Compiz – Using Compiz by Default in Unity 2D

compizunity-2d

My hardware can handle Compiz fine, but not Unity 3D, annoyingly enough. I hate Metacity more than Unity 2D, so I switched compositors using compiz --replace. However that leaves me with two problems:

  1. compiz --replace is temporary, it will revert back to Metacity, by the next reboot/login
  2. Compiz leaves window decorator when the windows are maximized.

Best Answer

Compiz as default Unity 2D compositor

Go to a Terminal and enter:

sudoedit /usr/share/gnome-session/sessions/ubuntu-2d.session

In the fifth line, change metacity to compiz:

DefaultProvider-windowmanager=compiz

Remove window decoration from maximized windows

To solve the window decorator issue, simply run the following in the terminal or Alt+F2 and the window decoration will immediately disappear:

gconftool-2 -s -t string '/apps/compiz-1/plugins/decor/screen0/options/decoration_match' '!state=maxvert'

The same can be done using the CompizConfig Settings Manager, CCSM, if you've installed it already:

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