66
votes
Accepted
How do I move child windows without moving or minimizing parent in GNOME 3?
It can be done using '(GNOME) Tweaks' (previously known as '(GNOME) Tweak Tool'). There should be a toggle button for "Attach Modal Dialogues" in the Windows section. Disable it.
To install ...
62
votes
Accepted
How to disable GUI on boot in 18.04 (Bionic Beaver)?
To disable GUI on boot, run:
sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target
To enable GUI again issue the command:
sudo systemctl set-default graphical.target
To start Gnome session on a system ...
37
votes
Change default width of gnome-terminal and terminator windows
In terminator the GUI option for size is not there.
A simple way to set up this is --
First open terminator and set the window size according to your need and comfort.
Right click and go to ...
35
votes
Accepted
How to close, minimize, and maximize a specified window from Terminal?
There are two important tools to manipulate windows from cli; xdotool and wmctrl. Both tools overlap each other in functionality, but the most important commands referring to your question:
In an (no ...
30
votes
Make chrome app windows be always on top
Just focus chrome app window and type Alt+Space to open a window menu options and select Always on top
30
votes
Accepted
How do I disable the window resizing when accidentally touching one of the screen edges in GNOME 3?
Open Terminal and run
gsettings set org.gnome.mutter edge-tiling false
You may also have to run
gsettings set org.gnome.shell.overrides edge-tiling false
27
votes
Accepted
Volume sound and screen brightness controls not working
Multimedia Keys
First install these packages for brightness and volume:
sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install xbacklight alsa-utils pulseaudio
Then from I3 FAQ:
Add these lines to ~/.config/i3/...
24
votes
Quickly place a window to another screen using only the keyboard
On my machine (CentOS Linux 7) it worked out of the box:
Use window key+shift+arrows this will move window quickly between monitors
Works on maximized as well as non maximized windows.
22
votes
Accepted
Remove Decoration of single window in Gnome 3
You can try to use _MOTIF_WM_HINTS...
To remove decorations:
xprop -f _MOTIF_WM_HINTS 32c -set _MOTIF_WM_HINTS "0x2, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0"
To add decorations:
xprop -f _MOTIF_WM_HINTS 32c -set ...
20
votes
Is there a shortcut to tile windows to left or right side of the screen?
Xubuntu LTS 16.04 has the ability to tile windows by default by using the mouse. Grab a window with your mouse and move it to the top, bottom, left, right, top-right, top-left, bottom-right or bottom ...
19
votes
How can I switch between windows of the same application?
This is old question, but I had the same problem and found Alt + ` switches the windows of the same application. Thus, sharing the same for reference.
19
votes
Accepted
Switching to i3 in 18.04
Either Log Out or Restart the computer (I recommend a Restart if you are the only user on the machine), and then during the log-in screen, right next to "Log In" button, you will find a small gear ...
18
votes
How to set Alt+mouse drag to move the window and Ctrl+mouse to resize the window unity (fresh install of 20.04)
Someone thought that changing the key to Super (akaWindows or ⌘) was a good idea to resolve some other conflicts for the design crowd. Frustrating. To restore the Gnome 2 defaults of Alt:
gsettings ...
17
votes
Accepted
Fresh install of Ubuntu with i3wm
To keep the system bloat to absolute minimum You can use Ubuntu MinimalCD. You can download it here:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/MinimalCD
After installing only a base system (it ...
17
votes
Accepted
How to determine if window is maximised or minimised from bash script
Retrieve info on the window state
You can get the info (and a lot more) from the command:
xprop -id <window_id>
To get what you are specifically looking for:
xprop -id 0x04c00010 | grep "...
16
votes
How do I disable window move with alt + left mouse button in GNOME Shell?
In Mint(or Cinnamon) the key can be changed or disabled under
system settings > windows > behavior > 'Special key to move and resize window'
I have it set to the super/windows key instead.
