diff --git a/src/display.c b/src/display.c
index d422faf16..235e64b5c 100644
--- a/src/display.c
+++ b/src/display.c
@@ -328,6 +328,57 @@ ptrcmp (gconstpointer a, gconstpointer b)
     return 0;
 }
 
+GSList*
+meta_display_list_windows (MetaDisplay *display)
+{
+  GSList *winlist;
+  GSList *tmp;
+  GSList *prev;
+  
+  winlist = NULL;
+  g_hash_table_foreach (display->window_ids,
+                        listify_func,
+                        &winlist);
+
+  /* Uniquify the list, since both frame windows and plain
+   * windows are in the hash
+   */
+  winlist = g_slist_sort (winlist, ptrcmp);
+
+  prev = NULL;
+  tmp = winlist;
+  while (tmp != NULL)
+    {
+      GSList *next;
+
+      next = tmp->next;
+      
+      if (next &&
+          next->data == tmp->data)
+        {
+          /* Delete tmp from list */
+
+          if (prev)
+            prev->next = next;
+
+          if (tmp == winlist)
+            winlist = next;
+          
+          g_slist_free_1 (tmp);
+
+          /* leave prev unchanged */
+        }
+      else
+        {
+          prev = tmp;
+        }
+      
+      tmp = next;
+    }
+
+  return winlist;
+}
+
 void
 meta_display_close (MetaDisplay *display)
 {
@@ -337,21 +388,14 @@ meta_display_close (MetaDisplay *display)
   if (display->error_traps)
     meta_bug ("Display closed with error traps pending\n");
 
-  winlist = NULL;
-  g_hash_table_foreach (display->window_ids,
-                        listify_func,
-                        &winlist);
-
-  winlist = g_slist_sort (winlist, ptrcmp);
-
+  winlist = meta_display_list_windows (display);
+  
   /* Unmanage all windows */
   meta_display_grab (display);
   tmp = winlist;
   while (tmp != NULL)
     {      
-      if (tmp->next == NULL ||
-          (tmp->next && tmp->next->data != tmp->data))
-        meta_window_free (tmp->data);
+      meta_window_free (tmp->data);
       
       tmp = tmp->next;
     }
diff --git a/src/display.h b/src/display.h
index 27c3b6fe5..5fa16899e 100644
--- a/src/display.h
+++ b/src/display.h
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ void        meta_display_register_x_window   (MetaDisplay *display,
 void        meta_display_unregister_x_window (MetaDisplay *display,
                                               Window       xwindow);
 
-
+GSList*     meta_display_list_windows        (MetaDisplay *display);
 
 MetaDisplay* meta_display_for_x_display  (Display     *xdisplay);
 GSList*      meta_displays_list          (void);
diff --git a/src/place.c b/src/place.c
index 6f623708e..6dce2693b 100644
--- a/src/place.c
+++ b/src/place.c
@@ -20,6 +20,177 @@
  */
 
