Make your Mint Beautiful.

Write tutorials for Linux Mint here
More tutorials on https://github.com/orgs/linuxmint/discu ... /tutorials and (archive) on https://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial
Forum rules
Don't add support questions to tutorials; start your own topic in the appropriate sub-forum instead. Before you post read forum rules
Post Reply
yajan

Make your Mint Beautiful.

Post by yajan »

We must admit we've tried some distributions just because they look a lot beautiful.

Some must have tried "Elementary OS". It sure looks good but it's Bare-bones, the OS hangs a lot and it's extremely likely you'll run into a problem now and then. :?

Some must have tried "Deepin OS" or "Manjaro Deepin". I've tried them, Deepin OS is beautiful and has good reviews however, I uninstalled it because it just wouldn't let me change my Screen Resolution to 1366*768(Well, I'm not a tech expert) :lol: and Manjaro needs user to learn completely new ways to run a PC. :x

So,here I am a Linux Mint user.

What if there was a way to make my desktop look a lot better??

Well, There are a lot.. :wink:

DISCLAIMER: I don't own or have participated, in making or distribution, of any of the assets or tools or scripts that I describe below. I'm not responsible for any damage to your device or your software, before during or after, the use of instructions given below. So, proceed with caution.

Well there's obviously nothing dangerous down here but I had to write a disclaimer so that if a drunk guy uses my instructions and burn his device with gasoline, he won't be able to put that to me. :P :lol:

1. Install Variety Wallpaper Changer .

Just One Word,
Beautiful
You can install variety using following codes one after another in your terminal. (Press Ctrl+Alt+T to open up your terminal)

Code: Select all

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:peterlevi/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install variety
Note: sudo requires user to input user password, so please type it to proceed. (Can't see your password while typing? Don't panic that's normal behavior in Linux :) )

Now, Fiddle with the Settings in Variety to achieve your best preference.

2. Install Adapta & Adapta-Nokto Theme.

I love it.

You can install Adapta Theme using following codes one after another in your terminal. (Press Ctrl+Alt+T to open up your terminal)

Code: Select all

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:tista/adapta -y  
sudo apt update  
sudo apt install adapta-gtk-theme
Note: sudo requires user to input user password, so please type it to proceed.

Now, Goto System Settings>Themes>Desktop>Select Adapta or Adapta-Nokto (I prefer the Nokto Version. :P )

3. Install Flat Remix Icons.

1.Goto https://github.com/daniruiz/Flat-Remix
2.Click on Clone or Download (The Green Button) to download "Flat-Remix-master.zip"
3.Right click downloaded file and click on Extract Here
4.A new folder will be created named "Flat-Remix-master", Open that Folder.
5.Inside you'll see a folder named "Flat Remix", Copy it.
6.Open Home directory in your computer and you'll see .icons folder. (If you can't see .icons folder, you should press "Ctrl+H" buttons)
7.Paste "Flat Remix" folder inside that .icons folder

These are additional steps to ensure installation of icons. (It only worked for me after I did as below):
You need to install Flat Remix Icons using following codes one after another in your terminal. (Press Ctrl+Alt+T to open up your terminal)

Code: Select all

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:noobslab/icons
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install flat-remix-icons
Note: sudo requires user to input user password, so please type it to proceed.

Now, Goto System Settings>Themes>Icons>Select Flat Remix

4.Install Breeze Cursors.

You can easily install Breeze Cursors via "Software Manager"
1.Click on Menu Button (You may call it "Start Button" :P , a button most left bottom in your Desktop)
2.Type "Software Manager" (without quotes) and press Enter Key.
3.You'll be prompted to type your password, type your password and press Enter Key.
4.Type "Breeze-cursor-theme" (without quotes) and press Enter Key.
5.Double Click on the Result named "Breeze-cursor-theme", it will open and now you'll see "Install" Button. Click it.
6.Wait till Installation completes and after you see "0 ongoing actions" on bottom of "Software Manager", Close it.

Now, Goto System Settings>Themes>Mouse Pointer>Select breeze_cursors

5. Change your Window Border.

It's only a matter of personal preference. You may choose not to do it however, I think what i prescribe below will be better suited to all these settings you just made. :)

Goto System Settings>Themes>Window borders>Select Mint-Y

Now your desktop should look like this.
Image
Image

Other Two items in my desktop that you don't have are: (Well, There's nothing stopping you from trying them :mrgreen: )
1. Plank Software. Those Big Icons on Right of my desktop. (Please refer https://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/1307)
2. Nepali Calendar. I'm from Nepal and we have completely different Date system :P (Please refer https://github.com/tnagorra/nepalical)

Thank you everybody, If you have any problem feel free to ask me about it. :wink:

And If you have any other awesome customizations, Please tell me about it. :P
Enjoy your Beautiful Desktop Environment.
User avatar
folium
Level 1
Level 1
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2017 3:55 am
Location: Finland

Re: Make your Mint Beautiful.

