[solved] xfdesktop4 styling issuesses

mega_kavun · 2023-03-25 09:36:23

I installed xfdesktop4!!! And I have some questions:

1. How to make desktop icon fonts bold using ~/.config/gtk-3.0/gtk.css ?

I tried the following code

XfdesktopIconView.view .label, XfdesktopIconView.view .label text {
    /* background: red; */
    font-weight: bold !important;
}

But it doesn't seem to woork sad

2. Is there any way I can remove background entirely ?

Not just set it to black or any other colour, I want it to be transparent and show programs running underneath it. Is this possible?

Last edited by mega_kavun (2023-04-01 13:44:43)

ToZ · 2023-03-25 11:21:25

Hello and welcome.

Which distro and version of Xfce are you running? Assuming a recent version...

mega_kavun wrote:

1. How to make desktop icon fonts bold using ~/.config/gtk-3.0/gtk.css ?
I tried the following code
XfdesktopIconView.view .label, XfdesktopIconView.view .label text {
    /* background: red; */
    font-weight: bold !important;
}
But it doesn't seem to woork

Try:

XfdesktopIconView.view { font-weight: bold }

For more info, see: https://forum.xfce.org/viewtopic.php?pid=54115#p54115

2. Is there any way I can remove background entirely ?
Not just set it to black or any other colour, I want it to be transparent and show programs running underneath it. Is this possible?

The desktop should be painted on the root window and by design, there shouldn't be anything running underneath - it will always be the lowest layer of the stack. Can you explain why you think there are programs running underneath?

mega_kavun · 2023-03-25 15:30:49

Hello, I'm using xfdesktop4 4.16 running in Pantheon desktop environment (WM: Gala 7.0.1)

ToZ wrote:

Try:
XfdesktopIconView.view { font-weight: bold }
For more info, see: https://forum.xfce.org/viewtopic.php?pid=54115#p54115

Thanks, it worked!

ToZ wrote:

The desktop should be painted on the root window and by design, there shouldn't be anything running underneath - it will always be the lowest layer of the stack. Can you explain why you think there are programs running underneath?

This is because Gala draws its desktop (which, essentially, is just wallpaper) first. The idea is to overlay xfdesktop over this desktop to get just the desktop icons without installing the full XFCE environment.

ToZ · 2023-03-25 17:34:12

mega_kavun wrote:

This is because Gala draws its desktop (which, essentially, is just wallpaper) first. The idea is to overlay xfdesktop over this desktop to get just the desktop icons without installing the full XFCE environment.

What happens if you create a fully transparent png wallpaper file (using gimp you can create a new image and set the backround to transparent) and use that? Would that work?

mega_kavun · 2023-03-25 19:00:03

ToZ wrote:

mega_kavun wrote:
This is because Gala draws its desktop (which, essentially, is just wallpaper) first. The idea is to overlay xfdesktop over this desktop to get just the desktop icons without installing the full XFCE environment.
What happens if you create a fully transparent png wallpaper file (using gimp you can create a new image and set the backround to transparent) and use that? Would that work?

Not really, it just blends it with the solid color. I also tried to play around with changing colour's alpha channel, but it didn't work as well (it just ignores it and uses 6-digit HEX instead).

ToZ · 2023-03-25 20:45:30

I don't think its possible. Interesting related discussion here.

mega_kavun · 2023-04-01 02:56:59

Thanks! I "solved" it by using a workaround script that copies Gala wallpaper and sets it as xfdesktop wallpaper every time it changed.

The last question: is there any way I can add "safe zones"/margins for all the desktop icons?

It seems there is no way to do this using gtk styling, but I'm not sure.

Last edited by mega_kavun (2023-04-01 04:07:53)

ToZ · 2023-04-01 11:17:31

Not that I'm aware of, no.

mega_kavun · 2023-04-01 13:44:28

Okay, thanks for answers

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