Customizing the Appearance of the Desktop
This chapter describes the methods you can use to change the appearance
of the GNOME Desktop
to enhance the accessibility of the desktop for users with visual impairments.
Customization Options
customizing the desktop appearance
There are a number of methods to enable you to customize the appearance
of the GNOME Desktop
to suit your specific needs, as follows:
Themes
Themes are the most effective
way to change the appearance of the desktop in a consistent manner. See for more information about themes and how to use themes
to achieve the type of desktop environment that you require.
Desktop and application-specific configuration settings
You can customize different components of the desktop
individually to achieve the display settings that you require. You can configure
the desktop and applications in addition to using themes or as an alternative
to using themes. See for more information.
The following table summarizes the changes that you can
make to the GNOME Desktop and where you can make the changes. This guide does not provide
detailed instructions about how to customize the desktop. For detailed instructions
about how to use the customization tools that the desktop provides, refer
to the Help for each tool or to the User Guide.
Quick Reference to Customizing the Appearance of the Desktop
To change the...
Use...
Overall appearance of the desktop to use high
contrast colors, low contrast colors, or large print.
The Theme preference tool.
Appearance of the desktop background only.
The Desktop Background preference tool and the file manager Backgrounds
and Emblems menu item.
Font displayed on the desktop background and
in all desktop applications.
The Font preference tool.
Default font settings of the Text Editor, Terminal or Help application.
By default, these applications use the default application font that is specified
in the Font preference tool but can be overridden in the Preferences dialog for the application.
Using Themes to Customize the Desktop
This section describes how to use themes to customize the appearance
of the GNOME Desktop.
Introduction to Themes
themes
A theme is a group of
coordinated settings that specifies how a desktop component or a group of
desktop components appears. You can use themes to modify and control the appearance
of the desktop in a consistent manner. When you apply a theme, the system
modifies many desktop components simultaneously to achieve the desired effect.
For example, if you apply a theme that increases the font size across the
desktop, the theme also modifies the size of panels and icons on the desktop
for optimum compatibility with the font size.
A theme contains settings that affect different parts of the desktop
as follows:
Controls
The controls setting for
a theme determines the visual appearance of all windows, applications, panels,
and panel applications. The controls setting also determines the visual appearance
of the GNOME-compliant interface items that appear on windows, applications,
panels, and panel applications, such as menus, icons, and buttons. Some of
the controls options that are available in the desktop are designed for special
accessibility needs.
Window border
The window frame setting
determines the appearance of the border around windows only.
Icon
The icon setting determines
the appearance of icons on panels and on the desktop background.
To Choose a Theme
themes
desktop
To choose a theme, perform the following steps:
Choose DesktopPreferencesTheme. The themes
are listed on the left side of the Theme Preferences
dialog.
Click on a theme in the list box to choose a new theme. The
system automatically applies the theme to the desktop.
There are several themes available that suit different accessibility
needs, as described in the following table:
Themes Designed for Accessibility Requirements
Theme Name
Description
High Contrast
Provides dark text on a light background using high
contrast colors.
High Contrast Inverse
Provides
light text on a dark background using high contrast colors.
Large Print
This theme suggests an increased
font size of 18pt. The background and foreground colors are the same as those
specified by the Default desktop theme. To apply the
suggested font, click on the Apply Font button.
High Contrast Large Print
This theme suggests an increased
font size of 18pt using dark text on a light background. To apply the
suggested font, click on the Apply Font button.
High Contrast Large Print Inverse
This theme suggests an increased
font size of 18pt using light text on a dark background. To apply the
suggested font, click on the Apply Font button.
To view the controls, window frame, and icon settings that are associated
with a theme, select a theme in the Theme Preferences
dialog, then click on the Theme Details button. The Theme Details dialog contains a tabbed section for each setting
category. Each tabbed section lists the options that are available and the
current setting for the theme is highlighted.
To Modify the Controls Setting for a Theme
To modify the controls setting that is associated with a theme, perform
the following steps:
In the Theme Preferences dialog, select
the theme that you want to modify.
Click on the Theme Details button.
The Theme Details dialog is displayed.
Click on the Controls tab to display
the controls options that are available.
Select the controls option that you want to associate with
the current theme from the list box, then click Close.
The following table lists the controls options that are suitable for accessibility
needs.
Controls Options Designed for Accessibility Requirements
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.
LowContrast
Uses low contrast colors for
the background and foreground text.
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.
LowContrastLargePrint
Uses
low contrast colors for the background and foreground text. Increases the
size of controls to accommodate larger fonts. To increase the font size, you
must use the Font preference tool.
To Modify the Window Border Setting for a Theme
themes
window border
To modify the window border setting that is associated with a theme,
perform the following steps:
In the Theme Preferences dialog, select
the theme that you want to modify.
Click on the Theme Details button.
The Theme Details dialog is displayed.
Click on the Window Border tab to display
the window frame options that are available.
Select the window frame option that you want to associate
with the current theme from the list box, then click Close.
The Atlanta option is an accessible option.
