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barrypicker
Asked: 2018-12-28 12:48:49 +0800 CST

What is the proper way to set custom windows decorations using KDE Plasma 5?

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Using Ubuntu 16.04, KDE Plasma 5, when looking at the "System Settings" -> "Appearance" group I have the selections of ...

  • "Workspace Theme"
  • "Color"
  • "Font"
  • "Icons"
  • "Application Style"

enter image description here

When I navigate to "Workspace Theme" I see ...

  • "Look And Feel"
  • "Desktop Theme"
  • "Cursor Theme"
  • "Splash Screen"

enter image description here

I have downloaded a theme using "Application Style" -> "Window Decorations", but I do not see it in "Workspace Theme", nor do I see it in "Workspace Theme"->"Desktop Theme". I do see it in "Application Style".

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When I navigate to "Color" I only see the themes I see in "Workspace Theme"->"Desktop Theme" and I can edit and create my own version. But since I cannot see themes I downloaded in "Application Style" I cannot edit my selected theme.

enter image description here

I would like to tweak the theme to have a different color for the active window title bar so it stands out more. Specifically I would like the active window title bar to be say bright blue, and the inactive title bars to be say grey, both with white lettering. In one of my screen shots I can see this applied in a customized version of "Breeze" so I know its a configuration thing.

The multiple "Theme" categories implemented by Ubuntu team and KDE team have me really confused about the proper approach. What is the best way to simply tweak the theme? I don't know if this is a KDE thing, an Ubuntu thing, or a GTK thing.

themes kubuntu plasma kde5

1 Answers

  1. Well, I am answering my own question.

    The theme I wanted to tweak was located at https://store.kde.org/p/1172409 - A.K.A, WindowsK10. I downloaded the theme, unzipped, and un-tarred the file. I took a look at what was provided - 1 text document which looks like a configuration file, and a bunch of .SVG vector image files. I then found my installed version of the same theme at ...

    ~/.local/share/aurorae/themes/WindowsK10/

    This particular theme is called an 'Aurorae Theme' whatever that is. In the end there are no configurations for setting the colors I want to change. Instead I must tweak the images - in this case the image was called 'decoration.svg'. I used Inkscape to tweak the vector graphics and rebooted to see the effect. I was able to change the color by changing some parts (embedded shape objects) of the graphic file. Not really a user configurable thing. Not sure who invented this strategy for themes but in my opinion this is really a weak strategy. I suspect this is not the way KDE intended themes to be designed and distributed, but whatever.

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