Editing Metacity

{{Short description|Window manager}}
{{Infobox software
| name = Metacity
| logo = Metacity.png
| logo size = 48px
| screenshot = Metacity-screenshot.png
| screenshot size = 220px
| caption = Metacity running on [[GNOME]]
| developer = [[The GNOME Project]]
| released = 2.4.2 5 {{Start date and age|2002|10}}
| latest release version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q1160552|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| latest release date = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q1160552|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| latest preview version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q1160552|P348|P548=Q51930650}}
| latest preview date = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q1160552|P348|P548=Q51930650|P577}}
| programming language = [[C (programming language)|C]]
| operating system = [[Linux]]
| platform = [[GNOME]]
| genre = [[X window manager]]
| license = [[GNU General Public License|GPL-2.0-or-later]]
| website = {{url|http://blogs.gnome.org/metacity/}}
}}

'''Metacity''' (pronounced {{IPAc-en|m|ə|'|t|æ|s|ɪ|t|i}})<ref>{{cite web |url=http://git.gnome.org/browse/metacity/plain/README|title=Metacity README|access-date=2012-09-10}}</ref>
was the default [[window manager]] used by the [[GNOME 2]] [[desktop environment]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=GNOME 2.2 Release Notes |url=https://help.gnome.org/misc/release-notes/2.2/index.html.en |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=help.gnome.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=GNOME 2.2 Gains Muscle and Polish |date=11 March 2003 |url=https://www.eweek.com/pc-hardware/gnome-2.2-gains-muscle-and-polish |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230123120449/https://www.eweek.com/pc-hardware/gnome-2.2-gains-muscle-and-polish/ |archive-date=23 January 2023 |access-date=2007-03-26}}</ref> until it was replaced by [[Mutter (software)|Mutter]] in GNOME 3.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://lwn.net/Articles/344734/ |title=Mutter: a window manager for GNOME 3 |last=Vervloesem |first=Koen |date=2009-08-04 |website=LWN.net}}</ref> It is still used by [[GNOME Flashback]], a session for GNOME 3 that provides a similar user experience to the Gnome 2.x series sessions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Details of package gnome-session-flashback in buster |url=https://packages.debian.org/buster/gnome-session-flashback |website=[[Debian]] |access-date=28 September 2019}}</ref>

The development of Metacity was started by [[Havoc Pennington]] and it was released under the [[GNU General Public License]]. Before the introduction of Metacity in GNOME 2.2, GNOME used [[Enlightenment (software)|Enlightenment]] and then [[Sawfish (window manager)|Sawfish]] as its window manager.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023|reason=Provide a source for the switch from Enlightenment to Sawfish}} Although Metacity was designed to integrate into the GNOME desktop, it does not require it to run,{{Citation needed|date=January 2023|reason=Source needed to claim that Metacity can be used with other desktop environments as their compositor/WM}} while GNOME can be used with different window managers provided that they support the part of the [[ICCCM]] specification that GNOME requires.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023|reason=Needs a source to claim that GNOME 2 can use other Compositors instead of the default Metacity}}

Metacity uses the [[GTK]] graphical [[widget toolkit]] to create its user interface components, which makes it themeable and makes it blend in with other GTK applications. Originally, Metacity used GTK 2 however as of version 3.12.0 it has been ported to GTK 3.<ref>{{cite web|title=metacity-3.12.0.news|url=http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/sources/metacity/3.12/metacity-3.12.0.news|access-date=15 June 2014}}</ref>

== Aim ==
Metacity's focus is on simplicity and usability rather than novelties. Its author has characterized it as a "Boring window manager for the adult in you. Many window managers are like Marshmallow [[Froot Loops]]; Metacity is like [[Cheerios]]."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://git.gnome.org/cgit/metacity/tree/README |title=README of Metacity |access-date=2009-05-09}}</ref> People in favour of Metacity say that it is aimed at new computer users who do not need the abundant options and functionality of [[Sawfish (window manager)|Sawfish]] or [[Enlightenment (software)|Enlightenment]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://software.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/01/19/166244&tid=130&tid=132 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130814221644/http://software.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/01/19/166244&tid=130&tid=132 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-08-14 |title= Innovations in window management|access-date=2007-03-26}}</ref> Havoc Pennington wrote an essay explaining why he wrote Metacity and simplified the GNOME desktop.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ometer.com/free-software-ui.html |title=Free software and good user interfaces|access-date=2006-10-17}}</ref>

== Themes ==
Despite the incomplete state of Metacity theme development documentation, many themes have been written for Metacity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://art.gnome.org/themes/metacity/?sort_by=rating&thumbnails_per_page=12&view=list&order=DESC|title=GNOME Art – window borders|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311231810/http://art.gnome.org/themes/metacity/?sort_by=rating&thumbnails_per_page=12&view=list&order=DESC|archive-date=2007-03-11|url-status=dead|access-date=2006-10-17}}</ref> A popular theme engine is [[Clearlooks]], which was the default in GNOME from version 2.12<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mail.gnome.org/archives/desktop-devel-list/2005-February/msg00453.html|title=Default Theme Progress|website=mail.gnome.org|access-date=2019-07-29}}</ref> until the release of GNOME 3 and GNOME Shell.

== See also ==
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}
*[[Comparison of X window managers]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://blogs.gnome.org/metacity Metacity blog]
* [http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/sources/metacity Metacity Download Site]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131022050801/http://art.gnome.org/themes/metacity/ Metacity Themes]
* [https://blogs.gnome.org/metacity/2008/05/30/themes/ Understanding Metacity Themes, Thomas Thurman]

{{GNOME}}
{{X desktop environments and window managers}}

[[Category:Free software programmed in C]]
[[Category:Free X window managers]]
[[Category:GNOME]]
[[Category:Window managers that use GTK]]