Dell mini windows too big for screen, wtf?

[sanubie]

I am not sure why my Dell arrived like this. Sometimes the window is too big for the screen. For example: when changing certain preferences I have to press tab and just hope I highlighted the right button. Can anyone tell me how to fix this? I tried lowering resolution. It didn't help. This is so annoying. Any advice?

[Rallg]

This has been noted before. The problem is not with the Dell computer. The problem is that some applications produce windows that are intended for a taller screen. The application (or, gnome) does not compensate for the 600 pixel screen height. Some future upgrade may be able to handle the situation better.

In the meantime, try these things:

1. Do you have the latest BIOS? When the mini 9 first shipped, months ago, it did not have capability for F11 or F12. But there was a BIOS update that mapped F11 to Fn+z and F12 to Fn+x. If your computer is recent, the newer BIOS will already be installed. F11 toggles full-screen mode. You may find that the cut-off window can be seenh in full screen.

2. If you hold down ALT when you left-click in a window, then move the window, it may "shrink."

UPDATE: "Shrink" is not what I meant. Rather, if you hold ALT then left-click (and hold), then you can slide a dialog box (window) off the top of the screen, so that its bottom shows. But this only works if the main Ubuntu panel (the horizontal bar with the application launcher) is at the top of the screen.

[vonoostenstein]

2. If you hold down ALT when you left-click in a window, then move the window, it may "shrink."

My wife just got the Dell Mini and this is the same problem we've been having, mainly with preference windows. Your suggestion did work, but it didn't shrink the window. Instead, it allowed me to move the dialog past the viewable portion of the screen so that I could get to the rest of the dialog and the buttons.

[Rallg]

OK, maybe "shrink" was not what I meant. If you hold down ALT then left-click (and hold), the offending dialog box (window) can be moved off the top of the screen, revealing its bottom.

BUT, I just realized that this only works if the Ubuntu main panel (the horizontal bar with the application launcher) is at the top of the screen. If not, then dialog boxes cannot be moved off the top of the screen.

[sirebral]

This is what I do. In order to accomplish this you need to have a Vanilla install at least. This was you can have the minor appearance effects instead of just basic.

Then I have the Desktop Switcher setup so that it is a set of two desktops in one row. What this allows me to do is drag one window down and then i can move to the second desktop since the window will spill over.

This does not work the dell provided 8.04 for the Dell Mini because they do not have the appearance features.