Post by folium »

Hey!

I tried following these steps and I'm nowhere near what it's supposed to look like. Is meant to work on Linux Mint 18.2 Xfce?

After placing the flat remix folder into .icons and running the commands I got:
E: Unable to locate package flat-remix-icons

Also when I switched to the Adapta theme it looked weird with Firefox. Tabs changed to the dark color but the selected one had some artifacts on the sides.

This has nothing to do with you, but I'm getting higly frustrated at trying to theme Linux Mint. I haven't been able to get anything to work properly since I installed Mint. I've followed several tutorials and nothing works as it's supposed to.

Sorry for venting on here. I'm still thankful that you made the tutorial. I'm just angry at my own system.
Linux Mint 20 Ulyana | HP EliteBook Folio 9470m | i7-3687U | 8GB RAM
User avatar
Pjotr
Level 23
Level 23
Posts: 19879
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2011 10:18 am
Location: The Netherlands (Holland) 🇳🇱
Contact:

Re: Make your Mint Beautiful.

Post by Pjotr »

folium wrote:This has nothing to do with you, but I'm getting higly frustrated at trying to theme Linux Mint. I haven't been able to get anything to work properly since I installed Mint. I've followed several tutorials and nothing works as it's supposed to.
Might be the fault of the tutorials. Be wary of PPA's (handle them with extreme care):
https://sites.google.com/site/easylinux ... almistakes
(item 1, left column)
Tip: 10 things to do after installing Linux Mint 21.3 Virginia
Keep your Linux Mint healthy: Avoid these 10 fatal mistakes
Twitter: twitter.com/easylinuxtips
All in all, horse sense simply makes sense.
User avatar
folium
Level 1
Level 1
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2017 3:55 am
Location: Finland

Re: Make your Mint Beautiful.

Post by folium »

Thanks for the heads up!

I guess I have been quite careless with PPAs. I'll try to be more careful from now on :)
Linux Mint 20 Ulyana | HP EliteBook Folio 9470m | i7-3687U | 8GB RAM
revian

Re: Make your Mint Beautiful.

Post by revian »

Pjotr wrote:
folium wrote:This has nothing to do with you, but I'm getting higly frustrated at trying to theme Linux Mint. I haven't been able to get anything to work properly since I installed Mint. I've followed several tutorials and nothing works as it's supposed to.
Might be the fault of the tutorials. Be wary of PPA's (handle them with extreme care):
https://sites.google.com/site/easylinux ... almistakes
(item 1, left column)
Yeah, there is no way I'd ever use a PPA.. just asking for trouble.
User avatar
Pjotr
Level 23
Level 23
Posts: 19879
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2011 10:18 am
Location: The Netherlands (Holland) 🇳🇱
Contact:

Re: Make your Mint Beautiful.

Post by Pjotr »

revian wrote:Yeah, there is no way I'd ever use a PPA.. just asking for trouble.
There are exceptions, now and then they can be a lifesaver....
Tip: 10 things to do after installing Linux Mint 21.3 Virginia
Keep your Linux Mint healthy: Avoid these 10 fatal mistakes
Twitter: twitter.com/easylinuxtips
All in all, horse sense simply makes sense.
User avatar
folium
Level 1
Level 1
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2017 3:55 am
Location: Finland

Re: Make your Mint Beautiful.

Post by folium »

Could you guys point me to the direction of a good tutorial?
Linux Mint 20 Ulyana | HP EliteBook Folio 9470m | i7-3687U | 8GB RAM
User avatar
Pjotr
Level 23
Level 23
Posts: 19879
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2011 10:18 am
Location: The Netherlands (Holland) 🇳🇱
Contact:

Re: Make your Mint Beautiful.

Post by Pjotr »

folium wrote:Could you guys point me to the direction of a good tutorial?
This one: stick to the themes that are installed and available by default.... :)
Tip: 10 things to do after installing Linux Mint 21.3 Virginia
Keep your Linux Mint healthy: Avoid these 10 fatal mistakes
Twitter: twitter.com/easylinuxtips
All in all, horse sense simply makes sense.
Askey307

Re: Make your Mint Beautiful.

