Configuring Compiz

Open the Applications menu, select System tools, and then "Configuration Editor". If there is no such option, run gconf-editor from a terminal (don't do this with sudo!). Now make your way through Apps->Compiz. In the General->Allscreens->Options you can set some keybindings and select what plugins should be loaded when running Compiz.

If you experience freezes or crashes while running gconf-editor from the terminal, start it with this command:

G_SLICE=always-malloc gconf-editor

General Settings

Loading Plugins

It is recommended that you do not specify any plugins except gconf in your startup script. Compiz will load the plugins automatically. A startup script could look like this:

gnome-window-decorator &  compiz --replace gconf &

To check if all plugins are loaded correctly, go to apps>compiz>general>allscreens>options and make sure "active_plugins" looks like this (order is important!):

gconf,miniwin,decoration,transset,state,wobbly,fade,minimize,cube,rotate,zoom,scale,move,resize,place,switcher,trailfocus,water,bs

Add/move/delete items to make the list look like above.

Window Snapping

Windows snap to the border of the workspace and other applications, if you press <Control> while moving the window. If you want to make snapping the default behaviour, change the value of "snap" from <Control>Control_L to Control_L under apps>compiz>plugins>wobbly>screen0>options.

Focus follows the Mouse Pointer

Under general>allscreens>options uncheck "click_to_focus".

Custom Key Bindings

Under >apps>compiz>general>allscreens add the command/program you wish to run to "commandX" and the keybinding to initiate it to "run_commandX" where X is a number 0-11. Suitable modifiers are <Alt> <Shift> and <Control>.

To get Control-Alt-Delete to bring up the system moniter use "gnome-system-monitor" as the command and "<Control><Alt>Delete" as the keybinding.

Increasing Cube Faces

Under >apps>compiz>general>screen0>options change the value of the size key. This value can go up to a max of 32.

Increasing the number from the default 4 will cause images located on the caps of the cube to stop working.

Anchor(window_types)

Window Types

The window_types option for the plugins below lists the type of windows you want the plugin to effect avaliable types are Dock, Toolbar, Menu, Utility, Splash, Normal, Dialog, ModalDialog, Unknown.

• Are there any more window types? And what windows are part of each type?

Individual Plugins Settings

BS

• brightness_decrease - Key-binding to decrease brightness.

• brightness_increase - Key-binding to increase brightness.

• brightness_step - Step by which to change the brightness.

• saturation_decrease - Key-binding to decrease saturation.

• saturation_increase - Key-binding to increase saturation.

• saturation_step - Step by which to change the saturation.

Cube

• color -

• draw_caps - Toggle the top and bottom of the cube. Uncheck to keep them transparent and see-through to the skydome.

• images -

• images_bottom -

• images_top -

• in - Check the "in" checkbox to make it look like you are inside the cube when rotating (instead of outside)

• next_slide - Change the svg wallpaper displayed on top of the cube to the next one in your svgs string (see below)

• prev_slide - Same as above but previous image.

• rotate_images - Toggles rotation of the images to the direction of the cube.

• scale_image -

• scale_image_bottom -

• scale_image_top -

• skydome - Check to have an image displayed behind the cube when rotating with mouse.

• skydome_animated - Check to make it look like you are moving (not the cube) when rotating with mouse.

• skydome_image - Insert path to the image you want to be displayed behind the cube (must have Skydome checkbox checked).

Anchor(cube_svgs)

• svgs - Select image(s) to be displayed on top of the cube.

Decoration

• decor_theme -

• shadow_offset_x - X-offset for shadows (can be negative for opposite direction).

• shadow_offset_y - Y-offset for shadows (can be negative for opposite direction).

• shadow_opacity - Opacity level of shadows.

• shadow_radius - Radius value for shadows.

Fade

• fade_speed - How fast the windows fade in and out.

• window_types - Add to the list the windows you want to fade. For Available windows see [#window_types window_types]

  Note: Remove Splash from window_types from the fade plugin to allow the switcher to terminate. see [http://compiz.ed3n.com/viewtopic.php?id=144 switcher_bug]

Minimize

Minimize makes windows "zoom in" when created and "zoom out" when closed or minimized.

