A window manager is the software component responsible for the tracking and placement of windows within a graphical interface. Examples: Metacity, Compiz, KWin

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49
votes
9answers
7k views

How do I increase the resize margin on windows?

It takes me about 5 tries to resize a window on my computer. Is there a way to increase the resize margin on the edge of windows?
7
votes
4answers
1k views

How to distribute windows over virtual desktops in Gnome

I have a load of virtual desktops running and I usually have one full screen application per desktop (so sort of like the Ratpoison WM but with an option to use it in other ways when needed). I want ...
21
votes
7answers
4k views

How to configure my system so that all windows start maximized?

Every time I open a terminal or an application like Inkscape I have to click the maximize button because by default they open in a small size. Is there a way I can configure my system so that whenever ...
14
votes
4answers
4k views

How do I get Aero Snap in Unity 2D?

I really miss the "Aero Snap" window snapping feature present in Unity 3D. Is there any way I can get it, or an alternative to it, in Unity 2D?
14
votes
3answers
2k views

How to start an app with “Always On Top” set?

There are a couple of applications that I find myself marking as "Always on Top" every time I use them, so I wonder if there is a way to automatically set them as so, whatever way I start them (menu, ...
5
votes
2answers
7k views

How can I reset compiz to the default settings?

I've got a bug that is reoccuring (no window chrome close/minimize/maximize buttons) that is solved by changing the visual effects level (e.g. from none to normal). Unfortunately, the desktop is ...
8
votes
2answers
4k views

How to disable window move with alt + left mouse button?

I have problem with this function because i work in Maya and other 3D applications that use this key combination... This option on Ubuntu 11.04 was in "window" section so i could change it to ...
21
votes
2answers
5k views

Quickly place a window to another screen using only the keyboard

I know that using Alt-F7, I can use the keyboard to move the window around. I can also use the "Grid" plugin of Compiz to position quickly the window around my current monitor. The grid plugin doesn't ...
12
votes
8answers
15k views

How to determine which window manager is running

Is there any way (such as a command or environmental variable) to determine what window manager is the one actively running in the current session?
65
votes
4answers
38k views

How do I set focus follows mouse?

Is there a way to set up "focus follows mouse" behavior in Ubuntu 11.10, 12.04, and 12.10 Unity?
13
votes
3answers
2k views

Window focus confusion in unity

I like having focus prevention set to high, so that I don't have some stupid auto-launched app steal my typing in the middle of something else. Unfortunately, Unity keeps focus on the right window ...
4
votes
3answers
4k views

Is there a shortcut to tile windows to left or right side of the screen?

As Compiz Grid is not supported in ubuntu-2d, I am looking for alternative to tile windows. This video shows that xfce4 and xfwm4 can snap windows to a part of the screen. I would like to do that by ...
1
vote
0answers
807 views

Why does the log-in screen not give me the option to switch to Awesome Window Manager? [closed]

I installed Raring last night and everything was going fine until I went to get AWM up and running. Originally I planned to use the version from the official repos ignoring how outdated it was, ...
19
votes
3answers
21k views

Alt-Tab does not switch [duplicate]

Since upgrading to 12.04, my alt-tab occasionally does not work. I cannot determine the symptoms that lead to it, but there are some windows that just decide not to show. What happens is I alt-tab to ...
4
votes
1answer
4k views

Prevent Unity from auto-maximizing [duplicate]

Possible Duplicates: Is there a way to turn off “auto-maximize”? How to keep programs from launching maximized? 11.04 On a small netbook screen, it's useful to have windows maximized by ...
12
votes
1answer
5k views

How to disable alt+click from moving windows in Unity 2D?

How can I disable the alt+click combination from moving windows in Ubuntu 11.10 (unity-2d)?
6
votes
2answers
885 views

What happened to “Roll up” option in Preferences/Window/Title bar Action?

