Dragging windows between sides of the KWin Desktop Cube

The KDE Desktop Cube is one of the ‘eye-candy’ features provided by KWin’s Desktop Effects. Actually I use the desktop cube a lot at work (far more than at home), as I often have several windows open simultaneously on each virtual desktop (cube side) and, for some reason, I find it more natural (and fun) to rotate an on-screen cube rather than switch between 2D virtual desktops. Perhaps it’s because we live in a 3D world?

I also like to be able to drag windows from one cube face to another, a KWin feature I also find natural and fast to use. However, its configuration is not as intuitive as that of some of the other desktop effects. Also, this feature can be prevented from working if some of the other effects are enabled. Sometimes I find the feature has become disabled after I have upgraded KDE. For example, if I drag a window to the edge of the screen the cube stubbornly refuses to rotate and the window snaps to the side of the screen and expands vertically (something with which Windows 7 users will be familiar). I always forget how to reconfigure KWin to be able to drag windows between cube faces, and end up wasting several minutes fiddling with the KWin settings. This happened to me again today, so, in case others get fed up trying to get it working, here is a configuration that works for me:

• Select ‘System Settings’ > ‘Desktop Effects’.
• Click on the ‘All Effects’ tab.
• ‘Desktop Cube’ and ‘Desktop Cube Animation’ should be ticked.
• Click on the spanner icon of ‘Desktop Cube Animation’ and make sure ‘Start animation when moving windows towards screen edges’ is not ticked.

Configure desktop effects - Desktop Cube Animation

• Select ‘System Settings’ > ‘Workspace Behaviour’.
• Click on ‘Screen Edges’.
• Make sure ‘Maximise windows by dragging them to the top of the screen’ and ‘Tile windows by dragging them to the side of the screen’ are not ticked.
• Select ‘Only When Moving Windows’ for ‘Switch desktop on edge’.
• Adjust the ‘Activation delay’ and ‘Reactivation delay’ to your taste. I find 150 ms and 1000 ms, respectively, work well on my main laptop.

Configure active screen edges