When Ubuntu made the decision to move the window controls from the right side of the windows to the left side, it was a bit controversial, to say the least. A lot of people didn't understand the change (one of the reasons given – windicators – have yet to see the light of day), although the left-side placement does make sense with the new Unity interface. Still, it led to a rash of articles explaining exactly how to move them back to where they "should" be.
KDE, on the other hand, has always had, and still has, its window controls on the right side of the window. For most people, this is the way it ought to be, and isn't a problem. On the other hand, what about the new Linux user, whose only experience with Linux so far has been with the left-side placement? Or a user coming from Mac OS X, where the window controls have always been on the left side? For that user, the right-side position may seem odd. So, for those users, or anyone who just wants a change, here is the method for configuring KDE window controls.
The first step is to open the KDE System Settings. You can do this by clicking the menu in the lower-left corner of the screen. In Kubuntu, you'll see that System Settings already has a place on the Favorites panel.
If you've changed this already, however, you'll find it in the Applications panel under settings.
Note: You can also call it up by typing System Settings or systemsettings into the Run Dialog or by typing systemsettings into the Terminal.
When you launch System Settings, you'll see the main window.
There are two potential spots for the window decoration configuration to be, either in the Application Appearance settings or under Workspace Appearance. I've always thought it should be in the first, but alas, it's in the second. So click Workspace Appearance to begin configuring the window decorations.
There are four items we can configure here: Window Decorations, Cursor Theme, Desktop Theme and Splash Screen. In Kubuntu, the Window Decorations setting window is highlighted by default. If this isn't the case in your distro, click it. You should see something similar to this.
Now click the Configure Buttons button at the bottom to change the order or placement of the buttons, as well as which buttons should appear.
This new window will appear.
As you can see, by selecting a checkbox, you can show or hide window button tooltips. The next option is what we're after. By checking the Use custom titlebar button positions checkbox, we can decide where the buttons are placed, as well as which are visible. For configuring purposes, this is a "test" window decoration, with "KDE" representing the window title.
To configure your window decoration controls, simply drag the button icons from side to side. If you don't want a particular button on your window decoration, drag it from the test decoration to the list, or from the list to the window decoration if you want something showing that's not there by default.
When you're finished, click the OK button, or if you decide you don't like the changes you just made you can click the Reset button. If after a while you want it back the way it was originally, click the Defaults button. When you're finished, click the Apply button back on the main Window Decorations interface.
Congratulations! You have just customized your KDE window decorations.
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