• speed - The speed of the minimize effect.

• timestep - ??

• Toolbar - ??

• window_types - Select the windows you want the effect to apply to. For Available windows see [#window_types window_types]

• zoom_created_windows - Check to make the effect apply to created windows. Note: This takes priority over wobbly creation (the map_effect key in the wobbly plugin).

• zoom_created_windows_from_center - Check to make windows zoom in and out from/to their center, not from/to the mouse pointer.

Anchor(zooming_menus)

Enable Zooming Menus

To make menus zoom on creation, ensure that Unknown is included in the window_types key. Note: This option takes priority over [#wobbly_menus wobbly menus].

MiniWin

This is an experimental plugin. It allows the user to create an icon of a window, currently being called a mindow, that shows a picture of the main window and can be clicked on to return the main window. It is a possible replacement for the minimize funtionality. More information and up-to-date links to the source can be found [http://compiz.blogspot.com/2006/03/miniwin.html here] on the Compiz blog, or in the forums.

• always_on_top - Toggles mindows being on top of other programs.

• bring_back_centered - depreciated?

• deiconify_key - depreciated? Key binding to maximize a mindow.

• demindow_key -

• dock_opacity - opacity of the dock

• hide_dock_on_click -

• iconify_key - depreciated? Key binding to create a mindow.

• iconify_on_minimize - depreciated? Toggles miniwin as default behavior for minimize.

• mindow_key -

• mindow_opacity - Opacity of mindow (0 - 100).

• mindow_width - Width of mindow.

• move_key - depreciated? Key binding to move mindow.

• on_all_workspaces - Toggles mindows to be on all workspaces.

• only_move_up -

• opacity_on_hover - Opacity of mindow while hovering (0 - 100).

• runs_on_aiglx -

• scale_on_hover_factor -

• scale_on_hover_size - depreciated?

• set_dock_background_key -

• show_dock -

• taskbar_hide_on_click - depreciated?

• taskbar_opacity - depreciated?

• taskbar_spacing -

• terminate_move_key - depreciated? Key binding to terminate moving of mindow.

• use_as_taskbar -

• window_types - Valid window types for mindows. For Available windows see [#window_types window_types]

Move

The Move plugin allows you to move your windows on the screen and drag them over to another virtual desktop when you enable the edgeflipping feature

• constrain_y -

• edgeflip -

• edgeflip_continous_drag - depreciated? now in rotate? Check to make the windows appear at the edge of the screen that corresponds to the workspace you switched from. Otherwise they will appear on the opposite side.

• edgeflip_ratio - depreciated? now in rotate? How many percent of the window's width that must be outside the edge of the screen before flipping.

• edgeflip_ratiobased - depreciated? now in rotate? Check to make the previous setting active.

• edgeflip_time -depreciated? now in rotate? Set amount of second you need to hold the mouse pointer at the edge of the screen while dragging a window before edgeflip commences.

• edgeflip_timebased - depreciated? now in rotate? - Check to make the previous setting active.

• edgeflip_tolerance - depreciated? now in rotate? -

• initiate - Set key combination to move a window by clicking anywhere on its body.

• moving_window_opacity_level (deprecated) - Set transparency of windows being moved (0 is fully transparent, 100 is solid).

• opacity_min_opacity -

• opacity_non_opaque -

• opacity - Set transparency of windows being moved (0 is fully transparent, 100 is solid).

• snapoff_maximized -

• terminate - Set key combination to terminate the funktion described in "initiate".

Place

• workarounds

Resize

• initiate - Key combination which allows resizing of windows.

• opacity_non_opaque -

• opacity - Opacity level on resize.

• terminate - Key combination which stops resizing.

Rotate

• acceleration - Set the acceleration of the cube-rotation. Can be set from 1 to 19.

