Using the Grid plugin in Compiz

Recently I’ve been introduced to the Grid plugin in Compiz – this is a fantastic little plugin that snaps your windows to predefined positions on the screen. After using it for the last couple of weeks I can’t imagine going back to not using it.

To get access to it you will need to install the compiz settings manager, and load Compiz’s “Fusion Plugins Extra”:

sudo apt-get install \
    compizconfig-settings-manager \
    compiz-fusion-plugins-extra

Once you’ve done this simply enable it:

1. System, Preferences, CompizConfig Settings Manager
2. In the Filter box in the top left, type in “grid”
3. Tick the box to enable it and click “Close” (bottom left)

Now try using Ctrl-Alt and numbers on your keypad. CA-9 will snap a window into the top right corner (press it a few more times to get different sizes) and CA-8 will make it snap to the top half of the screen (the number is the position on the screen, you’ll get the gist of it).

Check out this demo video:

Happy Ubuntuing!

Cc and Bcc field size in Gmail

The Cc and Bcc field sizes in Gmail are too small to work with if you’re sending to more than about 20 email addresses. The following bookmarklet will increase their height when used:

javascript:(function(){var%20e=window.frames[3].document.getElementsByTagName('textarea');%20for(i=0;i<e.length;i++){%20if(e[i].name=='cc'%20or%20e[i].name=='bcc')%20{%20e[i].style.height='150px';%20}%20};})();

To install (in Firefox).

1. Right click on your Bookmarks toolbar and choose “New Bookmark”
2. Enter a name for the Bookmark, e.g. “Big Cc Field”
3. Into the location, paste the above code
4. Save the bookmark

Now when at Gmail and you can see the Cc or Bcc fields you can click the new Bookmark link to make them bigger.

To find out more about Bookmarklets, check out the Bookmarklet page on Wikipedia.