xscreensaver less uglier theme

[Arael]

Hi guys,

I really don't like xscreensaver authentication window. I find it rather ugly but it is better than compiling tons and tons of gnome-screensaver dependencies. Yea, I have given up on that long time ago.

I suggest Salix Visual Experience Masters ( sort of Masters of Universe - He-man anyone? ) to create a theme for xscreensaver. I have read somewhere that the creator of xscreensaver doesn't like to have his logo removed but it would be nice to have a bonsai tree instead of the original xscreensaver logo. That way we could make f.bluedevil and us happier users.

Below is the theme I am using. It can be a starting point for Salix developers or any other user that wants to get rid of that ugly xscreensaver colors.

Code: Select all

! xscreensaver ---------------------------------------------------------------

!font settings
xscreensaver.Dialog.headingFont:        -*-Terminus-bold-r-*-*-12-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
xscreensaver.Dialog.bodyFont:           -*-Terminus-medium-r-*-*-12-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
xscreensaver.Dialog.labelFont:          -*-Terminus-medium-r-*-*-12-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
xscreensaver.Dialog.unameFont:          -*-Terminus-medium-r-*-*-12-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
xscreensaver.Dialog.buttonFont:         -*-Terminus-bold-r-*-*-12-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
xscreensaver.Dialog.dateFont:           -*-Terminus-medium-r-*-*-12-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
xscreensaver.passwd.passwdFont:         -*-Terminus-bold-r-*-*-12-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
!general dialog box (affects main hostname, username, password text)
xscreensaver.Dialog.foreground:         #ffffff
xscreensaver.Dialog.background:         #111111
xscreensaver.Dialog.topShadowColor:     #111111
xscreensaver.Dialog.bottomShadowColor:  #111111
xscreensaver.Dialog.Button.foreground:  #666666
xscreensaver.Dialog.Button.background:  #ffffff
!username/password input box and date text colour
xscreensaver.Dialog.text.foreground:    #666666
xscreensaver.Dialog.text.background:    #ffffff
xscreensaver.Dialog.internalBorderWidth:24
xscreensaver.Dialog.borderWidth:        20
xscreensaver.Dialog.shadowThickness:    2
!timeout bar (background is actually determined by Dialog.text.background)
xscreensaver.passwd.thermometer.foreground:  #ff0000
xscreensaver.passwd.thermometer.background:  #000000
xscreensaver.passwd.thermometer.width:       8
!datestamp format--see the strftime(3) manual page for details
xscreensaver.dateFormat:    %I:%M%P %a %b %d, %Y

To try this theme append it to the ~/.Xresources file and give this command:

Code: Select all

xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources 

Restart xscreensaver and stop grimacing everytime you lock your machine.

[Duncan_Idaho]

cool!
I'll give it a try

[zAchAry]

That's a very good idea.
+1

[gapan]

I don't get it. All that does here is make the background black and the letters white. Not something I want to look at.

[Duncan_Idaho]

it is a matter of personal tastes, I prefer dark themes so I think this looks way better than the default
but maybe a color scheme based on clearlooks could be more preferable for a default to match with the default theme

[Arael]

I don't get it. All that does here is make the background black and the letters white. Not something I want to look at.

As Duncan said it is a matter of taste. Besides, this theme makes the Xlib toolkit really less ugly. At least that's what I think. I will probably also change the default logo because I don't like it. I will put a bonsai tree instead.

It is true that probably most of desktop users don't see the authentication window that often. In my case is different. I do see that screen very often because I use my machine as workstation and this means that I lock it several times a day.

Well, gapan, you are one of the developers so your word and the one of your colleagues is the last one regarding what should be the default settings. I have proposed something that could/should make Salix OS more pleasant. If you chose to drop my suggestion no problem. I know how to recompile and change the default logo.

Anyway, as I said this theme can be the starting point. The colors could be changed to fit the Salix style. Something more greenish and more natural perhaps. I leave that to who is more experienced with graphics.

[Arael]

If you are looking in here because you're trying to figure out how to
change the logo that xscreensaver displays on the splash screen and
password dialog, please don't. The logo is xscreensaver's identity.
You wouldn't alter the name or copyright notice on a program that
you didn't write; please don't alter its logo either.

I found this inside xscreensaver's code. File: utils/logo.c

At this point I don't think you devs are going to replace the default logo. Same thing holds for me.

Different colors is enough at this point. At least for me, on my machine. The rest is up to you guys.