To Modify the Icon Setting for a Theme
themes
icon
To modify the icon setting that is associated with a theme, perform
the following steps:
In the Theme Preferences dialog, select
the theme that you want to modify.
Click on the Theme Details button.
The Theme Details dialog is displayed.
Click on the Icons tab to display the
icon options that are available.
Select the icon option that you want to associate with the
theme from the list box, then click Close. The following
table lists the icon options that are suitable for accessibility needs.
Icon Options Designed for Accessibility Requirements
Icon Option
Description
HighContrast
Provides dark on light icons using high contrast
colors.
HighContrastInverse
Provides
light on dark icons using high contrast colors.
LowContrast
Uses low contrast colors for
the background and foreground text.
To Create Your Own Themes
themes
creating your own
For information about how to create your own themes, see
the System Administration Guide.
Customizing Specific Components of the Desktop
This section describes how to customize specific components of the desktop
individually.
To Customize the Desktop Background
customizing the desktop appearance
desktop background
The themes do not affect the
desktop background. Therefore to modify the desktop background to complement
your desktop, you must customize the desktop background separately using the Desktop Background preference tool. To start the Desktop Background preference tool,choose DesktopPreferencesDesktop Background.
To Customize Desktop Background Objects
customizing the desktop appearance
desktop background objects
The size of the icons
that are displayed on the desktop background is controlled by the File Management preference tool. To change the size of the icons,
perform the following steps:
From the File Manager window, choose the EditPreferences menu item.
Select the Views tabbed section.
In the Icon View Defaults group, select
the zoom level that you require in the Default zoom level
drop-down list.
To Customize Fonts
customizing the desktop appearance
fonts
This section describes how to customize
the font settings for the desktop and frequently-used applications.
If you have difficulty with the default font type and font size that
is used on the desktop and desktop background, you can customize the font
settings to suit your needs.
You can specify individual font settings for the following desktop components
and applications:
Entire desktop excluding the desktop background
Desktop background only
Terminal
Text editor
Help
Web Browser
To Customize the Desktop Fonts
customizing the desktop appearance
desktop fonts
The Font
preference tool allows you to specify the default fonts for the desktop.
To start the Font preference tool, choose DesktopPreferencesFont. The Font Preferences dialog contains the following options:
Application font
Click on this button to select a default font to use for the text that
is displayed on the desktop, including the text displayed on the windows and
dialogs associated with GNOME-compliant applications and panel applications.
If you use the Theme preference tool
to select a theme and you click on the Apply Font button,
the font that is associated with the theme overrides the font that you select
using the Font preference tool.
Document font
Click on this button to select a font to use for displaying documents.
Desktop font
Click on this button to select a font to use for the text that is displayed
on the desktop background only.
Window title font
Click on this
button to select a font to use for the text that is displayed in titlebars
of your windows.
Fixed width font
Click on this button
to select a font to use for editing documents.
Font rendering
To specify how to
render fonts on the desktop, select one of the following options:
Monochrome
Best shapes
Best contrast
Subpixel smoothing
If you use large fonts, you may need to change the size of panes
in applications that use panes such as, the file manager and the Help browser.
For more information about the Font preference
tool, see the User Guide.
To Customize Application Fonts
customizing the desktop appearance
individual font
By default, GNOME applications use the default font specified in the Font preference tool. Some applications allow this default font to be customized. These applications are:
Help Browser
Text Editor
Terminal
Web Browser
Meeting Specific Accessibility Needs
The following sections summarize the steps you need to take to improve
the accessibility of the desktop in a particular area.
To Achieve a High or Low Contrast Desktop
high contrast desktop
low contrast desktop
To achieve a high
or low contrast desktop, perform the following steps:
Use the Theme preference tool to
select the high contrast or low contrast desktop theme that you require.
Use the Desktop Background preference
tool to customize your desktop background as follows:
Set the Desktop Wallpaper to No Wallpaper.
Set the Desktop Colors to Solid Color.
Select a background color that suits your needs.
In the Terminal application, ensure
that the Use colors from system theme option is selected
in the Colors tabbed section of the Editing
Profile dialog.
In the gedit application, ensure
that the Use default theme colors option is selected
in the Fonts & Colors tabbed section of the Preferences dialog.
To Achieve a Large Print Desktop
large print desktop
To achieve
a large print desktop, perform the following steps:
Use the Theme preference tool to
select the Large Print theme.
Click on the Apply Font button to increase
the size of the font that is used on the desktop and on window frames.
Use the Desktop font option in the Font preference tool to increase the font that is displayed
on desktop background objects.
Increase the font size that is used to display the contents
of the Terminal application window.
If the Use default theme font option
is selected in the gedit Preferences dialog, gedit uses the font size that
is specified in the large print theme that you selected. However, if the Use default theme font option is not selected, increase the font
size that is used to display the contents of the gedit
text editor window. See the gedit manual for more information.
If you use applications that use panes, such as the file manager
and the Help browser, you may need to change the size of panes to accommodate
the large print. See the online help for the appropriate application for more
information.