I like very much the option "Roll up" in Preferences/Window/Title bar Action but it is not there anymore in 10.10. There are a way to get it back?
10
votes
5answers
3k views

Is there a keybind to minimize all windows, without a toggle?

I know about the show desktop keybind (default Ctrl+Alt+D), which I use often enough. However, I'm looking for a way to minimize all windows without activating "show desktop". I'm on a default ...
7
votes
6answers
27k views

How do I restart the window manager?

How to restart window manager so that styles (or whatever) are restored? After doing /etc/init.d/networking stop they feel completely broken.
10
votes
3answers
2k views

How can I use Unity 2d with another window manager besides Metacity?

How can I use Unity 2d with another window manager besides Metacity? (like openbox forexample)
4
votes
1answer
605 views

How to move the lock window on the lock-screen?

Is it possible to move the window where you input your password on the lock screen away from the center, e.g. at the lower edge?
16
votes
6answers
3k views

What is the lightest desktop interface for ubuntu and is Unity-2d classified as a 'light' interface?

With the plethora of potential interfaces available lxde, openbox, fluxbox xfce, gnome2, gnome3, unity-3d, unity-2d etc, my question is - what is meant by "the lightest desktop interface" - and ...
11
votes
6answers
2k views

Window decorations disappeared?

yesterday everything was fine and today when i logged on to my ubuntu 10.10 I noticed that the icons in the top of each menu dissapeared(I mean the the bar where the close mini maize etc..) this ...
3
votes
2answers
952 views

Are there any GTK3 themes that work properly in Unity-2D? All that I've tried have “button glitches”

Every GTK3 theme I've ever tried other than Ambiance or Radiance has some "fallback" buttons when maximized instead of the theme buttons. Is there a fix or a theme without this issue? Example:
6
votes
2answers
831 views

Remember last window location

How can I configure my Ubuntu to start all program windows at the last window location? In compiz I only can configure that all windows start in one corner, centered, etc. Or I have to define rules ...
5
votes
1answer
624 views

Mutter: Global menu integration

Is it possible to have Mutter merge the title bar of maximized windows and the panel, like happens with Compiz and Metacity? I want to try to replace Metacity with Mutter in Unity 2D, and so far it ...
3
votes
1answer
2k views

How to launch Configure Kde control module by command line?

Right-clicking on the top bar of a window gets you, via "Configure Window Behavior", to the Window Manager settings. Here you can learn and configure the advanced features of KWin. But is there a way ...
3
votes
2answers
676 views

Can I completely disable the menu proxy?

In recent Ubuntus the menu has been pulled up into Unity's panel. That's great, but it's not for me. I'm using the Gnome 3 fallback panels for my desktop and like my menu's like they always were. ...
6
votes
5answers
532 views

How can I change focus when a game locks it?

I am playing Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, and when I play it in windowed mode, I can't change focus from the game to something else (Alt+Tab doesn't work).
3
votes
2answers
1k views

light weight window manager/desktop environment like unity

I am looking for a Light weight window manager/desktop environment similar to unity but not unity/unity-2d GNOME or KDE something light with these features. window buttons layout like unity. side ...
3
votes
4answers
700 views

Wrong window focus behaviour in Unity, but not GNOME Shell

I just upgraded from 11.04 to 11.10, and I'm noticing a strange window behaviour that I can't seem to fix. Basically it seems like all windows have focus, as shown in this screenshot: It happens ...
6
votes
1answer
279 views

Disable joining multiple windows to one icon in unity panel

I don't want multiple open windows of the same program to be joined in one icon. How can I disable that to get one icon per window?
4
votes
2answers
179 views

Minimize windows without them going black and white

I recently updated to KDE 4.10. Now when I minimize windows, the task manager shows them being black and white. I find this very annoying since I tend to find windows primarily based on colors, not ...
4
votes
2answers
748 views

Is there a way to get the Unity title bar behavior and NOTHING ELSE? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Is there a way to remove maximized window controls/title from top panel in Unity I know how to get app menus in the panel. I like the fact that in Unity, the top panel ...
0
votes
1answer
871 views

Help with compiz window borders

I tried to make a small change in my Compiz settings, and set off a whole chain of chaos. I don't like the application switcher that I had, that switched between whole applications on Alt-tab rather ...
9
votes
4answers
6k views

How do I disable window move with alt + left mouse button in GNOME Shell?