• edge_flip - Enable edge of screen reactivity

• flip_move -

• flip_time - Time taken to flip

• initiate - Set key combination to rotate the cube with the mouse. You have to click on the desktop, it will not work by clicking in a window.

• invert_x & invert_y - Invert mouse-axis while rotating the cube.

• rotate_left & rotate_right - Set key combination to rotate the cube with keys.

• rotate_left_window & rotate_right_window - Defined keys keep the active window on top while rotating the cube.

• rotate_to_1 & rotate_to_1_window etc.. -

• sensitivity - Changes the mouse-sensitivity on cube-rotating. Can be set from 1 to 100.

• snap_bottom - Makes it possible to rotate to the bottom of the cube and have it stop in that position after releasing the mouse button. Can be used for slideshows of images listed under cube>[#cube_svgs svgs].

• snap_top - Makes it possible to rotate to the top of the cube and have it stop in that position after releasing the mouse button. Can be used for slideshows of images listed under cube>[#cube_svgs svgs].

• speed - Set the speed with which the cube rotates (1-49)

• terminate - Set key combination to terminate the function described in "initiate".

• timestep - not tested yet.

Scale

This plugin scales all your active (un-minimised) windows so that you can see them all at once. Clicking on any window will activate it and cause all the windows to return to their original size. This is like the 'Exposé' feature in MacOS. By default F12 scales all windows and F11 scales all the windows from any specific application.

• all_screens_corners -

• corners - moving the mouse to this corner, e.g. TopRight, will initiate scaled mode

• current_corners - moving the mouse to this corner, e.g. TopLeft, will initiate scaled mode for the active application (see initiate_current below)

• darken_back - Makes windows stand out more in scaled mode.

• darken_back_factor -

• initiate - Key which activates scaled mode for all windows on the current workspace.

• initiate_all_screens - Key which activates scaled mode for windows on all workspaces.

• initiate_current - Key which activates scaled mode for windows of the active application only. If this does not work as you expect it to, try to change [#use_class "use_class"].

• next_window - Key with which you can select next window in scaled mode (in addition, windows can also be selected with the mouse).

• opacity - Opacity of unfocused windows in scaled mode.

• prev_window - Key with which you can select previous window in scaled mode (in addition, windows can also be selected with the mouse).

• show_desktop -

• sloppy_focus - If checked, focus follows mousepointer in scaled mode.

• spacing - Padding of scaled windows. Default is 25.

• speed - How fast windows move to their scaled size/position.

• terminate - Key to stop scaling and move windows back to their original size/position. Used if scaling was started with the key set in "initiate". Left-click on a window also terminates scaled mode.

• terminate_all_screens - Key to stop scaling and move windows back to their original size/position. Used if scaling was started with the key set in "initiate_all_screens". Left-click on a window also terminates scaled mode.

• terminate_current - Key to stop scaling and move windows back to their original size/position. Used if scaling was started with the key set in "initiate_current". Left-click on a window also terminates scaled mode.

• timestep

• unfocused_opacity - depreciated? now the opacity option?

Anchor(use_class)

• use_class - If checked, "initiate_current" uses WM_CLASS instead of WM_NAME to determine which windows belong to one application. WM_CLASS includes different instances of the same application, while WM_NAME does not.

• window_types - Which kinds of windows to include in scaled mode. By default, Menu, Splash and Unknown (Tooltips, etc.) are not included. For Available windows see [#window_types window_types]

State

• opacity - List window types and how opaque they will be on map. e.g. w:Unknown:80.

Switcher

Easy graphical method to switch between all open windows.

• all_desktops - Include all windows from all desktops in the switcher.

• brightness - Brightness of the desktop behind all the windows.

• bring_to_front - Bring the selected window to the front of all other windows when selected.

• color - depreciated? Background color of the switcher.

• initiate - Key binding to initiate the switcher.

• initiate_all -

• mipmap - Better performance for the switcher using some cool OpenGL thing.

• next_window - Key binding to move to the next window in the switcher.

• opacity - Opacity of the unfocused windows in the windows list.