 #include "place.h"
+#include "workspace.h"
+#include <gdk/gdkregion.h>
+#include <math.h>
+
+static gint
+northwestcmp (gconstpointer a, gconstpointer b)
+{
+  MetaWindow *aw = (gpointer) a;
+  MetaWindow *bw = (gpointer) b;
+  int from_origin_a;
+  int from_origin_b;
+  int ax, ay, bx, by;
+
+  /* we're interested in the frame position for cascading,
+   * not meta_window_get_position()
+   */
+  if (aw->frame)
+    {
+      ax = aw->frame->rect.x;
+      ay = aw->frame->rect.y;
+    }
+  else
+    {
+      ax = aw->rect.x;
+      ay = aw->rect.y;
+    }
+
+  if (bw->frame)
+    {
+      bx = bw->frame->rect.x;
+      by = bw->frame->rect.y;
+    }
+  else
+    {
+      bx = bw->rect.x;
+      by = bw->rect.y;
+    }
+  
+  /* probably there's a fast good-enough-guess we could use here. */
+  from_origin_a = sqrt (ax * ax + ay * ay);
+  from_origin_b = sqrt (bx * bx + by * by);
+    
+  if (from_origin_a < from_origin_b)
+    return -1;
+  else if (from_origin_a > from_origin_b)
+    return 1;
+  else
+    return 0;
+}
+     
+static void
+find_next_cascade (MetaWindow *window,
+                   MetaFrameGeometry *fgeom,
+                   /* visible windows on relevant workspaces */
+                   GList      *windows,
+                   int         x,
+                   int         y,
+                   int        *new_x,
+                   int        *new_y)
+{
+  GList *tmp;
+  GList *sorted;
+  int cascade_x, cascade_y;
+  int x_threshold, y_threshold;
+  
+  sorted = g_list_copy (windows);
+  sorted = g_list_sort (sorted, northwestcmp);
+
+  /* This is a "fuzzy" cascade algorithm. 
+   * For each window in the list, we find where we'd cascade a
+   * new window after it. If a window is already nearly at that
+   * position, we move on.
+   */
+
+  /* Find furthest-SE origin of all workspaces.
+   * cascade_x, cascade_y are the target position
+   * of NW corner of window frame.
+   */
+  cascade_x = 0;
+  cascade_y = 0;
+  tmp = window->workspaces;
+  while (tmp != NULL)
+    {
+      MetaWorkspace *space = tmp->data;
+      
+      cascade_x = MAX (cascade_x, space->workarea.x);
+      cascade_y = MAX (cascade_y, space->workarea.y);
+      
+      tmp = tmp->next;
+    }
+
+  /* Find first cascade position that's not used. */
+
+  /* arbitrary-ish threshold, honors user attempts to
+   * manually cascade.
+   */
+  x_threshold = MAX (fgeom->left_width, 10);
+  y_threshold = MAX (fgeom->top_height, 10);
+  
+  tmp = sorted;
+  while (tmp != NULL)
+    {
+      MetaWindow *w;
+      int wx, wy;
+      
+      w = tmp->data;
+
+      /* we want frame position, not window position */
+      if (w->frame)
+        {
+          wx = w->frame->rect.x;
+          wy = w->frame->rect.y;
+        }
+      else
+        {
+          wx = w->rect.x;
+          wy = w->rect.y;
+        }
+
+      if (ABS (wx - cascade_x) < x_threshold &&
+          ABS (wy - cascade_y) < y_threshold)
+        {
+          /* This window is "in the way", move to next cascade
+           * point. The new window frame should go at the origin
+           * of the client window we're stacking above.
+           */
+          meta_window_get_position (w, &wx, &wy);
+          cascade_x = wx;
+          cascade_y = wy;
+        }
+      else
+        goto found; /* no window at this cascade point. */
+        
+      tmp = tmp->next;
+    }
+
+  /* cascade_x and cascade_y will match the last window in the list. */
+  
+ found:
+  g_list_free (sorted);
+
+  /* Convert coords to position of window, not position of frame. */
+  if (fgeom == NULL)
+    {
+      *new_x = cascade_x;
+      *new_y = cascade_y;
+    }
+  else
+    {
+      *new_x = cascade_x + fgeom->left_width;
+      *new_y = cascade_y + fgeom->top_height;
+    }
+}
+
+/* Find the leftmost, then topmost, empty area on the workspace
+ * that can contain the new window.
+ */
+static gboolean
+find_first_fit (MetaWindow *window,
+                MetaFrameGeometry *fgeom,
+                /* visible windows on relevant workspaces */
+                GList      *windows,
+                int         x,
+                int         y,
+                int        *new_x,
+                int        *new_y)
+{
+
+
+
+}
 
 void
 meta_window_place (MetaWindow *window,
@@ -29,8 +200,11 @@ meta_window_place (MetaWindow *window,
                    int        *new_x,
                    int        *new_y)
 {
+  GList *windows;
+  
   /* frame member variables should NEVER be used in here, only
-   * MetaFrameGeometry
+   * MetaFrameGeometry. But remember fgeom == NULL
+   * for undecorated windows.
    */
   
   meta_verbose ("Placing window %s\n", window->desc);      
@@ -57,7 +231,8 @@ meta_window_place (MetaWindow *window,
           /* center of child over center of parent */
           x -= window->rect.width / 2;
 
-          y += fgeom->top_height;
+          if (fgeom)
+            y += fgeom->top_height;
 
           meta_verbose ("Centered window %s over transient parent\n",
                         window->desc);
@@ -85,10 +260,40 @@ meta_window_place (MetaWindow *window,
       goto done;
     }
 
