diff --git a/shell/main.c b/shell/main.c
index 4d6a14b0..e1114f94 100644
--- a/shell/main.c
+++ b/shell/main.c
@@ -234,6 +234,8 @@ main (int argc, char *argv[])
 	textdomain (GETTEXT_PACKAGE);
 #endif
 
+	gdk_set_allowed_backends ("x11");
+
 	context = g_option_context_new (N_("MATE Document Viewer"));
 	g_option_context_set_translation_domain(context, GETTEXT_PACKAGE);
 	g_option_context_add_main_entries (context, goption_options, GETTEXT_PACKAGE);