How to make a window transparent in Gnome?

I'm working with many GIS applications under Gnome. It sometimes is very convenient to place one map over another to quickly spot differences.

There used to be a KDE trick to make any window (not just a terminal!) transparent, thereby allowing me to make one map semi-transparent and place it on the window of the other mapping software. Is there a similar trick for Gnome?

edited Feb 11 '15 at 16:55

slm

1,73611824

asked Aug 5 '10 at 9:36

Adam Matan

4,749195786

add a comment |

I'm working with many GIS applications under Gnome. It sometimes is very convenient to place one map over another to quickly spot differences.

edited Feb 11 '15 at 16:55

slm

1,73611824

asked Aug 5 '10 at 9:36

Adam Matan

4,749195786

add a comment |

I'm working with many GIS applications under Gnome. It sometimes is very convenient to place one map over another to quickly spot differences.

edited Feb 11 '15 at 16:55

slm

1,73611824

asked Aug 5 '10 at 9:36

Adam Matan

4,749195786

I'm working with many GIS applications under Gnome. It sometimes is very convenient to place one map over another to quickly spot differences.

gnome compiz

edited Feb 11 '15 at 16:55

slm

1,73611824

asked Aug 5 '10 at 9:36

Adam Matan

4,749195786

edited Feb 11 '15 at 16:55

slm

1,73611824

asked Aug 5 '10 at 9:36

Adam Matan

4,749195786

edited Feb 11 '15 at 16:55

slm

1,73611824

edited Feb 11 '15 at 16:55

slm

1,73611824

edited Feb 11 '15 at 16:55

slm

1,73611824

asked Aug 5 '10 at 9:36

Adam Matan

4,749195786

asked Aug 5 '10 at 9:36

Adam Matan

4,749195786

asked Aug 5 '10 at 9:36

Adam Matan

4,749195786

add a comment |

4 Answers
4

active

oldest

votes

I am not sure about Gnomw itself, but in Compiz, there is a plugin called "Opacity, Brightness and Saturation adjustments", which allows you control transparency of windows any way I can imagine, including Alt + {sroll} as Andrea Lazzarotto said.

edited Oct 27 '11 at 18:33

Kris Harper

9,574114670

answered Aug 5 '10 at 10:46

Andres

81459

Also, make sure you enable Animations, found under Effects.

– earthmeLon
Jun 28 '11 at 2:41

Note that this solution is not desirable with Gnome 3. compiz worked a lot better with the Unity desktop.

– Todd
Aug 21 '18 at 19:58

add a comment |

For newer versions of Gnome (Gnome 3/Gnome Shell), you can use this extension to make windows transparent:

EDIT: To install in Gnome 3.14+

Gnome extensions have a file containing which version of Gnome they are compatible with - this is not always correct as the extension may work for other versions not specified in the file, so you need to get the extension from outside the gnome extension site, and modify the file and install it manually - this works a lot of the time with other extensions.

Go the the extension page, and download the extension zip file.

Extract it, and modify the shell-version line in the /transparentwindows-master/transparentwindows@ellen/metadata.json file to make sure it includes your shell version (e.g. 3.14):
```
 "shell-version": ["3.10", "3.12", "3.14"], 
```
^{You can find your shell version if needed using gnome-shell --version}

Move the extracted files to ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions, so it looks like this:

The extension should now work, though you may need to restart the shell with Alt+F2+r+Enter, and enable it in Gnome Tweak Tool or similar.

Also note that you can do a issue/bug report to the developer to ask for the extension the Gnome Extension site to be updated - in this case there is one here. You can also make your own commit to the extension to include 3.14+ versions.

edited May 24 '15 at 21:41

answered Oct 31 '14 at 2:33

Wilf

21.3k1066129

this extension, does not work with GNOME 3.14 and LATER versions ... do you know extension compatible with current version ?

– Jiří Doubravský
May 24 '15 at 16:20

@Jiff - it does (i have used recently in 3.14), you just can't install it from the extension page. I''ll add how to install it in my answer

– Wilf
May 24 '15 at 21:26

This extension is abandonware but it DOES work if you follow the instructions above

– Jonathan
Jan 9 '18 at 20:28

1

I have tested on 3.26.2

– Jonathan
Jan 14 '18 at 1:05

1

The guy fucking deleted the entire repo. All hope is lost! Back to KDE ??

