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Java Desktop System Release 2 Accessibility Guide

Chapter 4 Customizing the Appearance of the Desktop

This chapter describes the methods you can use to change the appearance of the Desktop to enhance the accessibility of the Desktop for users with visual impairments.

4.1 Customization Options

There are a number of methods to enable you to customize the appearance of the Desktop to suit your specific needs, as follows:

Themes

Themes are the most effective way to change the appearance of the Desktop in a consistent manner. See 4.2 Using Themes to Customize the Desktop for more information about themes and how to use themes to achieve the type of Desktop that you require.

Desktop and application-specific configuration settings

You can customize different components of the Desktop individually to achieve the display settings that you require. You can configure the Desktop and applications in addition to using themes or as an alternative to using themes. See 4.3 Customizing Specific Components of the Desktop for more information.

The following table summarizes the changes that you can make to the Desktop and where you can make the changes. This manual does not provide detailed instructions about how to customize the Desktop. For detailed instructions about how to use the customization tools that the Desktop provides, refer to the online help for each tool or to the Java Desktop System Release 2 User Guide.

Table 4–1 Quick Reference to Customizing the Appearance of the Desktop

To change the... 

Use... 

Overall appearance of the Desktop to use high contrast colors, low contrast colors, or large print. 

The Theme preference tool.

Appearance of the desktop background only. 

The Desktop Background preference tool and the Nautilus file manager Backgrounds and Emblems menu item.

Font displayed on the desktop background and in all Desktop applications. 

The Fonts preference tool.

Default font settings of the gedit text editor or Terminal application. By default, gedit and Terminal use the default application font that is specified in the Font preference tool.

The Preferences dialog for the application.

Appearance of icons and tabs in the Nautilus file manager application.

The View menu and the Preferences dialog in the Nautilus file manager application.

4.2 Using Themes to Customize the Desktop

This section describes how to use themes to customize the appearance of the Desktop.

4.2.1 Introduction to Themes

You can use themes to modify and control the appearance of the Desktop in a consistent manner. A theme is a group of coordinated settings that specifies how a Desktop component or a group of Desktop components appears. When you apply a theme, the system modifies many Desktop components simultaneously to achieve the desired effect. For example, if you apply a theme that increases the font size across the Desktop, the theme also modifies the size of panels and icons on the Desktop for optimum compatibility with the font size.

The following types of themes affect different parts of the Desktop:

Desktop themes

Desktop themes determine the visual appearance of all windows, applications, dialogs, panels, and applets. Desktop themes also determine the visual appearance of the GNOME-compliant interface items that appear on windows, panels, and applets, such as menus, icons, and buttons. Some of the Desktop themes that are available in the Desktop are designed for special accessibility needs.

Window frame themes

Window frame themes determine the appearance of the frames around windows only.

4.2.2 To Choose a Desktop Theme

To open the Theme preference tool and view the Desktop themes that are available, click Launch, then choose Preferences -> Display -> Theme. The Theme Preferences dialog is displayed. The most popular Desktop themes are listed on the left side of the dialog. To choose a new theme for the Desktop, click on a theme in the list box. The system automatically applies the theme to the Desktop. The view a longer list of Desktop themes, click on the Theme Details button. The Desktop themes are displayed in the Controls tabbed section of the Theme Details dialog.

There are several Desktop themes available that suit different accessibility needs. These themes are described in the following table:

Table 4–2 Desktop Themes Designed for Accessibility Requirements

Theme Name 

Description 

HighContrast

Provides dark text on a light background using high contrast colors. 

HighContrastInverse

Provides light text on a dark background using high contrast colors. 

LowContrast

Uses low contrast colors for the background and foreground text.  

LargePrint

Increases the font size to 18pt. The background and foreground colors are the same as those specified by the Default Desktop theme.

HighContrastLargePrint

Provides dark text on a light background using high contrast colors and increases the font size to 18pt. 

HighContrastLargePrintInverse

Provides light text on a dark background using high contrast colors and increases the font size to 18pt. 

LowContrastLargePrint

Uses low contrast colors for the background and foreground text and increases the font size to 18pt.  

4.2.3 To Choose a Window Frame Theme

To open the Theme preference tool and view the window frame themes that are available, perform the following steps:

  1. Click Launch, then choose Preferences -> Display -> Theme. The Theme Preferences dialog is displayed.

  2. Click on the Theme Details button. The Theme Details dialog is displayed.

  3. Click on the Window Border tab to display the window frame themes that are available. The Atlanta theme is an accessible theme.

  4. To choose a window frame theme, select a theme from the list box, then click Close.

4.2.4 To Choose an Icon Theme

To open the Theme preference tool and view the icon themes that are available, perform the following steps:

  1. Click Launch, then choose Preferences -> Display -> Theme. The Theme Preferences dialog is displayed.

  2. Click on the Theme Details button. The Theme Details dialog is displayed.

  3. Click on the Icons tab to display the icon themes that are available.

  4. To choose an icon theme, select a theme from the list box, then click Close.

4.2.5 To Create Your Own Themes

For information about how to create your own Desktop themes and window frame themes, see the Java Desktop System Release 2 Administration Guide.

4.3 Customizing Specific Components of the Desktop

This section describes how to customize specific components of the Desktop individually.

