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How to Configure Hot Corners in Elementary OS

Elementary OS is currently one of the best Linux distros you can get your hands on. It’s one of the only Linux distros that’s easy to use and also has a beautiful user interface. If you’ve recently installed the distro and are checking out the features it has to offer, then here’s one feature to take note of. There’s an option to configure hot corners in Elementary OS. Hot corners let you set actions that are triggered when you move the cursor to the set corner of the screen.

Therefore, it makes navigating around the system a lot more convenient. This is because you do not have to click or perform a keyboard shortcut to trigger an action or program. Fortunately, it’s easy to configure hot corners in Elementary OS. Before we begin, you can also check out the top 5 Linux distros to use in 2020. Nevertheless, follow the steps below to configure hot corners in Elementary OS.

Hot Corners in Elementary OS

Hot corners in Elementary OS

  1. Press the Windows key and the Space bar simultaneously to launch the Applications menu. Alternatively, you can simply click on the Applications text at the top left corner (default).
  2. Search for System Settings by typing in the search field or by navigating through the menu.
  3. Click on System Settings and then click on Desktop.
  4. Now click on the Hot Corners tab.
  5. There are four hot corners you can set up.
  6. Click on the drop-down menu beside each hot corner and select the action you want it to perform.

For example, you can choose to view all open windows by moving the cursor to the bottom right corner. Additionally, you can even set up a custom command to be triggered with hot corners. Thanks to the custom command option, you can practically set it to trigger whatever you want. Of course, you would need to know the commands to get started. Therefore, if you’ve just switched to Linux, we’d suggest staying away from the custom command option.

Although, as an example, you can use the following command to quickly lock the device running Elementary OS.

hot corners custom command

  • Enter the command given below in the Custom Command field within the Hot Corners settings.
  • dm-tool lock

Once you enter the command, if you move your cursor to the selected hot corner, it will automatically take you to the lockscreen. Hence, you will have to enter your password to resume your work. It’s also worth noting that this command should not end the session. Thus you can pick up from where you left off. Moreover, there are a bunch of support pages for the Linux community. Hence, a quick search will bring up many custom commands for Ubuntu that you can make use of in the hot corners option in Elementary OS.

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Dwayne Cubbins

Dwayne Cubbins