16
votes
Accepted
Dividing my desk into two work areas
It's called workspaces and if you're running plain old vanilla Ubuntu with Unity, go the to gear icon in the top left of your screen:
then go to:
System Settings
Appearance
the Behaviour tab
Enable ...
15
votes
How to determine which window manager (and desktop environment) is running
Just two cents.
$ sudo apt install neofetch
$ neofetch
15
votes
Keyboard shortcut to move windows between monitors?
Move window from left monitor to right monitor:
Super (i.e. Windows key)+Shift+right arrow
Move window from right monitor to left monitor:
Super(i.e. Windows key)+Shift+left arrow
15
votes
Accepted
How do I look up the name of the current workspace?
You can do it with wmctrl -d to list all workspaces. The * represents the current workspace:
~$ wmctrl -d
0 * DG: 3840x1080 VP: 0,0 WA: 0,25 3840x1055 1
1 - DG: 3840x1080 VP: N/A WA: 0,25 ...
15
votes
Accepted
How to start apps always on specific display?
Be prepared to get your hands dirty
On the edge of what I feel we could ask users to do, but on the other hand, when instructions are clear, why not? So here we go...
Background process to set on ...
14
votes
Accepted
Why does CTRL-ALT-F1 not send me to a terminal?
CTRL-ALT-F3 to get to terminal; ALT-F2 to return to GUI. (See this answer.)
I have not yet verified if this has a higher priority that would override a stuck windowing system, thus allowing me to ...
13
votes
Can I minimize a window from the command line?
to minimize the active window
xdotool getactivewindow windowminimize
works on gnome3.24 shell extension such as custom hot corner, "xdotool windowminimize $(xdotool getactivewindow)" won't.
13
votes
Accepted
Just upgraded to Ubuntu 18.04 and can't use compiz grid window resize commands?
Ubuntu 18.04 dropped support for the Unity desktop compositor in favour of GNOME Shell. GNOME Shell is incompatible with Compiz. You need to look for a method to replicate this behaviour using GNOME ...
12
votes
Dividing my desk into two work areas
I agree with the posted answers; they're the right answers. But there's another option in stock Ubuntu that runs Unity (e.g. 14.04, but not 16.04+) that satisfies one interpretation of the question, ...
12
votes
How do I look up the name of the current workspace?
Viewports in Unity
If you are using Unity, the current viewport cannot be retrieved directly from
wmctrl -d
since Unity has viewports, which are not detected directly by wmctrl -d. The output will ...
12
votes
Accepted
Lubuntu 19.10 & 20.04: How to tile windows? The window tiling section is missing in lxqt-rc.xml
Edit dated 20220907: As of LXQt 0.17.0 (April 2021), "Openbox configuration is removed for the sake of WM agnosticism," and ~/.config/openbox/lxqt-rc.xml is no longer recognized, while ~/....
11
votes
How do I disable window move with alt + left mouse button in GNOME Shell?
Use the Tweak Tool (gnome-tweak-tool):
Windows > Window Action Key
11
votes
Can I minimize a window from the command line?
Another xdotool example:
xdotool search --onlyvisible --classname --sync Navigator windowminimize
This searches (and waits, due to --sync) for a visible Navigator window, and then minimizes it.
See ...
10
votes
Accepted
How can I group windows to be raised as one?
Introduction
The following script allows selecting two windows, and while both windows are open, it will raise both windows when user focuses either one. For instance, if one links widows A and B , ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
Related Tags
window-manager × 816unity × 159
gnome × 100
window × 100
compiz × 86
shortcut-keys × 85
xorg × 40
xfce × 40
xubuntu × 39
multiple-monitors × 37
command-line × 34
18.04 × 32
desktop-environments × 29
12.04 × 28
wmctrl × 27
14.04 × 24
kde × 24
gnome-shell × 24
workspaces × 23
11.10 × 21
mouse × 20
scripts × 19
tiling × 19
i3-wm × 17
focus × 17