A few questions about GTk theming

rfquerin · 2009-05-01 18:01:31

I'm interested in creating a theme (or more accurately, customizing an existing one). I see that for the /usr/share/themes/crunchbang theme folder there are openbox, metacity and gtk-2.0 folders which contain the rc files etc.

While the themerc for the openbox theme is fairly straightforward, the gtk-2.0 gtkrc file looks a little more challenging. I have two questions:

1. Can anybody point to a source of decent information on modifying a gtk2 theme? Or is it a case of just jumping in, trying something and figuring it out?

2. I've never understood the concept of theming on Linux when it comes to murrine vs clearlooks vs whatever theming engines. I don't know how to use one over another (it seems like whatever is installed gets used?). Is there some article or series of articles which explains how the whole GTK theming system works?

I've seen a fair amount of great customized themes here so I figure someone could share the love. smile

arpinux · 2009-05-01 18:40:14

hi rfquerin smile
i made some mods of gtk theme and tried to find some doc too but nothing really exhaustiv. so i just change colors or distance and gradient but nothing really 'big'.
i'm very interresting if someone could point a good doc about gtk2 theming/engines smile

Hanna · 2009-05-02 10:16:10

While I'm hardly any kind of pro, rather "hhmm let's see what happens if I change this".

Some links that might help though.
http://live.gnome.org/GnomeArt/Tutorials/GtkThemes
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Gtk/Themes
http://live.gnome.org/GnomeArt/Tutorials/GtkEngines

corenominal · 2009-05-02 18:37:28

rfquerin wrote:

1. Can anybody point to a source of decent information on modifying a gtk2 theme? Or is it a case of just jumping in, trying something and figuring it out?

I normally opt for the jumping in method, it is more fun! big_smile

rfquerin · 2009-05-02 22:35:59

Thanks for the links Hanna. The one with the theming engine discussion has already started clearing things up for me.

corenominal wrote:

rfquerin wrote:
1. Can anybody point to a source of decent information on modifying a gtk2 theme? Or is it a case of just jumping in, trying something and figuring it out?
I normally opt for the jumping in method, it is more fun!

Yup. I have nothing against doing that either. Is TheWidgetFactory the best way to just do trial and error stuff? How did you do it when you were creating the default #! themes?

fhsm · 2009-05-02 22:48:16

@Hanna: Thanks for those suggestions. After looking at those I think I'll give theming another try.

@Corenominal: I've been using that method and seem to find that each time that I like #! less not more. Great job on the default theme!

corenominal · 2009-05-02 22:53:54

rfquerin wrote:

Yup. I have nothing against doing that either. Is TheWidgetFactory the best way to just do trial and error stuff? How did you do it when you were creating the default #! themes?

TheWidgetFactory is good to use as a guide, but I normally just use the theme as I make modifications to it -- I think it helps to get a feel for how the theme works. Also, various applications can be a little quirky, so I guess there is no substitution for actually using the theme, even more so when working with dark themes.

Anyhow, good luck with creating your new themes, I am excited to see what you can come up with. smile

kBang · 2009-05-03 00:12:24

corenominal wrote:

I normally just use the theme as I make modifications to it

This is what I do as well. While I edit the theme, I leave leafpad open with the gtkrc and switch back and forth using lxappearance, and edit and look and edit and look. Shotgun method of themeing.

Hanna · 2009-05-03 07:14:32

^Exactly what I do too smile

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#1 2009-05-01 18:01:31

A few questions about GTk theming

#2 2009-05-01 18:40:14

Re: A few questions about GTk theming

#3 2009-05-02 10:16:10

Re: A few questions about GTk theming

#4 2009-05-02 18:37:28

Re: A few questions about GTk theming

#5 2009-05-02 22:35:59

Re: A few questions about GTk theming

#6 2009-05-02 22:48:16

Re: A few questions about GTk theming

#7 2009-05-02 22:53:54

Re: A few questions about GTk theming

#8 2009-05-03 00:12:24

Re: A few questions about GTk theming

#9 2009-05-03 07:14:32

Re: A few questions about GTk theming

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