If you're using Ubuntu MATE 14.04 LTS or 14.10 , here's a quick guide for how to install and configure Compiz. If something goes wrong or you're not satisfied with Compiz, the article includes instructions for reverting the changes.

Install and configure Compiz in Ubuntu MATE 14.04 or 14.10 (/w MATE 1.8)

1. Install Compiz (along with some extra plugins) and CompizConfig Settings Manager in Ubuntu MATE 14.04 or 14.10:

sudo apt-get install compiz compiz-plugins compizconfig-settings-manager

To get Compiz to work in Ubuntu MATE 14.10 or 14.04 (with MATE 1.8), you need to enable the Window Decoration plugin. To do this, launch CompizConfig Settings Manager (from the menu: System > Preferences) and enable the "Window Decoration" plugin, which should be available under "Effects":

This is the only plugin that you need to enable manually to get Compiz to work in Ubuntu MATE 14.04 or 14.10 - all the other required plugins should be enabled by default. Of course, you can enable any extra plugins you want.

3. Run Compiz without setting it as default (this is useful if you want to test Compiz before setting it as default)

To try out Compiz without setting it as default, either press ALT + F2 to open the Run Application dialog or open a terminal and in either of those, use the following command:

compiz --replace

If you're satisfied with Compiz and you want it to start by default when you log in, use the following command (this command sets Compiz as the Window Manager in MATE's session required-components gsettings key):

gsettings set org.mate.session.required-components windowmanager compiz

(This can also be done using a GUI, by launching Dconf Editor, navigating to org > mate > desktop > session > required-components and replacing "marco" with "compiz" for the "windowmanager")

How to revert the changes

If you want to revert the changes made by following the instructions above, and go back to using Marco (MATE's default) instead of Compiz, use the following command:

gsettings reset org.mate.session.required-components windowmanager

(Again, this can also be done with a GUI, by launching Dconf Editor, navigating to org > mate > desktop > session > required-components, selecting "windowmanager" and then clicking the "Set to default" button)

Then, log out and log back in - Compiz shouldn't be used any more. If you want, you can now safely remove Compiz, by using the following command: