Xfce Forum

Sub domains
 

You are not logged in.

#1 2013-06-12 12:39:37

jpka
Member
Registered: 2013-06-12
Posts: 2

XFCE philosophy and look-and-feel behaviour

Hi!
I search for useable graphical DE for many years.
The main purpose of DE for me is programming for hardware (FPGA, uC), PCB develop, CAD/CAM, science, Software-defined Electronic Lab, machining, WEB browser/office stuff.
The mode of use - continuous, many hours every day.
The main and major mandatory requirement is looks quite simple: all text must be brighter than background.
Other mandatory requirements include: using only fonts and font sizes exactly allowed by user; using only bitmap non-scalable font sets.
There are different possible ways to obtain this.
I try most mainstream DEs (exclude maybe KDE), include Windows (up to nt/2000), Ubuntu with Gnome (since 2006), Unity, Gnome 3, Mint, Mate.
The most useful was Ubuntu, since Compiz with Color filter was introduced, and up to time when Unity arrived and system become set of bells and whistles, instead of working environment.
But even at years when Ubuntu was useable (~2007-2010), there is huge amount of bugs was exposed when i turn on dark color theme in it. No one bug i report about it, was fixed; instead, they simply kicked off last useable dark theme from official tree since 11.04, make me unable to report bugs anymore.
Now, after Ubuntu 13.04 arrives, it becomes finally completely non-useful system. I search other DEs for it. Today i try Ubuntu 12.04.2 with XFCE. It is good news:
1. Dark colour theme is built-in with it, and then it is official, so it theoretically allow me to bugreport about color bugs oficially. (XFCE-Dusk).
2. Compiz Color filter work.
3. No unneeded stuff, just good set of useful settings and software.
BUT,
there are multiple bugs with colors and fonts exist when i try to turn the system to useable (select xfce-dusk color theme, bitmap Terminus font, remove any font antialiasing, change font size). Please see screenshot  here http://bdyssh.ru/wp-content/uploads/201 … s_bugs.png
So the question is:
Are XFCE maintainers and users (and overall philisophy) hate the bugs and can help me to solve all bugs one by one (i have basic programming skills and then will try to solve simple bugs myself), and finally build best DE ever; OR, like modern Ubuntu maintainers, will tend to kick out  'xfce-dusk' theme soon, and say me "it's now unofficial, go away, you now can't report any dark-theme bugs" ?
Note: solving these bugs definetely never affect regular users with bright color theme.

Thank you so much!

Offline

#2 2013-06-12 15:27:26

stqn
Member
Registered: 2010-10-11
Posts: 174

Re: XFCE philosophy and look-and-feel behaviour

The colour problems on your screenshot can be solved with a different Gtk2 theme, and a dark Gtk3 theme. I’m using Drakfire Black Mod (slightly modified) for Gtk2 and not sure which one for Gtk3… Looks like a modified version of Xfce-Dusk-gtk3.

Edit: in fact it looks like you’re not using Xfce’s terminal. Try it. (sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop should install it.)

Last edited by stqn (2013-06-12 15:29:35)

Offline

#3 2013-06-12 15:54:04

MountainDewManiac
Member
From: Where Mr. Bankruptcy is Prez
Registered: 2013-03-24
Posts: 1,115

Re: XFCE philosophy and look-and-feel behaviour

Also, since your DE requirements run to the simple, uncluttered, and a sparsity of bells and whistles... Why are you using Compiz, lol?


Mountain Dew Maniac

How to Ask for Help <=== Click on this link

Offline

#4 2013-06-12 21:22:46

fraang
Member
Registered: 2012-09-28
Posts: 12

Re: XFCE philosophy and look-and-feel behaviour

As for the Xfce terminal: The package name for it should be "terminal" (older version) or "xfce-terminal" (newer version).

As for LibreOffice: Does this happen to all bitmap fonts? Have you tried other ones?

Offline

#5 2013-06-25 05:29:19

jpka
Member
Registered: 2013-06-12
Posts: 2

Re: XFCE philosophy and look-and-feel behaviour

Hi!
Dear friends, thank you so much for answers.
While i mostly awaiting for answer to The Question (at bottom of first post), i of course will try suggested partial solutions. Bugs are multiple, but i ready to fight with them, when i get (positive) answer to The Question.

About "xfce-terminal". Yes it works and themed correctly at first look, unlike gnome-terminal. But it not work under Wine (yes, wine). It is absolutely required for me for fight with epic wine bug when it not redirects at all console messages from Windows programs to Linux terminal, which in turn is absolutely required to run 'specctra.exe' software.
Test case:
wineconsole /usr/bin/gnome-terminal -x wine notepad
- work;
wineconsole /usr/bin/xfce4-terminal -x wine notepad
- giver error 'wine: Bad EXE format for Z:\usr\bin\xfce4-terminal..'
and i even not sure if i able to report this bug, because linux terminal programs are (of course) not planned to run under Wine.
But maybe i use wrong terminal. I use suggested install command,  but i don't know how to check if i use correct Terminal or not.

About Libreoffice, there are not bitmap fonts, it is just antialiasing turned off system-wide, it is required for reasons i discuss later. The bug is that Office should use my font (which is bitmap) as other windows use, but it uses own font. I will start solve it after i get the answer to The Question.

About Compiz. I am not use Compiz. Cube? What cube? I use as you may notice, Compiz Color Filter. (but yes, i need to have all set of of bells and whistles to run this one plugin).
The Color filter is absolutely required for build eye-safe desktop, as it only one software which can fight with overskilled code writers's stuff like Xilinx ISE, Wireshark, main Ubuntu utilites, and many more, when they use 'black' color instead of 'system theme defined' color for text, and 'white' for background, so it can't fixed by theming anymore, and lead to unreadable black text on black BG, big white areas which burn our eyes, invisible cursor, and *many* more bugs. Futher reading and short list of bugs are below.
<small> P.S. There is another absolutely req'd for scientific/research workplace Compiz plugin, the Opacity (translucent windows), i will discuss it later if anybody interested. </small>

Thank you all very much! Still awaiting answer to The Question.

---

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1419702
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour … +bug/78661
https://bugs.launchpad.net/pidgin/+bug/298702
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour … bug/651955
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour … bug/669785
https://bugs.launchpad.net/gnome-app-in … bug/173725
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour … bug/712315
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour … bug/709094
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour … bug/659810
https://bugs.wireshark.org/bugzilla/sho … gi?id=5467
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour … bug/296240 (fixed?)
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour … bug/651904 (may be fixed, but please read comments carefully).
https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/169623
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1206 … or-eclipse
http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic … 00&start=0

Offline

#6 2013-06-25 21:54:41

Sideburns
Member
From: Trinidad, CO
Registered: 2011-03-30
Posts: 467
Website

Re: XFCE philosophy and look-and-feel behaviour

Two things: first, the issue with LibreOffice probably isn't an Xfce bug, but needs to be addressed by the LibreOffice maintainers at https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/bug/ instead.  Second, if you feel you're capable of swatting one or more Xfce bugs and submitting a patch, I've never seen anything to suggest that the current Xfce devs wouldn't be happy to accept, test and, if it passes their tests, adding it to the code base.  Most, if not all of them, are doing this in their Copious Spare Time and would probably have the attitude that every bug that somebody else patches is one less that they have to work on themselves.


Registered Linux user #470359
Permanently recovered BOFH
Any advice in this post is worth exactly what you paid for it.

Offline

Board footer

Powered by FluxBB