Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- user [2015/05/11 20:24]
slackermedia
+++ user [2021/06/03 19:48] (current)
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[{arrowp.png|border:0;background:none;width:0;display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;}install|]]
-[[{arrown.png|border:0;background:none;width:0;display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;margin-left:2.5em;}pkg|]]
 ====== User Space ======
@@ Line 161: / Line 156: @@
 By default, KDE windows allow you to grab onto them from any number of points within the window. This can be marvelously efficient with many, if not most, applications but with multimedia applications that require nothing but random clicks and drags, it can be maddening to accidentally move your entire application window when all you meant to do is move a playhead or a brush.
-Turn this behaviour off in ''System Settings'' > **Application Appearance**. In the **Style** category on the left, and activate the **Applications** tab. Click the **Configure** button.
+Turn this behaviour off in ''System Settings'' \> **Application Appearance**. In the **Style** category on the left, and activate the **Applications** tab. Click the **Configure** button.
 {{ styleconfigure.png }}
@@ Line 169: / Line 164: @@
 Set **Windows drag mode** to **Drag windows from titlebar only** and click the **OK** button to apply.
+===== GTK and Qt Theming =====
+Since the applications used on a diverse Linux system come from many different programmers and programming toolkits, an application's basic look sometimes varies quite a lot from the rest of the user's environment. While this is unavoidable and actually desirable in some cases (Blender's interface, for instance, one would not try to mask), sometimes a more unified look and feel helps make the system feel more integrated.
+The reason this happens is not arbitrary; programming is a lot of work, so people develop toolkits and frameworks that consist of a set of widgets (window panels, buttons, menus, dialogue boxes, and so on) for other programmers to use in their applications. Otherwise, every time any programmer wanted to make an application, everything would have to start from scratch, and probably most every application would look different.
-[[{arrown.png|border:0;background:none;width:0;display:inline-block;float:right;}pkg|]][[{arrowp.png|border:0;background:none;width:0;float:right;}install|]]
+Broadly speaking, the two most popular toolkits for graphical applications on Linux are GTK (used by Mozilla ''Firefox'', ''Thunderbird'', ''Ardour'', a number of soft synths, and many
+more) and Qt (used by the entirety of KDE itself, ''VLC'', ''Qtractor'', as well as by closed source applications like Maya, Nuke, Mari, and many others).
+To tie together two of the most common user interface toolkits, GTK and Qt, there is a theme engine called ''gtk-qt-engine'', which feeds into KDE's ''System Settings'', as well as a separate front-end application ''gtk-chtheme'' (use one or the other: ''System Settings'' or ''gtk-chtheme''; there is no need to use both since they each accomplish the same thing). These tools allow the user to change the GTK theme to something more attractive than the basic box forms of raw GTK widgets.
+KDE's set of Qt widgets and styles can be configured by launching KDE's ''System Settings'', in the **Workspace Appearance** and **Application Appearance** panels.
+  *In the **Workspace Appearance** panel, configure and even download new window title bars ("window decoration"), the position of buttons on the title, mouse cursor theme, and more.
+  *In the **Application Appearance** panel, click on the **Style** category on the left and try the different widget styles on the right.
+These control the native KDE look and feel, created with the Qt toolset. If you open a non-Qt application, however, you would notice that some of your style choices will not apply to them. These, typically, are GTK applications.
+Some themes exist both for Qt and GTK, while others were only developed for one or the other. One of the most common cross-toolkit themes is ''Cleanlooks'', so if you want applications to be similar in appearance, a unified theme, that's a good choice.
+Additional themes are available from [[http://slackbuilds.org]] (use "theme" as a search term). Whether you are looking for new and modern themes or that classic UNIX desktop look from the early days of Pixar and ILM, you are sure to find plenty to try.
+To set the GTK theme, you must install the ''gtk-qt-engine''. You can do this manually, or just wait until you do all of your Slackermedia installs, since it is an included dependency in the Slackermedia install list.
+After you do install it, just launch ''System Settings'' and click the **GTK+ Appearance** icon. Set the theme and also activate the **Firefox Scrollbar Fix**.
+Theming the Linux desktop is both easy and, as with everything in Linux, entirely open. If your art leans toward graphic design or UX, then the Linux desktop is the canvas of your dreams; there is nothing you cannot theme. The thing to remember is that the GTK and Qt toolkits each require their own themes, so anything you do, you must do twice in order to gain full integration.
+Of course there are more toolkits than just GTK and Qt, but this is true of any operating system. As long as you theme for GTK and Qt, you'll get 90% of your environment, and the applications that remain are what they are: unique.
+An entire book could be written on how malleable the Linux environment is in the hands of each user. The subject is worth pursuing, both on a purely aesthetic level as well as the rich set of scripting languages and every-day hacks that even non-programmers can make to improve their workflow.
+The whole point of GNU Linux is to take back control of the computer, so don't be shy. Take control, ask hard questions about why an activity takes an hour when it could be done in five minutes, and develop your own shortcuts, cheats, and hacks. And if you come up with anything especially useful, share it online!
+===== Touchpad =====
+If you're on a laptop, there is a plugin to enable a touchpad control panel in ''System Settings''. It's available on [[http://slackbuilds.org/result/?search=kcm_touchpad&sv=|SlackBuilds.org]].
+<code>
+# sport install kcm_touchpad
+</code>
+The configuration panel appears in the **Input Devices** category of ''System Settings''.
+{{:kcm_touchpad.jpg?666|}}
+<WRAP centeralign>
+<wrap fa>[[install|R]]</wrap> <wrap fa>[[start|S]]</wrap> <wrap fa>[[linuxaudio|Q]]</wrap>
+</WRAP>