Is it possible to switch window controls(close,minimize,mx)to the left (Gnome Shell)?

[lemler32]

Hello all
to start off im new to ubuntu and linux in general.I'm coming from apple products so it would feel a little more like home in a way. I am running GNOME Shell 3.20.4 (ubuntu 16.04) any help would be greatly appreciated THANK YOU :]

[oldrocker99]

Welcome to the forums! Your post doesn't mention a question. This is a good place to start: https://help.ubuntu.com/.

Help with GNOME:https://help.gnome.org/users/gnome-help/3.22/.

[vasa1]

OP left the question in the title! so it's one of those "how can I move the min, max, and close buttons from where they are to where I want them" questions.

[Geoffrey_Arndt]

The standard Ubuntu desktop already has the window controls on the left. Only mentioning it in case someone else installed or setup your desktop (Ubuntu-Gnome).

[deadflowr]

To the question, yes you can.
Two ways
Simple graphical way
Or
Little harder.

the graphical way involves installing an application called dconf-editor.
It should be available in the software store/center/whatever it's-called-for-the -version-of-ubuntu-you-have.

In this application you need to go to org >> gnome >> desktop >> wm >> preferences and you'll see an option for button-layout.
Double click on that and set it to

close,minimize,maximize:

(Might need to do so manually)
and the buttons should show on the left.

The little harder method is actually simple, but requires you to use the terminal.
Open a terminal and run

gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences button-layout

This will give you the current settings.
And to change run

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

To note, the layout is determined by where the : symbol is, if at the front, the button will be at the right, if at the end, the buttons will be at the left.

Hope it helps, or makes sense
good luck

[lemler32]

ooh wow deadflowr it worked perfectly! actually kinda surprised on how easy it was xD thank you so much!