There are lots of posts on this about Unity, this is about gnome-shell As with other posters, I use apps (Inkscape in particular) that uses Alt-Click and Alt-drag. Gnome-shell is grabbing this off me ...
23
votes
3answers
3k views

What is the difference between a desktop environment and a window manager?

As the title says. I'm having a really hard time trying to understand what the differences between a desktop environment and a window manager are? EDIT: This is what I found out later. There are ...
8
votes
1answer
488 views

How to make alt-tab diplay names of the program/window title?

When switching between programs using alt-tab I prefer the program/window title to be displayed as well as the picture of the program. This is especially useful when I have multiple editor windows ...
6
votes
1answer
12k views

Switching window manager/desktop environments?

In general what is the approach to switch the desktop environment or window manager on Ubuntu? The main difference between stock Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Lubuntu is supposedly the use of Unity vs. KDE vs. ...
4
votes
2answers
2k views

How can I define startup applications with the Awesome Window Manager?

I've been reading as much as I can online, but none of it seems to work (i.e. changing ~/.config/awesome/rc.lua). I've installed awesome window manager from the repos, and I log into it via GDM, and ...
4
votes
5answers
784 views

Which window has current focus?

I'd like to know (programmatically) which window has current focus. Is there a window-manager independent way of discovering that? Otherwise, how does one determine which window has focus in Compiz ...
3
votes
1answer
4k views

Ubuntu 12.10: Can't change window title bar font

In Ubuntu 12.10 Beta 2, I've tried using Ubuntu Tweak to change the window title bar font, but after it's changed in the application, it's not reflected throughout the system. I've tried different ...
3
votes
3answers
598 views

How to programatically manipulate application windows?

Anyone know a library, preferably for ruby or python, that will let you access a list of open applications and let you manipulate them? All I really want to be able to do is change their geometry and ...
13
votes
4answers
4k views

Can I minimize a window from the command line?

I would like to be able to choose any already-open window and minimize it from the command line. Is this possible?
6
votes
5answers
2k views

Is there any Window Manager like the Windows 7's for Ubuntu?

In Windows 7, if you drag a window to the top of the screen, it will maximize, and if you drag to the side, it will restore to half size of the screen on that side. Is there any window manager or ...
5
votes
1answer
649 views

How to move a window between monitors with Gnome Shell?

I see this question is "answered" by stating that there is no way to do this in GNOME: How to move windows around and between monitors, using keyboard short cuts? I have doubts that it should be ...
5
votes
1answer
2k views

What is the app, “compiz” responsible for on ubuntu 12.04?

When I open my system monitor and check the "processes" tab, I've noticed that regardless of what other apps I have running, "compiz" is always taking roughly 10% of my CPU. It might be a broad ...
4
votes
2answers
871 views

Is it possible to place windows with keyboard shortcuts in Xfce?

With Compiz in Unity, I could press Ctrl+Alt+6 to place a window on the right-half of the screen, Ctrl+Alt+4 to place it on the left half, Ctrl+Alt+7 to place it in the top left quarter of the screen, ...
3
votes
1answer
462 views

If I just use a window manager and not a desktop environment, how do I get automatic dock/undock resolution updates?

Gnome and KDE both change resolutions when I dock/undock my laptop. They seem to do it automatically, more or less, based on the state of the computer. I'd like to have that behavior if I just run ...
1
vote
1answer
58 views

xfce windows are missing toolbar, focus is broken

It's subtle, but as you can see in the screenshot: there are no min, max or close buttons on the windows. The edges of windows can be resized, but it doesn't help the situation. Clicking on a ...

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