LM18 / Cinnamon MDM - Changing Login Screen Background

[Broken Canoe]

This is an odd one, - I'm wondering if it's an error or just oversight ;

In System Settings -> Administration -> Login Window, mdmsetup provides an option to change the login screen background for the theme you're using. This however, doesn't have any effect. Digging deeper, it seems to be hardcoded in mdm themes so any changes you make using the gui provided are pointless as they have no effect.

Am I missing something here or is there no way to change a login screen background (easily) in Cinnamon on LM18 Sarah?

[kyphi]

Changing the theme in the Login Window works fine on my system - GTK, HTML, GDM all display as expected.

[Broken Canoe]

I just need to be clear that you're understanding the issue.

So to confirm, you can go into mdmsetup, browse for a new background image on any theme, apply it, and it shows? Without editing any configuration files? If that's the case, I'm genuinely surprised because I can't find anyone who can do this.

[kyphi]

System Settings -> Administration -> Login Window -> (Password). Select Theme (preview with a click on the gear icon. Close the screen and reboot.

[racer-x]

System Settings -> Administration -> Login Window -> (Password). Select Theme (preview with a click on the gear icon. Close the screen and reboot.

You misunderstood what Broken Canoe said. He wants to add his own custom background in a current theme. No it doesn't work unless you edit the theme yourself. I've made a few custom themes and it's pretty easy to do.

[kyphi]

He wants to add his own custom background in a current theme.

I cannot see that wish stated. However, if the issue is adding your own theme, then place it in /usr/share/mdm/themes and activate the "+" button in the Select Theme and add it to the selection window.

There are over 40 themes available - surely those are sufficient.

[racer-x]

Here is an example of a custom theme I made by modifying SamRiggs excellent "Synergy Theme" with my own background manually.

[kyphi]

That looks very nice, racer-x. Well done.

[samriggs]

Here is an example of a custom theme I made by modifying SamRiggs excellent "Synergy Theme" with my own background manually.

Hey racer nice image, I love steampunk and motorcycles, nice mix.
I just wanted to clear up I did not make the synergy theme he just used one of mine and forgot to change my name on it.

I cannot see that wish stated. However, if the issue is adding your own theme, then place it in /usr/share/mdm/themes and activate the "+" button in the Select Theme and add it to the selection window.

no need to place it in that folder just grab the theme folder right click compress it with tar.gz then open the login screen in settings drag the tar file into the window it will install it for you then click the radial button beside it to activate it.

I just need to be clear that you're understanding the issue.

So to confirm, you can go into mdmsetup, browse for a new background image on any theme, apply it, and it shows? Without editing any configuration files? If that's the case, I

If your talking about the default theme changing images, that reads the images in

Code: Select all

file:///usr/share/backgrounds/linuxmint-sarah/

folder which is the background images for linux mint, it's a slide show that rolls through all of them, you just can't drop an image into that folder you also have to add it to the theme code to show up, it is easy to do as racer suggested, take his sample since it's an image, and just change the image with the same name, tar.gz the folder and drop it into the login widow under settings to install it.
Remember to change the theme name and folder to your own (change it in the theme.info file also in the folder and add your own small screenshot so you know it's yours by them image (screenshot.jpg) in the folder.
You can test it out by opening the terminal and put this in it and hit enter

Code: Select all

mdm-theme-emulator

that will bring up the testing emulator browse for your theme folder and it will load it to test it to make sure it works right.
Orrrr to make it easy for you
just use the Synergy theme racer was talking about, in the usr/share/mdm/html-themes/ folder
Just change my name in the theme info file
I don't want to take credit for everyone's themes when I did not make them, they just used my code which I also used from clem's code and changed it.
Open source is a good thing

just copy the folder and paste it somewhere else and make the changes then tar.gz it and drop it into the login window after your changes and your good to go if all your doing is changing the folder name and theme.info file and background image and screenshot image

Hope that explains it for you.

Sam

[Broken Canoe]

System Settings -> Administration -> Login Window -> (Password). Select Theme (preview with a click on the gear icon. Close the screen and reboot.

You misunderstood what Broken Canoe said. He wants to add his own custom background in a current theme. No it doesn't work unless you edit the theme yourself. I've made a few custom themes and it's pretty easy to do.

Thanks, that's what I needed to confirm, that it doesn't work unless you manually edit the theme yourself. The change picture button is effectively useless as it's hard-coded by a configuration file.

[stromshadow]

But you Guys Should mention that we have to make the Image resolution same as the copied theme's images..
Let you are going to customize the "Synergy" so if you want to change the pics, you have to maintain the resolution as the default pics.
like the (bg.jpg) is default pic and it has 1920*1200 resolution so u have to make your preferred pic in 1920*1200 resolution

[jjmk]

I have the same issue with Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon. Go to login window settings pick a different image from offered options = no change, still the original image.

[Cosmo.]

This thread is more than one year old. As you (hopefully) have read in the forum rules, you have to create an own thread. Besides that: In case, that your system is a fresh install of Mint 18.3 you do not even have mdm on your system, so totally unrelated. If this is an upgraded system you need to tell - in a new thread(!) - which version had been originally installed.

[FrankM]

Well, after trying almost everything, changing the file permissions of the image-file involved finally solved it!

viewtopic.php?t=245706#p1316766

[digitography]

I know I am a bit late to this particular party, but thought someone might find this useful.
I have successfully customised the Synergy theme, and it was quite easy.

Copy the original Synergy theme to your desktop. It's in usr/share/mdm/themes/html_themes.

Rename the folder on the desktop to something that suits your theme. new_theme (very imaginative) in this example.
Edit the theme.info file.
Change the name and the description to suit your theme, new_theme

Now open the image you wish to use for the theme, in something like Gimp.

In the new_theme folder on your desktop there are 3 image files, each is a specific image size, modify your own image to the size and overwrite the 3 files.

Compress the folder, new_theme to new_theme.tar.gz

Open the login window, System Settings -> Administration -> Login Window -> (Password).
Either drag and drop the tar file to the window, or click on the + button and add it.
Done.

Hope someone finds this of use.

[frisket]

Have I misunderstood this, that even at login time after a fresh boot, before any login, there is actually a whole theme active?

On a single-user system, I can't understand why this would be, when the only interaction widget is the password field.

What I want to do is have a login wallpaper that is different to the logged-in theme wallpaper. It shouldn't be a requirement to specially edit a theme to do this, surely.

[smurphos]

Have I misunderstood this, that even at login time after a fresh boot, before any login, there is actually a whole theme active?

On a single-user system, I can't understand why this would be, when the only interaction widget is the password field.

What I want to do is have a login wallpaper that is different to the logged-in theme wallpaper. It shouldn't be a requirement to specially edit a theme to do this, surely.

Frisket - what version of Mint are you using? This old thread is in relation to the display manager MDM - it's deprecated and no longer in use for Mint 19.x and wasn't the default in fresh installs of 18.3 and IIRC 18.2.

Current Mint versions use LightDM/Slickgreeter and then it is just a case of un-checking 'Draw User Backgrounds' and picking a default login screen background in the Login Window settings GUI available via the menu. Some caveats - the file chosen can't sit in an encrypted home folder and must have permissions so that it is world readable.