Ubuntu 17.10 Tip: Move Window Buttons ‘min, max, close’ to Left

Ubuntu 17.10 replaces Unity with Gnome 3 as its default desktop environment. The application window buttons (minimize, maximize, and close) are now in the right side of the title bar.

Fortunately, the button layout is configurable in Gnome Desktop. For those who are accustomed to have the window buttons in the left do following steps.

Move “minimize, maximize, close” buttons via gsettings command:

The easiest way to do the configuration is using a command line tool called gsettings.

Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for “terminal” from app launcher. When it opens, simply run command:

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences button-layout 'close,maximize,minimize:'

To revert the buttons back to right side, run command:

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences button-layout ':close,maximize,minimize'

Move “minimize, maximize, close” buttons via Graphical Tool:

For those hate Linux commands, use dconf-editor to configure Gnome Desktop button-layout:

1. Open Ubuntu Software app, search for and install dconf editor:

2. Then launch the tool from application launcher, and navigate to org/gnome/desktop/wm/preferences:

3. Click the line says ‘button-layout’ to edit it. And close default value and set its value to: close,maximize,minimize:

To revert back, simply re-enable the default value in the settings.