.Suggestions cannot be applied while viewing a subset of changes.Only one suggestion per line can be applied in a batch.Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.Applying suggestions on deleted lines is not supported.You must change the existing code in this line in order to create a valid suggestion.Outdated suggestions cannot be applied.This suggestion has been applied or marked resolved.Suggestions cannot be applied from pending reviews.Suggestions cannot be applied on multi-line comments.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is queued to merge.Suggestion cannot be applied right now. Please check back later.
Summary
Adds bare arrow-key shortcuts for managing virtual desktops and fixes a long-standing usability bug where entering Overview while every window was minimized produced an empty grid.
CleanShot.2026-05-15.at.16.56.06.mp4
Shortcuts
Gated by the same text-entry-focus rule as the existing
`window switcher, so typing into inputs / textareas / Gutenberg's block canvas is never intercepted.←→↑↓Enter(in overview)Wrap-around presses keep the perceived direction of the slide — pressing
→past the rightmost desktop still slides in from the right even though the index loops back to 0.Mid-overview desktop switching
switchDesktopis now overview-aware. When called mid-overview it re-lays out the grid for the new active desktop and refreshes the top-bar--activehighlight. Without this, the active id moved but the UI looked frozen.Slide animation
Desktop switches outside overview play a one-shot horizontal slide-in on
.desktop-mode-areaitself — the windows + widgets container. The wallpaper is a sibling of that element under.desktop-mode-shell, so the slide reveals the wallpaper as a backdrop on the leading edge: no flash, no gap. 280 ms cubic-bezier ease-out, translate64px → 0with opacity0.35 → 1.prefers-reduced-motiondisables it.Overview-from-Show-Desktop fix
Entering Overview while every window on the active desktop was minimized (the canonical Show Desktop state) used to produce an empty backdrop — the eligibility filter excluded minimized windows. Now it restores them first so the grid actually contains them. Partially-minimized desktops are untouched (existing behaviour preserved).
Public API
WindowManager.switchDesktop()gains an optional{ direction: 'next' | 'prev' }argument. Directional callers (the arrow handler) pass it to drive the slide; jump-to callers (tile click, plugin API) omit it and the switch is instantaneous. Non-breaking.Test plan
→switches to D2 with a right-to-left slide.←switches back with the mirrored slide.→from D3 wraps to D1 with a right-to-left slide (perceived direction, not index delta).←/→move the highlighted top-bar tile AND re-lay out the grid for the new desktop.Enterexits overview onto that desktop.↑and↓also exit overview cleanly.↓first):↑restores all windows without opening Overview.<input>,<textarea>, or Gutenberg block canvas: arrow keys do their normal in-field thing, never desktop-switch.prefers-reduced-motion: reduce(system setting): the slide is suppressed.