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I have recently installed Ubuntu Gnome which has the latest version of Gnome 3 running on it, and I have noticed that on windows there are no minimize buttons, and no maximize buttons, although I can see that you do get the options if you do a right-click. I have already read this question, and its answers, and have found that still none of them answer my question.

So my question is, as made clear in the title, how can I bring back the minimize and maximize buttons? Is this a bug? Or have Gnome decided not to have them?


OS Information:

No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 15.04
Release:    15.04
Codename:   vivid

2 Answers 2

176

The command line way

  • add the values at the left side of : for buttons on the left side

    close,minimize,maximize:

    gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences button-layout "close,minimize,maximize:"
    

    enter image description here

  • add the values at the right side of : for buttons on the right side

    :minimize,maximize,close

    gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences button-layout ":minimize,maximize,close"
    

    enter image description here

  • or mix them

    close:minimize,maximize

    gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences button-layout "close:minimize,maximize"
    

    enter image description here


The GUI way

Start the gnome-tweak-tool, open the Windows tab and switch the buttons for Titlebar Buttons in the right panel

enter image description here

enter image description here

8
  • But it doesn't seem to affect Nautilus, at least for me on 14.04. Jul 22, 2015 at 20:53
  • OK. I don't know what that means in regard to your answer in relation to what I mentioned. Jul 23, 2015 at 5:45
  • Unfortunately, this does not work anymore with Ubuntu 15.10
    – jpo38
    Mar 15, 2016 at 21:13
  • Works on Ubuntu GNOME 15.10 (obviously doesn't work on a stock install ofUbuntu 15.10, since Ubuntu switched to the Unity desktop). Thanks for the tip - have used Xubuntu and Ubuntu ... switched to Ubuntu Gnome, love it, but needed to know where to easily customize the desktop. Thanks!
    – SRDC
    Apr 27, 2016 at 3:35
  • 1
    Do I need to run this as my user? (I presume so) Or is there a global setting I can do?
    – nomen
    Feb 10, 2020 at 15:52
1

It's in Tweaks -> Window Titlebars now (not Windows)

enter image description here

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