Help & Troubleshooting

How do I use the keybindings?

FancyWM makes use of an Activation hotkey, which is bound to [⇧ Shift] and [⊞ Win]. Press and release the two buttons simultaneously, then press one of the configured keybindings show in the popup list.

What are panels and how do I use them?

FancyWM organizes windows in panels. Three types of panels are supported: Horizontal Panel (arranges windows horizontally), Vertical Panel (arranges windows vertically), Stack Panel (stacks windows on top of each other). The keybindings to create these are [H], [V] and [S], respectively.

To create a panel, focus on an existing window and press the Activation hotkey, followed by the correct keybindings for the type of panel that you want to create. A new panel will be created just for that window. This is indicated by a bar above the window. The bar will have a different symbol in the top-left, depending on the panel that was created ⭾ for a Horizontal Panel, ⭿ for a Vertical Panel, and ☰ for a Stack Panel).

To have a window open in a panel, make sure to have focus in that panel. FancyWM always opens a window next to the currently focused window (in the same panel).

The default invisible panel for each desktop will depend on the desktop dimensions. If the desktop is wider rather than taller, the default panel will be a Horizontal Panel. If the desktop is taller than it is wider, the panel will be a Vertical Panel.

Panels can be nested arbitrarily. For example, you can have a Horizontal Panel with only a single window, nested into a Vertical Panel, nested into another Horizontal Panel.

Use the Move to Upper-Level keybinding (default keybinding: [Enter]) to move that window up the panel hierarchy.

My window is not opening where I want it to!

FancyWM always opens a window next to the currently focused window (in the same panel). If you want to move a window out of its current panel, press the Move keybinding (default keybinding: [Enter]).

If no window is focused, or the focused window is not managed by FancyWM, the new window will be open in the invisible top-level panel.

How do I move a window?

You can start dragging a window as usual, but the end result will depend on where you let go of that window. If you release the window on top of another window in the same panel, the two windows will swap places. If you release the window on top of another window in a different panel, the window will be moved to that other panel.

Windows appear stuck!

Try using the Refresh Workspace keybinding (default keybinding: [F5]). If this continues to happen, and in specific circumstances, consider opening an issue.

How do I tell FancyWM to ignore a single window?

You can enable floating mode for that window (default keybinding: [F]).

Seeing "No active window" when I try to tile a window!

If tiling fails for a specific application, this might be because the application was run in Administrator mode. For FancyWM to be able to manage these applications, it too has to be run as an administrator. Use the "Run with administrator privileges" option in FancyWM Settings > General.

Feature X isn't working!

Please, take the time to open an issue, so that it can be fixed.

Feature X is missing!

Please, take the time to open an issue with a clear description of the suggested feature, and it will be considered for a future release.

FancyWM crashes!

Please, take the time to open an issue, so that this can be fixed. Remember to locate and attach the corresponding log file from the FancyWM data directory (%localappdata%\Packages\2203VeselinKaraganev.FancyWM_9x2ndwrcmyd2c\LocalCache\Roaming\FancyWM), as this will make fixing the problem faster and easier. The file will have a file name of the form fancywm-*.log and will have a recent creation date.