How To Disable Unity Launcher Auto Hide In Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot

Just like previous Ubuntu versions, the Unity Launcher auto hides by default in Ubuntu 11.10. This feature was easily customizable in Ubuntu 11.04 by using  Unity 2D-Desktop Settings tweak, but unfortunately, it does not work in Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot. In this post I will provide you with an easy mechanism to disable and re-enable the auto hide feature for Unity Launcher in Ubuntu 11.10.

First of all, install dconf-tool by entering the following commands in Terminal.

sudo apt-get install dconf-tools

After that, check Unity options using the following command:

dconf list /com/canonical/unity-2d/launcher/

This should display the following:

“hide-mode

super-key-enable

use-strut”

Disable Unity Launcher

To disable auto-hide for Unity 2-D Launcher, enter the following commands in Terminal. Do not be alarmed if the launcher disappears, as you will require restarting your system for the changes to take effect.  Once your system is restarted, the Unity 2-D Launcher will not auto hide anymore. The below image demonstrates how a window slides below the Unity Launcher instead of auto hiding it.

dconf write /com/canonical/unity-2d/launcher/use-strut true

Disable Auto hide

Re-enable Unity Launcher

To re-enable the auto hide feature, enter the following command in a Terminal window. No restart is required for re-enabling the auto hide feature.

dconf write /com/canonical/unity-2d/launcher/use-strut 0

I believe that it is about time that Canonical should concentrate on providing a stable operating system in the form of Oneiric Ocelot, instead of annoying users and developers by unstable distributions. Ubuntu should also come with more GUI (Graphical user Interface) based options to perform functions such as disabling auto hide for the Unity Launcher.

[via Ubuntu Sharing]