Xfce Forum

sonycdr

Member

Registered: 2009-01-30

Posts: 140

Icons of running applications in the xfce4 taskbar have turned gray.

Hi!
A few days ago, in xfce4 current version (on Debian 12), the following problem happened, shown in the screenshot.
Any applications I launch now have gray icons in the taskbar.
All packages are updated to the current day completely.
I've even tried to remove and reinstall xfce4, but the problem has not disappeared.
I'll be glad to any advice, what to do to return the normal display of icons of running applications in the xfce4 taskbar.

Thank you!

ToZ

Administrator

From: Canada

Registered: 2011-06-02

Posts: 12,304

Re: Icons of running applications in the xfce4 taskbar have turned gray.

Do you have any content in ~/.config/gtk-3.0/gtk.css that would limit the display of these icons? Perhaps post back the content of that file if it exists.

Also, post back the content of ~/.xsession-errors.

And run xfce4-panel in debug mode and post back the output:

xfce4-panel -q
PANEL_DEBUG=1 xfce4-panel

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sonycdr

Member

Registered: 2009-01-30

Posts: 140

Re: Icons of running applications in the xfce4 taskbar have turned gray.

~/.config/gtk-3.0/gtk.css
~/.xsession-errors

There are no such files.

Here is the console output for the commands you specified:

xfce4-panel(main): version 4.20.5 on gtk+ 3.24.50 (3.24.50), glib 2.84.4 (2.84.4)
xfce4-panel(module-factory): reading /data/data/com.termux/files/usr/share/xfce4/panel/plugins
xfce4-panel(application): found window manager after 1 tries
xfce4-panel(base-window): 0xb40000788404a5b0: rgba visual=0xb400007884136a20, compositing=true
xfce4-panel(base-window): 0xb40000788404a5b0: rgba visual=0xb400007884136a20, compositing=true
xfce4-panel(display-layout): 0xb40000788404a5b0: display=:1.0{comp=true}, screen-0[0xb40000788409f500]=[2560,1600] (builtin=[0,0;2560,1600])
xfce4-panel(positioning): 0xb40000788404a5b0: screen=0xb40000788409f500, monitors=1, output-name=(NULL), span-monitors=false, base=1280,1568
xfce4-panel(positioning): 0xb40000788404a5b0: working-area: screen=0xb40000788409f500, x=0, y=0, w=2560, h=1600
xfce4-panel(struts): 0xb40000788404a5b0: bottom=64, start_x=0, end_x=2559
xfce4-panel(display-layout): 0xb40000788404a5b0: display=:1.0{comp=true}, screen-0[0xb40000788409f500]=[2560,1600] (builtin=[0,0;2560,1600])
xfce4-panel(positioning): 0xb40000788404a5b0: screen=0xb40000788409f500, monitors=1, output-name=(NULL), span-monitors=false, base=1280,1568
xfce4-panel(positioning): 0xb40000788404a5b0: working-area: screen=0xb40000788409f500, x=0, y=0, w=2560, h=1600
xfce4-panel(struts): 0xb40000788404a5b0: unset
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=separator, id=13)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=separator, id=14)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=applicationsmenu, id=26)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=launcher, id=21)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=launcher, id=5)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=launcher, id=10)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=launcher, id=15)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=launcher, id=23)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=launcher, id=17)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=launcher, id=19)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=launcher, id=18)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=launcher, id=20)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=launcher, id=22)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=launcher, id=7)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=launcher, id=9)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=launcher, id=16)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=launcher, id=24)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=tasklist, id=2)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=separator, id=3)
xfce4-panel(external): Exported object at path /org/xfce/Panel/Wrapper/6
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=external-wrapper, name=systray, id=6)
xfce4-panel(external): systray-6: child spawned; pid=8938, argc=7
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=launcher, id=4)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=separator, id=11)
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=separator, id=8)
xfce4-panel(clock): trying to instantiate d-bus sleep monitor
xfce4-panel(clock): logind not running
xfce4-panel(module): new item (type=object-type, name=clock, id=1)
xfce4-panel(clock): could not get proxy: Could not connect: No such file or directory

(xfce4-panel:8930): Gtk-WARNING **: 10:03:40.745: Could not load a pixbuf from icon theme.
This may indicate that pixbuf loaders or the mime database could not be found.
xfce4-panel(external): systray-6: child is embedded; 9 properties in queue
xfce4-panel(systray): rgba visual is 0xb4000074c1737a70
xfce4-panel(systray): registered manager on screen 0

Last edited by sonycdr (2025-09-16 07:08:30)

ToZ

Administrator

From: Canada

Registered: 2011-06-02

Posts: 12,304

Re: Icons of running applications in the xfce4 taskbar have turned gray.

