Movescreen

This Python script moves the window with focus on an adjacent monitor. It is intendend for window managers lacking this shortcut like XFCE. It can also move the mouse cursor.

Usage

movescreen.py [-r] <up|down|left|right|prev|next|fit> [active|a] [mouse|m] [win_id]

Main argument is the direction of the monitor in which the active window will be moved. next and prev will cycle through the list of monitors in left-to-right, top-to-bottom order. 'fit' will reduce or move the window in the center of its monitor so it gets fully visible.

-r optional argument will keep the ratio of the window if the monitors have different size.

Last optional argument(s) specify the active window (default), the mouse, or a specific windows ID. Multiple objects can be moved at once (e.g. "a m").

It should be compatible with Python 2.7 and 3.

XFCE setup

Copy movescreen.py in /usr/local/bin, then:

chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/movescreen.py

Go to Setting -> Keyboard -> Application shortcuts then add one shortcut for each direction:

Depends on

• python
• xrandr
• xwininfo
• wmctrl (not installed by default on Ubuntu, try sudo apt-get install wmctrl )
• xdotool (for mouse cursor)

How does it work?

The script scans for the list of monitors and check their relative positions.

It gather information about the current active window (size, position and flags). It also find on which monitor the window has the biggest area.

Depending on the argument, it moves the window on the selected adjacent monitor (if any) and restore the previously set flags.

Drawback

A little bit slow the first time it is run.

Only tested with two monitors.

Author and licence

Antoine Calando - 2017 - Public domain.