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

Question

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.

Possible duplicate of How to disable window move with alt + left mouse button? — hellocatfood, Aug 12 '16 at 22:36
I would point out that it's not GNOME doing this, but rather Ubuntu. The default for GNOME Shell is to have <Super> be the window modifier key. — Daniel Quinn, Nov 04 '16 at 14:40
@DanielQuinn Indeed. Filed https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/mutter/+bug/1704580 to ask Ubuntu to switch it back to Super/Windows key. — Mikel, Jul 16 '17 at 06:49

score 118 · Accepted Answer · edited Mar 11 '17 at 19:00

118

First of all, 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 )

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

edited Mar 11 '17 at 19:00

Community

1

answered Apr 02 '12 at 12:34

jokerdino

41,320

32

Warning! Setting it to nothing means that all clicks move windows, instead of disabling it! – mystery Oct 28 '13 at 21:15
2

This setting seems to reset for me each time I restart. Anyone know why? I suppose I could just add the command line to my Startup applications however. – Michael Butler Dec 03 '13 at 05:07
6

I tried the dconf-editor method, but nothing seems to have happened. is still my modifier key. I have tried "['']" (following the syntax of the keybindings options) and "". Do I need to restart in order for this to take effect? – Gordon Bean Aug 11 '14 at 17:04
3

I first tried it with the gsettings command, and it seems to have changed it successfully, but Alt+Drag would still move the window. Even after a restart. I then installed dconf-tools and confirmed with the dconf-editor that mouse-button-modifier indeed was changed, but as I said, Alt+Drag still moves windows. (I'm on Mint Cinnamon 17.2 64bit) – Bloke Sep 03 '15 at 11:15
7

"+" value pretty works for me – vp_arth Feb 26 '16 at 10:24
FYI: On Mint 14.04.2 LTS I had to also do @swansong 's answer before it worked – Pylinux May 05 '16 at 13:45
Note that the dconf-editor entries is not sort by name, so you might need to search mouse-button-modifier in case you can't see desktop. – 林果皞 Apr 15 '17 at 17:30
On CentOS, I had to sudo yum install dcond-editor (there is no dconf-tools package.) – djb Apr 19 '17 at 19:50
2

@Bloke: I think for Cinnamon, it should be org.cinnamon.desktop.wm.preferences instead. At least that's what worked for me. – Giraldi Sep 25 '17 at 06:15
9

In Cinnamon you can just change it in the settings Windows > Behaviour > Special key to move and resize windows. – Rotareti Oct 06 '17 at 07:51
In Mate Desktop and 18.04.1LTS use this: /org/mate/marco/general/mouse-button-modifier. It works with Ctrl-drag (Control+Left Mouse drag) to move a window. Log out and back in and voila. – Marc Compere Dec 29 '18 at 18:47
works in ubuntu 20.04 – Santiago Jan 09 '21 at 13:53

charsi · Answer 2 · 2019-04-04T17:36:50.953

16

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.

edited Apr 04 '19 at 17:36

answered Jan 29 '18 at 11:11

charsi

333
2
9

2

Thanks! The same goes for Cinnamon installed on other systems like Debian (my use case). – Per Lundberg Dec 07 '18 at 13:52
1

This works for Mate 18.04 through Control Centre > Look and Feel > Windows > Behaviour > Movement Key – Underverse Apr 11 '19 at 23:00

score 11 · Answer 3 · answered Feb 20 '17 at 23:34

11

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

Windows > Window Action Key

answered Feb 20 '17 at 23:34

simplegamer

493
4
11

Thank you! This worked for me when everything using dconf-editor or the command line or compiz failed. Now I can use alt for other shortcuts and restore functionality to several programs. – Apr 01 '18 at 15:21

score 9 · Answer 4 · edited Dec 20 '16 at 18:55

9

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>"

edited Dec 20 '16 at 18:55

jokerdino

41,320

answered May 18 '12 at 18:03

C.Rogers

387

2

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences mouse-button-modifier "<Super>" for dconf. – ulidtko Jun 24 '13 at 21:51

score 7 · Answer 5 · edited Jul 28 '16 at 15:10

7

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

edited Jul 28 '16 at 15:10

David Foerster

36,264
56
94
147

answered Apr 19 '12 at 01:34

KEIII

191

what do you mean by "activities"? I have changed Alt to Super and it works fine for me. I did not notice any side effects. Why would you need Alt + Super? – faizal Oct 20 '14 at 08:25
3

https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/GnomeShell/Tour#Activities_Overview
If you set "Super" for moving windows you can't use it for show "Activities Overview". Look at posting time, it was two years ago.
– KEIII Oct 20 '14 at 11:58
Two years is nothing. – Johan Boulé May 08 '15 at 19:25

score 6 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 31 '15 at 08:05

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

answered Mar 31 '15 at 08:05

Matěj Kříž

263
3
9

score 3 · Answer 7 · edited Dec 08 '17 at 00:12

3

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

edited Dec 08 '17 at 00:12

Rory O'Kane

335
3
11

answered Mar 25 '13 at 16:32

user143321

31

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

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