How can I change the Unity launcher delay?

Question

I find the sidebar to appear and disappear terribly slow. How can I change the delay?

Answer 1

For 11.04 (Natty):

The Unity delay is intentional (Ayatana-Design bug 754583) but can be changed.

First

You can change the edge delay of Compiz:
“General Options” → “General” → “Edge Trigger Delay”: set to 0.

---

Second

You can change this delay and other settings.

• See How can I configure Unity?

At the end of the answer by Octavian Damiean you will find this:

Launcher & Menus (unity-preferences)

There is another option to configure how to show the launcher then it is hidden.

1. Open the Launcher & Menus configuration utility by pressing Alt + F2 and typing unity-preferences.

   

   • Pushes the left edge of the screen will make the launcher appear about one second after pushing the cursor to the left edge of the screen.

   • Touches the top left corner of the screen will make the launcher appear immediately when the cursor touches the top left corner of the screen.

2. Select the desired option.

---

Third

This is a workaround for “absolute zero” delay.

1. We will need XDoTool and Compiz.

   You can install these from the Ubuntu Software Center or by clicking xdotool and Compiz .

2. Open Compiz (Alt + F2, type ccsm and hit Enter).

3. Go to Commands and add xdotool key super to one command.

   

4. Then go to Edge Bindings and choose “Left” for that command.

   

Answer 2

For 11.10 (Oneiric):

In Ubuntu 11.10 it is now possible to change the edge reveal time out using compizconfig-settings-manager .

To open it press Alt+F2,paste about:config and hit enter.*

Then change the Edge Reveal Timeout in the Behaviour/Behavior tab.

---

* (You can also run ccsm from a launcher such as synapse or from the terminal).

Answer 3

12.04 & Unity

The Unity Launcher delay is now a System Setting - Appearance option:

From the Behaviour tab you have the option to switch-on autohiding of the Launcher and using the slidebar to control the responsiveness to the reveal of the launcher.

The higher the sensitivity the quicker the launcher will reveal.

12.04 & Unity-2D

The Unity-2D Launcher delay is now a System Setting - Appearance option:

From the Behaviour tab you have the option to switch-on autohiding of the Launcher and by clicking the Low/High buttons to control the responsiveness to the reveal of the launcher.

Answer 4

Or just set your wall expo to activate on touching the upper/lower left corner (from compiz) . The expo autoshows instantly and it shows the sidebar (also instantly) and its just a handy setting :)

Answer 5

As an alternative to Petko's suggestion, I recommend you enable the SCALE Compiz plugin triggered with the top-left edge of the window. You can choose to scale all windows from the active desktop, or all windows [from any desktop]. I prefer to scale all windows. This is better for users who do not use multiple desktops or use them infrequently. It allows you the additional advantage of selecting which app you want to work with at the same time as moving directly to the relevant workspace if it's on a different one.

This is similar to the behavior of the Gnome Shell. I have been using Gnome Shell for about half a year prior to just now switching to Unity. It took me a bit to get used to Gnome Shell's task switching paradigm but once I did I loved it and would have gone back if I weren't able to achieve the functionality that I state in the paragraph above.

Answer 6

Unity-2D I really recommend setting the Launcher to be always shown How do I configure Unity 2D? Soon you'll stop missing those millimeters and start appreciate better productivity. A delay to reveal the launcher is understandable but to have actual animations of the Launcher showing up and hiding back again is a misunderstanding productivity wise. I'd say that between the default configuration with animations and the always visible Launcher the latter is more optimal.

Answer 7

This is how it works. There is experimental tab in Unity Compiz plugin. Check with the values in the screenshot. And change the launcher reveal pressure. Optimal value for this is 7. A value of 1 will make the launcher popup faster but it may interrupt our actions.