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.

score 117 · Accepted Answer · edited Mar 11 '17 at 19:00

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!

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

17

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

353
2
9

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

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

41,732

answered May 18 '12 at 18:03

C.Rogers

397

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

36,890
56
97
151

answered Apr 19 '12 at 01:34

KEIII

191

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?

7 Answers7

Linked