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Questions tagged [unity]

For questions regarding the Unity desktop environment, including configuring and using Unity. Unity has been the default Ubuntu desktop environment from Ubuntu 11.04 to Ubuntu 17.04.

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565 votes
35 answers
592k views

Unity doesn't load, no Launcher, no Dash appears

When I login, nothing happens. I am presented with my desktop wallpaper. No Dash, no Launcher, nothing.
jrg's user avatar
  • 60.9k
526 votes
11 answers
435k views

What are Unity's keyboard and mouse shortcuts?

In Unity, are there any pre-defined shortcuts, e.g. to open the dash or unhide the launcher?
491 votes
8 answers
153k views

How do I modify or disable the HUD's use of the Alt key?

A number of games, Emacs, and the terminal make extensive use of the Alt key. Can Unity be configured to respect this key, rather than launching the HUD with it?
EoghanM's user avatar
  • 5,125
464 votes
16 answers
512k views

How can I edit/create new launcher items in Unity by hand?

Will Unity allow making custom launcher icons from .desktop files or via menu editing system? (Right now the launcher doesn't give the option to "keep in launcher" on all programs. For some programs ...
Ike's user avatar
  • 5,112
408 votes
11 answers
129k views

How do I disable mouse magnet on middle edge with multi monitors?

I use Ubuntu 12.04 on a two screen setup. Multiscreen on 12.04 has generally become much better, but there is one thing that really gets on my nerves: there's a mouse magnet of sorts on the middle ...
Benjamin Wohlwend's user avatar
398 votes
6 answers
525k views

How do I turn on workspaces? (Why do I only have one workspace?)

It appears that Unity on Raring only comes with a single virtual desktop (aka workspaces) by default, and CCSM's Wall plugin has no way to add more. Is this configurable at all?
Bo Dang Ren's user avatar
  • 5,644
305 votes
11 answers
501k views

How can I configure Unity?

Are there any configuration options for the Unity desktop? There are multiple valid answers for this question spanning over several versions of Ubuntu. For your convenience an index of each below (...
273 votes
12 answers
168k views

How can I remove Amazon search results from the dash or disable the feature?

How can I disable Amazon search results in the Dash?
Jorge Castro's user avatar
  • 72.2k
258 votes
7 answers
381k views

Can I move the Unity launcher?

I can’t get used to the new Unity system. I’d like to move the left Unity panel to the bottom of screen (like Windows 7 – more similar is better). But I can't find a way. Is it possible?
Benjamin's user avatar
  • 10.2k
250 votes
16 answers
276k views

How to pin Eclipse to the Unity launcher?

How can I pin eclipse indigo 3.7 I have 'installed' at /opt/ to the taskbar? I have tried launching eclipse and right-clicking to choose the 'keep in launcher' option. But when I click that icon, ...
nunos's user avatar
  • 3,430
220 votes
16 answers
84k views

How to change tooltip background color in Unity?

In a lot of applications the tooltips are just plain ugly (White text on black background, way too much contrast) or even unreadable (black or dark blue text (Hyperlinks) on black background). I want ...
kayahr's user avatar
  • 4,179
201 votes
8 answers
62k views

keyboard shortcut to switch between windows within an application

Is there a keyboard shortcut, or can I somehow bind a shortcut, to switch between windows within an application (similar to opt+~ on macOS)? Ideally, I'd like Alt+Tab to be unaffected or to be ...
Andrew M's user avatar
  • 2,398
195 votes
10 answers
185k views

How can I reduce or increase the number of workspaces in Unity?

I was reading about how to get multiple workspaces in the mutter version of Unity, however since Compiz is replacing Mutter how do I go about adding and removing workspaces in Compiz version of Unity?
Marco Ceppi's user avatar
  • 48.3k
189 votes
9 answers
77k views

Is there an easy way to rearrange or move the icons in the Unity launcher?

It looks like the only time that you can choose where an icon goes on the unity launcher, is when you add it. Is there a way to rearrange the order of an icon after it has been added?
JannieT's user avatar
  • 1,993
186 votes
36 answers
149k views

What lenses for Unity are available?

This question is present as a matter of historical interest. While you are encouraged to help maintain its answers, please understand that "big list" questions are not generally allowed on AskUbuntu ...
184 votes
12 answers
229k views

How do I reset my Unity configuration?

I've been messing around with Unity and broke something, how do I "start over"?
Jorge Castro's user avatar
  • 72.2k
168 votes
10 answers
284k views

How do I disable the screensaver/lock?

When I'm watching a film in Mythtv the screen turns to black every 10 - 15 mins and I have to log back into Ubuntu. Very annoying! How do I disable the black screen / screensaver / logout in Unity? ...
Gareth Butcher's user avatar
167 votes
3 answers
53k views

What's the right terminology for Unity's UI elements?

