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Solution:

  1. If you're on standard Unity which uses Compiz for 3D compositing, use compizconfig-settings-manager. See WeAreGeek's answer below.

  2. If you're on Unity 2D, as I am, then wmctrl is the only way, per user55822's answer. apt-get wmctrl gconf-editor, open gconf-editor, navigate to apps \ metacity \ keybinding_commands, bind user55822's command string to command_1, then navigate to apps \ metacity \ global_keybindings, and set run_command_1 to the key combination you want to use. Details here.

Some dialog windows are too small and I have to painstakingly drag the corners to make them big enough to be useful (looking at you Chrome/ium bookmark dialog). Is there any way to maximize these with a shortcut key, mouse is too slow.

I found a related discussion but the solution is already implemented in my Ubuntu 12.04 installation and doesn't have any effect on dialog windows.

Edit: Clarification on the specific window I'm talking about: In Chrome/ium, hit CTRL-d. It will bring up an Add Bookmark dialog with a "Folder:" dropdown menu. Scroll that menu down, all the way to the last selection "Choose Another Folder". That will close this menu and open a new one, "Edit Bookmark", which is detached from the browser. That's the main one I want to maximize but can't.

Community
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bgibson
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  • I can't actually work out which Chromium window you are having a problem with. As far as I can see, the bookmark manager is implemented in a tab (chrome://bookmarks) not as a separate dialog? – 8128 Apr 28 '12 at 06:49
  • Sorry, it's a little tricky. In Chrome/ium, hit CTRL-d. It will bring up an Add Bookmark dialog with a "Folder:" dropdown menu. Scroll that menu down, all the way to the last selection "Choose Another Folder". That will close this menu and open a new one, "Edit Bookmark", which is detached from the browser. That's the one I want to maximize but can't. There are similar windows, especially various settings ones, that can't be maximized with standard shortcut keys either, most of them I can live without being able to maximize. "Edit Bookmarks" is a pain point though. – bgibson Apr 29 '12 at 21:21

4 Answers4

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Press ALT and pull the window with your middle mouse click while holding both.

thonixx
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  • Thanks, unfortunately this is on a trackpad laptop, no middle mouse button. I see a way to enable middle mouse click but it's a klugey hack. Is there really no way to enable Alt+Space -> x, the maximize shortcut that works for normal windows? – bgibson Apr 27 '12 at 05:48
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Try Ctrl+Alt+5

(I don't know if this will work on the particular windows/dialogs you're talking about.)

8128
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  • Thanks, doesn't work unfortunately. Ideally I'm looking for a key shortcut to maximize any window that doesn't have maximize built in (either in the File menu or the Title bar button), but the most frequent pain point here is browser (Chrome/ium) bookmark dialog windows. – bgibson Apr 27 '12 at 17:23
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Not sure about your windows, seems like I just dont have any like it, but you could try wmctrl (need to be installed) and bind something like

wmctrl -r :ACTIVE: -e 0,500,400,0,10

man wmctrl for options.

user55822
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  • Excellent, thanks. Will wait a little longer to see if my clarification of the question turns up a built in way to do this, and will use that if not. – bgibson Apr 29 '12 at 21:25
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I have resolved this by installing compizconfig-settings-manager and enabling the "Window Rules" plugin. You can make a rule "type=Dialog" for "Maximize". Now all Dialog windows are opened maximized. You could also make a "Size Rule" to have dialoges opened at a fixed size.

I found a bugreport for this: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/unity/+bug/774254

WeAreGeek
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