Light and dark themes in Gnome on the example of Runtu Lite

December

2022

Light and dark themes in Gnome on the example of Runtu Lite

linux

31 December 2022 21:08

Linux themes are divided into two large groups: light and dark.

To change the light theme to dark or vice versa, it is not enough to go to the settings. This is what happened with Runtu Lite, a domestic Linux operating system based on Ubuntu. In the first versions, it had the "Appearance" applet, but in the version that I have installed Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS (20.04 "focal") for some reason there was no such program.
I had to "sit down with dictionaries", and on the foreign forum "AskUbuntu" I found that a separate program is responsible for switching the topic. But it all depends on each specific operating system.

0. Let's find out the Desktop-Shell and Window Manager used

The command:

echo $XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP

The command output:
ubuntu:GNOME

The call of the desktop session is also specified in the .xsessionrc configuration file:

cat .xsessionrc

Window Manager is specified in the hidden .xinitrc file in the home directory:

cat .xinitrc

In the case of runtu Lite, I can see the 'exec openbox-session' command, so the OpenBox window manager is being used.

1. To change the Desktop theme in runtu Lite:

Runtu OS is a derivative of Ubuntu Linux that I haven't used for a long time, so I can't say how the configuration is there (maybe the gnome-tweaks command works there), but in the case of runtu Linux, the light and dark themes change as follows.

runtu Lite based on the Gnome shell - 'lxappearance' utility:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install lxappearance

lxappearance

lxappearance

And there is another, alternative program 'gtk-chtheme' to change the Linux/Gnome desktop theme:



sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install gtk-chtheme

gtk-chtheme

gtk-change-theme

2. Changing the icon set - chaning programs' icons

Also in lxappearance, click tab "Icon Themes"

lxappearance

icons

Note that the 'gnome-tweaks' program, which is often recommended for fine-tuning the appearance of the Linux OS, does not work in my case runtu Lite.

3. Changing the Window Style (for the OpenBox Window Manager)

The program for the OpenBox window manager (by default in runtu Lite) is called 'obconf'.
It allows you to change the style of window titles, including the alignment and color of the windows headings.

sudo apt-get install obconf

obconf

obconf

4. Changing the color of the system tray

With the right mouse button - Panel Settings - Set Color. There are two options:

From the system theme
Set color (opacity)

panel-config

The Result (picture is zoomed in) - the color of the panel became purple:
panel-result

5. Change the color of the LibreOffice text editor windows

The color of LibreOffice depends on the system theme. You can choose "Darker" - white letters on a black background.

Tools - Options - LibreOffice - Appearance - Color scheme

You can also create and customize your own color scheme for LibreOffice. For example, it is convenient to change the background color and highlighting according to personal preferences.
dark