4.3.1 To Customize the Desktop Background

The Desktop themes do not affect the desktop background. Therefore to modify the desktop background to complement your Desktop, you must customize the desktop background separately using the Desktop Background preference tool. To start the Desktop Background preference tool, click Launch, then choose Preferences -> Display -> Desktop Background.

4.3.2 To Customize Desktop Background Objects

The size of the icons that are displayed on the desktop background is controlled by the Nautilus file manager. To change the size of the icons, perform the following steps:

  1. Start the Nautilus file manager.

  2. Choose Edit -> Preferences..

  3. Select the Views tabbed section.

  4. In the Icon View Defaults group, select the zoom level that you require in the Default zoom level drop-down list.

4.3.3 To Customize Fonts

This section describes how to customize the font settings for the Desktop and frequently-used applications.

If you have difficulty with the default font type and font size that is used on the Desktop and desktop background, you can customize the font settings to suit your needs.

You can specify individual font settings for the following Desktop components and applications:

4.3.3.1 To Customize the Desktop Fonts

The Font preference tool allows you to specify the default fonts for the Desktop.

To start the Font preference tool, click Launch, then choose Preferences -> Display -> Fonts. The Font Preferences dialog contains the following options:

Application font

Click on this button to select a default font to use for the text that is displayed on the Desktop, including the text displayed on the windows and dialogs associated with GNOME-compliant applications and applets.

Note –

If you use the Theme preference tool to select a theme that modifies the application font, the theme setting overrides the font that you select using the Font preference tool.

Desktop font

Click on this button to select a font to use for the text that is displayed on the desktop background only.

Note –

If you use large fonts, you may need to change the size of panes in applications that use panes such as, Nautilus file manager and Yelp.

4.3.3.2 To Customize the Terminal Font

By default, the Terminal application uses the default font settings that are specified in the Font preference tool to display the text in the Terminal window components such as the titlebar, toolbar, menubar, and application dialogs. However, Terminal uses fixed-width fonts to display the contents of the Terminal window, that is the text that is displayed at the command line.

To change the font settings for the contents of the Terminal window, start the Terminal application, then choose Edit -> Current Profile. In the General tabbed section, specify a font for the window contents as follows:

  1. Deselect the Use the same font as other applications option.

  2. Click on the font selector button to select the font type and font size to use for the contents of the Terminal window.

4.3.3.3 To Customize the gedit Text Editor Font

By default, the gedit application uses the default font settings that are specified in the Font preference tool to display the text in the gedit window components such as the menubar, toolbar, and application dialogs. However, you can customize the font that gedit uses to display the text editor window contents. To customize the font settings for the gedit window contents, perform the following steps:

  1. In the gedit application, choose Edit -> Preferences.

  2. In the Preferences dialog, select the Fonts & Colors category.

  3. Perform one of the following steps:

    • To use the default application font that is specified in the Font preference tool, select the Use default theme font option.

    • To specify a font, deselect the Use default theme font option, then click on the Font used by the editor button to display the font selector dialog.

4.3.3.4 To Customize the Nautilus File Manager Font

By default, the Nautilus file manager uses the default font settings that are specified in the Font preference tool to display the text in the file manager window. However, you can further customize the font that is used in the file manager view pane. To customize the font that is used in the view pane, click on the View menu in the file manager, then select one of the following menu items:

4.4 Meeting Specific Accessibility Needs

The following sections summarize the steps you need to take to improve the accessibility of the Desktop in a particular area.

4.4.1 To Achieve a High or Low Contrast Desktop

To achieve a high or low contrast Desktop, perform the following steps:

  1. Use the Theme preference tool to select the high contrast or low contrast Desktop theme that you require.

  2. Use the Theme preference tool to select a window frame theme. You should select the Atlanta window frame theme for use with high contrast Desktop themes. The Atlanta window frame theme may also improve readability for some users. However, you can choose the window frame theme that best suits your needs.

  3. Use the Desktop Background preference tool to customize your desktop background as follows:

    • Set the Desktop Wallpaper to No Wallpaper.

    • Set the Desktop Colors to Solid Color.

    • Select a background color that suits your needs.

  4. In the Terminal application, ensure that the Use colors from system theme option is selected in the Colors tabbed section of the Editing Profile dialog.

  5. In the gedit application, ensure that the Use default theme colors option is selected in the Fonts & Colors tabbed section of the Preferences dialog.

4.4.2 To Achieve a Large Print Desktop

To achieve a large print Desktop, perform the following steps:

  1. Use the Theme preference tool to select the large print theme that you require.

  2. Use the Theme preference tool to select a window frame theme. You can use the Crux, Atlanta, or Bright window frame themes with large print Desktop themes, depending on the contrast level that you prefer.

  3. Use the Font preference tool to increase the font that is displayed on desktop background objects.

  4. Increase the font size that is used to display the contents of the Terminal application window. See 4.3.3.2 To Customize the Terminal Font for more information.

  5. If the Use default theme font option is selected in the gedit Preferences dialog, gedit uses the font size that is specified in the large print theme that you selected. However, if the Use default theme font option is not selected, increase the font size that is used to display the contents of the gedit text editor window. See 4.3.3.3 To Customize the gedit Text Editor Font for more information.

  6. If you use applications that use panes, such as Nautilus file manager and the Help browser, you may need to change the size of panes to accommodate the large print. See the online help for the appropriate application for more information.