Move Window Controls back to right in Ubuntu 10.04
65Window Button controls in Ubuntu
In Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx, the window button controls that was earlier in left has been shifted to right. Most of the users who are familiar with Windows operating system will find it difficult to change the habit of closing maximizing or minimizing window from top right corner of the screen. The change of buttons to left is based on the Mac OS window style.
So, for the users who want it back the old fashioned way, here is the method to do that. I have tried to keep it simple.
How to change window buttons?
From the Ubuntu 10.04, Lucid Lynx Desktop,
- press "Alt+F2" - You will get the "Run Application" Window.
- Type "gconf-editor" - You will get a Configuration Editor Screen as shown in the figure.
Configuration Editor - Lucid Lynx
- Goto "Apps -> Metacity -> General" under the window dropdown menu.
- On the right side you can see a key named "button_layout"
It will have a value "maximize,minimize,close" in a different order. Change it to "menu:maximize,minimize,close". The editing can be done by right clicking on the value and pressing "Edit Key".
Press ok. This should do it.
Give your comments on the latest Ubuntu on street. Long live open source.
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Thank you sir - that was annoying having them MAC'ed
thanks!! worked perfect!!
yay! Thanks. I already accidentally killed a window going for the edit menu.
Many, many thanks for this tweek!!!!
For the life of me I can’t work out why the Ubuntu people would make what seems to be just a change for change’s sake! Weird!!
Oh, and I’m a lefty btw and I didn’t like it and even more so didn’t like not being consulted about it and not being given an easy way at upgrade (e.g. “Which side would you like your window buttons on?”) to select what I wanted!.
Come on Ubuntu Developers! This is the sort of thing the evil empire does not what we in open source do surely?
Thanks for this; disturbing that Ubuntu is starting to acquire the same unpleasant habits as commercial OS's in forcing totally unnecessary changes on us we didn't ask for; whereTF is GIMP, for example? What addled little mind decided to drop that, and why?
Bit irritated after a nightmare upgrade which broke halfway thru.....
misleading! This does not move control to right, just re-orders the controls
@jay
It does move them right. At least for me it did. (Though i skipped "menu")
Make sure you move the colon, that indicates the side.
the controls were switched to teach the uninitiated about 'gconf-editor'
Shouldn't it be: "menu:minimize,maximize,close"...? That's the order they're usually in AFAIK... :)
This change is a poster child for change-for-the-sake-of-change. Gotta keep those devs off the streets innit, so I suppose anything which keeps them busy is socially worthwhile. :P
Thanks for your clear instructions on how to fix the madness.
Thanks a bunch! Great guide. This was annoying me; especially in Chrome.
Though, personally, I would rather have it be ":minimize, maximize, close".
finally got around to upgrading from Jaunty, just hate that they mess unnecessarily with the buttons
If this doesn't work for someone, make sure you're not running under sudo -- first time I tried this, I mindlessly inserted 'sudo' in front of the 'gconf-editor' out of habit, and the change didn't work. I guess it probably changes the metacity preference for root.
There's a reason why controls, by default, should be on the right. For a right handed person, it requires much less wrist movement to get mouse into the right corner. When I move the cursor out of the way (e.g. while reading) I instinctively move it right, not left. Seems to me Ubuntu did it just to spite MS.
OTOH I am very pleased with 10.10 Live Disk that I just downloaded.
DrWilken's right: "menu:minimize,maximize,close" is the standard Windoze ordering.
Thanks!
Thanks for the posting! I really appreciate it
This was very annoying, I went to close a window and the buttons weren't were I was expecting them. Thank you for this guide, it was easy to understand and to-the-point.
you are a life saver mate that really helped...thanx loads
Thank you. I've been trying to figure this out for about 8 or 9 days. Now if I can just figure out how to change the theme so that the close button doesn't look like an orange butthole. Ubuntu is turning into total crap.
Great! Thx so much, man.
Cupcake 22 months ago
Thanks a lot! This is the one thing that bothered me.