Helpful programs:
Bluefish, geany, and medit all have the capability to
search for text strings in files. Bluefish is probably the
most reliable for that. Install those tools with the command: Meld: I will add a few tips about Meld. To compare two files with Meld, open it with Menu > Programming > Meld. Click on "File Comparison", then click on "(None)" to chose your first file. Then click "Compare". ![]() That will open the dual pane view, where you can click on "(None)" again on the right side to select the second file. Any differences will be high-lighted. ![]() Color choice:
The next step in preparation is color choice. I am thinking
of making a theme with a very light yellow text area (base
color) and a darker golden color for the main background
(bg_color). Mint 18's Mint-X-Sand is the closest choice to
what I want, so I copy that to my $HOME/.themes folder. I
need to distinguish it from the original Mint-X-Sand, so I
rename it Mint-X-Sand-Gold.Now, I head to http://www.computerhope.com/htmcolor.htm to pick out my colors. The "Blonde" color listed there might do for the base color, and "Cinnamon" should be good for the background. I will need the HEX number and the RGB number for each color, so I record those. Blonde: HEX - #FBF6D9, RGB - 251,246,217 Cinnamon: HEX - #C58917, RGB - 197,137,23 gtk-3.0 In order to see how it will look, I open up the $HOME/.themes/Mint-X-Sand-Gold/gtk-3.0/gtk-main.css file in Bluefish. The reason for using Bluefish is that it is a gtk3 program, whereas medit and geany are gtk2 programs. The first lines in gtk-main.css are: /* Default Color Scheme */
@define-color theme_bg_color #d6d6d6; @define-color theme_fg_color #212121; @define-color theme_base_color #f7f7f7; @define-color theme_text_color #212121; @define-color theme_selected_bg_color #c8ac69; @define-color theme_selected_fg_color #f5f5f5; @define-color theme_tooltip_bg_color #fbeaa0; @define-color theme_tooltip_fg_color #212121; I plug in my base color and background color, and save the changes. /* Default Color Scheme */
@define-color theme_bg_color #C58917; @define-color theme_fg_color #212121; @define-color theme_base_color #FBF6D9; @define-color theme_text_color #212121; @define-color theme_selected_bg_color #c8ac69; @define-color theme_selected_fg_color #f5f5f5; @define-color theme_tooltip_bg_color #fbeaa0; @define-color theme_tooltip_fg_color #212121; TIP: After making a change to any gtk2 or gtk3
file, open System Settings > Themes and switch to a
different "Controls" (gtk) theme, then switch back to
see the effect
of your change.
When I load the MInt-X-Sand-Gold theme to check it, it is a disappointment. The base color isn't quite good enough and the background color has areas that appear dirty or sooty. ![]() So I return to http://www.color-hex.com/color/c58917 to try some other colors. The next lighter tint listed on that page works better - #ca942e, RGB - 202,148,46 I will note that I could go to line 104 of gtk-main.css @define-color toolbar_bg_b
shade(@theme_bg_color, 0.97);
and change the 0.97 to 1.11 or something similar to get a
lighter color, but I would like to keep it simple for now,
and just find a color that works.To find a better base color, at http://www.computerhope.com/htmcolor.htm I try Parchment, Cream, and Lemon Chiffon, and settle on Parchment - HEX - #FFFFC2, RGB - 255,255,194 So now I have something I think is better: ![]() Then I go to: http://www.color-hex.com/color/FFFFC2 http://www.color-hex.com/color/ca942e and bookmark those two pages. They have useful information on each color. gtk-2.0 Now that I have my two colors, I can edit those into the gtk2 gtkrc file - $HOME/.themes/Mint-X-Sand-Gold/gtk-2.0/gtkrc, so that my gtk2 programs will have my chosen colors, also. gtk_color_scheme = "bg_color:#ca942e\nselected_bg_color:#c8ac69\nbase_color:#FFFFC2"
# Background, base.
gtk_color_scheme = "fg_color:#212121\nselected_fg_color:#f5f5f5\ntext_color:#212121" # Foreground, text. gtk_color_scheme = "tooltip_bg_color:#fbeaa0\ntooltip_fg_color:#212121" # Tooltips. gtk_color_scheme = "link_color:#08c" # Hyperlinks TIP: In order to preserve my edits, I will right-click
on the .themes/Mint-X-Sand-Gold folder > Duplicate.
That creates a backup copy - so if I mess things up, as I am prone to do, I can fall back to this point. It is good to get into the habit of doing that frequently. Cinnamon Now I am ready to get serious with the Cinnamon theme in Chapter 3. |