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artfulrobot
Asked: 2012-04-03 03:02:55 +0800 CST

How do I disable window move with alt + left mouse button in GNOME Shell?

  • 772

There are lots of posts on this about Unity, this is about GNOME shell.

As with other posters, I use apps (Inkscape in particular) that uses Alt-Click and Alt-drag. GNOME shell is grabbing this off me and thus disabling features in the application.

I have tried

  • using ccsm's Move plugin - you can turn this off and you still get Alt-drag window moving.

  • using gconf editor to change /apps/metacity/general/mouse_button_modifier - this has no effect AFAICS.

It's really hindering me. Otherwise I find GNOME shell a really productive environment.

gnome window-manager gnome-shell window-management

7 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    First of all, install dconf-tools Install dconf-tools.

    To do that, run the following command:

    sudo apt-get install dconf-tools

    Then open it, Alt+F2 → dconf-editor.

    Scroll down to org → gnome → desktop → wm → preferences → mouse-button-modifier → Set it to whichever key you like.

    enter image description here

    Or, equivalently,

    gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences mouse-button-modifier "<Super>"

    in the terminal. (This requires neither dconf-editor, nor dconf-tools Install dconf-tools)

    Warning: Setting it to nothing means that all clicks move windows, instead of disabling it!

    • 118

  2. In Mint(or Cinnamon) the key can be changed or disabled under

    system settings > windows > behavior > 'Special key to move and resize window'

    I have it set to the super/windows key instead.

    • 14

  3. Use the Tweak Tool (gnome-tweak-tool):

    Windows > Window Action Key

    • 12

  4. To resolve the Alt+Click move window dragging problem:

    sudo gconftool-2 --set /org/gnome/desktop/wm/preferences/mouse-button-modifier --type string '<Super>'

    Does the same thing, really, just with a different config tool, and less hunt-and-click.

    For newer versions using dconf/gsettings, use this:

    gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences mouse-button-modifier "<Super>"
    • 9

  5. I set Alt+Super like a temporary solution. So I can use the Alt key in Inkscape and Super for activities.

    • 7

  6. In UBUNTU 14.04 LTS use in dconf syntax like

    <Alt><Super>

    Works well for me.

    BTW: If you set something wrong, it starts to move window on every click. Use to navigate to "Set to Default" button. And hit .

    enter image description here

    • 6
    1. Go to System Settings
    2. Select Keyboard
    3. On the bottom left click on ‘Layout Settings’
    4. Select your language and click the ‘Options’ button on the lower right
    5. Select ‘Alt/Win key behavior’
    6. Change it to the one you like. I use ‘Left Alt is swapped with Left Win’.
    • 3