Linux Dummies 9th

80
Part I: Getting Your Feet Wet
Many themes are available on the Internet for GNOME; however, you may
have to hunt for a while and put up with some frustration until you find a
theme you like that’s also compatible with your installation. To find and grab
themes for your own use, follow these steps:
1. Point your Web browser to http://themes.freshmeat.net.
You’re taken to the Themes Web site, which offers a boatload of items
for customizing GUIs.
If you’re heavily into playing with customizing your GUI, you can also
check out http://art.gnome.org. In particular, check out http://
live.gnome.org/GnomeArt/Tutorials.
2. On Freshmeat, enter GTK themes in the search box, and click the
Search button.
You go to a section of the site where you can ensure that the themes
you choose actually work with your system. (GTK is geek-speak for part
of the GNOME desktop environment.)
3. Select the GTK 2.X Themes area.
Now you’re in the section for the latest version of GNOME.
4. Browse and choose the theme you want to try.
If you create an account and log in, you can use the Sort Order dropdown
list to change the order in which the items are displayed. When
looking over a theme’s information, keep your eye out for the requirements
(sometimes called dependencies) that go with the theme. Some
themes require additional engines (software that runs behind the
scenes); you want to avoid those if you’re uncomfortable with finding
and adding software at this point. You’re safe from the additional hassle
if you’re looking for GTK themes.
5. After you’ve chosen your theme, click its name to go to the themespecific
page.
There, you can find any comments someone has posted about the
theme.
6. Scroll down if necessary and click the link under Tar/GZ or Tar/BZ2.
Click Save to Disk when you’re asked what to do with the file, and,
finally, click OK to download the file.
By default, the Firefox browser stores the file on your desktop (see
Chapter 9).
7. Open the Appearance Preferences dialog box, select the Theme tab,
then click the Install button.
The Select Theme dialog box opens, as shown in Figure 4-6.