+  /* Find windows that matter (not minimized, on same workspace
+   * as placed window, may be shaded - if shaded we pretend it isn't
+   * for placement purposes)
+   */
+  windows = NULL;
+  {
+    GSList *all_windows;
+    GSList *tmp;
+    
+    all_windows = meta_display_list_windows (window->display);
+
+    tmp = all_windows;
+    while (tmp != NULL)
+      {
+        MetaWindow *w = tmp->data;
+
+        if (!w->minimized &&
+            w != window && 
+            meta_window_shares_some_workspace (window, w))
+          windows = g_list_prepend (windows, w);
+
+        tmp = tmp->next;
+      }
+  }
+  
   /* "Origin" placement algorithm */
   x = 0;
   y = 0;
 
+  /* Cascade */
+  find_next_cascade (window, fgeom, windows, x, y, &x, &y);
+
+  g_list_free (windows);
+  
  done:
   *new_x = x;
   *new_y = y;
diff --git a/src/stack.c b/src/stack.c
index 482a1e8a2..f1c6c8bc1 100644
--- a/src/stack.c
+++ b/src/stack.c
@@ -902,3 +902,40 @@ meta_stack_get_tab_next (MetaStack  *stack,
     return find_tab_forward (stack, NULL, -1);
 }
 
+int
+meta_stack_windows_cmp  (MetaStack  *stack,
+                         MetaWindow *window_a,
+                         MetaWindow *window_b)
+{
+  g_return_val_if_fail (window_a->screen == window_b->screen, 0);
+
+  /* -1 means a below b */
+  
+  if (window_a->layer < window_b->layer)
+    return -1;
+  else if (window_a->layer > window_b->layer)
+    return 1;
+  else
+    {
+      GList *tmp;
+
+      g_assert (window_a->layer == window_b->layer);
+      
+      tmp = stack->layers[window_a->layer];
+      while (tmp != NULL)
+        {
+          /* earlier in list is higher in stack */
+          if (tmp->data == window_a)
+            return 1;
+          else if (tmp->data == window_b)
+            return -1;
+
+          tmp = tmp->next;
+        }
+
+      meta_bug ("Didn't find windows in layer in meta_stack_windows_cmp()\n");
+    }
+
+  /* not reached */
+  return 0;
+}
diff --git a/src/stack.h b/src/stack.h
index 39cb973a7..0ed30cb49 100644
--- a/src/stack.h
+++ b/src/stack.h
@@ -95,6 +95,10 @@ MetaWindow* meta_stack_get_below  (MetaStack  *stack,
 MetaWindow* meta_stack_get_tab_next (MetaStack  *stack,
                                      MetaWindow *window,
                                      gboolean    backward);
+/* -1 if a < b, etc. */
+int         meta_stack_windows_cmp  (MetaStack  *stack,
+                                     MetaWindow *window_a,
+                                     MetaWindow *window_b);
 
 #endif
 
diff --git a/src/window.c b/src/window.c
index 8d706305c..e84e9e119 100644
--- a/src/window.c
+++ b/src/window.c
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ static void   meta_window_move_resize_internal (MetaWindow  *window,
                                                 int          w,
                                                 int          h);
 
+void meta_window_move_resize_now (MetaWindow  *window);
 
 static gboolean get_cardinal (MetaDisplay *display,
                               Window       xwindow,
@@ -235,12 +236,16 @@ meta_window_new (MetaDisplay *display, Window xwindow,
   window->mapped = attrs.map_state != IsUnmapped;
   /* if already mapped we don't want to do the placement thing */
   window->placed = window->mapped;
+  if (window->placed)
+    meta_verbose ("Not placing window 0x%lx since it's already mapped\n",
+                  xwindow);
   window->unmanaging = FALSE;
   window->calc_showing_queued = FALSE;
   window->keys_grabbed = FALSE;
   window->grab_on_frame = FALSE;
   window->withdrawn = FALSE;
   window->initial_workspace_set = FALSE;
+  window->calc_placement = FALSE;
   
   window->unmaps_pending = 0;
 
@@ -617,11 +622,31 @@ meta_window_calc_showing (MetaWindow  *window)
 static guint calc_showing_idle = 0;
 static GSList *calc_showing_pending = NULL;
 
+static int
+stackcmp (gconstpointer a, gconstpointer b)
+{
+  MetaWindow *aw = (gpointer) a;
+  MetaWindow *bw = (gpointer) b;
+
+  if (aw->screen != bw->screen)
+    return 0; /* don't care how they sort with respect to each other */
+  else
+    return meta_stack_windows_cmp (aw->screen->stack,
+                                   aw, bw);
+}
+
 static gboolean
 idle_calc_showing (gpointer data)
 {
   GSList *tmp;
 
