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I want to be able to use Alt+Tab or Alt+` to switch back to a previous window AND at the same time start moving the mouse to where I will be clicking, without it all switching to the wrong window just because I happen to move the mouse over the application switcher bar before I release the Alt key.

It is not so much a problem when swapping to the previous window I was using, but when I want to switch 2 or 3 windows back, this will often happen, and cause a break in concentration.

Any way to do disable this mouse interference? Maybe via kernel re-compilation?

Zanna
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Protean
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4 Answers4

1

This Gnome extensions solves the mouse hover focus problem when doing alt+tab:

Disable Hover On App & Window Switcher Popups

It can be installed using the Extension Manager.

Extension Manager can be installed with the command

sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-manager

I'm using this extension on Ubuntu 22.04.5 and it's working nicely.

llahteinen
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0

I don't think this is possible directly. The whole point of a graphical user interface is to use the mouse.

However, depending on your desktop environment you can change the style of the Alt-Tab switcher. For example in Cinnamon there are the Coverflow and Timeline styles for the Alt-Tab switcher where passing over with a mouse has no effect on the selected application. In Unity you may be able to change it by using the compiz setting manager (sudo apt install compizconfig-settings-manager and compiz-plugins-extra).

Sethos II
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I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're asking, but it does hide the mouse, when it's not being used.

Give unclutter a try.

I have the following in my /etc/profile to start it on login:

#Hide mouse while typing
if ! pidof unclutter; then
    unclutter&
fi
karel
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Radoslav Ivanov
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This may seem like a 'low tech' answer, but I quite literally just switch my mouse off for a few seconds. If you have a wireless mouse, look on the bottom and there is usually a switch that you can switch off. Cheers!

PACKET TEL INC
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