• prev_window - Key binding to move to the previous window in the switcher.

• reverse_initiate - Reverse the order in which the windows are being switched.

• saturation - Saturation of the unfocused windows in the windows list.

• show_minimized - Show minimized windows in the switcher.

• single_window -

• speed - Speed in which the switcher moves mini windows.

• terminate - Key binding to terminate the switcher.

• timestep - ?

• window_types - Types of windows to show in the switcher. For Available windows see [#window_types window_types]

Opaquefocus (deprecated)

Note: The opaquefocus plugin is deprecated as of version 0.0.7-0ubuntu10 (and, in fact, is not contained in any later releases). It should not be used as it causes some bugs with window drawing. You can completely reproduce its behaviour with trailfocus.

• focused_window_opacity_level - Set transparency of the focused window. Having this set to 95 - 100 will make the window more readable

• unfocused_window_opacity_level - This is the transparency level of a window that is not in focus. Setting this to 80 will make the window still readable in the background

• unfocused_window_brightness_level - 100 is normal brightness, 0 is very dark

• unfocused_window_saturation_level - 100 is full colour, 0 is greyscale. Setting this to 80 will help make the contents more readable in the background - this is important in image editors such as GIMP and movie players such as Totem

Remove old Opaquefocus keys

To remove the Opaquefocus keys from previous installations from your gconf databse, simply run the command from a terminal

  gconftool-2 --recursive-unset /apps/compiz/plugins/opaquefocus

Trailfocus

Trailfocus changes brightness, saturation and opacity of your windows depending on how long you have not used them. For details on how Trailfocus can replace Opaquefocus, see below.

• exclude - List applications which will not be affected by Trailfocus. For help on how to find out the name you should fill in see [#xprop "Find out the name of an application"] above.

• maximum_trail_count - Length of the "trail" that your window switching leaves. In other words: the number of states the windows can have.

• maximum_window_brightness_level - Brightness of the most recently focused window.

• maximum_window_opacity_level - Opcaity of the most recently focused window.

• maximum_window_saturation_level - Saturation of the most recently focused window.

• minimum_window_brightness_level - Brightness of the least recently focused window.

• minimum_window_opacity_level - Opacity of the least recently focused window.

• minimum_window_saturation_level - Saturation of the least recently focused window.

Emulate Opaquefocus

To make Trailfocus behave like Opaquefocus, you have to set maximum_trail_count to 2 and choose values for the maximum_* and minimum_* keys to your liking. The currently focused window will have the maximum_* values, all other windows will have the minimum_* values.

Transset

• apps - List applications and how opaque they will be on startup. The format is <application> <opacity>, e.g. Gnome-terminal 80. For help on how to find out the name you should fill in see [#xprop "Find out the name of an application"] above.

Water

This plugin is currently quite unstable. Reports say it uses intense CPU resources, and crashes X. Use at your own risk.

• initiate - Key binding to initiate the water effect.

• offset_scale -

• rain_delay - Time, in milliseconds, between rain drops.

• terminate - Key binding to terminate the water effect.

• toggle_rain - Key binding to toggle a rain effect (random drops of water).

Wobbly

• focus_effect - Wobble effect on focused window. (Values are None, Shiver).

• focus_friction - Friction for focus_effect.

• focus_spring_k - Spring constant for focus_effect.

• focus_window_types - Window types affected by focus_effect. For Available windows see [#window_types window_types]

• friction - deprecated? Affects the overall wobbliness along with spring_k. (Values are 1 to 9). Resistance of the window to wobbling.

• grab_friction - Friction for grab effect.

• grab_spring_k - Spring constant for grab effect.

• grab_window_types - Window types that wobble on grab. For Available windows see [#window_types window_types]

• grid_resolution - The resolution of the grid which is wobbled.

• map_effect - Wobble effect on created windows. (Values are None, Shiver). Note: The zoom_created_windows key in the minimize plugin will take priority over this key.

• map_friction - Friction for map_effect.

• map_spring_k - Spring constant for map_effect.