+  /* sort them from bottom to top, so we map the
+   * bottom windows first, so that placement (e.g. cascading)
+   * works properly
+   */
+  calc_showing_pending = g_slist_sort (calc_showing_pending,
+                                       stackcmp);
+  
   tmp = calc_showing_pending;
   while (tmp != NULL)
     {
@@ -685,14 +710,29 @@ meta_window_queue_calc_showing (MetaWindow  *window)
 void
 meta_window_show (MetaWindow *window)
 {
-  meta_verbose ("Showing window %s, shaded: %d iconic: %d\n",
-                window->desc, window->shaded, window->iconic);
+  meta_verbose ("Showing window %s, shaded: %d iconic: %d placed: %d\n",
+                window->desc, window->shaded, window->iconic, window->placed);
 
-  /* don't ever do the initial position constraint thing again.
-   * This is toggled here so that initially-iconified windows
-   * still get placed when they are ultimately shown.
-   */
-  window->placed = TRUE;
+  if (!window->placed)
+    {
+      /* We have to recalc the placement here since other windows may
+       * have been mapped/placed since we last did constrain_position
+       */
+
+      /* calc_placement is an efficiency hack to avoid
+       * multiple placement calculations before we finally
+       * show the window.
+       */
+      window->calc_placement = TRUE;
+      meta_window_move_resize_now (window);
+      window->calc_placement = FALSE;
+
+      /* don't ever do the initial position constraint thing again.
+       * This is toggled here so that initially-iconified windows
+       * still get placed when they are ultimately shown.
+       */
+      window->placed = TRUE;      
+    }
   
   /* Shaded means the frame is mapped but the window is not */
   
@@ -1235,9 +1275,8 @@ meta_window_move_resize (MetaWindow  *window,
 }
 
 void
-meta_window_queue_move_resize (MetaWindow  *window)
+meta_window_move_resize_now (MetaWindow  *window)
 {
-  /* FIXME actually queue, don't do it immediately */
   int x, y;
   
   meta_window_get_position (window, &x, &y);
@@ -1246,6 +1285,13 @@ meta_window_queue_move_resize (MetaWindow  *window)
                            window->rect.width, window->rect.height);
 }
 
+void
+meta_window_queue_move_resize (MetaWindow  *window)
+{
+  /* FIXME actually queue, don't do it immediately */
+  meta_window_move_resize_now (window);
+}
+
 void
 meta_window_get_position (MetaWindow  *window,
                           int         *x,
@@ -3116,12 +3162,12 @@ constrain_position (MetaWindow *window,
                     int         y,
                     int        *new_x,
                     int        *new_y)
-{  
+{
   /* frame member variables should NEVER be used in here, only
    * MetaFrameGeometry
    */
 
-  if (!window->placed)
+  if (!window->placed && window->calc_placement)
     meta_window_place (window, fgeom, x, y, &x, &y);
   
   if (window->type != META_WINDOW_DESKTOP &&
@@ -3319,3 +3365,25 @@ meta_window_show_menu (MetaWindow *window,
   meta_verbose ("Popping up window menu for %s\n", window->desc);
   meta_ui_window_menu_popup (menu, root_x, root_y, button, timestamp);
 }
+
+gboolean
+meta_window_shares_some_workspace (MetaWindow *window,
+                                   MetaWindow *with)
+{
+  GList *tmp;
+  
+  if (window->on_all_workspaces ||
+      with->on_all_workspaces)
+    return TRUE;
+  
+  tmp = window->workspaces;
+  while (tmp != NULL)
+    {
+      if (g_list_find (with->workspaces, tmp->data) != NULL)
+        return TRUE;
+
+      tmp = tmp->next;
+    }
+
+  return FALSE;
+}
diff --git a/src/window.h b/src/window.h
index 42ce95334..693a662a8 100644
--- a/src/window.h
+++ b/src/window.h
@@ -169,6 +169,11 @@ struct _MetaWindow
    * it was withdrawn
    */
   guint withdrawn : 1;
+
+  /* TRUE if constrain_position should calc placement.
+   * only relevant if !window->placed
+   */
+  guint calc_placement : 1;
   
   /* Number of UnmapNotify that are caused by us, if
    * we get UnmapNotify with none pending then the client
@@ -270,4 +275,7 @@ void meta_window_show_menu (MetaWindow *window,
                             int         button,
                             Time        timestamp);
 
+gboolean meta_window_shares_some_workspace (MetaWindow *window,
+                                            MetaWindow *with);
+
 #endif