 So a little while ago, I decided I was going to switch from my beloved DWM to BSPWM mostly because I just wanted a change of scenery and it was kind of nice to try something new now I've used BSPWM several times in the past But I've never actually lived in it like actually set down and made it my daily driver customized it to everything that I needed To actually do and how did how I needed to do it? I'd never actually done that so I decided to go through and do it and I've been In that process now for probably close to two weeks Maybe a little bit over two weeks and I have some thoughts on the process So let's start off with the positive things because there are many positive things to say about BSPWM For the first thing I really enjoy the fact that it does all of its key binding configuration in Essex HKD In every single window manager. I've ever used I've used Essex HKD Despite the fact that it has a horrible name that I can't say and the reason why is because it's just easier to configure key bindings Inside something like that the syntax for that configuration file is just super easy and it's way better than the whole Xk underscore whatever that DWM does and Xmonad does and Qtile does it's just it's better and it's even better than the More simple syntax that I3 has I just enjoy it more So using Essex HKD for all the key bindings without having to deal with any Nonsense in the actual window manager configuration is very cool. I like it a lot I've also enjoyed being able to use poly bar as my bar now I know that in DWM I could have done this and eventually I will go through and do that But I haven't done that so far and because I've been able to use poly bar in BSPWM I've been able to experiment with poly bar more than I have in quite a long time. It's been Well over a year maybe even longer since I've used poly bar for any length of time The prior time was when I was using I3 as my daily driver So that has also been a very positive experience in terms of daily usage BSPWM has been just fine. I really haven't had any Significant issues there are some key bindings that I haven't changed that are stock that still kind of drive me nuts so for example if We have two terminals open here and let's just say I want to make the one on the right here Smaller I have to be focused on that one in order for the key binding to work If I'm focused on this one over here that key binding no longer works I can make this one here smaller if that one is is focused, but I cannot then go through make it bigger with the opposite key binding so Super control H Would make it smaller, but super control L does absolutely nothing It's a very odd choice for a key binding and it's kind of bothered me I haven't gone through and fixed it yet though because I don't really know how I'd want to set it up the point is is that Those two key binding super control H and L work different depending on which or what client you have focused and that's kind of like I said, it's kind of super annoying and Changing the size of clients is something that I do You know every all the time every time I restart my computer I'm resizing stuff on my workspaces to where I need to be and Having to make sure I know where I'm focused all the time instead of just having That key binding work in both Clients, you know the way you'd expect it to has been a little weird in terms of layouts and stuff like that I haven't done a lot of messing around because this one here does just fine. I never had this many windows open So if you can see them the like this, I'll take the camera away I never had this windows when this may windows open This is usually the number of windows I have open now one thing I find Interesting is that let's just say I'm focused on them the main window here Because they don't really do a like a master stack thing here It's just kind of where every you know you're focused So if I'm actually focused on the left-hand side here and I open up another terminal It actually spawns there and that's another thing that has kind of been Weird for me now you remember I've been using a dynamic tiling window manager now for well over a year I've spent the entire time just falling in love with DWM and DWM has one main Layout it has all the layouts, but for the most part nobody ever uses those things Monocle every once in a while when you want full screen, but for the most part you use master stack That's what you do and you always know in there in DWM where the next window is going to spawn I mean it does change determining on which Patches you have installed so I have like always always below or something like that. Yeah, I can't remember which patch It is but the the point is is that the clients always spawn in the exact same place on DWM in this that's not always the case So if I'm actually focused here and I hit open up another terminal It's focused there, but if I go up here and hit enter as it spawns there It's uh, it's taking some getting used to because I'm not used to Windows spawning willy-nilly wherever they seem to want to spawn and I'm there is a there is a System here. Yeah, you know that it's always going to spawn next to it And I mean I can just continue to spawn things here, and then it would this is just like in this little quadrant This is the specific BS PWM format. Oh, it's Fibonacci or whatever it's called So that has taken some getting used to now The one thing that I haven't done very much of and there's a reason for that is pre-selection pre-selection is basically BS PWM's Way of allowing you to manually select where the window is going to spawn So if we do this and I hit, you know open up another window like that That would determine that that windows is going to spawn there same here and then if I'll let's just say here and like that so that's pre-selection and It's fine, right? It's it's Okay, also, sorry for the dog. She normally doesn't bark But apparently today she's decided to bark during the video. That's all right Anyways, the point is is that I haven't used pre-selection almost at all And the reason for that is that it feels like a very weird system to me Now you can remember I came from I3 and I3 has is a manual Tyler just like BS PWM is and the way I3 does Manual tiling is that you're in horizontal mode or you're in vertical mode Like either the the windows are always going to spawn horizontally or they're gonna respond They're gonna spawn vertically and you get to change between those things, right? There's not much else to it You're not gonna change the Size of the spawn you're not gonna change where it's gonna spawn You know in terms of where the windows are It's always just going to be either vertical or horizontal and that's very simple And it's very easy for me to get my head around Pre-selection and BS PWM is not so easy for me to figure out like it's I mean it's fairly