Post by Askey307 »

Definitely going to give this a try. Hope it works with Cinnamon 18.3.
User avatar
smurphos
Level 18
Level 18
Posts: 8501
Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2014 12:18 am
Location: Irish Brit in Portugal
Contact:

Re: Make your Mint Beautiful.

Post by smurphos »

Be aware that the Adapta PPA for xenial will be decomissioned in a few weeks. I hope to make an alternative source of the theme available before then.

https://github.com/adapta-project/adapt ... issues/666
For custom Nemo actions, useful scripts for the Cinnamon desktop, and Cinnamox themes visit my Github pages.
User avatar
Pierre
Level 21
Level 21
Posts: 13192
Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2008 5:33 am
Location: Perth, AU.

Re: Make your Mint Beautiful.

Post by Pierre »

Pjotr wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 5:03 pm
revian wrote:Yeah, there is no way I'd ever use a PPA.. just asking for trouble.
There are exceptions, now and then they can be a lifesaver....
some of the better know PPAs can be used with few issues,
but, installing some random PPA just to test out some "useful software"
- can often be fraught with unknown results.
Image
Please edit your original post title to include [SOLVED] - when your problem is solved!
and DO LOOK at those Unanswered Topics - - you may be able to answer some!.
User avatar
CaptainKirksChair
Level 4
Level 4
Posts: 457
Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2017 9:29 pm

Re: Make your Mint Beautiful.

Post by CaptainKirksChair »

I have found the trick to a beautiful desktop is either take your own photos, or find the ones you like on the web. What is necessary are photos that match your current monitor's aspect ratio. Most Macs will have a 16x10 ratio (actually 8x5) and most "HD" monitors have an aspect ratio of 16x9. Non Mac laptops tend to be different; most are 1366x768 which is almost a 16x9 aspect ratio. (1365x768 is slightly more correct for a 16x9 ratio.) Aspect ratio is important otherwise you are forever stretching or spanning or scaling or zooming the photos. To determine your aspect ratio you can find one on the web. Here's the one I use but you can use any of them. Or you can use LibreOffice Calc and write your own. I've done that too. Is it important to know the aspect ratio of your monitor before you begin doing this.

When you download a photo you really like, determine it's aspect ratio. Here's a good photo of Beau Vallon beach on the island of Mahe' in the Seychelles. The resolution is 4175 × 2772 which is also it's aspect ratio. Those two numbers don't compute to any different ratio. So what do you do? You download the photo and use GIMP to set it to the aspect ratio of your monitor. I'll use my iMac 16x10 as an example. First, you need to determine what is the exact height for your monitor's aspect ratio for the width of the photo, in this case 4175 pixels. For a width of 4175 pixels, the correct height to match a 16x10 aspect ratio is 2609.375. The advantage is you can play with that figure. After some checking, I discovered that a height and width of 4160x2600 pixels is exactly 8x5 (16x10). Perfect!

After you download the photo, open it in GIMP. In the Toolbox, choose the Rectangle Select tool. Click and drag on the image to start a small selection. At the bottom of the toolbox, change the first position box to 0, press tab and change the second box to 0 as well. Press tab twice. This will start you in the upper left corner. In the first size box change the number to 4160 and press tab. In the second size box change the number to 2600. Press tab again. You now have a perfect selection of the aspect ratio of your monitor for the photo. If you like, you can click and drag that selection around the photo to get the exact image you want. Or you can accept what you see. If you do move the selection with the mouse, make sure none of the numbers in the position boxes begin with a minus sign. You should never go lower than zero. Once you have what you want you click on the Image menu and choose Crop to Selection. Then click on the File menu and choose Export As. Save the file to your chosen image type; most people use JPG for desktop backgrounds. Because I am making a 16x10 ratio of the photo, I will add a dash and 16x10 at the end of the file name. That way, I still have the original (in case I need to make a 16x9 version) and I have the 16x10 I want to use for Mint. After you export the image, close it and discard the changes.

Make a folder for your custom backgrounds and store the altered files there. Then right click the Mint desktop and choose Change Desktop Background from the menu. Click the plus sign and add the new custom backgrounds folder. Set your preferences. You won't need to scale or span or any of that because the photos match your aspect ratio exactly. When you click Settings, you can even have the backgrounds play as a slideshow (Mint 18.x).

This is MUCH better than using the default size of a photo that doesn't match your aspect ratio. You get what you want and it works perfectly with your computer.
Post Reply

Return to “Tutorials”