Prevent MATE from launching Caja Desktop when running i3

Question

A while back I installed i3 on my MATE box, and I'm quite happy with it, however despite disabling Caja Desktop (x-caja-desktop) when setting i3 as the default window manager through dconf editor, every time I install a .deb package via the gui installer, the desktop "window" opens and overlays my entire screen.

This is incredibly annoying, and hitting super-shift-q to close the window doesn't work, which forces me to just move it to an unused workspace.

Is there anything I can do to stop this from happening without installing a different file manager?

Did you find a solution to this problem? – user44400 Jul 30 '16 at 11:24 — user44400, Jul 30 '16 at 11:24
@user44400 nope, I have not – Electric Coffee Jul 31 '16 at 20:24 — Electric Coffee, Jul 31 '16 at 20:24
Despite that, do you still use mate with i3? – user44400 Aug 01 '16 at 08:22 — user44400, Aug 01 '16 at 08:22
Yeah I like the menu bar – Electric Coffee Aug 01 '16 at 09:14 — Electric Coffee, Aug 01 '16 at 09:14

score 0 · Answer 1 · edited May 17 '16 at 12:34

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Try to set: dconf key org.mate.background.show-desktop-icons to: false

edited May 17 '16 at 12:34

Kevdog777

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answered May 17 '16 at 12:01

user170753

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I don't have a background entry under `org.mate` – Electric Coffee May 18 '16 at 09:16
I do not have it either. – user44400 Jul 28 '16 at 09:14
For Ubuntu Mate 18.04, it should be `org.mate.desktop.background.show-desktop-icons` (notice "desktop" after "mate"). See my answer. – Mat.R May 27 '18 at 15:23

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered May 27 '18 at 15:17

For Ubuntu Mate 18.04:

Open a terminal and run the following command:

dconf write /org/mate/desktop/background/show-desktop-icons false

Tip: if you want to force to close the window which overlay your desktop or any windows, you can open a terminal and run the following command:

xkill

Then, click anywhere on the window you want to close and it should close.

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 24 '18 at 15:41

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You can start Caja with the --no-desktop option to prevent it from opening the desktop.

answered Oct 24 '18 at 15:41

Adam L. Taylor

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score -1 · Answer 4 · edited Aug 06 '17 at 21:17

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In the console, type:

dconf key org.mate.background.show-desktop-icons false

This change is persistent, i.e. it will not be undone on reboot.

edited Aug 06 '17 at 21:17

Stephen Rauch

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answered Aug 06 '17 at 20:56

Kalsan

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Prevent MATE from launching Caja Desktop when running i3

4 Answers4