Move Unity Launcher to bottom 12.04/11.10

June 3rd, 2012 by Shouvik Mukherjee | under Tutorials

I know, Ubuntu users secretly envy Apple OSs for its sexy looks and I have absolutely no intention to deny this secret desire residing deep down in my heart. I have seen people installing docks to their Ubuntu Unity GUI to resemble the Mac look and they all are 90% compatible.
Why not move the default Unity launcher from left side to the bottom. Even if you are not attempting for a poor man’s Mac (like I do), it would seem more convenient.

The following work-around is for Ubuntu 11.10 and 12.04 32bit versions with Unity 3D

PRE-INSTALALTION INSTRUCTIONS

1. Make sure you have enough time to read the this tutorial till the end before performing any command.
2. During the process your Unity GUI bight seem broken or frozen. Don’t worry, just follow this page instructions and you will eventually get this re-psitioned launcher.
3. You should know what you are doing and you’re solely responsible for the consequences.

INSTALLATION

1. Add the ppa and install Unity Plugin Rotated, a newer libnux and CCSM

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:paullo612/unityshell-rotated
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install unityshell-rotated libnux-1.0-0 compizconfig-settings-manager

2. Open Compiz Config Settings Manager and click on ‘Ubuntu Unity Plugin Rotated’. You might get some conflict messages. Just ‘Ignore’ them.

Now Unity doesn’t start by itself. So, execute the following command.

sudo service lightdm restart

Now sometimes CCSM doesn’t allow the ‘Unity Rotated Plugin’ to be activated. If this happens to you, press CTRL+ALT+F1, enter your username (ignore the set of texts appear on the screen) and password and then again execute the same commend i.e.

sudo service lightdm restart

3. Login to Ubuntu as usual. After loggin in, press CTRL+ALT+T, open the terminal and execute the following command.

ccsm

You should have your Unity Launcher positioned to bottom now.

UNDO CHANGES

I personally like my Unity Launcher at bottom. But in case you don’t like or there are some problems with it, execute the follow set of commands to undo your changes.