Enhancing Plank Dock's Flexibility for Virtual Machines
As an avid user of virtual machines (VMs), I've often been slightly frustrated with the Plank dock's static nature.
As an avid user of virtual machines (VMs), I’ve often been slightly frustrated with the Plank dock’s static nature. It cannot adjust when the VM window resizes or the resolution changes. The only workaround until now has been a somewhat clunky process of ending and restarting the Plank. But I’m excited to share a neat solution I’ve devised for this issue.
Before diving into the solution, ensure your system has the necessary tools. Open your terminal and run:
Tweaking the Autostart First things first, let’s deal with the original Plank autostart shortcut. You can rename it for backup:
Setting Up Plank as a Systemd Service Create the necessary directories:
Then, create a new service file using vi or your preferred editor:
And add the following content:
Enable and start the service:
Monitoring Resolution Changes with xeventbind Install xeventbind:
Automating the Restart Create a script to restart Plank:
Add the script content:
Make it executable:
Testing Change your resolution to test the setup:
Finalizing the Autostart Edit the new Plank autostart shortcut:
And add:
Conclusion: With these steps, Plank should seamlessly restart and adjust whenever your VM window size or resolution changes. While not officially packaged, this solution significantly improves over the previous manual method.
Credit & Original Information Sources:
rbreaves @ https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/fix-plank-location-when-changing-resolution/5198
Also: