• Plugins
• Expo

The Expo plugin allows you to zoom out and see all viewports at once, as well as re-arrange windows between them. It is also useful for visually identifying a viewport before switching to it, as all windows are shown as scaled, live previews.

(This is not the Exposé clone; Scale is.)

Youtube video

Using Expo

By default, Expo is activated by moving the mouse cursor to the top-left corner of the screen, or by pressing <Super>E. This causes the viewport to zoom out until all viewports are scaled and visible on-screen in a grid formation, complete with all open windows.

Moving windows

While in Expo mode, windows can be repositioned by clicking and dragging them as desired. They can also be moved between viewports in this fashion.

Switching viewports

Expo can also be used to switch between viewports. There are a few ways to select the target viewport (which is highlighted, while the other viewports are dimmer):

• via the keyboard, using the arrow keys
• via the mouse, using the scroll wheel
• via the mouse, clicking on the viewport

There are also a few different ways to exit Expo mode and zoom in on the selected viewport:

• via the keyboard, by pressing Enter

• via the mouse, by right-clicking on the viewport
• via the mouse, by double-clicking on the viewport
• via the mouse, by moving the cursor to the top-left corner again

And, finally, you can cancel the Expo operation and exit the mode without switching to a new viewport; simply press Escape, and the view will zoom back in on the original viewport.

Effects

By default, windows will also have the Wobbly effect while being moved. To disable this, enable the Immediate moves option under the Behaviour tab.

You can also choose from two additional distortion options: The Tilt view option, which tilts the right end of the arranged viewport grid further away, giving a sense of 3D, or the Curved view option, which curves the edges of the viewport grid towards the user.

If the reflection is disabled, and either Tilt view or Curved view is also disabled, then the view will fill the entire screen. Otherwise, it will be slightly smaller, with a black margin around it.

The Aspect Ratio only applies if the aspect ratio of the viewport grid does not match the aspect ratio of the screen, that is, if the Horizontal and Vertical Virtual Size (set in General Options) are not equal. When it does apply, it determines how much to stretch the viewports relative to the screen size.

Reflection

The reflection effect is enabled in CCSM via the Reflection checkbox in the Expo settings. Some aspects of its appearance can also be adjusted:

• Ground color (near/far): The ground is the reflective surface beneath the viewports. It is coloured with a vertical gradient which starts with the far colour (at the horizon/far edge) and ends with the near colour (at the bottom edge of the screen).

• Ground size: the height of the ground, relative to the height of the screen.

• Reflection intensity: the opacity of the reflection.

• Reflection Scale: the scale factor of the reflection.

Animations

The following transition effects are available:

• Zoom - simply zooms out from the current viewport until all viewports are visible.

• Fade and Zoom - adds a fade-out transition from the currently displayed screen while also zooming out.

• Vortex - fades out while the viewports swirl as though in a vortex before arranging themselves into the grid formation.