Hello, I have recently installed Linux Mint 19.1 with Mate Desktop on my home computer. Is there a fairly easy way to 'stagger' newly opened Caja instances? I have found that multiple instances of Caja instantly open on top of each other sometimes confusing me. I am aware of adding additional Workspaces option within --> The MATE Panel --> Add to panel --> Workspace Switcher.

Thanks

Really depends on the window manager since that is what is putting up the windows. Maybe look in mate settings under window manager and see if there is anything related to "window placement" or "new window placement". Might not help because they may all still be stacked. I know what you mean, but have not used mate in years so don't know what its window manager (marco?) is capable of.

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It doesn't make much of a difference, but to make new windows (in MATE in general, not only in Caja) open slightly staggered rather than centered in the same place on the screen: Control Centre->Look and Feel->Windows->Placement: uncheck Centre new windows.

As a separate note, Note that Mint 19.1 is currently a beta so you may encounter the odd peculiarity.

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As an alternative, first install dconf-tools and run dconf-editor (you could also achieve the following with gsettings commands on the command line but dconf-editor is a handy GUI way of changing settings).

Navigate to org.mate.marco.general.placement-mode and change it to Use default value: Off and Custom value: 'manual'. Click on the tick.

Now, whenever a new window opens, you drag it to the position you want and click to place it there.

Another idea, but I haven't tried it yet, would be to set up a keyboard shortcut for "launch a new instance of Caja". Then change the above setting to 'pointer'. In theory, you could then move the mouse pointer to anywhere on the screen and then press the keyboard shortcut - the Caja window would open where the pointer is positioned. Might be fun trying that out.

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So, I've tried this latter idea. It appears to work well.

First, Control Centre->Hardware->Keyboard Shortcuts->Add.

and click Apply (change the opening directory above to suit).

Click on the RHS of the highlighted Custom Shortcut, and when it says New shortcut, press the key combination you require (I used Shift-Ctrl-Alt-C for testing purposes).

Then click Close.

In the Control Panel, set the window placement to pointer as described in the previous thread.

Now clicking anywhere on the screen and pressing the key combination will open an instance of Caja there.

Note however that changing the window placement affects *all* windows that are opened, not just Caja, so you are going to have to decide if you like that overall behaviour or not.

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@hydrurga Control Centre->Look and Feel->Windows->Placement: uncheck Centre new windows. Fixed the staggered issue thanks.

I am reading/looking at the ->Desktop User Guide->Configuring Your Desktop->Look and Feel->Appearance Preferences:

I cannot see any information on the->Enable Window Tiling option. I have tried unticking and ticking the option and cannot see a change personally.

1. What does the Enable Window Tiling option do?

Thank You for the help.

I hadn't used it before now, so I'm not sure of its capabilities, but by mucking around I notice that, with it enabled, if you drag a window far enough to the right or left of the screen, until you see a shaded section filling half of the screen, and release, then that window will take up a half of the screen.

Edit: Aha. If you do the above then drag up or down when the shaded section appears, then the window will take up a quarter of the screen in one of the respective corners.

Just for info, if you consider this thread to be solved, then you can mark it so by using "Thread Tools" at the top of the thread (we can keep posting to the thread if it's so marked, so don't worry about that).

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Yes, great, thank you.

My pleasure, panorain. I learned something new too!

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Do you have a preference for the Keyboard Shortcut -> Home folder ?

Where/What does the Home folder shortcut typically lead/open? -> /home/username ?

The Home Folder Keyboard Shortcut here is currently 'disabled'.

Using (shift-ctrl-c) for the Caja Shortcut for now. I left out movable pointer instances for now.

Thank you

Once again, you are teaching me.

I didn't realise that a keyboard shortcut that opens the default browser - showing the user's home folder (/home/username/) - already exists! So it seems that I didn't need to create my custom shortcut for Caja earlier in this thread (I scanned the shortcut list quickly for "Caja" and "File browser" but didn't think to look for "Home folder" or similar). I must have a closer look at those keyboard shortcuts.

I'll have to be honest and say that I don't know which key combinations are useful for custom shortcuts. Obviously the simpler ones may well be taken by MATE's main components or by individual applications, so it would be best to choose something a bit more complex. However, the only way you will be sure that there are no conflicts will be by using the new shortcut for a while and seeing if anything else you run uses the same key sequence (and you actually need to use it).

