Install Themes XFCE

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scayers
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Install Themes XFCE

Post by scayers »

Hello.
I'm learning the XFCE Desktop.
It is fast, but nowhere near as user-friendly...read: intuitive...
as Cinnamon or Mate IMHO.
I tried XFCE on Debian 11, which was waaaaaay
too difficult for me, and I can't understand why.
It was a double-whammy and I figured I'd try XFCE
on Mint.
Perhaps I should've tried XFCE on Mint 19, because
I've read that there are major changes in 20.
Right now, all I'm trying to do is install themes
in my OS.
(No problem in Kubuntu, BTW.)
I read where XFCE is kinda "homely", but can be beautiful!!!
I keep trying to do everything the "IT's FOSS!"-type
sites say, and I follow instructions to the "t".
Result: No joy.
What is the deal with XFCE and themes, anyhow?
There is no ~/.local/share/themes folder or /local/share/themes folder.
I made the ".themes" and ".icons" folders in the home directory.
It doesn't make any difference.
Then, there seems to be Mint editions which have desktop integration
a lot deeper than just having "plain vanilla" Mint with interchangeable
Desktops.
I think I just can't find reliable instructions.
Any ideas?
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
Linux Mint 21.1 Cinnamon DE
Kester
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Re: Install Themes XFCE

Post by Kester »

Hi scayers,

XFCE is fairly user friendly but you may need time to get used to it - it's a pity a more standardised basic structure isn't used for the different desktop managers but that would need a lot of co-operation between the many different developers all over the world..

XFCE themes on my Linux Mint 20.2 XFCE system are found in /usr/share/themes - they were there by default so that's where yours might be. (I've noticed that, in some online guides, references to xfce locations are at variance to what I found in my installation and this can cause confusion. If you want to have a personal folder for themes (i.e. in your home directory) you can create ~/.local/share/.themes but if you are happy to have them generally available to all users on your system, install your downloaded themes in /usr/share/themes.

To explore the existing themes in your xfce setup, open Menu > Settings > Appearance. this will open a window with four tabs (Style, Icons, Fonts and Settings) which you may find worth exploring before you download and install additional themes. The existing themes are in the style tab, if you want to explore icon themes, open the icons tab.

Regarding Icons, on my system they are stored in usr/share/icons and sets I have installed I have placed in my home directory ~/.icons. If you haven't got that directory on your system, create it (the leading dot signifies the folder is hidden unless you set hidden files to show in the Thunar file manager View dropdown menu). When successfully installed your new icon themes will appear in the Icons tab in the Appearance window.

I see from the footer in your post that you are exploring mint thoroughly with a quadruple boot arrangement so you can compare different themes. An alternative strategy would be to explore your different versions in a virtual environment using a virtual operating system manager such as Oracle VirtualBox. This would make it easier to swap and change and weed out those that don't suit you.
michael-hi
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Re: Install Themes XFCE

Post by michael-hi »

Hi scayers

Just to add that new themes can go in a hidden folder named .themes in your home folder or .local/share/themes in your home folder. The former option seems slightly simpler. As Kester says, you need to make sure that 'Show Hidden Files' is selected in your file manager. From reading your post, I wonder if you are using some automatic way of installing themes and perhaps this doesn't work. It's probably best to do it manually.

In other words, just download the theme and if it's a zipped-up file right-click and 'extract' the individual folder(s) which have the theme name. Copy these to your ~/.themes folder and then at least you know they are in the right place.

If it's a gtk theme we're talking about, it should then be available for selection in the Appearance settings as per Kester's post. However, some themes are actually xfwm (window border) themes and they will be visible in the Window Manager settings, so that's another place to look.

A couple of other possibilities if they still don't show up. Some gtk themes may be old gtk2 themes which haven't been updated for gtk3, in which case they may not work properly and indeed might not show up at all. Also, by home folder I mean of course /home/scayers (or whatever your user name is) not just the /home folder in the file-system.

Hope this is of some help :)
scayers
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Re: Install Themes XFCE

Post by scayers »

Hi Kester
Thanks for the info!
Yesterday, I tried out Manjaro...again...and even the forums are wonky and hard to figure.
Your post has given me hope for my XFCE install.
I kinda wish that Mint was available with an "out-of-the-box" KDE Plasma Desktop.
(I spent a lot of time removing Plasma from my Cinnamon install, earlier this year.)
I like "pretty"...but XFCE speed is most desrable.
I learned everything I know about Linux on Mint 17.2 Cinnamon, so I'm spoiled.
That's why Ubuntu is alien to me...but...Kubuntu sure is pretty.
Anyway, XFCE, here I come.
Oh, by the way, which of my Mints do you think would be better for virtual box?
I'm thinking Mate, because of my current lack of clarity over XFCE and
resources issues on Cinnamon.
Thanks, again!
Linux Mint 21.1 Cinnamon DE
scayers
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Re: Install Themes XFCE

Post by scayers »

Hi michael-hi.
Thanks for the themes info.
My install didn't have .themes or .icons in my home directory,
so I had to add them.
I figured version 19 vs 20 was the reason,
and I just happened to find instructions for 19.
Who knows?
You have certainly clarified the issues for me, though.
Now, I just need to get busy on them.
Thanks, again!
Linux Mint 21.1 Cinnamon DE
Kester
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Re: Install Themes XFCE

Post by Kester »

Hi scayers,
Oh, by the way, which of my Mints do you think would be better for virtual box?
I'm thinking Mate, because of my current lack of clarity over XFCE and
resources issues on Cinnamon.

