<SOLVED> Theme selection problem (Cinnamon 17.2)

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B33 ENN

<SOLVED> Theme selection problem (Cinnamon 17.2)

Post by B33 ENN »

Not a very experienced Linux user, and installed the latest 17.2 Cinnamon edition to evaluate.

I have been trying to apply themes like Numix, both manually (extract to "\home\<user>\.themes" or "\usr\share\themes\") and via the Themes online download method.

With the manual method, the themes don't show up in the Desktop selector, only in the Window Border and Controls selector. With the GUI method, they only show up in the Desktop selector, but not the others.

Applying from the Window Border and Controls selector results in partial transformation, and doesn't include the panel and menu. Applying from the Desktop selector results in only the panel and menu changing, but al windows retaining the default theme.

I've had this problem using proprietary video driver (ATI/AMD) and also software renderer mode. I've also reproduced the problem on a default Mint 17.2 Cinnamon install in a virtual machine using VirtualBox.

I've been in contact with the theme maker (Numixproject) but the problem also persists with other themes downloaded and installed using the Theme applet.

This leads me to he obvious conclusion the problem is with the OS, but Googling hasn't revealed many people saying this. Only the odd comment on theme pages echoes my issue, but no indication it's affecting everyone.

As a mostly Windows experienced user, I don't know enough about Linux to know how to resolve this, apart from the few things tried. Is anyone else experiencing problems with the Theme selection applet applying the theme?
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
carlo3

Re: Theme selection problem (Cinnamon 17.2)

Post by carlo3 »

after installing numix theme from themes selector
give from terminal these 3 commands:

Code: Select all

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:numix/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install numix-gtk-theme
Cosmo.
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Re: Theme selection problem (Cinnamon 17.2)

Post by Cosmo. »

Each type of theme has its own meaning and function, that is interchangeable. The only common is, that they get stored in the same place.

Only the desktop themes can be downloaded and installed via the settings GUI, all other themes have to get stored in the right way manually. For each theme there must be in ~/.themes an own subfolder. That means, if you extract the downloaded archive-file, the folder, that gets created with this method has to get stored inside ~/.themes, not the content of this folder. (~ stands for your personal home directory.)

So, a desktop theme does not change the windows, it changes the appearance of the panels, of the menu, of the alt-tab-window and something else. Note, that most changes do apply at once, in some cases a restart of Cinnamon is needed. This can be done by pressing ctrl-alt-esc (only in LM 17.2).

Hope this clears something.
B33 ENN

Re: Theme selection problem (Cinnamon 17.2)

Post by B33 ENN »

Thanks for the quick replies.
Cosmo. wrote:...That means, if you extract the downloaded archive-file, the folder, that gets created with this method has to get stored inside ~/.themes, not the content of this folder. (~ stands for your personal home directory.)
I made sure each theme has its own sub-folder, so that's fine, e.g:

"/home/.themes/Numix Dark/..."
Cosmo. wrote:So, a desktop theme does not change the windows, it changes the appearance of the panels, of the menu, of the alt-tab-window and something else. Note, that most changes do apply at once, in some cases a restart of Cinnamon is needed. This can be done by pressing ctrl-alt-esc (only in LM 17.2). Hope this clears something.
I see. I think I was confused about that. I thought the Desktop option, with its downloads, was a universal changer, not just for the panel bar/menu elements. This makes more sense now.

And yes, I was resarting Cinnamon from the panel bar <right-click> Troubleshoot menu (didn't know the shortcut) or rebooting the computer each time.
carlo3 wrote:after installing numix theme from themes selector
give from terminal these 3 commands:

Code: Select all

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:numix/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install numix-gtk-theme
I see. I just tried this in the virtual machine, and it added the extra Numix and Numix Daily entries to the Window Border and Control selectors. Then I was able to select the other elements to be changed.

So, I suppose I would need to do something similar for other themes available for download through the Mint Theme applet, because they'd only change the panel bar and menu, not the windows and controls.

Now, I had two alternative themes (Numix Light/Numix Dark) and dropping their folders into the .themes, didn't add anything to the Desktop selector, only to the Window Border and Control selectors. Logically, from what you guys have explained, it must mean those themes don't contain any panel bar and menu elements?

I'll mention this to the Numix Project guys and ask them, as well as try experimenting with other complete themes to test that. However, in the meantime, thanks for the help because I've got things looking closer to a complete theme!
Cosmo.
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Re: Theme selection problem (Cinnamon 17.2)

Post by Cosmo. »

i don't know these particular themes. But you can find out what the theme contains, if you open the theme-folder and take a look, which sub-folders are there.
For desktop-themes there is a sub-folder named cinnamon, for window-border a subfolder named metacity-1, for controls a subfolder named gtk-3.0 (maybe gtk-2.0, but those are very likely to give compatibility issues).
JosephM
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Re: Theme selection problem (Cinnamon 17.2)

Post by JosephM »

Just a small clarification. For a Controls theme to work properly in Cinnamon, and really most any newer Desktop, it MUST contain both a gtk-3.0 and a gtk-2.0 folder. Apps written in gtk3 such as System Settings, Nemo, Videos, and Image Viewer use the gtk3 theme. Apps written in gtk2 like Mint update, Gimp, Hexchat, and qt apps like VLC use the gtk2 theme.
When I give opinions, they are my own. Not necessarily those of any other Linux Mint developer or the Linux Mint project as a whole.
B33 ENN

Re: Theme selection problem (Cinnamon 17.2)

Post by B33 ENN »

Cosmo. wrote:...For desktop-themes there is a sub-folder named cinnamon, for window-border a subfolder named metacity-1, for controls a subfolder named gtk-3.0 (maybe gtk-2.0, but those are very likely to give compatibility issues).
JosephM wrote:For a Controls theme to work properly in Cinnamon, and really most any newer Desktop, it MUST contain both a gtk-3.0 and a gtk-2.0 folder...
I see, thanks! That helps clear up some of the results I've been seeing with my experimentation.

...Update...

Okay, I checked the folders for the themes:
  • The Numix Light/Dark/Daily themes that were downloaded independently don't contain a "/Cinnamon" sub-folder, and don't show up in the Themes>Desktop selector, only the Window Border or Controls applets.

    The Numix-Cinnamon theme downloaded through the Mint Themes applet does contain a "/Cinnamon" sub-folder, but has no other folders or files, and does not appear in the Window Border or Controls applet, just the Desktop applets.
Again, that confirms what you guys have said about the function of these various sub-folders, and makes more sense now what's going on now.

Thanks again for the helpful replies!
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