Is it possible to implement a feature similar to the Crop and Lock (Reparent) function in Windows PowerToys, which allows cropping a window and still interacting with it? For example, like this: PowerToys Crop And Lock for Windows | Microsoft Learn
Hi - interesting idea! I don’t know enough about how KWin window management happens to speak to whether it’s feasible…
But as a user, I’m really curious what situations come up where you use (or would use) that tool? Like maybe trying to set up a more “minimal” interface for an application or website that doesn’t provide one itself?
It’s the first time I’ve heard of this. That is very cool. It’s something I’ve been looking for for a long time. I’m not really a “could this or that be implemented” kinda guy, but this is certainly something I’d wish to see. Just curious since I don’t use windows and I can’t check but this is one of the reasons I use “open as popup” on chromium based browsers. But to be able and just select part of a page and open it in its own ssb/webapp style window would be great. Cause THAT is something the opap extension cannot do. Isolate, say, an article on a page. It places the entire page in a window. Yeah, it most certainly got my intrest.
John. The use cases are plenty. I’ll try to explain it visualy with that “open as popup” extension. That thing pops up in the context menu when right clicking an empty space on a page. For example:
Or:
Since those ar now separate windows:
…some functionality of this becomes more apparent when you switch to a tiler:
Now, like I mentioned, the extension has its limits. You cannot select pieces as such from a webpage and open them as windows. The extension will grab the url of the entire page. Now, one of the reasons that I create a bunch of ssb’s is ( amongst other) the drag n drop functionality between pages. But I have to make an ssb or a webapp first right? This crop and lock feature can do it on the fly. No need for a webapp or ssb. Right there on the fly. I would have to see the thing in action cause I don’t have windows but I wonder what else it can do.
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The “thumbnail” mode (where both the original window and the thumbnail are visible, while the later is not interactive) is certainly possible. A minor modification of Plasma’s built-in “thumbnail aside” effect should do.
The “reparent” mode is tricker. Without modifying kwin itself, you can do that by starting the app in a nested Wayland compositor window, then move and resize the app window to be larger than the compositor window is. However, you can’t do that to an already-running app.
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So you think a select to window could be a feature? Cause that would be great. If I understand it correctly, the “reparent” is what it says, re-attach it to the parent window right? Then yeah, to an already running app would require some type of stacking ( there are some wm’s that do that). But I think that shouldn’t be a necessity at all. Select>window would be awesome already. Haven’t used windoz for well over two decades but if I would, that powertool would be on it.