Take the 2-minute tour ×

I am running X on my local machine and then using ssh -Y username@remotemachine to connect to a remote Debian server. Once logged in to this remote Debian server I type iceweasel at the command line prompt. When this app starts I get the rubber-band outline that wants me to place the window before it starts.

I want to be able to start iceweasel and have it open up on my local display without waiting for me to manually place it anywhere. How can I do this?

share|improve this question

2 Answers 2

twm autoplacement can be set in your ~/.twmrc file with "RandomPlacement".


$ cat ~/.twmrc


twm is rough though, there are a lot of things you cannot configure. "man twm" has a lot of good information.

share|improve this answer

A work colleague informed me that auto-placement is a function of the windows manager; the window manager I was using (twm) does not auto-place. So, I simply changed to a different windows manager that does auto-place, solving the problem.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer


