Looks to me like C-x 5 0 satisfies all of the above requirements. It doesn't specify that the subwindow be in the top-level window with focus. I assume the WM_HINTS restriction is satisfied. Glynn> Switching focus between frames (top-level windows) is Glynn> something that is usually considered to be the WMs job, No, it's not. Consider what happens in any pop-up dialog box. If you can pop up a dialog and switch focus there for the convenience of the user, surely you can switch focus on the explicit command of the user. The problem is that ICCCM does not seem to be considering virtual window managers. However, the pop-up example certainly shows that you have to allow the app to give focus to currently unmapped windows. So it's up to XEmacs to decide whether frames that are currently unmapped because they're off the current desktop should be included in the other-frame circulation list.