13.10gnome-terminalwindow-manager
In Ubuntu 13.10 I would like my terminal window to, by default, open with the same size and in the same position as last time. I would like similar behaviour for the file explorer.
Is this possible?
To clarify: I am not interested in persisting this across a reboot, but only within a session. (I.e. this question is not relevant.)
The short answer is: hibernation is the best option because the gnome-session-save functionality was removed after 11.04 since it was buggy, and the official tweak to manually re-enable this functionality does not appear to work. Part B of this answer describes how to use an alternative hibernation method, TuxOnIce, which is more compatible and reliable right now than the built-in hibernation.
This Launchpad bug discusses restoring the "save session" functionality. It is currently marked "fixed", because a patch was introduced in the gnome-session package in April 2012, allowing users to manually re-enable this functionality. The patch describes itself as:
add GNOME_SESSION_SAVE environment variable for people wanting to use the save session still, knowing that it can break your system if used unwisely (LP: #771896)
You can enable this by setting the GNOME_SESSION_SAVE variable to a non-null value. Here's how:
Alt+F2, type gedit ~/.pam_environment, and press enter.Add the line GNOME_SESSION_SAVE=1 at the end of the file as shown below:
Press Ctrl+S to save, and Ctrl+Q to quit the editor.
GNOME_SESSION_SAVE variable, and if set (non-null), it should enable session-saving just as if the Remember... box existed and was checked. That's why the bug is labeled as "fixed"
if (g_getenv ("GNOME_SESSION_SAVE") != NULL)
maybe_load_saved_session_apps (manager);gnome-session from source. That makes the Options checkbox show up again, but it does nothing.Hibernation support is available in Ubuntu/Linux but was disabled in 12.04 because it wasn't working properly on a number of systems. See this question and this bugreport if you want more information.
TuxOnIce (wiki|homepage) is an alternative to the kernel's built-in hibernation technology, and is supposed to be more compatible, more reliable and more flexible.
It does require installing TuxOnIce's custom kernel, but the instructions that follow should make it easy. If you've never opened the terminal before, you may want to now :-)
The only requirement for TuxOnIce is that your swap partition be at least as large as the amount of memory (RAM) you have. You can check this by:
Start the terminal with Ctrl+Alt+T
Type free -m, and you should see something like this:
total used free shared buffers cached Mem: 1024 731 260 0 0 190 -/+ buffers/cache: 540 451 Swap: 1536 6 1530
The number after Swap: (e.g. 1536) should be more than the number after Mem: (e.g. 1024)
If this is not the case, and your swap is smaller than your memory, you must either resize and increase the size of your swap partition, or configure TuxOnIce to use a special swap file. That is beyond the scope of this answer, but if you ask another question and mention it in the comments, I will answer and explain how.
Start the terminal with Ctrl+Alt+T
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:tuxonice/ppa -yand once the ppa is added:
sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install tuxonice-userui linux-generic-tuxonice -y sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic-tuxonice -y
Ubuntu should now start up with the TuxOnIce kernel. If there are any problems, keep the Shift pressed at startup and you will get the Grub menu. Use the arrow keys to go to Previous Linux Versions, press enter, and press enter again to go back to the working kernel.
Open some of the applications you normally use, e.g. Firefox, Thunderbird, LibreOffice, etc.
sudo pm-hibernate, press enter, enter your password.You should see the lock screen for a second, and then the TuxOnIce hibernation progress screen, like the one below:
If all this worked, go to Step 3, which lets you enable Hibernate from the dashboard.
Press Alt+F2, type the below and then press enter:
gksudo gedit /etc/polkit-1/localauthority/50-local.d/com.ubuntu.enable-hibernate.pkla
Paste the below, press Ctrl+S to save and Ctrl+Q to exit the editor:
[Re-enable hibernate by default] Identity=unix-user:* Action=org.freedesktop.upower.hibernate ResultActive=yes
Restart, and you should see the Hibernate option as shown below:
If TuxOnIce doesn't work for you, or you simply wish to remove it, start the terminal and enter:
sudo apt-get remove tuxonice-userui linux-generic-tuxonice linux-headers-generic-tuxonice -y
and remember to disable the Hibernate option in the menu with:
sudo rm /etc/polkit-1/localauthority/50-local.d/com.ubuntu.enable-hibernate.pkla
Then restart.
Sadly nor the window manager ( metacity or compiz ) nor Xorg serve that purpose.
In Ubuntu ( and any GNU/Linux in general ) remembering the last window location is up to the application. (As far as I can remember Firefox do that, and so Gedit ).
As you said Compiz has fine control on where to place which application window, but not the simple option of remembering its last status.
Please refer also to these idea in Brainstorm:
and this bug ( marked as Wontfix ):
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/metacity/+bug/124315
Best Answer
This does work for me.
If using Unity on 13.10, you can achieve this with ccsm (CompizComfig Settings Manager). You have to have it installed (following command should've already be done)
Launch ccsm.
FOR SIZE: Activate module Window Rules under Window Management category. Click the button Window Rules, you should see a tab pane with two tabs: Matches and Sizes. Click on Sizes tab and add any app you want to specify its size with the New button. Indicate the desired width and height and to which windows(s) you want the width and height to be always the same.
FOR POSITION: Do the same as above but with module Place Windows.
Then try to close then open one of the windows you specified.
I'd like to include some screenshots but I'm told that I need reputation 10 at least before I can add images to my posts.
EDIT:
Screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/Sl156Gf.png (ccsm with above modules buttons on a fresh French install of Ubuntu 13.10 - Ubuntu Saucy installed on 06-dec-2013) -- Even if texts may differ from French to English, icons on the screenshot are the same on every install of ccsm.