– Theodore R. Smith
Feb 5 '18 at 4:28

|
show 2 more comments

Hold down the Alt key and then scroll with your mouse wheel.

edited Oct 27 '11 at 18:33

Kris Harper

9,574114670

answered Aug 5 '10 at 9:42

Andrea Lazzarotto

5,69822649

add a comment |

Gnome extensions are OK, but if someone want use opacity/transparency occasionally - it is better use xprop command.

Run:

xprop -format _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 32c -set _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 0x7FFFFFFF

and then click on window to set it to 50% opacity.

0x7FFFFFFF - 50% opacity

0xFFFFFFFF - 100% opacity

Set opacity via providing window id (obtained from xwininfo):

xprop -id 0x3a00006 -format _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 32c -set _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 0x7FFFFFFF

answered Jan 13 at 17:54

Danniello

111

New contributor

add a comment |

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4 Answers
4

active

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4 Answers
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oldest

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edited Oct 27 '11 at 18:33

Kris Harper

9,574114670

answered Aug 5 '10 at 10:46

Andres

81459

Also, make sure you enable Animations, found under Effects.

– earthmeLon
Jun 28 '11 at 2:41

Note that this solution is not desirable with Gnome 3. compiz worked a lot better with the Unity desktop.

– Todd
Aug 21 '18 at 19:58

add a comment |

edited Oct 27 '11 at 18:33

Kris Harper

9,574114670

answered Aug 5 '10 at 10:46

Andres

81459

Also, make sure you enable Animations, found under Effects.

– earthmeLon
Jun 28 '11 at 2:41

Note that this solution is not desirable with Gnome 3. compiz worked a lot better with the Unity desktop.

– Todd
Aug 21 '18 at 19:58

add a comment |

edited Oct 27 '11 at 18:33

Kris Harper

9,574114670

answered Aug 5 '10 at 10:46

Andres

81459

edited Oct 27 '11 at 18:33

Kris Harper

9,574114670

answered Aug 5 '10 at 10:46

Andres

81459

edited Oct 27 '11 at 18:33

Kris Harper

9,574114670

edited Oct 27 '11 at 18:33

Kris Harper

9,574114670

edited Oct 27 '11 at 18:33

Kris Harper

9,574114670

answered Aug 5 '10 at 10:46

Andres

81459

answered Aug 5 '10 at 10:46

Andres

81459

answered Aug 5 '10 at 10:46

Andres

81459

Also, make sure you enable Animations, found under Effects.

– earthmeLon
Jun 28 '11 at 2:41

Note that this solution is not desirable with Gnome 3. compiz worked a lot better with the Unity desktop.

– Todd
Aug 21 '18 at 19:58

add a comment |

Also, make sure you enable Animations, found under Effects.

– earthmeLon
Jun 28 '11 at 2:41

Note that this solution is not desirable with Gnome 3. compiz worked a lot better with the Unity desktop.

– Todd
Aug 21 '18 at 19:58

Also, make sure you enable Animations, found under Effects.

– earthmeLon
Jun 28 '11 at 2:41

Note that this solution is not desirable with Gnome 3. compiz worked a lot better with the Unity desktop.

– Todd
Aug 21 '18 at 19:58

add a comment |

For newer versions of Gnome (Gnome 3/Gnome Shell), you can use this extension to make windows transparent:

EDIT: To install in Gnome 3.14+

Go the the extension page, and download the extension zip file.

Extract it, and modify the shell-version line in the /transparentwindows-master/transparentwindows@ellen/metadata.json file to make sure it includes your shell version (e.g. 3.14):
```
 "shell-version": ["3.10", "3.12", "3.14"], 
```
^{You can find your shell version if needed using gnome-shell --version}

Move the extracted files to ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions, so it looks like this:

The extension should now work, though you may need to restart the shell with Alt+F2+r+Enter, and enable it in Gnome Tweak Tool or similar.

edited May 24 '15 at 21:41

answered Oct 31 '14 at 2:33

Wilf

21.3k1066129

this extension, does not work with GNOME 3.14 and LATER versions ... do you know extension compatible with current version ?

– Jiří Doubravský
May 24 '15 at 16:20

@Jiff - it does (i have used recently in 3.14), you just can't install it from the extension page. I''ll add how to install it in my answer

– Wilf
May 24 '15 at 21:26

This extension is abandonware but it DOES work if you follow the instructions above

– Jonathan
Jan 9 '18 at 20:28

1

I have tested on 3.26.2

– Jonathan
Jan 14 '18 at 1:05

1

The guy fucking deleted the entire repo. All hope is lost! Back to KDE ??

– Theodore R. Smith
Feb 5 '18 at 4:28

|
show 2 more comments

For newer versions of Gnome (Gnome 3/Gnome Shell), you can use this extension to make windows transparent:

EDIT: To install in Gnome 3.14+

Go the the extension page, and download the extension zip file.

