Move 'min, max, close' window buttons to the left in Ubuntu 17.10

change buttons windows ubuntu 17.10

In the next article we are going to take a look at a classic in the posts about Ubuntu. It's about seeing how to move the minimize, maximize and close buttons of the windows of our system operational. In its latest version of Ubuntu, which is 17.10, Unity has been replaced by Gnome 3 as your default desktop environment. The buttons of the application window (minimize, maximize and close) are now on the right side of the title bar, which is unimportant for some and very important for others.

In this version of Ubuntu, fortunately the button layout can be configured from gnome-desktop. With the simple steps that we are going to see, all those who are used to having the window buttons on the left, will see them again where they want them without having to complicate things.

It is not the first time that window buttons have changed sides throughout the history of Ubuntu. Although it is true that it has been a long time since they moved to the left in the Mac style. If memory serves, it was back in 2010. Now that there is no more Unity by default, the reasons to keep them to the left of finished, and return to the right as in Windows. As always, there is someone who prefers them to the other side, because this article is for them.

To make these changes to our windows, we will have two options to carry out this configuration. At least they are the two simplest I know.

Move the 'min, max, close' buttons

Change button location using GSettings

The easiest way to modify the settings is to use a command line tool which is called GSettings. This tool will help us to edit the settings of our system from the terminal. This is a good way to manage our application settings. These settings are stored in binary form for quick retrieval. They can also be manipulated from outside this application using specific tools. GSettings is actually an interface with multiple possible interfaces. The typical and recommended is dconf.

To use this tool in our Ubuntu 17.10, we will only have to open the terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) or search for "terminal" from the application browser. Once opened, we will only have to execute the following order to move the buttons to the left side of the windows:

windows buttons left side Ubuntu 17.10

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

If after trying it we are not convinced, we can always return the buttons to the right side. For this we will have to execute in the terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) the command:

windows buttons right side Ubuntu 17.10

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

When copying and pasting the commands to be executed, it is advisable to be careful with the single quotes.

Change button location using dconf

As there is always someone who hates the terminal and the Gnu / Linux commands that are used in it, let's see the ability to use dconf-editor. With this utility we can configure the button layout of Gnome Desktop.

Dconf is a low-level configuration system. Its main objective is to provide a graphical environment to GSettings on platforms that do not have configuration storage systems. The Dconf tool also works as a Ubuntu registry editor.

move window buttons using dconf installation

To begin we will need to install dconf in our operating system. It does not usually come installed in the distribution. For this we will always have to install it manually for your use. For this we will open the Ubuntu software application, and in it we are going to look for install the dconf editor.

The next thing we will have to do is start the tool. Once started, we will move through the tree to the following path: org / gnome / desktop / wm / preferences.

layout button preferences

Arrived here, we will have to look for the line 'button layout'and click on it to edit it. Here we can change the default value and set its value to: close, maximize, minimize.

button layout

To revert, we simply re-enable the default in the dconf settings and voila.


11 comments, leave yours

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  1.   Gerardo Herrera placeholder image said

    Thank you very much but the commands do not appear in the tutorial

    1.    Damian Amoedo said

      Hello. Commands for use with GSettings appear just below the screenshots. Salu2.

    2.    Allam Antonio Contreras said

      If they appear

    3.    Gerardo Herrera placeholder image said

      It must be my phone, on the insurance computer will it charge me well?
      Thank you

  2.   Antonio Moya Ramos said

    Back to the origins ehhhh ??

  3.   Shupacabra said

    Involution, the truth is I gave it a test like 2 hours and it seemed "HORRIBLE" Ubuntu is no longer what it was

  4.   Isidoro said

    Hello, thank you very much for the info. By the way, this tool can also be used to remove indicators from the top bar at 17.10? In my case I want to remove the language indicator and I don't know how to do it. Very thankful. Greetings to all linuxers.

  5.   fprietog said

    Another way to change the side buttons: you install gnome-tweak-tool from the repo and change it from there.

  6.   Moypher Nightkrelin said

    When I saw that the "min, max, close" buttons were on the right, it was literally a kick in the balls, thanks to the fact that I go through this block looking for solutions to things that my understanding allows me, I put the line in the terminal and It works, I have those damn buttons on the left.

    What I don't like, and it really bothers me, is losing the upper space, there are practically 2 bars, the programs menu that used to appear above, was replaced by an unnecessary "activities", no such change was necessary, even so I want to go back to my comfort zone. Gnome and its environment looks good, even so there are things that do not convince me and it would be better to change them, I am not a programmer, but I work a lot with Ubuntu.

    So how do I remove that "activities" bar to make it look like Ubuntu 17.04?
    I anticipate that the answer will be "Go back to U-17.04" hahahhaha
    regards

  7.   Sergio RosCo said

    Thank you very much:)… I'm back to normal hahaha

  8.   Leon S. said

    I can already die in peace: 3 I thought it was impossible but it is functional on my Debian!
    Greetings from Colombia