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I just installed Ubuntu 18.04. Since the top bar is only on the primary monitor, I can't use the mouse to grab and move my Chrome window (the top of the screen looks like below). Trying to do so results in grabbing a single tab and opening it in a new window.

Screenshot

Is there a way around this? Ideally, I'd like to have the top bar across all screens. Another obvious disadvantage of only having the top bar on one screen is that the window menu of any window, not just Chrome, is displayed on the left upper corner of my left screen even when the window is in the lower right corner of the right screen.

Flimm
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Bananach
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    Just FYI, this has been reported (as a wish for native level implementation) but it seems like it doesn't have much traction. If you'd like to see this implemented natively feel free to vote/comment here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-shell/+bug/1682542 – GrayedFox Oct 12 '18 at 07:36
  • @GrayedFox Thanks for posting that bug, I voted and commented - as I think everyone should. – FKEinternet Mar 12 '21 at 00:01
  • It blows my mind that this wasn't the default option (who came up with idea of a 'primary' monitor anyways?), and wasn't even supported at all. – Raleigh L. Aug 19 '22 at 01:45
  • To move your window another way, hold down the "Super" button (also known as the "Windows" button), and drag and drop the window with the left mouse button. See also: https://askubuntu.com/q/36616/2355 and https://askubuntu.com/q/1385198/2355 – Flimm Oct 05 '23 at 09:32
  • This is really two questions in one. It would have been better to ask two separate question posts. – Flimm Oct 05 '23 at 09:38
  • Does this answer your question? Ubuntu 18.04 Gnome bar on all monitors – Flimm Oct 05 '23 at 09:43
  • @Flimm does the question that was asked two months after mine and has received only one, falsely negative, answer answer my question? No – Bananach Oct 05 '23 at 12:30
  • @Flimm what are the two questions I asked? – Bananach Oct 05 '23 at 12:30
  • @Flimm there is already an answer here that describes the windows button & drag solution – Bananach Oct 05 '23 at 12:33
  • One question is about how to enable the top bar across multiple monitors. The other question is about how to move a Chrome window from one window to another. – Flimm Oct 05 '23 at 20:04
  • Eh, the second is not really a question, just motivation/description for the actual question – Bananach Oct 06 '23 at 18:17
  • You can use this guide LINK to install Multi Monitors and disable version verififcation. – Alaa Kaddour Mar 07 '24 at 17:58

4 Answers4

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You can use a Gnome Shell extension, such as Multi Monitors, to add the top bar on the second monitor.

If you're not familiar with installing Gnome Shell extensions, you may want to see this: How do I install and manage GNOME Shell extensions?

Logix
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  • It seems that downloading the extension requires somehow figuring your Shell version (3.32, 3.30, etc), what might be the best way? I also wonder how much do people find this extension very safe/stable to install, if anyone cares sharing (please!) – matanox Jun 23 '19 at 07:28
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    This doesn't show extensions on all monitors – Kennet Celeste Feb 10 '20 at 18:30
  • I got the top bar with this but not the indicators that appear on the right side of the bar (sound, network, battery etc.) appeared on all the monitors. – Bikash Gyawali Oct 28 '20 at 17:36
  • I did also not get any indicators on 20.04. – Consumology Apr 18 '21 at 22:08
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    This extension no longer works (or even is installable) as of Ubuntu 22 unfortunately. Clicking the install button on the page does nothing. – Raleigh L. Aug 19 '22 at 01:44
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    @RaleighL. There isn't an Ubuntu version called "Ubuntu 22". There is "Ubuntu 22.04" and "Ubuntu 22.10" . I presume you meant "Ubuntu 22.04" – Flimm Oct 05 '23 at 09:33
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    This extension doesn't support newer versions of GNOME and doesn't work in Ubuntu 23.04 – Flimm Oct 05 '23 at 09:33
  • @Flimm You are correct. However, in English, when someone refers to a software package by only it's major release, it's implied that the statement applies to the first major.minor release and any subsequent others. For example, if I say that something doesn't work on Visual Studio Code 2023 (even though the official release is something like "2023.01"), it's implied that my statement applies to all 2023.XY versions up to the current day. – Raleigh L. Oct 05 '23 at 20:07
  • @RaleighL. That makes sense for version numbers where the first number is a major number, and the next number is a minor number. For Ubuntu versions, that's not the case. The first number marks the year, and the second number marks the month. Ubuntu makes two releases a year, and they can be quite different from each other. Ubuntu 22.04 should not be lumped in together with Ubuntu 22.10, any more than with Ubuntu 23.04 – Flimm Oct 06 '23 at 10:12
3