Extract it, and modify the shell-version line in the /transparentwindows-master/transparentwindows@ellen/metadata.json file to make sure it includes your shell version (e.g. 3.14):
```
 "shell-version": ["3.10", "3.12", "3.14"], 
```
^{You can find your shell version if needed using gnome-shell --version}

Move the extracted files to ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions, so it looks like this:

The extension should now work, though you may need to restart the shell with Alt+F2+r+Enter, and enable it in Gnome Tweak Tool or similar.

edited May 24 '15 at 21:41

answered Oct 31 '14 at 2:33

Wilf

21.3k1066129

this extension, does not work with GNOME 3.14 and LATER versions ... do you know extension compatible with current version ?

– Jiří Doubravský
May 24 '15 at 16:20

@Jiff - it does (i have used recently in 3.14), you just can't install it from the extension page. I''ll add how to install it in my answer

– Wilf
May 24 '15 at 21:26

This extension is abandonware but it DOES work if you follow the instructions above

– Jonathan
Jan 9 '18 at 20:28

1

I have tested on 3.26.2

– Jonathan
Jan 14 '18 at 1:05

1

The guy fucking deleted the entire repo. All hope is lost! Back to KDE ??

– Theodore R. Smith
Feb 5 '18 at 4:28

|
show 2 more comments

For newer versions of Gnome (Gnome 3/Gnome Shell), you can use this extension to make windows transparent:

EDIT: To install in Gnome 3.14+

Go the the extension page, and download the extension zip file.

Extract it, and modify the shell-version line in the /transparentwindows-master/transparentwindows@ellen/metadata.json file to make sure it includes your shell version (e.g. 3.14):
```
 "shell-version": ["3.10", "3.12", "3.14"], 
```
^{You can find your shell version if needed using gnome-shell --version}

Move the extracted files to ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions, so it looks like this:

The extension should now work, though you may need to restart the shell with Alt+F2+r+Enter, and enable it in Gnome Tweak Tool or similar.

edited May 24 '15 at 21:41

answered Oct 31 '14 at 2:33

Wilf

21.3k1066129

For newer versions of Gnome (Gnome 3/Gnome Shell), you can use this extension to make windows transparent:

EDIT: To install in Gnome 3.14+

Go the the extension page, and download the extension zip file.

Extract it, and modify the shell-version line in the /transparentwindows-master/transparentwindows@ellen/metadata.json file to make sure it includes your shell version (e.g. 3.14):
```
 "shell-version": ["3.10", "3.12", "3.14"], 
```
^{You can find your shell version if needed using gnome-shell --version}

Move the extracted files to ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions, so it looks like this:

The extension should now work, though you may need to restart the shell with Alt+F2+r+Enter, and enable it in Gnome Tweak Tool or similar.

edited May 24 '15 at 21:41

answered Oct 31 '14 at 2:33

Wilf

21.3k1066129

edited May 24 '15 at 21:41

answered Oct 31 '14 at 2:33

Wilf

21.3k1066129

answered Oct 31 '14 at 2:33

Wilf

21.3k1066129

answered Oct 31 '14 at 2:33

Wilf

21.3k1066129

this extension, does not work with GNOME 3.14 and LATER versions ... do you know extension compatible with current version ?

– Jiří Doubravský
May 24 '15 at 16:20

@Jiff - it does (i have used recently in 3.14), you just can't install it from the extension page. I''ll add how to install it in my answer

– Wilf
May 24 '15 at 21:26

This extension is abandonware but it DOES work if you follow the instructions above

– Jonathan
Jan 9 '18 at 20:28

1

I have tested on 3.26.2

– Jonathan
Jan 14 '18 at 1:05

1

The guy fucking deleted the entire repo. All hope is lost! Back to KDE ??

– Theodore R. Smith
Feb 5 '18 at 4:28

|
show 2 more comments

this extension, does not work with GNOME 3.14 and LATER versions ... do you know extension compatible with current version ?

– Jiří Doubravský
May 24 '15 at 16:20

@Jiff - it does (i have used recently in 3.14), you just can't install it from the extension page. I''ll add how to install it in my answer

– Wilf
May 24 '15 at 21:26

This extension is abandonware but it DOES work if you follow the instructions above

– Jonathan
Jan 9 '18 at 20:28

1

I have tested on 3.26.2

– Jonathan
Jan 14 '18 at 1:05

1

The guy fucking deleted the entire repo. All hope is lost! Back to KDE ??

