Pop!_OS Switch Workspaces with Super + Number

About Titling Windows

Pop!_OS introduced a “tiling window” like feature with version 20.04. With tiling window mode on, windows don’t overlap. When a window opens, it splits the space with the existing windows. Tiling windows allow you to maximize screen space and increase productivity using keyboard shortcuts.

Pop!_OS also supports Workspaces, which are virtual desktops. The combination of Tiling Windows, Workspaces and dual monitors makes for a powerful combination.

I like to setup Workspace 1 for communication with e-mail and chat clients (Slack, Telegram, Mattermost…). Workspace 2 for developments with terminals, IDE, and browsers. Workspace 3 for documentation with text editors, note taking apps and browsers.

Keyboard Bindings

Pop!_OS has a set of keyboard shortcuts to navigate between windows and workspaces. I find them inadequate when it comes to switching between Windows and Workspaces. With the additional keyboard bindings below you can switch between Workspaces using SuperKey + Number.

SuperKey + 1 switches to workspace 1 and SuperKey + 2 to workspace 2, etc… up to 9. Add the Shift key, and the current focus window moves it to the workspace.

This minor change to Pop!_OSs titling window keyboard shortcuts make it far more usable.

Copy and paste the code below at the terminal.

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gsettings set org.gnome.mutter dynamic-workspaces false
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences num-workspaces 8

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.keybindings switch-to-application-1  []
gsettings set org.gnome.shell.keybindings switch-to-application-2  []
gsettings set org.gnome.shell.keybindings switch-to-application-3  []
gsettings set org.gnome.shell.keybindings switch-to-application-4  []
gsettings set org.gnome.shell.keybindings switch-to-application-5  []
gsettings set org.gnome.shell.keybindings switch-to-application-6  []
gsettings set org.gnome.shell.keybindings switch-to-application-7  []
gsettings set org.gnome.shell.keybindings switch-to-application-8  []
gsettings set org.gnome.shell.keybindings switch-to-application-9  []

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings switch-to-workspace-1  "['<Super>1']"
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings switch-to-workspace-2  "['<Super>2']"
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings switch-to-workspace-3  "['<Super>3']"
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings switch-to-workspace-4  "['<Super>4']"
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings switch-to-workspace-5  "['<Super>5']"
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings switch-to-workspace-6  "['<Super>6']"
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings switch-to-workspace-7  "['<Super>7']"
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings switch-to-workspace-8  "['<Super>8']"
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings switch-to-workspace-9  "['<Super>9']"
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings switch-to-workspace-10 "['<Super>0']"

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings move-to-workspace-1  "['<Super><Shift>1']"
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings move-to-workspace-2  "['<Super><Shift>2']"
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings move-to-workspace-3  "['<Super><Shift>3']"
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings move-to-workspace-4  "['<Super><Shift>4']"
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings move-to-workspace-5  "['<Super><Shift>5']"
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings move-to-workspace-6  "['<Super><Shift>6']"
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings move-to-workspace-7  "['<Super><Shift>7']"
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings move-to-workspace-8  "['<Super><Shift>8']"
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings move-to-workspace-9  "['<Super><Shift>9']"
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings move-to-workspace-10 "['<Super><Shift>0']

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Resources

Thank you to Jibar Ali Ouassao for this solution in the Pop Shell repo issue queue.