Learn Ubuntu MATE
  • Home
    • Screen Tearing on Intel Graphics
    • Screen Tearing on AMD Graphics
    • How to install Realtek WiFi Driver >
      • How to install Realtek WiFi Driver (Pt 2)
    • Authentication is Required to Mount
    • Traditional Menu
    • Software >
      • App Grid
      • AppCenter
      • GNOME Software
      • Modern Apps
    • Welcome & Software Boutique
    • Remove Welcome & Software Boutique
    • TeamViewer
    • Simple How to Tips >
      • Change Wallpaper
      • Pin a Program
      • Change Date & Time
      • Enable Screensavers >
        • Cosmos Screensaver
      • Decrese Icon Padding
      • Enable Magnification
      • Fading Windows
      • Replace Clock Indicator
      • Remove Media Players
      • Create a Submenu
      • Remove the Collection Menu
      • Preferred Applications
      • Upgrade LibreOffice
      • Install Fonts >
        • Install New Fonts
      • Play a DVD
      • Enable Livepatch
      • Update Software
      • Unresponsive Program
      • Install HWE >
        • Install HWE 20.04
      • Open HEIC Images
      • Open WebP Images
      • USB Flash Drive
      • No Audio
      • Screen Flickering
      • Screen Blanking
      • Draining Battery
      • Reduce Shutdown Time
      • Create a Mount Point
      • Thunderbird Emoticons
      • Sound Preview
      • Failed To Download >
        • Failed to Download (#2)
      • Enter Password to Unlock
      • Two Wifi Icons
      • System Program Problem
      • CD Burner Issue
      • Firefox Homepage Fix
      • VLC Closes Fix
      • Desktop Error
      • Trash Bin
      • MATE Weather Applet
      • OpenGL: renderer: llvmpipe
      • PolicyKit vulnerability
    • Install Ubuntu MATE >
      • Burn an ISO to DVD
      • Create a Bootable USB
      • Upgrade Ubuntu MATE
  • Ubuntu MATE
    • How to Scan
    • How to Take a Screenshot
    • How to View a PDF File
    • Multiple Workspaces
    • Software Updater
    • Archive Manager
    • How to Burn CD/DVDs
    • Setup & Use Email >
      • Email Filter
    • Firefox Web Browser
    • Shotwell Photo Manager
    • Image Viewer
    • Caja File Manager
    • Trash
    • Play Videos
  • Additional Software
    • Antivirus >
      • BitDefender Antivirus
      • ClamTK Antivirus >
        • Clamscan Antivirus
        • ClamTK Caja Add-on
      • Comodo AntiVirus
    • Archive Managers >
      • Archive Manager
      • Ark
      • B1 Free Archiver
      • P7Zip-Desktop
      • PeaZip
      • Xarchiver
    • Browsers >
      • Brave
      • Chrome
      • Chromium
      • Falkon
      • Firefox
      • GNOME Web
      • Iridium Browser
      • LibreWolf
      • Microsoft Edge
      • Midori
      • Min Browser
      • NAVER Whale
      • Opera
      • Otter
      • Pale Moon
      • SeaMonkey
      • Sidekick
      • Slimjet Browser
      • SRWare Iron
      • Ungoogled Chromium
      • Vivaldi
      • Waterfox
      • Yandex Browser
    • Office Applications >
      • Couturier
      • PDF-Shuffler
      • PDF Studio Viewer
      • Xournal
      • Foxit Reader
      • Okular
      • gLabels >
        • Multiple Name Badges
        • CD & DVD Labels
        • Business Cards
        • Mailing Address Labels
        • Return Address Labels
      • Spice-Up
      • Stickynotes
    • Educational Programs >
      • Galculator
      • GeoGebra Classic
      • GNOME Calculator
      • KCalc
      • NumWorks
      • Pebbles
      • Qalculate!
      • QT-Calculator
      • How To Install R >
        • Install R Commander
        • Install RStudio
      • SpeedCrunch
      • TI-83 Plus
      • TI-84 Plus CE
      • KWordQuiz
      • Granule
    • Graphics >
      • 4K Slideshow Maker
      • Imagination
      • Gnome Screenshot
      • Ksnip
      • Shutter >
        • Shutter 0.94.3
      • PhotoFlare
      • Pinta >
        • Tool Palette >
          • Tool Palette (Cont)
        • File Menu >
          • Screenshot Tool
        • View Menu
        • Edit Menu >
          • Palette
        • Image Menu >
          • Image Size
        • Layers Menu
        • Adjustments Menu
        • Effects Menu >
          • Red Eye Removal
          • Pixelate
        • Add-ins Menu
        • Window Menu
        • Help Menu
        • Restore Layout
        • Pinta 1.7
        • Pinta 2.0.1
      • Bing Wallpapers
      • Variety Wallpaper
      • Converseen
      • Curtail
      • Imagine
      • ​Annotator
      • Aliza MS
      • Brightness Controller
      • Photoprint
      • Peek
    • Image Viewers >
      • Deepin Image Viewer
      • Eye of Gnome
      • Fotoxx
      • Geeqie
      • GPicView
      • gThumb
      • Gwenview
      • Mirage
      • nomacs
      • PhotoQt
      • Phototonic
      • Pix
      • Qimgv
      • qView
      • Ristretto
      • Viewnior 1.6 >
        • Viewnior 1.7
      • XnView MP
      • Xviewer
    • Music Players >
      • Amarok
      • Audacious
      • Clementine
      • DeaDBeeF
      • foobar2000
      • Guayadeque
      • Lollypop
      • Museeks
      • Noise Music Player
      • Pragha
      • Quod Libet
      • Rhythmbox
      • Sayonara
      • Strawberry
      • Violin
    • Networking >
      • Dukto
      • LAN-Share
      • Nitroshare
      • Warpinator
    • Utility Software >
      • BleachBit
      • Stacer
      • Ubuntu Cleaner
      • CPU-G
      • CPU-X
      • Hardinfo
      • I-Nex
      • Caffeine
      • Conky >
        • Widgets & Themes
        • Title Bars
      • deb-get
      • GNOME Split
      • GParted
      • GtkOrphan
      • Ice SSB >
        • MS Office Online
        • Pixlr Editor
        • Photopea
      • KRename
      • KShutdown
      • Magnus
      • Radeon Profile
      • Ubuntu Mainline Kernel Installer
      • Y PPA Manager
    • Sound & Video >
      • Avidemux >
        • Merge Videos
        • Cut Videos
        • Crop Videos
      • Selene
      • Radio Tray >
        • Radio Tray Lite
      • Pithos
      • Spotify
      • Asunder
      • EasyTag
      • SimpleScreenRecorder
      • OBS Studio
      • FF Multi Converter
      • FFmpeg
      • SoundConverter
      • MediaInfo
      • Bomi
      • Gnome MPV
      • MPlayer
      • SMPlayer
      • VLC Media Player
      • HandBrake >
        • Convert A Video
    • Entertainment >
      • Hypnotix
      • IPTVnator
      • Airy TV
      • Crackle
      • Plex Live TV
      • Pluto TV
      • Popcornflix
      • Stirr TV
      • Tubi TV
      • Xumo TV
      • YouTube Movies
      • Plex Media Server
      • Emby Media Server
    • Themes & Colors >
      • Themes
      • Installing Themes
      • Customize Themes #1
      • Customize Themes #2
      • Change App Icons
  • Reviews
    • YouTube Reviews >
      • Ubuntu MATE 16.10
      • Ubuntu Mate 17.04
      • Ubuntu MATE 17.10
      • Ubuntu MATE 18.04
      • Ubuntu MATE 20.04
      • Ubuntu MATE 22.04
  • Info
    • How Safe are Your Paasswords >
      • Cyber Security Leaks
      • Hotmail Leak
      • YaHoo Leak
      • Windstream Hacked
    • Windows 7
    • Wireless USB Adapters
  • About
    • In Memory of ...

