Xfce Forum

gerograph

Member

Registered: 2009-01-18

Posts: 3

Using Gnome Themes in Xfce ? ... (watch out Linux Newbie)

Hi everybody,

   I am new to Linux and to this forum. To make it short:

I managed to use this theme:  http://www.xfce-look.org/content/show.p … tent=19814     in xfce but the themes window borders are not available, anyway to convert, so that I can use this theme ?

O.k. longer Version: I am using a SAMep440 PPC Motherboard and got Debian installed on it. Because it is more a PPC Board for AMIGA OS4.1 and for the embedded market it has only 600Mhz. So I decided to use a lean Desktop like Xfce. I am absolutely new to Linux !!!
I found out, that the Gtk+ part of the theme mentioned works, but not the window borders...

Anybody an Idea, I already spent an hour searching the web an already got some bits an pieces, but the last one ist still missing...

Pindakoe

Member

From: NL

Registered: 2003-11-26

Posts: 116

Re: Using Gnome Themes in Xfce ? ... (watch out Linux Newbie)

A theme consists of various elements, or put in a different way: you can theme (change appearance) of window-borders, buttons/sliders/colours separately. Gnome uses metacity as windowing manager and thus needs a theme for that to change te borders of a window. Xfce uses xfwm4 and needs a theme for that; it cannot use a metacity theme. The buttons, menu-bar appearance and sliders are defined by an GTK-theme. Both Xfce and Gnome use this. The Xfce looks site provides GTK and XFWM themes. Sometimes a GTK theme is packaged together with XFWM theeme info, sometimes with metacity (as it was designed for Gnome).

gerograph

Member

Registered: 2009-01-18

Posts: 3

Re: Using Gnome Themes in Xfce ? ... (watch out Linux Newbie)

So, no chance to use the window boarders of this theme with xfce4 window manager ?

Pindakoe

Member

From: NL

Registered: 2003-11-26

Posts: 116

Re: Using Gnome Themes in Xfce ? ... (watch out Linux Newbie)

I am not aware of automated conversions, nor do I know enough of metacity themes vs xfwm themes -- some googling may help here. It may not hurt to just browse through Xfce-look's list of themes and see whether something similar is around which happens to have an xfw theme. Click on Themes, then on subheading Xfce to see themes for xfwm only.

crimesaucer

Member

Registered: 2007-05-21

Posts: 103

Re: Using Gnome Themes in Xfce ? ... (watch out Linux Newbie)

So, no chance to use the window boarders of this theme with xfce4 window manager ?

Long story short:

xfce4 uses xfwm4 as a window manager. So it uses xfwm4 themes for your window themes.
gnome uses metacity for it's window themes.

If you look on xfce4-looks.org some people make xfwm4 themes that are similar to the metacity themes.

Check out this Murrine Xfwm theme: http://www.xfce-look.org/content/show.php?content=43083

..... and you can also use Compiz/Emerald to use emerald window themes that also look like metacity.