Shortcut to change Launcher 'Hide' setting

Solution 1:

You can run

gconftool-2 --type int --set "/apps/compiz-1/plugins/unityshell/screen0/options/launcher_hide_mode" 2

to set the launcher hide mode to "Dodge Windows", and

gconftool-2 --type int --set "/apps/compiz-1/plugins/unityshell/screen0/options/launcher_hide_mode" 0

to set it to never hide.

The mode numbers are:

• 0 - Never
• 1 - Autohide
• 2 - Dodge Windows
• 3 - Dodge Active Window

You can make this a switch by just calling (the value must be 2 or 0 before):

gconftool-2 --type int --set "/apps/compiz-1/plugins/unityshell/screen0/options/launcher_hide_mode" $((2 - $(gconftool-2 --get "/apps/compiz-1/plugins/unityshell/screen0/options/launcher_hide_mode")))

You then would create a new keybinding (Alt + F2 → gnome-keybinding-properties) with the command being:

/bin/bash -c "gconftool-2 --type int --set "/apps/compiz-1/plugins/unityshell/screen0/options/launcher_hide_mode" $((2 - $(gconftool-2 --get "/apps/compiz-1/plugins/unityshell/screen0/options/launcher_hide_mode")))"

Solution 2:

If you are using Ubuntu 15.04 (vivid) the following commands should work for you.

To enable launcher auto-hide setting use:

dconf write "/org/compiz/profiles/unity/plugins/unityshell/launcher-hide-mode" 1

To disable it use:

dconf write "/org/compiz/profiles/unity/plugins/unityshell/launcher-hide-mode" 0