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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.
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... I think this is the same question... the bounty could be yours! askubuntu.com/questions/70408/… –  fossfreedom Oct 24 '11 at 16:25
@fossfreedom Answered with the window decorator part there. –  Oxwivi Oct 24 '11 at 16:49

1 Answer 1

up vote 15 down vote accepted

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:


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:

enter image description here

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Other places have suggested to use !(state=maxvert & state=maxhorz) instead, since that will activate it only for fully maximized windows, instead of partially ones –  isaaclw Feb 23 '13 at 15:20

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