How To Disable/Re-Enable Global Menu in Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

One of the features that many users found distasteful in Ubuntu 11.10 was the Mac style Global Menu. This is why I previously brought you a post about how to Disable Global Menu in Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot. If you are currently using Ubuntu 12.04 and would like to get rid of the Global Menu, then follow the simple steps given below. In case you would like to re-enable the Global menu at any point in time, then the process for that too has been mentioned in this post.

Disable Global Menu

To disable the Global Menu in Ubuntu 12.04, enter the following command in the Terminal. After the command has been fully executed, log out and log back in for the changes to take effect. Once you log back in, the integrated menu will once more appear and the Global Menu will be disabled (as shown in the image below).

sudo apt-get autoremove appmenu-gtk appmenu-gtk3 appmenu-qt

Disable Global Menu

Re-enable Global Menu

Since the Global Menu is disabled after removing the appmenu-gtk3, appmenu-gtk and app menu-qt package, you can re-enable it anytime by installing the respective packages once more. To install these packages, enter the following command in the Terminal. Once the package is installed, log off and log back in to get back the Global Menu.

sudo apt-get install appmenu-gtk3 appmenu-gtk appmenu-qt

While some have appreciated the Mac like features in Ubuntu, others simple fail to admit that they were even borrowed from Mac. And then there are people like me who would just want Canonical to concentrate on a more stable Ubuntu distribution and give third-party developers some time to stabilize their apps, before a new Ubuntu version is released. It will be much appreciated if Canonical can follow other OS manufacturers like Microsoft and Apple to extend the life cycle of each Ubuntu distribution, to provide end users with a better Ubuntu experience.