I've sent a few mails to the Ayatana mailing list regarding some UI suggestions for Unity, but I'm afraid I keep confusing the right terms for the UI element, so I would like to have some ...
Bou's user avatar
  • 4,502
165 votes
7 answers
1.1m views

How can I uninstall a nvidia driver completely ?

As expected, Nvidia drivers have reduced my customizations. I can't login to Unity 3D session. I can't find any content to help me to uninstall the driver and I don't know what to do as I have never ...
VedVals's user avatar
  • 3,501
164 votes
7 answers
104k views

Missing date & time applet from top Unity panel

I like Unity very much. Recently, I installed Compiz manager and Nautilus Elementary also then tried to Play. During some of my playing around, Unity's clock applet has vanished. I want to make it ...
Dev's user avatar
  • 1,641
163 votes
2 answers
207k views

What is the "show desktop" keyboard shortcut?

I just upgraded to 11.10 from 11.04. Previously the shortcut to show the desktop was Super +D (same as in Windows), But now it is not working. What is the new shortcut?
aneeshep's user avatar
  • 30.5k
156 votes
10 answers
187k views

How can I find *.desktop files?

To the best of my knowledge, all shortcuts in the Unity Launcher have a corresponding *.desktop file. I have one shortcut (for skrooge) that doesn't have an icon. How can I find the *.desktop file ...
KOVIKO's user avatar
  • 2,113
155 votes
6 answers
113k views

Where are the Unity Launcher .desktop files?

I'd like to know which folder the Unity Launcher .desktop files are stored in, as they're not anymore in /.gconf/desktop and I need to add a custom application to the launcher bar (adding it in /usr/...
Tigull's user avatar
  • 3,581
152 votes
4 answers
151k views

How do I set focus follows mouse?

Is there a way to set up "focus follows mouse" behavior in Unity?
dharmatech's user avatar
  • 2,553
152 votes
11 answers
133k views

How can I keep recent files from appearing in Unity?

I sometimes browse erotic media files but I would like to avoid having them appear in files & folders / recent. How can I do that? The old "making .recently-used.xbel a folder" trick from 10.10 ...
mr.pig's user avatar
  • 1,553
151 votes
6 answers
106k views

How can I remove duplicate second Unity Launcher on a Dual Screen setup?

On my dual screen display I have a Unity Launcher on the left hand screen and also on the right hand screen. Both work perfectly fine. However, I don't want this second launcher present on my right ...
Eugene van der Merwe's user avatar
144 votes
13 answers
67k views

How to ungroup windows on Unity task switcher?

I'm playing with ubuntu 12.04, precise pangolin, and there's an issue I can't see how to solve. If I have three instances of, let's say, Firefox, in the switcher appears a single Firefox icon, I have ...
opensas's user avatar
  • 3,207
143 votes
3 answers
271k views

How do I quickly switch between workspaces in unity?

I'm using Ubuntu 11.10 with Unity and would like to switch between workspaces with a keyboard shortcut. Is there any way to achieve this?
js-coder's user avatar
  • 2,247
137 votes
46 answers
208k views

What Custom Launchers and Unity Quicklists are available?

Please note that right now, most of the information contained below is outdated and cannot be updated. Be careful, most of this won't work on Ubuntu 12.04 and newer. Creating a custom launcher for ...
135 votes
12 answers
127k views

How can I set default terminal used in Unity?

How can I set the default terminal used in Unity? I would like to use the Ctrl+Alt+T hotkey to start a non-default terminal. The default terminal is gnome-terminal. Where can I change the default ...
Regisz's user avatar
  • 2,180
134 votes
2 answers
32k views

External links are opened as blank tabs in new browser window in Chrome

Since I installed Ubuntu (fresh install on a new machine), and set Google Chrome as default browser, whenever I open links from external apps these are open as blank tabs in new browser window (no ...
unfulvio's user avatar
  • 1,655
134 votes
3 answers
102k views

Set variable in .desktop file

Is there a way to set the enviroment variable in .desktop file? I'm trying to run application (eclipse) with custom gtk style, so basically I want to get the following result by runing a .desktop file:...
dotintegral's user avatar
  • 1,343
129 votes
8 answers
86k views

How do I enable or disable the global application menu?

I'm fairly excited for Unity, as it looks like a promising new direction for Ubuntu. However, I do have a concern - will it be possible to use Unity without the global menu? I have my window manager ...
Michael Ekstrand's user avatar
127 votes
6 answers
85k views

Keyboard shortcut to move windows between monitors?