How-To Reduce Space Between Icons in System Tray

Picture
If you would like to reduce the amount of space between the icons in the system tray, then follow the steps below.

Open your Terminal and enter the following: (You can replace gedit with your favorite text editor.)

sudo gedit ~/.config/gtk-3.0/gtk.css

Then press the Enter or Return key and type in your password. 
Picture
The gtk.css file should appear. My file has no code in it at the moment.
Picture
Copy and paste this code:

.mate-panel-menu-bar menuitem {
padding: 0 0px;
}


Then Save and exit your text editor.
Picture
Now reboot your system. When it loads, your icons should have less space between them.
Picture
Before
Picture
After
You can play around with the padding numbers in the gtk.css file until you get your desired results. Keep in mind that 0 indicates no padding, so increase the number gradually and save your results and then reboot to see the affect on your system. Here's some common padding settings.
  • padding: 0 2px
  • padding: 0 4px
  • padding: 4 0px
  • padding: 0 0px

If you want to make changes to the indicators in the System Tray and not the global menu, then enter the following information into the gtk.css file:

#fast-user-switch-menubar menuitem {
 padding-left:1px;
 padding-right:1px;
}
(You may have to tweak padding-left and padding-right values to get the results that you're looking for.)
Picture
Here's the results of the new settings affecting the icons in the System Tray.
Picture
You will notice that it didn't remove or reduce the padding of your Traditional Panel Menus.
Picture
I hope this helped you customize your Ubuntu MATE System Tray.

Take care!







