Using Themes to Customize the Desktop

This section describes customizing the appearance of the Oracle Solaris Desktop using themes.

Introduction to Themes

A theme is a collection of settings which modifies or controls the appearance of a desktop and its components in a consistent manner. When a theme is applied, the system simultaneously modifies various desktop components to achieve the required effect. For example, if you apply a theme that increases the font size across the desktop, it also modifies the panel size and the icons on the desktop for optimum compatibility with the font size.

A theme contains the following settings that affect various parts of the desktop:

Controls

Determines the visual appearance of all windows, applications, panels, and panel applications. It also determines the visual appearance of the GNOME-compliant interface items, such as menus, icons, and buttons. Some Controls options that are available in the desktop are designed for special accessibility needs.

Colors

Determines the color scheme used to draw controls. If a theme does not support this feature, its color scheme is fixed by the theme's designer and cannot be changed by the user.

Window Border

Determines the appearance of frames around windows only.

Icons

Determines the appearance of icons on panels and on the desktop background.

Pointer

Determines the shape, color and size of the mouse pointer.

For information about how to create your own themes, see the Oracle Solaris Desktop Administrator Guide.

To Choose a Theme

1. Choose System → Preferences → Appearance.
2. Click the Themes tab.
3. Choose a new theme from the list.

   The system automatically applies the theme to the desktop.

Available Themes

There are several themes available that suit different accessibility needs, as described in the following table:

Some GNOME distributions, provide low-contrast/low-contrast-large-print themes to complement the high-contrast theme set.

To Modify the Controls Setting for a Theme

1. Choose System → Preferences → Appearance.
2. In the Theme tab, select the theme that you want to modify.
3. Click the Customize button.

   The Customize Theme dialog is displayed.

4. Click the Controls tab to display the available controls options.
5. Select the controls option you want to associate with the current theme, and then click Close.

   The following table lists the controls options that are suitable for accessibility needs.

   
   

   Control Option Description HighContrast Provides dark text on a light background using high-contrast colors. HighContrastInverse Provides light text on a dark background using high-contrast colors. LargePrint Increases the size of controls to accommodate larger fonts. To increase the font size, you must use the Font preference tool. The background and foreground colors are the same as those specified by the Default desktop theme. HighContrastLargePrint Provides dark text on a light background using high-contrast colors. Increases the size of controls to accommodate larger fonts. To increase the font size, you must use the Font preference tool. HighContrastLargePrintInverse Provides light text on a dark background using high-contrast colors. Increases the size of controls to accommodate larger fonts. To increase the font size, you must use the Font preference tool.

To Modify the Color Setting for a Theme

1. Choose System → Preferences → Appearance.
2. Click the Theme tab and then select the theme that you want to modify.
3. Click the Customize button.

   The Customize Theme dialog is displayed.

4. For each color that you want to change, click the color picker button, then select a new color.

   You can change the text and background colors of windows, text fields, tooltips, and selected objects such as text, list items, and window title bars.

5. Click Close to save your changes, or click Reset to Defaults to restore the theme's default color scheme.

To Modify the Window Border Setting for a Theme

1. Choose System → Preferences → Appearance.
2. Click the Theme tab and then select the theme that you want to modify.
3. Click the Customize button.

   The Customize Theme dialog is displayed.

4. Click the Window Border tab to display the available window frame options.
5. Select the window frame option that you want to associate with the current theme from the list box, and then click Close.

To Modify the Icon Setting for a Theme

1. Choose System → Preferences → Appearance.
2. Click the Theme tab and then select the theme that you want to modify.
3. Click Customize button.

   The Customize Theme dialog is displayed.

4. Click the Icons tab to display the available icon options.
5. Select the icon option that you want to associate with the theme from the list box, and then click Close.

   The following table lists the icon options that are suitable for accessibility needs.

   
   

   Icon Option Description HighContrast Provides dark on light icons using high-contrast colors. HighContrastInverse Provides light on dark icons using high-contrast colors.

To Modify the Mouse Pointer Setting for a Theme

1. Choose System → Preferences → Appearance.
2. In the Theme tab, click the Customize button to open the Customize Theme dialog.
3. In the Customize Theme dialog, select the Pointers tab.
4. In the Pointer tab, select a pointer theme that supports resizing, for example, DMZ-White, redglass, or whiteglass.
5. Drag the Size slider to increase or decrease the size of the mouse pointer.
6. Close the dialog box.