Dear Lifehacker,
I'm loving Linux, but I keep seeing screenshots and videos of these tricked-out, super-customized interfaces with things like the desktop cube and I'm not sure where to find them in the settings. How can I customize my Linux desktop like this?
Sincerely,
Confused Customizer
Dear Confused,
Like many things Linux, the solution is not always as obvious as it would seem. Many of the things you see—like that fancy desktop cube—come from the Compiz window manager and its advanced settings panel, which doesn't come installed by default. Here's how to get that stuff installed and how to enable some of our favorite cool effects.
Note: Many of these effects can be pretty graphics intensive, so you'll need a decent video card to handle some of them. Make sure you're running a somewhat newer machine, and that your graphics card's drivers are properly installed before continuing.
Installing The Compiz Settings Manager
To get most of these effects, you need to be using the Compiz window manager. We've talked a bit about what a window manager is before, so I won't get too deep into it here, but what you need to know is that, by default, Ubuntu should use Compiz by default just by installing the Compiz Config Settings Manager, also known as CCSM. Other distros and desktop environments may vary; we'll just focus on Ubuntu today.
Just head into the Ubuntu Software Center and search for ccsm. You should see the Advanced Desktop Effects Settings Manager pop up. Install that, and then search for it from the Ubuntu launcher in the upper left-hand corner of the screen (or, if you're using Ubuntu Classic, head to System > Preferences > CompizConfig Settings Manager). You should see a window like the one to the right, if all has gone well.
Note that if you enable one of the below settings and you don't see it right away, try logging out and logging back in. You should see that your new effect is enabled.
Some of Our Favorite Effects
The world is pretty much your oyster at this point, and Compiz has a ton of different settings and effects you can use—both on the eye candy side of the spectrum and the more useful. Here are some of our favorites.
Note that the settings manager has a few little quirks in Ubuntu 11.04, in my experience. I recommend having a good backup before you start, just in case something goes wrong. If at any point a click in Compiz somehow clears you Compiz Settings, just click Preferences on the left hand side and hit "Reset to Defaults". Check that the default boxes are checked again (like Composite, Gnome Compatibility, and OpenGL at the top) and log out. Log back in and everything should be back to normal, and you can try heading back into CCSM and trying again.
The Desktop Cube: The fabled desktop cube, pictured above, has a few issues in Unity, but with the correct procedure, you can get it working easily. First, under General in CCSM, go to General Options and increase the "Horizontal Virtual Size" to 4 or more if it isn't already that high. This will decide how many sides your "cube" has (if it's more than 4, it's not really a cube anymore, but a large 3D polygon).
The next few steps are going to disable Unity, and it's hard to get back, so I repeat: Have a good backup before you start.
When you're ready, head into CCSM, go down to Desktop, and deselect Unity and Desktop Wall. Unity will disappear, but we're going to re-enable it in a second. Select Desktop Cube and Viewport Switcher (I also selected Rotate Cube). Next, reselect the Ubuntu Unity Plugin. When asked about Reveal Mode, keyboard-focus, and executing commands, choose "Set Anyway" (the leftmost option) for all three. When you're done, Unity should be back up, and by hitting Ctrl+Alt and clicking the left mouse button, you should be able to move the cube around! Dig around in the Cube and Rotate Cube panes for more settings on customizing the cube, and you're on your way. Thanks to weblog Reformed Musings for these instructions.
If you are still using Ubuntu Classic, you should be able to get it working by unchecking Desktop Wall, then checking Desktop Cube. You shouldn't have to do anything else at that point but log out and back in. Again, it can be finicky in the latest version of Ubuntu, so if it doesn't work, restore defaults in CCSM and try again.
Grid: This one's enabled by default, but gives you Divvy-like organization of your windows, which is great if you need to see more than one at a time. Just assign different keyboard shortcuts to different portions of a "grid" on your screen, and you can move windows to a specific position with just a few keystrokes.
Wobbly Windows: You'll find this under the "Effects" section. I find this one a little distracting and silly, but everyone else seems to love it—and it's a pretty cool demonstration of the kind of stuff Compiz can do.
Application Switcher: If you want a nicer Alt+Tab experience, you can disable Static Application Switcher pane under Window Management and enable the Application Switcher. It's a very similar Alt+Tab window, but with some pretty sliding animations.
Scale: If you've always been jealous of Mac OS X's Exposé feature, you'll love Compiz's Scale pane. Just enable it and set a keyboard shortcut for it under Bindings, and you'll be able to see all your open windows at a glance.
Commands: In the General section, you'll find the Commands pane, which isn't exactly eye candy, but is super useful for binding certain keyboard shortcuts, mouse buttons, and screen corners to different commands. Just type in up to 16 commands on the Commands tab, then assign them shortcuts on the Key, Button, and/or Edge binding tabs.
Those are just a few of my personal favorites, but you should find some pretty awesome settings in the Compiz Configuration Manager. Poke around and see what you can find. I always recommend having a good, easily restorable backup, though, because messing with your window manager can really muck things up sometimes in an irreversible way. Have fun and good luck!
Sincerely,
Lifehacker
P.S. Got any of your own favorite Compiz settings, or cool tweaks you've found in the settings manager? Let us know about them in the comments.