Easier Window Resizing in Ubuntu

The default edge width of windows is a single pixel; that’s very awkward to grab to drag the edges or corners.

It is possible to use ALT + Middle-Mouse-Button + Drag from within the window in the region of the edge or corner. But it would be better if the edges were just a bit thicker. There’s a way to do that too:

You need to know which theme you’re using. (Find that in the Appearance settings.) The default seems to be Ambiance.

As superuser (sudo su), edit the file

/usr/share/themes/Ambiance(-or-whatever)/metacity-1/metacity-theme-1.xml

Near the top is an element

<frame_geometry name=”frame_geometry_normal” … />

containing three child elements:

<distance name=”left_width” value=”1″/>
<distance name=”right_width” value=”1″/>
<distance name=”bottom_height” value=”1″/>

Change the 1s (ones) to something else. I found 5 (five) to be a practical value.

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