Switching Xfce to use metacity

I am trying out Xfce and liking it. However, I’ve never found a window manager better than Metacity, so I’d like to use it.

Here’s how I switched:

# Install it
sudo apt-get install metacity metacity-themes

# Tell it how many workspaces I want
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences num-workspaces 9

# Of course, put my maximise, close buttons etc. in the right place
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences button-layout ':minimize,maximize,close'

# See what themes are available
ls /usr/share/themes/

# Set the theme I want
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences theme Dopple

# Try it out immediately
metacity --replace

# Make the change permanent, log out and edit
# ~/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfce4-session.xml
# and change this line:
#  <property name="Client0_Command" type="empty"/>
# to this:
#  <property name="Client0_Command" type="array"><value type="string" value="metacity"/></property>

3 thoughts on “Switching Xfce to use metacity”

  1. The difference is a few subtle behaviours when you drag windows around, and keyboard shortcuts like Alt-F7 for moving windows that I am used to. I use MATE now, which does everything I want very nicely.

  2. Trying Metacity on Xubuntu 18.04.

    Is anyone experiencing “jitter” and slow dragging when trying to drag a window around on the screen?

    That is not experienced when using the XFCE on Xubuntu or straight Xubuntu.

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