easy But getting the key bindings like there's several key bindings by default that deal with pre-selection Canceling pre-selection selecting what size the pre-selection is going to be Determining where the police pre-selection is all that stuff There's like several key bindings that you have to learn and at least so far. I just haven't learned them or So I mean I like I had to look them up every time I wanted to use them And that hasn't been a great experience just because it adds added complexity onto a task that should be really super simple It's not a horrible thing or anything It's just that it's one of those things where I haven't really found a need to do that for one thing Like I said before I only ever usually have three windows open on a workspace Hardly ever do I have four and usually that's when I'm scripting or something and it's easy enough to just make sure I know where I'm focused and in opening up another terminal that way and just knowing where that's going to be as long as I know Where it's going to spawn I don't really need control of anything else beyond that so pre-selection at least so far has been fairly useless for me and Probably that's the reason why I haven't gone through and in-depth learned of those key bindings Just because I haven't found a need to actually use that and that's honestly the the biggest thing I have taken away from My BS PWM experience so far is that pre-selection is kind of the key feature You know, it's the feature that you are expecting to use in BS PWM. That's why you would use it because otherwise it's just a Good window manager, I guess it's not anything special It doesn't and there's nothing if you took out the pre-selection bits the only thing that BS PWM stands out for is Like SXHKD. That's basically it and I don't know that that's enough and the the the thing is is that there's enough annoyances here for me specifically not always knowing where the next client is going to spawn also the Controlling the width of the clients you using that weird key binding where it sometimes works sometimes doesn't work So because of not using pre-selection and all that stuff, it's kind of just made me Miss DWM quite a lot and the reason why is because I'm so used to knowing Exactly where the client is going to spawn now If you would ask me like a year and a half ago before I switch to DWM If I would be happy to be forced to use a window manager not forced to use a window But would I be happy to use a window manager that Forges me to have windows spawned in a certain order all the time like you have no control in DWM Really where the window is going to spawn and that's your repatch things like rate So the way DWM works is that the the clients always spawn in a certain place in a certain order Whether it's at the top of the stack at the bottom of stack, whatever depending on what patches you have installed That's the way DWM works and even when you have other layouts Installed and you are using other layouts the windows still spawn in a certain order They are there's always a top of the stack and I was the bottom of the stack and Before I started using DWM. I was an I3 guy and I swore by the ability to Always control where I was going to spawn the next client like I always wanted to either be able to control With it was spawning vertically or horizontally and I love that about I3. I still like that about I3 So if you'd asked me a year ago or so Whether or not I would have been happy to use another manual Tyler I would have been said yes because I didn't I really enjoyed manual Tyler's the problem is my time with DWM has kind of spoiled me. I like the fact that I always know Exactly where the next client is going to spawn Even if I don't have control over it. I like having that knowledge, right and It turns out my experience with BSPW has kind of led me to Realize that I'm not a big manual Tyler guy anymore Like I used to be but not anymore. I prefer dynamic tiling window managers now It was an odd realization because like I said, I used to love manual Tyler's quite a lot Now it'll be interesting to see because I'm going to try I3 again with my old I3 config file and I'm going to see if this Realization holds true because it's possible that I just don't care for the way BSPWM does manual tiling if I if I go Back to I3 and realize I like that. Maybe it was just BSPWM now I know what there was one other positive thing about BSPWM that I forgot to mention at the beginning is that it allows You have as many workspaces as you want and That's awesome. Like that's so good. I have I have 20 workspaces right now ten on each monitor and That's really only two more than DWM gives you right That's just two more because you get not on each workspaces on each monitor But I like the fact that not only do I get to have those extra two because more workspaces is always better But also in BSPWM you because it uses SXHKD You can set up key bindings to go to specific workspaces no matter how many ever you work you have So I have key bindings for all all 20 workspaces and that's awesome That is something you can do on DWM, but it requires a patch that I have never been able to get to work So those are my beginning thoughts on BSPWM The question is am I going to stick with it? I think I am for a little while longer But it really wouldn't surprise me in the next week or so if I end up switching back to DWM or installing i3 or Installing Qtile or something like that going to a different way to manager It wouldn't surprise me because there are just a few little Pieces of BSPWM that just kind of bugged me now I'm gonna try in the next few days to go through and try to fix those things like if I can Change that key binding so I can change the width of the clients in the way that I expect to be able to do So they'll get rid of one of the things that bother me If I can go through and try to learn that pre-selection thing Maybe it will catch on in my brain and if it can't if I can get to the point where you know This it feels natural then BSPWM will be even better than I think it is right now I doubt that that's going to happen. I doubt that it's going to Click for me in that way, but we'll see so that is it for this video if you've used BSPWM And you really like it or you don't like it leave those comments in the comment section below I'd really love to hear from you You can also send those comments to me on Twitter at the Linuxcast You can support me a patreon at patreon.com slash the next cast before I go I would like to take a moment to thank my current patrons Today Devon Chris East Coast Web Gen 2 is fun to Patrick O primus Marcus Maglin Jack snip tool Steve a cyber guy Linux Garrett Mitchell Art Center carbon dated Sean Jeremy Odin Merrick camp Josh Lee day dog VCs rock Peter and crucible Thanks everybody for watching. I'll see you next You