Setting Themes in the Desktop Environment

Use the Theme preference tool to select a theme for your desktop environment and for your window frames. You can customize the settings for the Theme preference tool in the following functional areas:

• Widget Theme

• Window Frames

The desktop environment theme and the window frame theme are not the only themes that determine the appearance of your desktop environment. For example, Nautilus includes themes that you can use to change the look-and-feel of the Nautilus windows and the desktop.

Desktop Environment Theme Settings

Use the Widget Theme tabbed section of the Theme preference tool to select a theme for your desktop environment. Your desktop environment theme specifies the visual appearance of your panels, menus, and applets. The desktop environment theme also specifies the appearance of GNOME-compliant application interface items. For example, the theme affects the appearance of buttons, scrollbars, check boxes, and so on.

You can choose from the list of available themes, or you can install new themes. The list of available desktop environment themes includes several themes for users with accessibility requirements.

Figure 9–15 Widget Theme Tabbed Section in the Theme Preference Tool

Table 9–15 lists the desktop environment theme settings that you can configure.

Table 9–15 Settings for Desktop Environment Themes

Option	Function
Available themes	Select the theme that you require from the list box.
Install new theme	You can add a theme to the list of available themes. The new theme must be an uncompressed folder.   To add a theme to the list of available themes, click on the Install new theme button. A dialog is displayed. Enter the location of the theme folder in the drop-down combination box. Alternatively, to browse for the folder, click on the Browse button. When you have selected the folder, click OK. You can find many GTK themes on the Internet.
Go to theme folder	Click on this button to open a file manager window on the default theme folder. You can delete themes from the file manager window.

Window Frame Settings

Use the Window Frames tabbed section of the Theme preference tool to select a theme for your window frames. You can choose from the list of available themes, or you can install new themes. The list of available window frame themes includes several themes for users with accessibility requirements.

Figure 9–16 Window Frames Tabbed Section in the Theme Preference Tool

Table 9–16 lists the window frame theme settings that you can configure.

Table 9–16 Settings for Window Frame Themes

Option	Function
Available themes	Select the theme that you require from the list box.
Install new theme	You can add a theme to the list of available themes. The new theme must be an uncompressed folder.  To add a theme to the list of available themes, click on the Install new theme button. A dialog is displayed. Enter the location of the theme folder in the drop-down combination box. Alternatively, to browse for the folder, click on the Browse button. When you have selected the folder, click OK.
Go to theme folder	Click on this button to open a file manager window on the default theme folder. You can delete themes from the file manager window.