Simple How-To's | Home | Utility Software
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
    • Screen Tearing on Intel Graphics
    • Screen Tearing on AMD Graphics
    • How to install Realtek WiFi Driver >
      • How to install Realtek WiFi Driver (Pt 2)
    • Authentication is Required to Mount
    • Traditional Menu
    • Software >
      • App Grid
      • AppCenter
      • GNOME Software
      • Modern Apps
    • Welcome & Software Boutique
    • Remove Welcome & Software Boutique
    • TeamViewer
    • Simple How to Tips >
      • Change Wallpaper
      • Pin a Program
      • Change Date & Time
      • Enable Screensavers >
        • Cosmos Screensaver
      • Decrese Icon Padding
      • Enable Magnification
      • Fading Windows
      • Replace Clock Indicator
      • Remove Media Players
      • Create a Submenu
      • Remove the Collection Menu
      • Preferred Applications
      • Upgrade LibreOffice
      • Install Fonts >
        • Install New Fonts
      • Play a DVD
      • Enable Livepatch
      • Update Software
      • Unresponsive Program
      • Install HWE >
        • Install HWE 20.04
      • Open HEIC Images
      • Open WebP Images
      • USB Flash Drive
      • No Audio
      • Screen Flickering
      • Screen Blanking
      • Draining Battery
      • Reduce Shutdown Time
      • Create a Mount Point
      • Thunderbird Emoticons
      • Sound Preview
      • Failed To Download >
        • Failed to Download (#2)
      • Enter Password to Unlock
      • Two Wifi Icons
      • System Program Problem
      • CD Burner Issue
      • Firefox Homepage Fix
      • VLC Closes Fix
      • Desktop Error
      • Trash Bin
      • MATE Weather Applet
      • OpenGL: renderer: llvmpipe
      • PolicyKit vulnerability
    • Install Ubuntu MATE >
      • Burn an ISO to DVD
      • Create a Bootable USB
      • Upgrade Ubuntu MATE
  • Ubuntu MATE
    • How to Scan
    • How to Take a Screenshot
    • How to View a PDF File
    • Multiple Workspaces
    • Software Updater
    • Archive Manager
    • How to Burn CD/DVDs
    • Setup & Use Email >
      • Email Filter
    • Firefox Web Browser
    • Shotwell Photo Manager
    • Image Viewer
    • Caja File Manager
    • Trash
    • Play Videos
  • Additional Software
    • Antivirus >
      • BitDefender Antivirus
      • ClamTK Antivirus >
        • Clamscan Antivirus
        • ClamTK Caja Add-on
      • Comodo AntiVirus
    • Archive Managers >
      • Archive Manager
      • Ark
      • B1 Free Archiver
      • P7Zip-Desktop
      • PeaZip
      • Xarchiver
    • Browsers >
      • Brave
      • Chrome
      • Chromium
      • Falkon
      • Firefox
      • GNOME Web
      • Iridium Browser
      • LibreWolf
      • Microsoft Edge
      • Midori
      • Min Browser
      • NAVER Whale
      • Opera
      • Otter
      • Pale Moon
      • SeaMonkey
      • Sidekick
      • Slimjet Browser
      • SRWare Iron
      • Ungoogled Chromium
      • Vivaldi
      • Waterfox
      • Yandex Browser
    • Office Applications >
      • Couturier
      • PDF-Shuffler
      • PDF Studio Viewer
      • Xournal
      • Foxit Reader
      • Okular
      • gLabels >
        • Multiple Name Badges
        • CD & DVD Labels
        • Business Cards
        • Mailing Address Labels
        • Return Address Labels
      • Spice-Up
      • Stickynotes
    • Educational Programs >
      • Galculator
      • GeoGebra Classic
      • GNOME Calculator
      • KCalc
      • NumWorks
      • Pebbles
      • Qalculate!
      • QT-Calculator
      • How To Install R >