Gtk-WARNING **: 10:03:40.745: Could not load a pixbuf from icon theme.

Try running:

sudo update-mime-database /usr/share/mime
sudo /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gdk-pixbuf-2.0/gdk-pixbuf-query-loaders --update-cache

... and then restarting xfce4-panel:

xfce4-panel -r

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sonycdr

Member

Registered: 2009-01-30

Posts: 140

Re: Icons of running applications in the xfce4 taskbar have turned gray.

I executed these commands, but with a slight modification to one command.

Instead of:

sudo /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gdk-pixbuf-2.0/gdk-pixbuf-query-loaders --update-cache

I have completed:

sudo /usr/lib/aarch64-linux-gnu/gdk-pixbuf-2.0/gdk-pixbuf-query-loaders --update-cache

since I have Debian 12 running through TermuxX11 and Termux on an Android tablet, the platform is "aarch64".

Unfortunately, after successfully executing the commands and restarting xfce4, the icons of running applications in the taskbar remained gray.

ToZ

Administrator

From: Canada

Registered: 2011-06-02

Posts: 12,304

Re: Icons of running applications in the xfce4 taskbar have turned gray.

Does the error still appear in ~/.session-errors?

Have you tried a different icon theme? Maybe the icon theme has been corrupted.

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sonycdr

Member

Registered: 2009-01-30

Posts: 140

Re: Icons of running applications in the xfce4 taskbar have turned gray.

Does the error still appear in ~/.session-errors?

Have you tried a different icon theme? Maybe the icon theme has been corrupted.

I don't have such a log file in the system.
But in the console window itself, when xfce4 is running in debug mode, after all the steps taken according to the tips above, the same error occurs:

"Could not load a pixbuf from icon theme.
This may indicate that pixbuf loaders or the mime database could not be found".

And she hasn't disappeared.

And, yes, I've tried changing different themes. Regardless, the icons of running applications in the taskbar remain gray in any theme, as shown in the screenshot.

Last edited by sonycdr (2025-09-16 16:54:23)

ToZ

Administrator

From: Canada

Registered: 2011-06-02

Posts: 12,304

Re: Icons of running applications in the xfce4 taskbar have turned gray.

I don't have such a log file in the system.

Sorry, I meant to say the debug code, but you indicate the message is still there. So basically, this is the root of your problem.

And, yes, I've tried changing different themes.

Just to confirm, you changed the icon theme - not the appearance (GTK) theme?
Which icon theme are you using?
Try re-installing the icon theme or ensuing that the permissions to the icon folder are appropriate for your user account to access.

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sonycdr

Member

Registered: 2009-01-30

Posts: 140

Re: Icons of running applications in the xfce4 taskbar have turned gray.

Just to confirm, you changed the icon theme - not the appearance (GTK) theme?

Yes, I have tried it. The screenshot shows all the installed icon themes. When you change these themes (to any of them), the icons on the desktop and in the taskbar (not running!) change and display normally.
Only the icons of running applications in the taskbar remain gray.

Try re-installing the icon theme or ensuing that the permissions to the icon folder are appropriate for your user account to access.

How can I find out where the icon files are located so that I can check their permissions?

Last edited by sonycdr (2025-09-16 18:29:47)

ToZ

Administrator

From: Canada

Registered: 2011-06-02

Posts: 12,304

Re: Icons of running applications in the xfce4 taskbar have turned gray.

If you installed them via a package from the repository, they will most likely be in /usr/share/icons (though I'm not sure if this is the case with Termux). If you manually installed them, they will probably be in either ~/.icons or ~/.local/share/icons.

If installed through the repository, you could try re-installing them - the install script could potentially fix any issues.

Regarding your note of "account compromised?" - there was spam recently posted from your account. If you haven't done so lately, please change your forum password.

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