If you are happy with Mate, use that (it's not as light as XFCE but lighter than Cinnamon, however if you ran VirtualBox in XFCE, you wouldn't notice your XFCE problems when in one of the virtual systems. Installing VirtualBox is reasonably straightforward but it's a good idea to visit a few websites first to read up on the hows and wherefores - also search this forum because there is a great deal of useful information already on the forum. Ensure that you also install the extension pack and guest editions to get fuller potential from your virtual systems.

One other point, If you have a decent size external usb storage facility, create image backups of your partitions before major changes so you can recover things if things go wrong. I use Macrium Reflect from my Windows 7 part of my dual boot arrangement to make the backups and restore Linux Mint or Windows 7 partitions from the emergency recover usb memory stick.

Good luck and enjoy the adventure.
scayers
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Re: Install Themes XFCE

Post by scayers »

Hi, Kester!
Sorry, I took so long to reply.
This past week, I've spent every waking hour on the machine.
Back and neck stiff as a board.
Had to take a day off.
Actually, I've gained a new respect for Xfce.
When I used the Windows OS, I was forever moving files through
use of unmaximized "open in new window" File Manager.
So, I can live without the split function that Thunar lacks.
(besides, I have Double-Commander, now)
I just hope I can run VirtualBox, Wine, and Python3-pip on the same system.
On the storage question:
I got a couple of old, used HDDs and a connector-adapter.
One is 500 Gigs and one is 250 Gigs...both Toshiba laptop HDDs.
I bought a Samsung 500 Gig laptop in 2012.
It is still working, but it has started overheating, so I don't use it now.
(hey...2012, I mean, y'know.)
So, I've got another storage device on its way.
Multiple 16 and 32 Gig thumbs and two 1TB External HHDs, so I have a pretty
good "storage arsenal"...as long as the electricity stays on.
Linux Mint 21.1 Cinnamon DE
Kester
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Re: Install Themes XFCE

Post by Kester »

Hi scayers,

Hope your stiff neck is better. You seem well prepared with your old and reclaimed drives. The 16gb and 32gb thumb drives are a useful addition too for your backup regime.

You are probably aware but, in case you are not, system image backups are not the same as basic file backups, the latter which can be undertaken by the drag and drop method although probably better carried out using backup software with sync capability so that files already backed up and not changed are left and backed up files that have since been edited are modified accordingly. You will find various recommendations for file synchronisation/backup software in this forum: I use Grsync which is simple and straightforward. It is a graphical user interface program for the included rsync facility and makes the job much easier for the likes of me as the interface is clear, simple to navigate and means you don't need to use the command line or terminal. Grsync should be in the repository so you can install it via synaptic.

Creating a system image backup is a different kettle of fish. Again you will find various recommendations on this forum. Probably the most popular choice is Foxclone Live created by and maintained by regular forum contributor AndyMH. I've successfully tried earlier versions but Andy has gone on to develop and improve the program since then. I use a Macrium Reflect live thumbdrive because I already had Macrium Reflect installed on the Windows 7 part of my dual boot system. I can backup my Linux and Windows from the program running in Windows (even though Windows cannot read or even see the Linux partition, Macrium Reflect can). The program also let me create the live thumb drive from which I can boot a computer for recovery or for system backup whether it is a Windows or Linux system. Be aware that there is a difference between system backup image files and cloning - System backup software can often create clones of drives too but clones serve a different purpose. A clone copies everything including unused space - its key purpose is to reproduce the contents of one drive on to another of equal or greater size (it cannot go on a smaller drive). For example, if your drive failed, the clone could be used in its place. The system image backup does not include the unused space so, if it does not occupy all the available space on the drive then it can be placed on a smaller drive that exceeds the size of the image file.

We seem to have moved on from your original question regarding XFCE themes but that's computing - one thing leads to another and hey presto.

Cheers.

P.S. you should have no trouble running VirtualBox and those other programs on your system.
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Rosko
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Re: Install Themes XFCE

Post by Rosko »

scayers wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 9:48 am ...
When I used the Windows OS, I was forever moving files through
use of unmaximized "open in new window" File Manager.
So, I can live without the split function that Thunar lacks.
(besides, I have Double-Commander, now)
...
Thunar does have 'Tabs' <Ctrl+T> you can drag and drop (either copy or paste) across tabs.
Kester
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Re: Install Themes XFCE

Post by Kester »

Thunar does have 'Tabs' <Ctrl+T> you can drag and drop (either copy or paste) across tabs.
I didn't realise that, thanks RosKo. An alternative ploy is to open two instances of Thunar, clumsy perhaps but in can be advantageous to have two separate windows on the desktop.
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