Linux Mint Forums

Hi all, I have newbie problems, and can't find an answer either from searching the forums or a wider google search.

There are 2 problems, not sure if they are related:

1) Minimize/Restore Program Windows
When I minimize a program ("-" sign in top right corner), an icon remains in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen - but clicking the icon doesn't re-open the program window. In fact, I can't find any way of restoring the program window. Prior to this problem, any attempt to minimize program windows simply led to the program apparently closing, with no icon in the taskbar. I then right clicked the panel, selected "add/remove applets", and "reset to default", which gives me the behaviour above. Any suggestions? I can't see any likley things in the Cinnamom Settings menu.

2) Panel shortcuts don't work
The program icons in the panel area (left hand side, next to the menu icon) don't seem to work - that is, clicking them does nothing. For example, clicking the firefox icon in the panel doesn't launch firefox (or do anything at all, as far as I can see).

I'm running Linux Mint 13 Cinnamon

Update;
Problem 2 sorted - newbie error as expected. In Cinnamon Settings - Panel, the 2 options "Panel Edit Mode" and "Panel Launchers Draggable" were selected (ticked). I deselected both, and now the panel icons launch applications as expected.
BUT, still no progress with the Minimize/Restore Windows issue - in fact now, when I minimize a window, it simply disappears (no icon in the taskbar), so no possibility of restoring. I installed the MATE Desktop, and can get minimized windows to restore in the MATE desktop - so the problems seem to lie in Cinnamon?

Hi

I'm also a newbie and had similar problem with Cinnamon - minimized window did not reopen.

Found out the reason - in fact it was re-opening just not drawing properly. (I noticed that my docky was disappearing when i maximized the window and when frantically pressing and waiving my mouse in maximized in this way nemo window accidentally deleted my conky directory - so realised that the window was there just not drawn properly).

What messed it up was "enabling desktop effects" in "cinnamon settings" 10 mins before the problem started . When I disabled these effects - everything was ok. Seems to be a bug but I dont really care for desktop effects so managed to solve it without re-installing everything.

Hope this helps.

Hi, telegraph - and welcome to the Linux Mint forums

telegraph wrote: .....
I'm running Linux Mint 13 Cinnamon

Update;
Problem 2 sorted - newbie error as expected. In Cinnamon Settings - Panel, the 2 options "Panel Edit Mode" and "Panel Launchers Draggable" were selected (ticked). I deselected both, and now the panel icons launch applications as expected.
BUT, still no progress with the Minimize/Restore Windows issue - in fact now, when I minimize a window, it simply disappears (no icon in the taskbar), so no possibility of restoring. I installed the MATE Desktop, and can get minimized windows to restore in the MATE desktop - so the problems seem to lie in Cinnamon?

In Cinnamon Settings > Applets
Make sure that "Cinnamon Window List" box has a checkmark in it.
If it is not checked, you will find that your windows "disappear" when you click the minimize button.

Hello.

I have the same/similar problem as the original poster's #1: when I minimize a single window, I cannot restore it from the taskbar's window list with a click. I can right-click the window button and select restore, but the regular left-click restore functionality is apparently broken.

It was working fine since the stock installation of Mint 13 (Cinnamon), but I noticed it was broken after I copied my user settings for Remastersys (I'm just finalizing a custom remaster). I know from a recent customization that the broken restore will transfer to the remaster unless I fix it

To be clear, the click-minimize and click-restore functionality works when multiple windows are open, but not when a single window is open and has been minimized. Further, if I click a blank space on the desktop, then click-to-restore on the window button, it will restore like it should. I'm baffled.

Help would be appreciated. Thanks for your time.
**********************
20130526 EDIT: After some googling and research, I learned that the "broken" click-to-restore functionality was tied to how Cinnamon was interacting with Conky (or visa versa, perhaps). It evidently had nothing to do with my remastering efforts, thankfully. I looked in vain for a simple settings or configuration change that would solve the problem, but I ended up enabling the Backports repository and upgrading to Cinnamon 1.6 and Nemo. I'm happy with this solution because the click-to-restore problem is solved, and there's a bucketful of useability improvements to Cinnamon and the file manager.

Not sure if I have exactly the same setup as everyone else (I'm still using LM-12), but I did have the "can't restore from minimized" problem for ALL and any minimized window. It did not matter if it was an app window (say, Firefox) or a settings window -- anything minimized showed up at the bottom task bar with the [brackets] around the window title, showing it was indeed minimized. No amount of left-click, right-click, double-click, etc. would restore any window. My right-click on the button yielded a pop-up, but no Restore option. I found that I could access and restore any window by using Alt-Tab, which brought up a pop-up window of icons for each window. I could then either keep tapping Tab (while still holding Alt key) to cycle through available windows appearing in the pop-up or use my mouse to select a specific window directly.

I also discovered the problem is not merely limited to minimized windows, in my situation! ANY window button at the bottom was not "clickable" to allow me to access the window. Say I had 4 different, full-screen windows open. If I'm looking at the 4th window and it's active, I cannot select the first window from the bottom button, minimized or not! I had to do the "Alt-Tab" dance.

Well, I found the problem (at least for me)!!
I just now realized I had left the "Panel Edit Mode" selected/checked -- this was preventing the selection of windows via the lower panel buttons! Doh! For any other newbies, make sure Cinnamon Settings > Panel > Panel Edit Mode is UNchecked!

- - fred

Hi!
ALT + TAB should restore the window.

Ummm... Didn't I say that in my earlier post?

Hi!
Yes, I now see it!