Is there a way to tell Zorin that when new application windows are opened (e.g. Brave, Evolution), to open in the same setting as it was closed? It seems that even if I restore the window and size it to a particular location on the screen and then close it, it is always opened maximized next time.
As an example, here's what I did with Evolution.
Opened Evolution, restored the window and move it to fit in the top left area of the screen.
Closed Evolution.
Re-opened it from the dock.
The window then opened maximized again whereas I would expect it to open in restored and positioned and sized as where I left it. Is there a setting to enable this or do all apps always open maximized by design?
I'm using Zorin OS 17.3 Pro with the dock at the bottom of the screen. Display is 1920x1080 landscape. Window placement is set to "Centered".
The Window Placement will be ''Centered'' like You set it up.
Because of the maximized Window: when You don't have it maximized, it should open like this on the next Time. Is this Behavior with every Program or only with some specific Programs?
Hi! Thanks for the speedy reply. So far I've seen this issue with Evolution and Brave, which are both supplied with Zorin OS 17.3 Pro. I've just now tested with Calendar and Contacts. Calendar has the same problem. Contacts, however, works correctly and respects the previous window maximized/restored state.
I've tried a third-party app from the store - Mattermost. It also works correctly and respects the previous window state.
Hmm ... Okay let's try something. We try to switch between X11/Xorg and Wayland. These are Display Protocol that make that a Window ... do what a Window so do. Wayland is a more modern Protocol which can cause Issues because of the Level of Implementation in the Desktop. X11/Xorg is the older Protocol but more reliable.
To switch go to the Login Screen (not the Lock screen). Simply reboot for that. On the Login Screen click on Your Profile so that the Password Field appears. It has to be appeared. When it is appeared, You should see a Gear Icon in the bottom right Corner. Click on it and You should see 2 Option:
Zorin Desktop (that is the Wayland Option)
Zorin Desktop on Xorg
Which of these Options is active, You can see at the Dot at the Beginning of the Line. To switch click on the other. Then log in and test if the Behavior has changed.
The current setting was Zorin Desktop, so I was using Wayland. I changed the option to Zorin Desktop on Xorg and logged in. Examining the value of $XDG_SESSION_TYPE in terminal afterwards confirmed I was using x11.
However Brave and Evolution, amongst others, continue to open maximized even if they are closed down in restored state. I've repeated several times with different applications and, as before, the outcome is mixed. Some honour the original window state on close and restart. Others always open maximized.
Unfortunately I don't have another Linux distribution, even Ubuntu based, that I can use to determine if this is specific to Zorin OS, Ubuntu or Gnome.
Gnome applications like Evolution use gsettings to control various things, and I had a suspicion that one of them might be involved. I couldn't find maximized-by-default which is usually a prime culprit, but I did find org.gnome.mutter:
$ gsettings get org.gnome.mutter auto-maximize
true
Ah. Try turning it off:
$ gsettings set org.gnome.mutter auto-maximize false
Now went back and tried restoring, closing and restarting Brave and Evolution. This time their windows correctly restarted in restored state.
I'm documenting this here so if anybody else runs into the same issue then hopefully it is a solution. The only curious point is whether the org.gnome.mutter came with Zorin by default or it got added as part of any subsequent updates and installations.
Thanks for your help though, Ponce-De-Leon. At least switching to XOrg has actually fixed some other annoyances I had with Zorin.
