The KDE 4.3 System Settings - Part 1 - Introduction + Look & Feel

I don't like the color of the folders on the desktop. Pale blue with black lettering doesn't work for me.

The problem being that, regardless of what I do to the icon set, theme, colors, whatever, they don't change.

Any suggestions?

Does the monitor have color adjustments on it?

> Does the monitor have color adjustments on it?

You know, the worst of it is that that's exactly the kind of "solution" I've come to expect over the past year from the KDE devs when someone makes a public complaint. :(

That's not aimed at you gus3, just an observation of what the public comments have been like.

As of KDE4.3.2, you cannot change just the folder colors, you have to install a theme that has the colors you want. System Settings---General tab---Appearance.

Sigh.

I hope it's obvious I was trying to be silly.

I guess on Slashdot, I'd get "+1 Funny" and jdixon would get "+1 Insightful".

gus, I modded you +.5 sorta funny in my mind.

;)

> I hope it's obvious I was trying to be silly.

I don't think it was obvious. However, anyone who has been reading your posts for any length of time should have figured it out. I assumed that you were, but added the disclaimer, just in case. Misunderstandings are all too easy in print.

> As of KDE4.3.2, you cannot change just the folder colors, you have to install a theme

If it's not obvious by now with all the KDE4 conversations we've had, while I can take or leave KDE4 itself, I'm more than a little irritated with the KDE4 developer's attitudes wrt the complaints users have had. Now, with that bias expressed and out of the way...

How anyone can consider this an improvement is beyond me. You want to change one comparatively minor detail of your desktop, and to do so you have to install an entire theme, which will probably change dozens of things you don't want changed?

If so, that's ridiculous. I don't think even Windows is that brain dead.

Interestingly, well interesting to me anyway, KDE4 in many ways looks like Vista/windows 7 (one or two configuration elements per window, instead of putting them in one window, oh goody extra clicks, other design elements) and Mac (window style details, please quit copying those that is so cliche).

I have read that new icon sets are coming someday, so that you can change individual elements like file folders, instead of having to change a whole theme. I'm still waiting and watching, it's moving forward.

One thing to keep in mind-- for a whole lot of users, appearance is everything. I remember asking in an article some years ago "Why do you like Gnome? To me it's just an obese application launcher with no functionality that justifies its size." The great majority of replies were "I like how it looks." I found that depressing at the time, given how easy it is to change the look. Like all the griping at Ubuntu brown. Jeebus dog, folks, right-click change effing wallpaper. But that is too much work, it seems.

Right now I am sighing sadly at how both KDE and Gnome have gone a decade backwards in graphical video config tools. I'm in Ubuntu Studio at the moment, which is a fun blend of Gnome and KDE, and there are absolutely no tools (that I can find) to re-detect and re-configure Xorg. The stewpid thing is stuck in the wrong resolution, and does not give me any choices for the correct resolution. Red Hat had a really nice one back in 1998. I would be happy to have that back.

Oh, let me rant a little more about video configs-- this business of graphical configurators being inflexible and stuck in the wrong resolutions, and now you can't even choose the driver, is MORONIC.

Thank you, I feel better.

tc --

Ubuntu is like a self-help book.

Except, instead of Linux for Dummies, it is Linux by Morons.

That's too harsh, I'm sure, but...

It's the middle of the night and my dog woke me up.

Now I've got to occupy myself until the Ubuntu animal wants back in.

gus,

Quoting:I hope it's obvious I was trying to be silly.

No it wasn't, because only I am allowed to attempt humor on LXer*. Dino gets a pass, since he is unaware of the unintentional humor he brings to these forums.

And there is Hans Mumble ... curse, cry bitter tears ... with deep thoughts of suicide.

Gleefully yours,

YBT

* It's in my IP portfolio, which can be confirmed by speaking with Scott**.

** Hold off until I pay off his latest, exorbitant bribe fee. [Big problem how to pay him off with all my shilling checks bouncing.]

Ok, well, I did change "themes" to several different, and nothing happened when I pressed "apply", so I'm going to assume that the window manager has to be restarted. There must be some reason the "theme" change didn't change the desktop icons/colors, it sure did change the menu bar color and icons.

A strawberry as the K menu? Ooooookay.

If this were my own system, instead of trying to set this up for an old friend (a friend who happens to also be 80 years old), I wouldn't be so interested in getting things exactly the way she wants it.

SOLVED.

The resolution of this problem is that when installing an icon theme, the icons presently displayed on the desktop DO NOT CHANGE until the mouse passes over them.

It was that easy. The system does not put out a "redraw" of the existing icons.

So the desktop icons are changed by themes, just not instantly.

Thanks to everyone who had suggestions.

@Bob:

Would you mind doing a little experiment for me and LXer, for future reference?

1. Open a terminal window.

2. Change the KDE4 icon theme.

3. In the terminal window, type "xrefresh" and hit Enter.

Does that change all the icons at once?

Gus,

Tried it, it didn't work. The desktop folders remained whatever they were, until moused-over.

It's nice to note that the font and text size DID change, although I have not found yet where to make it anything other than fuzzy black.

try qtconfig to change fonts n stuff.

Bob, at the risk of being unintentionally obtuse or misunderstanding ( ;~) ), if I want to change icon size, colour of icon text etc I right click on the desktop and choose folder view settings and then the display tab. Any changes I make there happen as soon as I click OK. For some reason the Apply button is greyed out.

If I have a folder view widget on the desktop I can change its attributes independently to the icons on the desktop.

This is on Mandriva 2010 with KDE 4.3.2.

Sorry if I have the wrong end of the stick. :~|

@gus, seemed obvious to me you were joking.

TC,

I'm sure KDE will get better, maybe the devs will be hired by Apple for the iPad(/humor)

Dave

Thanks, DiB, that is where to set the color of the text, although not size, and the size of the icons, although not color.

And turning off "text shadows" did get rid of the blur.