• map_window_types - Window types affected by map_effect. For Available windows see [#window_types window_types]

• maximize_effect - Toggle wobble effect on maximize.

• maximize_friction - Friction for maximize_effect.

• maximize_spring_k - Spring constant for maximize_effect.

• min_grid_size - The minimum size of the grid which is wobbled.

• move_friction - Friction for move effect.

• move_spring_k - Spring constant move effect.

• move_window_types - Window types which should wobble when moved. For Available windows see [#window_types window_types]

• snap - Key binding to snap windows to borders.

• spring_k - deprecated? Affects the overall wobbliness along with friction. (Values are 1 to 9). Ridgidity/flexabiltiy of the window

• window_types - depreciated? Types of windows to wobble. For Available windows see [#window_types window_types]

• wobble_on_grab - depreciated? Toggles wobbling when grabbing a window.

• wobble_on_move - depreciated? Toggles wobbling while moving a window.

• wobble_on_resize - depreciated?

Anchor(wobbly_menus)

Enable Wobbly Menus

To make menus wobble, set the map_effect key to Shiver. Also ensure that Unknown is included in the map_window_types key. Note: If [#zooming_menus zooming menus] is currently enabled, it will take priority over this option.

Zoom

• filter_linear - Toggles smoother lines (edges, text, etc..) when zooming in.

• initiate - Key binding to initiate zooming.

• invert_y - Toggles an inverted y-axis for zooming.

• max - How much you can zoom out. A value greater than 1 means you will be able to zoom out "outside" the cube.

• min - How much you can zoom in. A value between 0 and 1 where 1 is no zoom at all.

• sensitivity - Mouse sensitivity when zoomed.

• speed - Speed at which zooming occurs.

• step - Step at which zooming occurs.

• terminate - Key binding to terminate zooming.

• timestep - ?

• zoom_in - Key binding to zoom in.

• zoom_out - Key binding to zoom out.

General Help

Anchor(xprop)

Find the name of an application

Some plugins ("Trailfocus: exclude", "Transset", etc.) require you to fill in the names (to be more precise the WM_CLASS) of the applications which it will affect. To find out the name to fill in, enter this into a terminal and click on the application's window:

xprop | grep WM_CLASS | cut -d \" -f 4

Remove black border when minimizing

When minimizing windows to the panel, GNOME draws a black border around them. This looks out of place if you use Compiz' minimize plugin. To disable the border, open gconf-editor and uncheck "enable_animations" under apps>panel>global.

Stick a window to all workspaces

Right-click on the window's titlebar and select "On All Workspaces".

FAQ

• I've got it working, but I don't know how to change a setting - where can I ask questions?

  • Current discussion with a lot of people who can help you takes place in [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=148472 this thread]. Please use the "Search this Thread" function before asking questions. There is also a forum for compiz discussions at http://compiz.ed3n.com/ and also a [http://compiz.blogspot.com/ compiz blog] detailing news on new plugins and updates.

• I don't like the theme of Compiz, how can I change it?
  • At the moment, there is no way to actually change the theme, but the colors used are those specified by your GTK-theme. Change it, and the color of your titlebar, tooltips, etc. will change, too.
• The shadows Compiz draws are so small and are not cast the way I want them to. Is there a way to change that?
  • Not at the moment, sorry. The shadows are currently hardcoded and use pixmaps, but this might change in the future.
• My SDL apps are transparent and look strange, how can I fix this?

  • Set the environment variable XLIB_SKIP_ARGB_VISUALS to 1 and then run your SDL program. For instance, from a terminal, do this:

    export XLIB_SKIP_ARGB_VISUALS=1
    yourprogram

• Is there anything I can do if the water plugin freezes my desktop?

  • It has generally been noticed that it is not hard-locking the system, so it can often be corrected by restarting compiz. Use <control><alt>F2 to open a terminal, and typekillall compiz.real. You should now be able to come back into your desktop <control><alt>F6 and restart compiz: compiz --replace gconf

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CategoryDocumentation