How to Remove Window Decorations⚓︎

Summary⚓︎

This article will explain how to go about disabling window decorations for all applications in Openbox.

Removing Decorations⚓︎

Window decorations are also known as the top border around all application windows. To create a more minimalistic workspace, I prefer to turn these borders off.

There is a key binding that will allow these decorations to be turned on and off at will, but this article will focus on a more permanent approach. For reference, the key binding is Alt + D.

In order to remove window decorations in a more permanent fashion, the rc.xml file will need some syntax added to it.

The rc.xml file is located in ~/.config/openbox/rc.xml.

Open a Terminal and use Nano to open the file:

nano ~/.config/openbox/rc.xml

Scroll down to the bottom of the file and insert the following above the last line:

<applications> <application class="*"> <decor>no</decor> </application> </applications>

Make sure the above snippet is inserted after the previous </applications> line, but before the </openbox_config> line.

Reload Openbox by using the Alt + Shift + R key binding.

Alternative Method⚓︎

There is a slight alternative to the above method that forces all new windows to open maximized. The syntax is as follows:

<applications> <application class="*"> <maximized>true</maximized> <decor>no</decor> </application> </applications>

Note the addition of the third line that says <maximized>true</maximized>

This has a negative affect on Conky-Manager, as it forces the Conky widget to only display in the top-left corner. Adjusting the X and Y axis values does not have any affect when this line is in place. Removing the line and reloading Openbox will prevent this from happening. If Conky-Manager is not running, this will likely not be an issue.

Resources⚓︎

https://forum.manjaro.org/t/in-need-of-a-simple-on-off-method-for-windows-decorations/30578/6