I remember there used to be a setting under Compiz that set a keyboard shortcut for moving applications between physical (but combined as a single xscreen) screens, similar to moving between logical ...
Andrew Bolster's user avatar
125 votes
4 answers
52k views

How to separate opened windows in alt+tab switcher in Ubuntu 18.04?

When I have multiple windows of an application opened e.g. Chrome main window and Incognito window, and I press Alt+Tab to switch between them, I see only one Chrome icon. I have to then press down ...
Mazhar's user avatar
  • 1,353
121 votes
5 answers
75k views

Unity: How do I revert Alt-tab behavior to switch between windows on the current workspace?

Enabling Bias alt-tab sorting to prefer windows on the current viewport as described here made no difference. How can I get back the exact same behavior as 11.04, so that alt-tab only switches between ...
chris.ritsen's user avatar
  • 1,313
118 votes
15 answers
172k views

How to efficiently switch between several terminal windows using the keyboard?

Alt+Tab lets me only switch between windows belonging to different applications. I often use about four terminal bound applications at the same time (e.g. IPython, VIM, fish for system and fish for ...
Raffael's user avatar
  • 3,781
118 votes
10 answers
83k views

On Unity: What can replace Gnome 2 system monitoring in the top Panel?

I'm used to having System monitoring in the top Gnome Panel: CPU, Temperature, Net, Fan-Speed. (see screenshot below) In Unity, the Top Panel is locked for window name and global menu, so I can't add ...
tobi's user avatar
  • 2,232
116 votes
9 answers
123k views

How can I configure Unity's launcher auto-hide behavior?

This has been an issue for me with Unity since its release. I'd like to make the the launcher auto-hide. Especially on Netbooks, where screens are small, the launcher is quite wide, making it ...
wilsonliam's user avatar
  • 1,325
114 votes
10 answers
150k views

How can I create launcher icon for PhpStorm?

I have PhpStorm on my PC, to launch it I have to go to phpstorm/bin/ and launch phpstorm.sh, how can I pin this to launcher so that I dont have to go into folders every time?
Chelios's user avatar
  • 1,861
106 votes
2 answers
216k views

Creating a .desktop file for a new application

I just installed the lastest version of UGENE. I works fine but in order to use it, I have to enter the following in the terminal: cd ugene-1.11.5/ then execute ./ugene -ui to launch UGENE GUI. This ...
cooldood3490's user avatar
  • 1,165
104 votes
2 answers
143k views

Where are the Unity desktop wallpapers located?

Please see the picture below. Where are the Unity desktop wallpapers located?
Hejar Mukriyani's user avatar
102 votes
7 answers
20k views

How can I remove "Show Desktop" from the Alt-Tab (application) switcher?

Is it possible to remove "Show Desktop" from the Alt+Tab application switcher?
David Dossot's user avatar
  • 1,096
102 votes
2 answers
38k views

What are some of the issues with CCSM and why would I want to avoid it?

I've seen some people complaining about how unstable CompizConfig Settings Manager ("CCSM") is and how it can break people's desktops if they're not careful. What are some of the known problems with ...
Jorge Castro's user avatar
  • 72.2k
100 votes
11 answers
276k views

How to launch application as root from Unity Launcher?

Mainly I am looking for a way to pin an application to the Unity launch bar, and run it as root. Currently, even if I start the application with sudo, and pin it after it starts, it will start as ...
sorin's user avatar
  • 9,928
97 votes
4 answers
152k views

How do I add an application to the dash?

I just installed Oneiric Ocelot, and I can't figure out how to add an application, which is stored in my home directory, to the dash. I can create a launcher, but I want it in the dash also.
jqno's user avatar
  • 1,097
97 votes
14 answers
40k views

Can I use the Unity launcher icon to minimize applications/windows?

I don't know if this is a feature or a bug, but clicking on an active application's launcher icon doesn't minimize it. It is terribly inconvenient for folks using a persistent Unity bar to click ...
Eternal Owl's user avatar
92 votes
9 answers
59k views

Am I using Unity or Unity 2D?

Unity and Unity 2D look very much alike, so how can new users easily find out whether they are running Unity or Unity 2D?
htorque's user avatar
  • 65.1k
92 votes
7 answers
150k views

How to remove icons/shortcuts from Unity menu?

I have installed Chromium and Tweet Deck on it (trough Chrome Store), now I uninstalled Tweet Deck and after that Chromium, the problem is, when I installed Tweet Deck it asked me if I want to create ...
Removed's user avatar
  • 3,698
91 votes
12 answers
249k views

How can I move all the window controls to the right (or left)?

Downloaded Ubuntu tweak and set window controls to the right side. Only some programs follow the rule. Pidgin as an example has window controls on the right. But Chrome, Thunderbird, Geany, still have ...
Matt Kaye's user avatar
  • 1,019

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