Getting to grips with Compiz-Fusion

Here's what I posted from my work PC to Ubuntu Forums in the Desktop Effects & Customization section:

"I'm a little confused, and was hoping someone could enlighten me.

According to http://www.opencompositing.org/, Beryl is now deprecated and replaced by Compiz-Fusion.

And Compiz-Fusion is installed by default with Gutsy Gibbon.

Have I got that right so far? If not, don't hesitate to set me right.

So, I'm a little disappointed. You see, I installed Beryl under Feisty and had not only a whole new set of Emerald themes (slick window borders and controls) but also a slew of effects with tabs and tabs of customisation. For example, I could set windows to go up in flames when I closed them and shrink like a genie into a lamp when I minimised them.

I don't seem to have that in Gutsy with Compiz-Fusion. There are no new themes beyond the few run-of-the-mill Metacity ones that Ubuntu installs by default. To make transparent window borders I had to search through this forum to find out how to manually tweak the gconf editor. And even after installing the compizconfig-settings-manager applet (via Synaptic) I've yet to find either certain effects such as the 'magic lamp' and 'flames' or a way of applying these effects to particular window events (closing, minimsing etc).

Maybe I'm missing something, and someone can quickly set me on the right track. Then again, perhaps I've done as much as I can and there are a few similarly disappointed users of Gutsy Gibbon out there. I'd be grateful for any comments or advice."

Within minutes I had a reply:

"In CCSM (compizconfig-settings-manager) go to "animations" then the "minimize animation" tab. Magic Lamp and Burn are both in there. I have the burning fire set as mine (un)minimize animation. Plus - Emerald is in the repositories, just not installed by default."

It was nice to get a reply so quickly and to sense that there was hope. But I was still scratching my head. I'd looked for an animation tab when I first installed CCSM, but couldn't find one. As soon as I got home, I opened the applet again and looked. Nuh - nothing but a list of effects, each with a checkbox - no tabs for customisation. By chance I happened to flick my mouse across the animation label and noticed that on hover, it became a tab. Eureka! The solution was right under my nose all the time! I had no idea I could click on each of the Desktop Effects settings inside CCSM. I thought they were just labels for the checkboxes and that my only option was to enable or disable. So I clicked on 'animation' (on hover it became a tab) and found all its customisation options! Bewdy. Now I've got the magic lamp!

There are some interesting notes on the Compiz configuration and settings manager at Forlong's blog. In a second article, he steps the reader through the process of selecting and setting some of the most popular desktop effects.