The only custom keyboard shortcut I use (a lot, in fact) is one that I created to launch the system monitor (mate-system-monitor) and I use the Ctrl-Shift-Esc sequence for that.

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Oh, you are doing all the heavy lifting here believe me

Control Centre->Hardware->Keyboard Shortcuts->Add.

Name: Launch Caja

Command:caja --no-desktop --browser /home/username/

1. In the above listed instance is it fairly common in your opinion to consistently/mainly use the following terminology?

Command:application --no-desktop --browser /home/username/

I have also noticed with (Mint 17 Mate) after installing dconf-editor and then opening dconf-editor and navigating to: org.mate.marco.general.placement-mode and change it to Use default value: Off and Custom value: 'manual'. Click on the tick. Option ->placement-mode is unavailable

Also when selecting/ticking using (Mint 17 Mate): Control Centre->Personal->Windows->Placement->Enable side by side tiling. Does in fact enable tiling but only side by side with no corner option available.

Tiling' does in fact tick simultaneously between d-conf and control centre using (Mint 17 Mate).

So in fact it does appear that tiling options have improved with the newer version of Mate.

Once again thanks for the help today with this.

Me do hard work? I don't think so.

I'm not sure I understand you entirely here, but normally each command will have its own parameters. In this case, these parameters are Caja-specific. A good idea for determining the best way to launch an application is to look and see which command is used by the MATE menu (by right-clicking on the menu item and selecting Edit Properties).

MATE does add functionality as time goes along. I see, for example, that the corner tiling was introduced in MATE 1.20 (https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2018/02/...g-mate-desktop). Running mate-session --version on the command line is one of the ways that you can determine which version of MATE you're using.

No problem. Note that Mint 17 will only be supported until April 2019 (https://linuxmint.com/download_all.php) so consider upgrading that system at some point before then (perhaps that's what you're intending to do given that you're road testing Mint 19.1?).

More excellent information above.

I intend on migrating to Mint 19.1 MATE from Mint 17 MATE on this system. Which is an older 64 bit Core2 Duo.

Noticing here -> https://linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=263

Mint 19.1 is beta -> Linux Mint 19.1 "Tessa" - MATE BETA (64-bit)

I have purchased a Core2 Quad desktop computer and installed Mint 19.1 "Tessa" - MATE BETA 64-bit)

Things are going well with 19.1 "Tessa" - MATE BETA (64-bit) for the most part. <-- suspend fails about 50% of the time.
I noticed reviewing the release notes that there is a (libsane) regression that could affect the scanning ability with (printers/Brother MFC-440CN) printer which I intend to use solely on the Core2 Quad via USB. <-- I have not looked much more into connecting the printer more than attaching usb/power as of yet. I did notice that a page did print out across network with basically no drivers or adjustments to CUPS straight off. I previously have used the MFC-440CN networked so I am fairly certain the hardware is good maybe an ink refill heh. I am leaning towards the use of usb connection with this particular setup as I may gift the computer.

I'm a noober so having a wireless Brother MFC-J475DW connected and working well with Mint 17 Qiana MATE is really nice in case any printing issues arise for now. There is always a fall back to Ubuntu 10.4 which is also setup for the MFC-J475DW but honestly i'm short a mouse right now and a vga cable.

Maybe a bit to much (off topic info on my end). Migrating is definitely on my mind though.

1. Do you know how long Mint 19.1 "Tessa" Mate Beta will be in (Beta testing)?

Either way Thank You once again.

The plan is, as far as I am aware, to have 19.1 out of beta before the festive holidays (i.e. very soon) but there is no fixed date - it will be out when any important bugs in the three flavours (Cinnamon, MATE, Xfce) have been resolved. Anyway, I imagine that you'll be in no hurry given how busy you must be at the moment living at the North Pole.

I would recommend saving all your data on the Mint 17 system and doing a fresh install, but only after testing the system out with a live 19.1 boot media (including testing whether the printing works) and deciding whether it will work sufficiently well. Perhaps also make a complete backup of your 17 system with an application such as Clonezilla (I use Macrium Reflect but I produce the boot media for this in a Windows virtual machine). That way, you can restore your system easily if 19.1 proves overly problematic, which hopefully it won't, and you want to revert to 17 while you re-evaluate your choices.

Suspend does sometimes have issues with Linux. It could be hardware-related. I can only recommend that you search on the web for solutions and/or ask here or on the Mint forums (https://forums.linuxmint.com/).