– Theodore R. Smith
Feb 5 '18 at 4:28

this extension, does not work with GNOME 3.14 and LATER versions ... do you know extension compatible with current version ?

– Jiří Doubravský
May 24 '15 at 16:20

@Jiff - it does (i have used recently in 3.14), you just can't install it from the extension page. I''ll add how to install it in my answer

– Wilf
May 24 '15 at 21:26

This extension is abandonware but it DOES work if you follow the instructions above

– Jonathan
Jan 9 '18 at 20:28

I have tested on 3.26.2

– Jonathan
Jan 14 '18 at 1:05

The guy fucking deleted the entire repo. All hope is lost! Back to KDE ??

– Theodore R. Smith
Feb 5 '18 at 4:28

|
show 2 more comments

Hold down the Alt key and then scroll with your mouse wheel.

edited Oct 27 '11 at 18:33

Kris Harper

9,574114670

answered Aug 5 '10 at 9:42

Andrea Lazzarotto

5,69822649

add a comment |

Hold down the Alt key and then scroll with your mouse wheel.

edited Oct 27 '11 at 18:33

Kris Harper

9,574114670

answered Aug 5 '10 at 9:42

Andrea Lazzarotto

5,69822649

add a comment |

Hold down the Alt key and then scroll with your mouse wheel.

edited Oct 27 '11 at 18:33

Kris Harper

9,574114670

answered Aug 5 '10 at 9:42

Andrea Lazzarotto

5,69822649

Hold down the Alt key and then scroll with your mouse wheel.

edited Oct 27 '11 at 18:33

Kris Harper

9,574114670

answered Aug 5 '10 at 9:42

Andrea Lazzarotto

5,69822649

edited Oct 27 '11 at 18:33

Kris Harper

9,574114670

edited Oct 27 '11 at 18:33

Kris Harper

9,574114670

edited Oct 27 '11 at 18:33

Kris Harper

9,574114670

answered Aug 5 '10 at 9:42

Andrea Lazzarotto

5,69822649

answered Aug 5 '10 at 9:42

Andrea Lazzarotto

5,69822649

answered Aug 5 '10 at 9:42

Andrea Lazzarotto

5,69822649

add a comment |

Gnome extensions are OK, but if someone want use opacity/transparency occasionally - it is better use xprop command.

Run:

xprop -format _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 32c -set _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 0x7FFFFFFF

and then click on window to set it to 50% opacity.

0x7FFFFFFF - 50% opacity

0xFFFFFFFF - 100% opacity

Set opacity via providing window id (obtained from xwininfo):

xprop -id 0x3a00006 -format _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 32c -set _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 0x7FFFFFFF

answered Jan 13 at 17:54

Danniello

111

New contributor

add a comment |

Gnome extensions are OK, but if someone want use opacity/transparency occasionally - it is better use xprop command.

Run:

xprop -format _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 32c -set _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 0x7FFFFFFF

and then click on window to set it to 50% opacity.

0x7FFFFFFF - 50% opacity

0xFFFFFFFF - 100% opacity

Set opacity via providing window id (obtained from xwininfo):

xprop -id 0x3a00006 -format _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 32c -set _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 0x7FFFFFFF

answered Jan 13 at 17:54

Danniello

111

New contributor

add a comment |

Gnome extensions are OK, but if someone want use opacity/transparency occasionally - it is better use xprop command.

Run:

xprop -format _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 32c -set _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 0x7FFFFFFF

and then click on window to set it to 50% opacity.

0x7FFFFFFF - 50% opacity

0xFFFFFFFF - 100% opacity

Set opacity via providing window id (obtained from xwininfo):

xprop -id 0x3a00006 -format _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 32c -set _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 0x7FFFFFFF

answered Jan 13 at 17:54

Danniello

111

New contributor

Gnome extensions are OK, but if someone want use opacity/transparency occasionally - it is better use xprop command.

Run:

xprop -format _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 32c -set _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 0x7FFFFFFF

and then click on window to set it to 50% opacity.

0x7FFFFFFF - 50% opacity

0xFFFFFFFF - 100% opacity

Set opacity via providing window id (obtained from xwininfo):

xprop -id 0x3a00006 -format _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 32c -set _NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY 0x7FFFFFFF

answered Jan 13 at 17:54

Danniello

111

New contributor

answered Jan 13 at 17:54

Danniello

111

New contributor

answered Jan 13 at 17:54

Danniello

111

answered Jan 13 at 17:54

Danniello

111

New contributor

Danniello is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

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