For me the easiest option was to revert to the Unity desktop manager (which was standard before but then got replaced by GNOME in Ubuntu 18) using

$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install ubuntu-unity-desktop
Bananach
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    I would note that this is an extreme last resort. This is a heavy measure to take, especially for new users of Ubuntu. Using a shell extension is far simpler and maintains the default desktop manager (the one with the current most support, used by most users). – Todd Dec 16 '18 at 03:59
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    @Todd I was kind of new at the time of this question. "Gnome shell extension" already sounds difficult and hacky, and the fact that the installation instructions in the answer above start by requiring the installation of gnometweaktools didnt help get rid of that impression. I have never had any problems or even noticed that I have installed Unity and I don't see how anything can be simpler than a single apt install. For real producticity, not just brainless and inferior Windows clones I recommend i3 nowadays by the way. This is where it gets complicated ;) – Bananach Dec 16 '18 at 05:50
  • Looks like ubuntu 18.04.2 comes with multiple desktop environment. From login window (gear icon), unity can be chosen directly! Cheers! – Shakil Apr 04 '19 at 01:57
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    @Shakil That doesn't sound correct, a fresh installation should only offer GNOME 3 sessions. – pomsky Nov 15 '19 at 14:44
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    thats like replacing your car because you dont want to change the radio in the car. Gnome shell extensions is not a by-product, its an extensibility option BUILT into the gnome desktop. – Mickey Perlstein Apr 12 '20 at 09:15
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    @MickeyPerlstein I actually like that comparison. In modern cars, changing the radio is more complicated than buying the same car again with a different radio. I wouldn't do that because it'd be expensive, but luckily Linux is free. I'll choose a two line 10 seconds solution over multi step, multi tool, day wasting solution anytime – Bananach Apr 12 '20 at 10:28
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    I'm still the Ubuntu noob that I was back then by the way, so don't interpret my comment as a technical argument, it just reflects my being tired with how complicated simple things often are in Ubuntu and my being happy that in this case there was a simple solution that didn't cause me any problems at all. I don't understand why Ubuntu power users hate this so much – Bananach Apr 12 '20 at 10:30
  • I'm a little late to this, but installing an extension is a 10 second solution. The article linked overcomplicates the process. – DaVince Sep 15 '20 at 11:31
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    It really was that simple - just replace the idiot Gnome desktop with Unity, and everything now works as it should. – FKEinternet Mar 11 '21 at 06:29
  • A couple of years later, I feel vindicated by the existence of gnome-chrome-shell, which is nowadays required on top of the other mess described in the most popular answer to get something close to the Unity experience in latest Ubuntus – Bananach Oct 03 '22 at 18:04
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In the default GNOME window manager that comes with Ubuntu 18, you can move any window by holding down the Windows key while clicking on the window you want to move. Drag it to its' new position and you're done!

Note, in the Unity window manager, used before Ubuntu 17, you would hold down the Alt key instead.

I personally lament the absence of this feature every time I have to use Windows or a Mac.

Kevin Bowen
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ojklan
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  • There isn't a version of Ubuntu called "Ubuntu 18" or "Ubuntu 17". There are versions called "Ubuntu 18.04", "Ubuntu 18.10", "Ubuntu 17.04" and "Ubuntu 17.10". – Flimm Oct 05 '23 at 09:37
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I use Fullscreen avoider (Gnome extension).

It moves the top bar on the secondary monitor if there is a fullscreen app running on the main monitor.

Andy
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