        • Install R Commander
        • Install RStudio
      • SpeedCrunch
      • TI-83 Plus
      • TI-84 Plus CE
      • KWordQuiz
      • Granule
    • Graphics >
      • 4K Slideshow Maker
      • Imagination
      • Gnome Screenshot
      • Ksnip
      • Shutter >
        • Shutter 0.94.3
      • PhotoFlare
      • Pinta >
        • Tool Palette >
          • Tool Palette (Cont)
        • File Menu >
          • Screenshot Tool
        • View Menu
        • Edit Menu >
          • Palette
        • Image Menu >
          • Image Size
        • Layers Menu
        • Adjustments Menu
        • Effects Menu >
          • Red Eye Removal
          • Pixelate
        • Add-ins Menu
        • Window Menu
        • Help Menu
        • Restore Layout
        • Pinta 1.7
        • Pinta 2.0.1
      • Bing Wallpapers
      • Variety Wallpaper
      • Converseen
      • Curtail
      • Imagine
      • ​Annotator
      • Aliza MS
      • Brightness Controller
      • Photoprint
      • Peek
    • Image Viewers >
      • Deepin Image Viewer
      • Eye of Gnome
      • Fotoxx
      • Geeqie
      • GPicView
      • gThumb
      • Gwenview
      • Mirage
      • nomacs
      • PhotoQt
      • Phototonic
      • Pix
      • Qimgv
      • qView
      • Ristretto
      • Viewnior 1.6 >
        • Viewnior 1.7
      • XnView MP
      • Xviewer
    • Music Players >
      • Amarok
      • Audacious
      • Clementine
      • DeaDBeeF
      • foobar2000
      • Guayadeque
      • Lollypop
      • Museeks
      • Noise Music Player
      • Pragha
      • Quod Libet
      • Rhythmbox
      • Sayonara
      • Strawberry
      • Violin
    • Networking >
      • Dukto
      • LAN-Share
      • Nitroshare
      • Warpinator
    • Utility Software >
      • BleachBit
      • Stacer
      • Ubuntu Cleaner
      • CPU-G
      • CPU-X
      • Hardinfo
      • I-Nex
      • Caffeine
      • Conky >
        • Widgets & Themes
        • Title Bars
      • deb-get
      • GNOME Split
      • GParted
      • GtkOrphan
      • Ice SSB >
        • MS Office Online
        • Pixlr Editor
        • Photopea
      • KRename
      • KShutdown
      • Magnus
      • Radeon Profile
      • Ubuntu Mainline Kernel Installer
      • Y PPA Manager
    • Sound & Video >
      • Avidemux >
        • Merge Videos
        • Cut Videos
        • Crop Videos
      • Selene
      • Radio Tray >
        • Radio Tray Lite
      • Pithos
      • Spotify
      • Asunder
      • EasyTag
      • SimpleScreenRecorder
      • OBS Studio
      • FF Multi Converter
      • FFmpeg
      • SoundConverter
      • MediaInfo
      • Bomi
      • Gnome MPV
      • MPlayer
      • SMPlayer
      • VLC Media Player
      • HandBrake >
        • Convert A Video
    • Entertainment >
      • Hypnotix
      • IPTVnator
      • Airy TV
      • Crackle
      • Plex Live TV
      • Pluto TV
      • Popcornflix
      • Stirr TV
      • Tubi TV
      • Xumo TV
      • YouTube Movies
      • Plex Media Server
      • Emby Media Server
    • Themes & Colors >
      • Themes
      • Installing Themes
      • Customize Themes #1
      • Customize Themes #2
      • Change App Icons
  • Reviews
    • YouTube Reviews >
      • Ubuntu MATE 16.10
      • Ubuntu Mate 17.04
      • Ubuntu MATE 17.10
      • Ubuntu MATE 18.04
      • Ubuntu MATE 20.04
      • Ubuntu MATE 22.04
  • Info
    • How Safe are Your Paasswords >
      • Cyber Security Leaks
      • Hotmail Leak
      • YaHoo Leak
      • Windstream Hacked
    • Windows 7
    • Wireless USB Adapters
  • About
    • In Memory of ...