how to show autohidden panel with superkey / windows key

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lettuceprey

how to show autohidden panel with superkey / windows key

Post by lettuceprey »

I prefer my panel to be set to autohide. I also do not like any icons or widgets on my desktop. If I want to check the time when using Windows, if I hit the Windows / Superkey the menu opens, but it also brings the panel to the front when in autohide status thus allowing me to see the clock (as well as the status of any app icons in the panel down by the clock.)

I've explored the settings as much as I can, but can't find a way to enable something so seemingly basic.

Any assistance that addresses this issue is most appreciated.

using: Linux Mint 17.3 Cinnamon 64-bit, Cinnamon version 2.8.8
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jimallyn
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Re: how to show autohidden panel with superkey / windows key

Post by jimallyn »

You can set a custom keyboard shortcut to do just about anything in Linux. I do not, however know how to do that particular function. But I wouldn't be surprised if somebody who does know pops in with your answer.
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Cosmo.
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Re: how to show autohidden panel with superkey / windows key

Post by Cosmo. »

Several things cannot be done in Cinnamon with keyboard shortcuts, e. g. navigate in the settings and unhiding a panel.

You might use the intelligent autohide feature. Not quite the same, what you want, but leads to the result, that the desktop area is clear, if the active window occupies the same space as the panel.

The reason, why this is different to Windows is the fact, that in Windows the menu is an integrated part of the taskbar, whereas in Cinnamon the panel is nothing more than a container for the applets; so the keyboard shortcut (super by default) shows the applet (the menu in this case), but not the container (applet).
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Re: how to show autohidden panel with superkey / windows key

Post by JosephM »

I personally consider this a bug in Cinnamon. I don't think it's easily fixed though do to how things are stacked in the scene graph. Fullscreen windows are intentionally stacked above everything else. The only other thing that lives in this layer are popup menus since you want them to appear highest in the stack above everything else. That's why you see the menu when hitting the super key but the panel remains hidden under the fullscreen window.

Edit: I should read more carefully. It seems to me like the correct behavior with non-fullscreen windows present would be to show the panel when opening the menu. I'll try to get a bit of feedback on this and see if the behavior can be improved.
Last edited by JosephM on Mon Mar 20, 2017 4:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: how to show autohidden panel with superkey / windows key

Post by jimallyn »

lettuceprey wrote:can't find a way to enable something so seemingly basic.
I just move the mouse cursor to the bottom of the screen. That seems pretty basic to me. It never occurred to me to look for any other way.
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lettuceprey

Re: how to show autohidden panel with superkey / windows key

Post by lettuceprey »

Thanks everyone for the thoughts & insight. Sorry to hear that it's not a quick toggle, though. Glad someone else feels this is almost a bit 'buggy', too.

Jimallyn, I am a hotkey-driven user; I feel at my most efficient when I'm not grabbing for the mouse / coordinating location of cursor on the screen, etc. and my hands stay firmly planted on the keyboard. To someone whose computing style is not like this I often hear the same sentiment as you just suggested.

Does anyone know of a distro. or desktop manager that has this feature, by default? Just curious. I know KDE is supposed to be highly configurable so I wonder if checking out Plasma might be the way to go.
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Re: how to show autohidden panel with superkey / windows key

Post by jimallyn »

lettuceprey wrote:Jimallyn, I am a hotkey-driven user; I feel at my most efficient when I'm not grabbing for the mouse / coordinating location of cursor on the screen, etc. and my hands stay firmly planted on the keyboard.
Different strokes for different folks, as they say. :wink: I have sometimes thought it would be good to learn more keyboard shortcuts, but just never seem to get around to it.
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Re: how to show autohidden panel with superkey / windows key

Post by BeyondLies_MintForum »

I would appreciate it if someone could come up with some sort of hack to create this feature. I wonder whether the utility called 'xdotool' could do it?
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Re: how to show autohidden panel with superkey / windows key

Post by spamegg »

I had the exact same issue when I moved from Windows to Mint. Cinnamon did not have that feature for a long time.
But this feature now does exist in Cinnamon, it was added within the last year or so I think. I am using CInnamon 5.2.7.
I also use an auto-hidden Panel, and pressing the Super key brings up the Panel.
Here is how you access it: right-click on the Menu button, click "Configure", then you'll see it:
Untitled.png
Unless I am misunderstanding what is being asked here.
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Re: how to show autohidden panel with superkey / windows key

Post by BeyondLies_MintForum »

Thanks. You do misunderstand but I could have been clearer. What I seek is a keyboard shortcut that shows a previously hidden panel without showing the menu. Still, perhaps I can live with what Cinnamon does implement, namely, a keyboard panel that shows that pane and also the menu. Or if I find that too irritating then I can try to use the aforementioned xdotool - or some other tool - to achieve what I want.

EDIT: I've done a script to do it. It is here. The library it mentions is here (but some of the functions within the library can be removed because the script in question does not use them).

FURTHER EDIT: In a comment in the script, I suggest using the keyboard shortcut Super + Alt. It strikes me now that using that shortcut will interfere with other shortcuts (namely ones of the Super + Alt + <something> variety).
Last edited by BeyondLies_MintForum on Sat Jun 25, 2022 1:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: how to show autohidden panel with superkey / windows key

Post by spamegg »

Hello BeyondLies_MintForum
Sorry, I meant to answer the original post by lettuceprey.

What I suggested doesn't do what you want (showing the Panel WITHOUT showing the Menu), but I believe what I suggested does answer lettuceprey's question, right? Because lettuceprey said:
if I hit the Windows / Superkey the menu opens, but it also brings the panel to the front when in autohide status
so I think lettuceprey is OK with the Menu being shown.

Hopefully I understood correctly?
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Re: how to show autohidden panel with superkey / windows key

Post by BeyondLies_MintForum »

spamegg: so now I've misunderstood you! But, yes, I think that you are right in your interpretation of what the other poster wants.
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Re: how to show autohidden panel with superkey / windows key

Post by SMG »

BeyondLies_MintForum wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 7:33 pm I would appreciate it if someone could come up with some sort of hack to create this feature. I wonder whether the utility called 'xdotool' could do it?
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