[Solved] xfce 4.10 - Inconsistent mouse theme/size setting

goldleaf · 2013-11-12 09:19:31

I'm new to Xfce, and the mouse size/theme is one of the few things that I haven't been able to figure out. The settings don't apply globally, they only work within some applications. I've linked to a screen recording, showing how inside of Firefox the theme is respected, but in other windows/parts of Xfce, it is not.

I've been searching the internet a lot, and I've tried every suggestion that I can find (.Xsession, .gtkrc-2.0, etc...), but I haven't had any luck. There was an old bug from a while ago, where the Mouse settings weren't writing to a config file, but it was marked as fixed (and it seems like the file, wherever it is, has been written too - only not every part of the system is applying it).

I'm seeing this in Xfce 4.10 under Xubuntu, Ubuntu, and Fedora.

What are all of the places that the mouse theme/size is or could be saved? Is there a heirarchy of which files are looked at first/last, when Xfce decides to set the mouse theme?

Thanks!

Last edited by goldleaf (2013-11-12 09:22:43)

ToZ · 2013-11-12 15:01:21

Here is what works for me on Xubuntru 13.10:

1. Settings Manager -> Mouse and Touchpad -> Theme = change the mouse cursor theme.

2. Choose the cursor theme:

sudo update-alternatives --config x-cursor-theme

----------------

If you install a new cursor theme, you need to add it to the alternatives list by:
a. Create/edit cursor.theme file in the root of your cursor theme directory with the following content:

[Icon Theme]
Inherits=<NameOfTheme>

...where <NameOfTheme> is the name of your icon theme

b. Create a new alternatives link:

sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/share/icons/default/index.theme /path/to/cursor.theme 51

...where "/path/to/cursor.theme" is the path to the file you created in step 2 and "51" is the priority.

c. Select the theme via the first 2 steps.

goldleaf · 2013-11-12 17:32:26

Thanks ToZ, that method changed the mouse theme globally, which is great, thank you! How do I get the size to change as well? Since there isn't a x-cursor-size option, as far as I've been able to discover:

sudo gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface cursor-size 16

Or is there som eother way to save out the size? Thanks!

ToZ · 2013-11-13 03:30:36

I just tried now and am unable to change the cursor size myself. I recall this issue before (see: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1876754), but that solution doesn't work for me in 13.10.

goldleaf · 2013-11-13 05:41:46

Yeah, it doesn't work for me either, also using 13.10. But I'm glad I'm not the only one who's seeing this :-)

I'll ping the irc channel, see if anyone has further suggestions, apart from just filing a bug and hoping it gets fixed.

Thanks ToZ!

goldleaf · 2013-12-23 19:44:00

Just a little update: the inconsistent mouse settings seem to be fixed in 4.11. I have Fedora 20, and under Xfce, the mouse setting is consistent across all the programs which is wasn't under 4.10. I don't know if it would also be fixed under Xubuntu 13.10, but it could be.

And for completeness, I installed Fedora with Gnome by default, and then added Xfce.

Thanks for all the help!

Alad · 2014-05-13 14:21:37

Thing is, whether the cursor theme/size is applied globally or not is random (every other reboot). Both with XFCE 4.10 (Debian) and XFCE 4.11 (Fedora). FWIW MATE has a similar problem.

Last edited by Alad (2014-05-13 14:23:30)

cmcanulty · 2014-09-25 11:34:22

same here, the weird issue I have is at our library where I run 10 xubuntu 14.04s the cursor is large and black like I want in the limited user but stays small and white in the admin account. Seems like it should be a simple issue but is quite irritating. I was hoping xfce would not have this issue which has been in ubuntu for years. There should be a simple way to change size and color globally.

ToZ · 2014-09-25 12:54:32

cmcanulty wrote:

same here, the weird issue I have is at our library where I run 10 xubuntu 14.04s the cursor is large and black like I want in the limited user but stays small and white in the admin account. Seems like it should be a simple issue but is quite irritating. I was hoping xfce would not have this issue which has been in ubuntu for years. There should be a simple way to change size and color globally.

Thats because the admin account is using its own configuration settings (not the user settings). You'd need to make the change in both accounts. Try running:

gksudo xfce4-settings-manager

...(this will start up the settings manager for the root profile), and then make the same change to the Mouse and Touchpad area. These will be saved in the root's configuration files.

cmcanulty · 2014-09-26 14:09:13

I did that several times and can't get the admin account to change mouse size or color. Could you please tell me all the places to check so I can compare both users and see where the problem lies? Thank you

ToZ · 2014-09-26 14:31:42

cmcanulty wrote:

I did that several times and can't get the admin account to change mouse size or color. Could you please tell me all the places to check so I can compare both users and see where the problem lies? Thank you

I am unable to change the cursor size consistently on Xubuntu as well. Probably a bug (I remember it working properly some versions ago). To change the cursor on the admin account, run:

gksudo xfce4-mouse-settings

...and pick the cursor that you want to use.

cmcanulty · 2014-09-26 14:34:16

On my home machine where is stays at size 48 and black that command shows 16 and white. Seems like a long standing bug.

nex0 · 2018-07-14 15:20:26

Thanks a lot, ToZ!!! It still works for xubuntu 16.04 (xfce 4.12)

my mouse theme became finally consistent..

a little tip for newbies: Don't forget to relogin to get it done!

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#1 2013-11-12 09:19:31

[Solved] xfce 4.10 - Inconsistent mouse theme/size setting

#2 2013-11-12 15:01:21

Re: [Solved] xfce 4.10 - Inconsistent mouse theme/size setting

#3 2013-11-12 17:32:26

Re: [Solved] xfce 4.10 - Inconsistent mouse theme/size setting

#4 2013-11-13 03:30:36

Re: [Solved] xfce 4.10 - Inconsistent mouse theme/size setting

#5 2013-11-13 05:41:46

Re: [Solved] xfce 4.10 - Inconsistent mouse theme/size setting

#6 2013-12-23 19:44:00

Re: [Solved] xfce 4.10 - Inconsistent mouse theme/size setting

#7 2014-05-13 14:21:37

Re: [Solved] xfce 4.10 - Inconsistent mouse theme/size setting

#8 2014-09-25 11:34:22

Re: [Solved] xfce 4.10 - Inconsistent mouse theme/size setting

#9 2014-09-25 12:54:32

Re: [Solved] xfce 4.10 - Inconsistent mouse theme/size setting

#10 2014-09-26 14:09:13

Re: [Solved] xfce 4.10 - Inconsistent mouse theme/size setting

#11 2014-09-26 14:31:42

Re: [Solved] xfce 4.10 - Inconsistent mouse theme/size setting

#12 2014-09-26 14:34:16

Re: [Solved] xfce 4.10 - Inconsistent mouse theme/size setting

#13 2018-07-14 15:20:26

Re: [Solved] xfce 4.10 - Inconsistent mouse theme/size setting

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