Changing the Ubuntu Desktop Theme

Theme settings are configured from the Appearance Preferences screen accessed from the System->Preferences->Appearance menu option. When the screen appears make sure the Themes tab is selected so that the dialog appears as follows:

[edit] Downloading and Installing a Theme

Although Ubuntu is installed with several different theme options, in reality this represents just a small subset of themes that are available online. A wide range of themes are available for download from http://art.gnome.org/themes.

The themes are downloadable by theme sub-category (i.e Window Border, Icons etc). Let’s start by installing a new Window Border theme. On the right hand side of the GNOME Art website click on the Window Border link beneath Desktop Themes. This will filter the list of themes so that only Window Border themes are displayed. Scroll down the list and click on a theme that is not currently available on your Ubuntu installation (for this example we will use the MetaGrip theme).

Download the theme to the desktop so that it appears as a desktop icon:

The new theme can be installed one of two ways. Either click and drag the theme package from the desktop to the Appearance Preferences dialog to add the theme, or click on the Install… button in Appearance Preferences and navigate to the location where the theme is installed.

Once the theme has been added you will be asked if you wish to apply the new theme to the current desktop:

If you choose to apply the new border theme it will immediately take effect on the desktop. For the purpose of this tutorial, however, we will opt to apply the theme later by creating a custom Ubuntu desktop theme.

[edit] Creating a Custom Theme Package

Any theme may now be used to either customize an existing theme, or to create a new desktop theme.

In this example we will create a custom theme which includes our new Window Border design. Click on the Custom theme in the Appearance and on the Customize… button. In the resulting Customize Theme dialog select the Window Border tab so that the list of available window border themes appears:

Scroll up and down the list of themes until you find the new theme (in this case the MetaGrip theme). Select the theme and watch the desktop window borders change instantly to this new style. Spend some time changing some of the other theme settings such as text colors and icon and pointer styles. When you have a new theme that you are happy with simply close the Customize Theme window.

Assuming this is a theme you would like to use again the next step is to give the theme a name and save it. To achieve this make sure the Custom theme is selected and click on Save As…. The Save Theme As dialog will now appear. Provide a name for your theme and add comments if desired. You can also optionally include the current desktop background in the theme package:

Once the theme is saved it will appear in the list of available theme packages along with the standard Ubuntu themes.

source from: http://www.techotopia.com/index.php/Installing_and_Customizing_Ubuntu_Desktop_Themes#Downloading_and_Installing_a_Theme

~ by andy on August 13, 2008.