Optional Flat Toolbars for Clearlooks 2.22 9 February, 2008
I’m actually in love with an optional feature I’ve recently added in Clearlooks:
the ability to draw flat toolbars/menubars. (thanks to lucazade for the idea!)
How to Use this Feature
In order to get this you have to:
1) update to gtk-engines revision 1062 and newer
2) open the gtkrc of Clearlooks (or copy and create a new theme) and add those two lines (see the screenshot above):
GtkMenuBar ::shadow-type = GTK_SHADOW_NONE
GtkToolbar ::shadow-type = GTK_SHADOW_NONE
A little Notice
Please notice that file-roller and inkscape seems to use something different than a GtkToolbar (they use a mix of GtkHBox Vbox and so on… don’t tell me why), and this feature will not work. (Of course I don’t want to write hacks or special cases in the engine to be compatible with their different behaviour).
Posted in English, GNOME, GTK |
9 February, 2008 alle 18:10
So clean !
I wonder if the metacity and gtk themes could know about each other to facilitate gradients from one to the other?
9 February, 2008 alle 18:12
Looks lovely
Is there any way to regain the few pixels that were used by the bar shadows?
Seems to make the app look like it’s wasting space in my eyes…
9 February, 2008 alle 18:16
I hope it will become the default setting… it is far better than before imho.
cià
9 February, 2008 alle 18:46
@cubo: default? Never… It’s not Win95.
9 February, 2008 alle 18:50
I’m sure lucazade would appreciate it if you mentioned that he originally implemented this feature.
9 February, 2008 alle 19:03
thanks m5brane.. livio is the only one who knows the thruth.. it’s really win95.. go updating to vista
9 February, 2008 alle 19:07
Cimi keep it up your good work, really appreciated!
9 February, 2008 alle 20:11
Well, let me be the first to say I don’t like it. Sorry.
It’s one of the reasons I like GNOME themes: when a program says a divider (shadow in gtk) should be used, it is there to put items into an area and making it look less crowded and faster to spot items.
Removing things does not necessarily make those things more clean. In this example, the icons are now are floating in free space. Think about what it would look like with more rows of toolbars.
Or perhaps it’s better to give an analogy: think about what it would look like if the page-designer of your favorite magazine would leave out all elements that separate the content from the additional things? (ie. pictures and all that). It would definitely look “clean”, but is it more readable?
Gnome was going the right direction by using correct amounts of spacing and all that. Having actual elements to divide items in eg. toolbars is one of the things that makes applications in Gnome look more professional then they do in KDE (they remove them by default). In KDE, elements are all floating in free space, and that’s one thing that makes KDE-applications look crowded.
Hope you’re not offensed by this, but I do hope that if this ever gets into Gnome trunk that people will really think about it first.
9 February, 2008 alle 20:13
@Michel:

the default theme still uses (and will use) the old (usable and HIG compliant) behaviour.
OPTIONAL, OPTIONAL, OPTIONAL. (written in the title, written in the entry)
Don’t worry, I’m not so crazy
Cheers
9 February, 2008 alle 21:39
Very nice!! i like it a lot!
10 February, 2008 alle 0:33
Much nicer.
10 February, 2008 alle 12:27
I would argue this makes a great default, looks nice and clean.
“think about what it would look like if the page-designer of your favorite magazine would leave out all elements that separate the content from the additional things? (ie. pictures and all that). It would definitely look “clean”, but is it more readable?”
Yes, a lot of magazine designers do that (using space instead) and it works rather well.
10 February, 2008 alle 12:32
I also like it very much!
Now, as i prefer your murrine engine, is it possible to have this with murrine too?
Thanks for your work!
10 February, 2008 alle 14:18
Like I’ve already told you..I digg it
10 February, 2008 alle 16:42
I like this implementation better.
http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/clearlooks+hack?content=73163
11 February, 2008 alle 16:08
And what’s up with the transparent Murrina? Will you release the source?
11 February, 2008 alle 21:48
@someone I think getting the source is already possible. I don’t now where for sure but there may be an svn repo that allows you to get the latest source.
Beside that, i think you should install it if you develop plugins or patches for progs to use transparenci, otherwise resepect the wish of cimi and wait for a stable release.
12 February, 2008 alle 16:21
hi!!
new murrine works like a charm.. i can’t believe to it!!
so cool!
rgba = TRUE … is this the right/only option to use in .gtkrc ?
12 February, 2008 alle 16:36
rgba is enabled by default when a rgba application is founded.
rgba = FALSE could be useful to draw opaque windows instead
12 February, 2008 alle 16:47
perfect..
i’m going to make a theme for celebrating it!
12 February, 2008 alle 16:55
yes but don’t publish it
I want to publish the repository since I will have too bugreports about development code
12 February, 2008 alle 16:58
hehe ok
i’m thinking to call it: fireworks, you know why!
13 February, 2008 alle 12:55
[...] Just a quick note following the previous update to Clearlooks with optional Flat Toolbars. [...]
17 June, 2008 alle 17:06
man,
i checked-out the code from gnome’s svn …compiled it,installed it…and finally loved it..:)…worked like a charm with compiz and the blur plugin…….
awesome man…
luckily i found out that my metacity cud do some compositing ….cheers…
so it works flawlessly with metacity as well…
i patched gcalctool…and added plugins to gedit and rythmbox….all of them look cool..thanks man
but wanted to ask how to change the default value of alpha in the colormap
i wanted to alter the amount transparency.honestly i have no idea how gtk works..i’m not much of a gtk+/c++/python programmer..i’m a web-developer…but if u point me to the right direction..i’ll do my part
thanks again